The world of kitchen knives is like a "bottomless swamp", to quote our president. There is endless amounts of information to discover. But where do you start?
Introducing our Japanese Kitchen Knife Seminar, a session where you can learn various aspects of the culture that is Japanese kitchen knives.
From history, to metallurgy, to even some of the most unique styles of kitchen knife out there, let us teach you all you want to know!
Table of Contents
Workshop Contents
This workshop takes approximately about forty-five minutes and involves four key components.
The History of Sakai Knifemaking
This component will introduce how knifemaking and metallurgy came into Japan, as well as its connection to Japanese swordsmithing, which has a 600 year history. This also discusses how Sakai-made knives became famous around the world from as far back as the 1600s.
Single-Edged Kitchen Knives in Japan
This component talks about single-edged knives, a style of knife unique to Japanese kitchens. This explains the link to single-edged knives and Japanese consumption diet and culture towards respecting ingredient integrity.
High-Carbon Steel Knives
This component talks about high-carbon steel knives and materials such as White Steel #2, seen very commonly in professional Japanese kitchen knives. This also showcases a comparison to stainless steel knives, and introduces more modern technologies to help you learn what might be best for you.
Japanese Knives versus Other Knives
You will see a comparison between Japanese kitchen knives and Western ones to learn why they are different and which is better for you!
Each segment takes approximately ten to fifteen minutes, however this is flexible. If there is specific subjects you want to learn about, we can create seminars for you! We also have optional modules for other topics like the etymology of the word "kitchen knife" in Japan, amongst other subjects.
This activity is suitable to do for any group size, with a maximum of twenty people.
Why We're Doing It
One of ICHITOI's main objectives is to connect people to their tools better. We feel that the best way to do so is to educate on the matter.
The more we know about something, the more we may want to treasure it. If we can understand each component of a kitchen knife, why it is there, and what makes it so useful or important, we are more likely to take good care of it and treasure it more.
The world of kitchen knives is bottomless; there is a never-ending amount of information to learn. But, this can also make it quite daunting, especially when much of this information is not in anything but Japanese.
We consider this seminar a great way to "break in" to the world of Japanese kitchen knives, so you know where to go from there.
Upcoming Dates and Prices
This seminar is available on weekdays where no ICHITOI special event is taking place.
Walk-ins are accepted, but recommendations are recommended, especially if you want to change what is being discussed or want to learn different things than the standard seminar.
The price is ¥1,000 (including tax) per person.
Please note, this experience is currently not available on weekends.
How to Book
Walk-ins are accepted if you want to take our standard seminar, but you can also book a session by messaging us through our contact page.