Seki Forge Your Tamahagane Kitchen Knife with a Swordsmith

4 hoursEnglishBook 2 days aheadGifu Prefecture, Japan

From

$536

Forge your own kitchen knife from tamahagane, the same steel used for samurai swords, and take the finished blade home. You work one-on-one with an award-winning young master swordsmith in Seki, Japan's legendary blade town: heating and hammering the steel, applying the clay to set your own hamon (temper line), then grinding, sharpening and fitting the handle. Every step is hands-on, guided in English, using genuine swordsmithing technique scaled to a kitchen knife you'll use for years.

Included

One finished kitchen knife to take home
Hands-on tamahagane knife forging led by a master swordsmith
English-speaking instruction by the swordsmith throughout
All materials and tools
Free pick-up and drop-off at Mino-Ota Station
Participant accident insurance coverage

Not included

Food and drinks
Hotel pick-up

What you'll do

Forge your very own kitchen knife from tamahagane — the same steel used for samu
rai swords — in Seki, Japan's legendary blade town in Gifu. Guided one-on-one by an award-winning young master swordsmith, you'll work a raw block of tamahagane through the real forging process and leave with a knife that's entirely your own. After heating and hammering the steel into shape, you'll apply the clay yourself and set your own hamon (temper line), then grind, sharpen and fit the handle to finish the blade. Every step is hands-on — this is genuine swordsmithing technique, scaled to a kitchen knife you'll use for years. Your host is a rising young master swordsmith, a winner of the Kanzan Prize at the NBTHK Contemporary Swordsmith Exhibition, and narrates the whole experience in English. The workshop runs about four hours, and you take home the finished knife.

Meeting and pickup

Pickup details

Free pick-up and drop-off at Mino-Ota Station (please arrive 15 minutes before the start time). You may also come directly to the meeting point, where free on-site parking is available.