Tsubame Knife
The artisans of Tsubame-Sanjo, Niigata are known above all for 'migaki' - the hand-polishing that gives Japanese metalwork its depth. It is slow, entirely manual work, and it is why this small town has been Japan's center of fine metal craft for around four centuries.
A standard-size dinner knife that handles meat with ease, finished in a quiet satin texture.
Product Specification
- Material: Stainless Steel
- Origin: Made in Tsubame-Sanjo, Niigata, Japan
- Dishwasher Safe: Yes
- Microwave / Oven / IH / Open Flame: No
Dimensions
- Total Length: 8.3 in (21 cm)
- Width: 0.7 in (1.7 cm)
About Tsubame-Sanjo
Tsubame and Sanjo are two neighboring cities in Niigata, on the snow country side of Japan, that together form the country's most established metalworking region. It started in the early 1600s: the Shinano River flooded the rice fields year after year, and farming families were taught to forge Japanese nails through the winter to survive it. Four centuries later, that winter side trade has become the whole town.
The work divided naturally between the two. Sanjo forges blades and tools; Tsubame took up sheet metal, hammered copperware and, from the postwar years, stainless flatware - most of the flatware made in Japan today comes from here. What ties both cities together is migaki, the hand-polishing that gives Japanese metal its particular depth. It is judged by eye and finished wheel by wheel, and it is why a piece from Tsubame-Sanjo sits differently in the hand than one that came straight off a press.
