In Loving Memory of Master Craftsman Hiroo Itou (1942-2025)
It is with deep respect and gratitude that we share the passing of Mr. Hiroo Itou in October 2025, at the age of 85. For decades, Mr. Itou dedicated his life to the art of knife making, creating unique, one-of-a-kind custom kitchen knives renowned for their exceptional sharpness, rare handle materials, and unparalleled craftsmanship.
We first encountered Mr. Itou at the Knife Show in Seki City in 2006, where his work with R-2 powdered metal steel immediately stood out. While other powdered steels like Cowry X and ZDP-189 could achieve higher hardness, Mr. Itou chose R-2 (HRc. 62) for its perfect balance of edge retention, corrosion resistance, and ease of sharpening. His guiding philosophy was always practicality—creating knives that performed beautifully in real kitchens, not just showpieces.
Mr. Itou was fanatical about his craft, hand-forging each Damascus blade, carefully tapering the tang for perfect balance, and collecting rare materials from around the world—Mammoth Molar Teeth, Mammoth Ivory, Narwhal horn, Turquoise, Abalone, Stag and More—to create handles as unique as the blades themselves.
For over 15 years, Mr. Nagata trained under Mr. Itou's guidance, learning not only the technical mastery of hammer forging and blade crafting, but also the philosophy and passion that made Mr. Itou's knives extraordinary. As Mr. Itou's trusted apprentice and successor, Mr. Nagata has absorbed every detail of the craft—from working with R-2 steel to selecting and shaping rare handle materials with the same discerning eye.
Mr. Nagata is committed to continuing Mr. Itou's legacy, handcrafting each knife with the same meticulous attention to detail, the same pursuit of practical perfection, and the same artistic vision that defined his master's work. Every knife he creates honors the tradition while carrying the craft forward into the future.
Each knife remains a unique, one-of-a-kind piece—100% custom handmade and hammer forged. The spirit of Mr. Itou's workshop lives on through Mr. Nagata's skilled hands, ensuring that this remarkable tradition of Japanese knife making will continue to inspire and serve chefs and cooking enthusiasts for generations to come.
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Creating Mr. Itou's world of unique and one-of-a-kind custom kitchen knives with rare and exotic handle materials. Enjoy his amazingly sharp knife as well as the unique appearance.
On April the 1st and 2nd, 2006, we had a "Spring Knife Show" in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture. Around 40 custom knife makers from all over Japan attended the event and among them we found an interesting gentleman who is custom hand making Custom Kitchen knives using a special Powdered Metal (P.M.) steel called "R-2". His name is Hiroo Itou and he comes from Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture. He explained to me that this special powdered steel is made by Kobe Steel Co., Ltd. (Kobelco), which is one of the largest steel producers in Japan. He told me that Kobelco will not tell him about the chemical composition of the steel (The information is kept confidential to prevent it being copied by other steel producers).
When I asked Mr. Itou how well R-2 compares against other powdered steels, such as "Cowry X" (Daido Steel Co., Ltd) or "ZDP-189" (Hitachi Metals, Ltd.), he told me that although Cowry X and ZDP-189 have a richer chemical composition and can attain a higher Rockwell hardness than R-2, they are also much more difficult to sharpen. Mr. Itou stated that, of the various powdered metal steels he had tested, R2 was the best suited for making kitchen knives because, in addition to possessing great edge sharpness, edge retention and corrosion-resistance, it is still relatively easy to sharpen. This is especially important to Mr. Itou, because his guiding philosophy is to produce knives that are very practical to use. He also stated that, due to the special hammer forging and knife making techniques that he uses with R-2, he has great confidence in the sharpness, durability and cutting performance of his knives.
In addition to using R-2 steel for the cutting edge of his knives (HRc. 62), Mr. Itou also creates the incredibly beautiful and powerful appearance Damascus knives. As seen on other expensive full tang custom knives, Mr. Itou hand tapers the blade tang in order to reduce weight and to perfectly balance the blade and handle. Because they are custom handmade, the blade and handle of each knife is slightly different, so, Mr. Itou has to carefully decide which handle materials will work best with each specific knife. Finally, he contours and polishes the handle to ensure a perfect grip and an attractive finish.
Mr. Itou is fanatical about knife making and he loves to collect rare and unique materials from all over the world to use in his custom knife handles. The most expensive and distinctive handle material that he uses are Mammoth Molar Teeth, Mammoth Ivory and Narwhal Horn, but Mr. Itou also uses a wide variety of other high quality materials (Both manmade and natural) to make his unique knife handles such as Turquoise, Abalone and Stag Handles.
Each one of Mr. Itou's knives is a unique 'one-off', or 'one-of-a-kind' knife, that is 100% custom handmade and hammer forged.
