Knife Making In Sanjō (With Aiba Steel) | Kenji Eats Japan (Patreon)

In pursuit of the perfect kitchen knife, we traveled to Tsubame-Sanjō, a world-famous metalworking region in Japan, with the help of some friends. 

Hi Frienjis,

It’s Erin, Community & Content Manager here with a special episode of Kenji Eats Japan.

So far in this series, we’ve brought you along to basement food courts and elegant tofu lunches, we’ve enjoyed Hokkaido milk flights and konbini taste tests, and we’ve made a whole lot of recipes inspired by our team’s travels through Japan earlier this year. 

But why were we in Japan to begin with? The story starts in Falls City, Oregon, and ends in Tsubame-Sanjō, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Come along!

A Series Of Fortunate Events

A long time ago in a tiny Oregon town far, far away… 

Kenji met Gordon Hanson of Vonhelmick Knives by total happenstance during a road trip. Being a chef and artisan knife maker respectively, a friendship was quickly born, as was a beautiful knife partnership.

At Vonhelmick, all knives are hand-forged and just as Gordon’s steel supply started to diminish, luck struck again in the shape of a new friend, Eugene, who does a lot of business in Japan and wanted to help Gordon find a Japanese steel supplier. In the final link in this lucky chain, he eventually made the connection between Gordon, Kenji, and the family behind Aiba Steel. Then we were off to the races.

Working Together

Aiba Steel has been a family-run business since the Edo Period when their original hardware store opened their doors in 1861. Their business is guided by the founding principles of being kind and gentle, always being open to new challenges, and working hard to maintain the essence of their workers, partners, and local community.¹

Following in this tradition, the Aibas prefer to do business face to face. As their President Ryoji Aiba put it: “Building trust with clients requires more than just emailing or video calling… you should look at the other person in the face and shake their hand. That’s how you build trust.” This partnership bloomed over various trips to Oregon, a few stops in Seattle, and finally, a journey back to the Aibas’ hometown, Sanjō, in April of this year.

Tsubame-Sanjō is an area in Niigata Prefecture that combines the cities of Tsubame and Sanjō and is world-famous for its metalworking and manufacturing. There are over 5,000 small- to medium-sized companies located here and they host a particular fame for their cutlery craft, including some of the best Japanese knives you can get your hands on.² ³ In this industrial core, you’ll spot countless factories, foundries, workshops and forges. The roads are russet—a coloration they get from an actual coating of oxidized iron*, not a chosen, stylistic design choice—and the manhole covers are decorated with blacksmithing tools.

The devotion to their craft is etched, literally, in every part of the region.

The Ultimate Hosts

While hosting the entire Vonhelmick (Hanson) family, extended JKLA crew, and business partner Eugene, the Aibas never wavered as the ultimate hosts. It’s hard to put into words the grace and thought they put into every aspect of our visit: Organizing multiple days of factory and foundry tours and activities to not only see different applications of their steel, but to really understand their metalworking culture; arranging chef demonstrations so our crew could gain insight to the local food scene; inviting us to get to know their business partners and, likewise, trusting us to share the story with all of you.

During our visit, we stayed in beautiful ryokans (inns) and were treated to kaiseki meals (traditional multi-course dinners) that featured impressively local and seasonal ingredients. Across three days, these courses featured everything from cherry salmon, rockfish, carp, and shellfish to snow-aged wagyu to seasonal vines, shoots, and bulbs. There were soup courses, tempura courses, and bowls of rice that were cultivated in the very town we stayed in. Every meal began with a toast of either non-alcoholic yuzu juice or a local sake and ended with a round of dessert and a cup of green tea. (Including my personal favorite: Build-it-yourself ice cream sandwiches with a selection of orange marmalade and red bean paste toppings and warabimochi and ichigo daifuku on the side.)

Through every tour, activity, and conversation, you could feel the attention to detail the family and their community put into their local industry. Through every ingredient and course served at dinner, you could feel the pride they have for their home shine through—and deservedly so. In fact, the minute I got back to Seattle, I headed down to Uwajimaya, our local Japanese grocery store, and bought some Niigata-grown rice myself.

Follow the Journey

We hope you enjoy this special episode of Kenji Eats Japan bringing you along to Sanjō with us. And stay tuned as the team gets to work making the next iteration of the Kenji x Vonhelmick Shi-Toku knife the best one possible.

— Erin, Community & Content Manager

🔗 Watch the full Kenji Eats Japan series.