Knifewear Toronto, Opening June 1 - Grand opening Party June 17th!

Knifewear Toronto, Opening June 1!

After years of waiting, I am beyond thrilled to announce the opening of Knifewear Toronto. The store will open June 1 at 517 Bloor St. W in the heart of the Kitchen Knife District. Knifewear Toronto will feature a massive selection of handmade Japanese kitchen knives, chef-curated cookware, sharpening supplies, cookbooks, and loud music.

Our Grand Opening on June 17th will feature a visit from a Japanese Blacksmith Teruhiro Moritaka of Moritaka Hamono, free Knifewear Toronto shirts for the first 100 guests, hot dogs cooked over charcoal, and more! 

Here is the schedule if you are thinking of coming by for our Grand opening Party:

1:00pm: Special Talk and Q&A by Teruhiro Moritaka
2:00pm-3:30pm: Limited Engraving of Moritaka knives. Engraving is a first come first serve basis. Limited (15) space available - one knife per person.
4:00pm: Special Talk and Q&A by Teruhiro Moritaka
5:00pm-6:30pm: Limited Engraving of Moritaka knives. Engraving is a first come first serve basis. Limited (15) space available - one knife per person.

Special talk is about their knife making method and history. The Moritaka family have been making swords and knives for over 700 years since 1293. Their technique, skill level and knowledge is next to none.

Hotdogs and soft drinks throughout the day.
Rare knives, one-of-a-kind will be available on the grand opening day
Limited merch will also be available.


We've been working on this for years, and I'm so happy it's finally come to fruition. Thank you to our amazing Toronto customers who've supported us and requested the shop for so long; your patience means the world to me. I look forward to seeing you at the opening! 

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Kevin Kent

Kevin Kent

Knifewear owner and president Kevin Kent’s fascination with handcrafted Japanese knives began while he was working as sous-chef for the legendary chef Fergus Henderson at St. John restaurant in London, England. Back in Canada in 2007 he began selling them out of a backpack from the back of his bicycle, while working as a chef in Calgary. He considers his chef years as the best education for being an entrepreneur. Being a chef takes long hours, involves hard work, both mentally and physically, and chefs must be able to put out fires, both literal and figurative, with extreme competence. Today, Kent is still just as obsessed with Japanese knives as the day he first held one. A couple times a year, he travels to Japan to meet with his blacksmith friends and drinks far too much sake. Each visit he learns more about the ancient art of knife-making. Through this obsession Knifewear has expanded to include five Knifewear stores in Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Edmonton. Plans are also underway to open a store in Kyoto, Japan. He refuses to confess how many Japanese knives he owns … but he admits the number is rather high. Follow Kevin on Twitter at @knifenerd and find out more about the stores at knifewear.com, and if you meet him in person, ask him to tell you his Lou Reed story.

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