Yoshimi Kato

Yoshimi Kato is the son-in-law of Hiroshi Kato, the man who originally made some of our most popular Masakage lines and was a founding member of Takefu Knife VIllage. The torch has been passed and Yoshimi-san has stepped up to fill some big shoes and take over those lines. Yoshimi-san apprenticed at Kanehiro Hamono under the guidance of Hiroshi-san, who has also taught amazing blacksmiths like Yu Kurosaki. The transition has been seamless. He tells us he strives to continuously improve his skill day by day. We look forward to working with the next generation Kato for many years to come!

Yoshimi Kato-san handles the forging of Masakage Kiri, Yuki, and Koishi lines, and has been working on lines under his own name as well. His SG2 Black Damascus line are among some of the thinnest, blazingly sharp blades we’ve ever seen, not to mention their absolute stunning beauty. Yoshimi-san has seriously knocked it out of the park on this one, and we look forward to seeing how his knives evolve for decades to come.