TETSUYA NIWA

Tetsuya Niwa

Grinding Department / Year joined: 2004

To manufacture the world’s
best knives, it is essential
to sharpen the senses of
your ears and hands to
the limit.

Tell us what prompted you to join the company.

Since I was a child and saw a Japanese sword as a decoration in my grandmother’s room, I have always been interested in knives. With my marriage as a turning point, I decided to work in the knife industry. Maybe the decision was influenced by this interest since childhood.

Tell us about your work.

I am responsible for shaving, a process to shave the handle of a cooking knife.
One of my other main responsibilities is to make samples of new products.

Tell us what you find exciting, fun and motivating about your job.

I feel a sense of achievement when I perfect a technically challenging knife. I also enjoy making samples from scratch. If I want to make the best products in the world, I must focus all of my senses into my hands and ears, and stop exactly where I think is the right point. If I don’t stop there and go on a little too much, the knife will no longer be usable. It is a very delicate work by hand. To create the world’s best products, the only clues are the sound my ears catch and the senses of my hand. The job requires sharp senses and an intense focus. But I find it rewarding that I am doing the best craftwork in the entire world.

Tell us about your future goal.

Maybe in 10 years’ time, everything will be automated. But even then, I would like to be someone with amazing skills so that others will say, “this would not have been possible without your craftsmanship”.

Do you have any message to people who are considering joining the company?

We are waiting for people who love manufacturing, who are passionate, and more than anything, with dexterity (laughing).