株式会社村田刃物 — Local services in Sakai

I bought two knives with engraved initials. They’re lovely. it is very easy to communicate with Yuri (the owner) about preference, style, and your use case because she speaks perfectly fluent English.

They offer two layering styles of knives, just the stainless steel (mv) and stainless steel surrounded by a bit more decorative layers. I bought single layers because they’re more my taste. They will soon have an 8cm paring knife which I would’ve bought but it’s not finished yet (as of 2025-05-23). They offer all styles of knife’s which is great: Japanese handles, western handles, full tang, 3/4 tang (three quarter, could be two thirds tang, it’s hard to tell), 1 or 3 layers of blade layering with mv steel, various finishes on the knives handle, various styles of blade shapes (nakiri, santoku/chefs, etc). If you get English initials it can be on the neck of the knife (I prefer that location) otherwise it’ll be on the side without the company brand with the sounded out equivalent of your name (presumably katakana).

Relative to other shops nearby they have extremely budget friendly knives (with stainless steel which is less common and idk why that is), a better show room, and Yuri speaks perfect English! That’s invariably why she has tons of reviews from foreigners, it is easy to communicate with her about preference, style, and your use case.

Come early in the morning and bring cash (7 eleven is two blocks away). The cash discount is insane... You’ll see for yourself. The discount is only in the morning for some reason, maybe I misunderstood...

I visited in October and had an awesome experience! My arrival to the store was a little off, as I watched a group of 4 enter just before I got there - and its a small place. Having visited other shops prior, this was not anything out of the ordinary. I patiently waited while the other 4, really nice young men from Italy, looked at knives more for souvenir purposes than for actual use. I checked out the Japanese knives as best I could, without rudely barging in - after all, they were first. Yuri took notice and seeing they were not particularly interested in the same type of knives, moved them out of my way so I could browse more freely. Yuri explained some details with me, showed me the knives that I asked for and brought out some from the back as well. I eventually settled on one knife - a 270 mm yanagiba. (I did have plans to visit another specific maker, as well as a knife making experience in the days ahead, so I needed to use some budgetary restraint) My only regret is that I did not buy one of the petty knives that Yuri brought out to me, they were beautiful and I really, really want and need one - I never found another of the same quality at a similar price. Yuri was amazing. Her English is great and she was one of the kindest people I met in all of Japan. After selecting my knife Yuri then stamped my name into it. It's beautiful! If I am ever in Japan again, I will without a doubt visit the shop again. By far the best experience I had in any knife shop! ...

Cute little shop with the LOVELIEST lady I've come across in Japan, Yuri.

She stayed open an hour past close and st no point hinted that.

There is no sales pitch...ok ok, she is a little cheeky once she knows what you like and brings more out 🤣🤣 but she is genuinely so lovely. Did I mention that?

I would recommend calling or emailing ahead if you would like a particular knife, as stock levels are the biggest issue at the moment.

Yuri is a 4th generation knife expert. They have really good value knives. They even make some knives for larger companies who re-sell.

The best value I have come accross so far in 3 weeks. All sorts of different levels of qaulity from cheap (for a hand made Japanese knife) through to expensive, highest grade you can get.

If you want the more obscure/speciality knives, there is plenty of stock. Or higher qaulity. The mid range, popular knives are in high demand.

Stainless and carbon. Everything you can think of.

Yuri is a skilled artisan, engraving your name, or probably anything with in reason you'd like on your knife.

She was so sweet with our little baby. She gave us water wipes and plastic bags as well as a little memory card game.

Please visit this store, they deserve your business and you'll have a memory as well as a knife,...