Japanese Knife Company - Japanese Knives Specialist & Knife Sharpening Service Centre — Local services in London

The Japanese Knife Company is an example of the finest traditional retail experiences that London has to offer. It has a clear focus - excellence in knife manufacture - highly knowledgable store managers, independent ownership, an inspiring atmosphere and excellent products. Having often marvelled at its storefront on my way by, I came in for the first time recently to have around 25 knives sharpened (a service they offer, charging by blade-inch) for the church round the corner on Soho Square, which supports 40-60 homeless people each week with free food. I'd originally thought I could do this myself, as I like to repair and maintain my own tools; but I was assured by the parish priest that it was well worth the JKC's professional assistance, which the church does so in this regard every three years or so. The assistant returned three of the knives immediately, satisfied that they were already sufficiently sharp. The rest of the knives were ready the next day, and are now in service at the church, primed for several more years work. While at the store, I was given a highly informative tour, told about the tradtions and techniques of Japanese knife production - almost all the knives they sell are Japanese, with some German exceptions - and the story of one outstanding knifesmith, whose products they proudly sell. This was a window into a fine and rare area of craftsmanship, about which I was already interested - I keep a Leatherman micro (also sold here) on me by day, and also have a Spanish folding knife for whittling and country pursuits - but knew very little. I left inspired, encouraged about the vitality of independent manufacture and retail, and eager to recommend the store - which supports the many restaurants and hotels in the West End, as well as afficionadios and those who chance upon it - to any in need of a good knife for food preparation or other pursuit. My congratulations to the owners and store team for their excellent work, which I'm delighted here to commend to...

Great shop and remarkably knowledgeable staff. I did the knife sharpening course with Maulik, the Head Sharpener for the JKC. It is highly informative and covers theory as well as the practical skills and at 2h30m, its a deep dive into both aspects. At the end of the course I was able to get my Japanese knife screamingly sharp - to the point where it was shaving the hair on my forearm with no effort and at the same/better sharpness when it was new in the box.

The education on the practical skills and angles which you use is the focus of the lesson and where you will spend the most time being coached and guided, personally I also found the education on stones, the grit system and what each grade does, the point of the 'slurry' and when you keep it and when you wash it off, why you would use a stone leveller, which stone leveller to use, what a strop is, how to use it etc to be particularly illuminating and useful for my ongoing sharpening as I improve in my ability.

All of my self-led learning previously was from YouTube from various knife sharpening channels; but I realise now that the point of those videos is not necessarily to teach you how to sharpen - but to get you to watch the video to generate ad revenue for the channel owner. There is simply no better way to learn than a practical class from an expert and I would wholeheartedly recommend this course, and JKC generally if you're looking to purchase a...

The scissors and knife that Maulik Shukla at soho branch, sharpened for me are now exceptional!!! I don't think they were ever this good, even when new! Maulik was courteous and gave full explanations on how sharpening work would be done, giving regular updates on his progress. Great customer service throughout the process. Sadly JKC have been hugely let down by their courier DPD. I had to waste 2 hrs of my time, on foot, having to track down, door to door, the incorrect address that the driver had delivered to. JKC contacted DPD on my behalf, DPD gave no assistance whatsoever finding where package was. After I found the package, DPD customer support called me to say that they felt it was acceptable that driver had dropped package at unit 10, instead of my address unit 4, with no warning or notification of this address change. I hope that JKC can find a replacement courier company that will match their own high...