Manaka Kisuke

“I want to change the way Japanese knives are made; I will always be perfecting the craft.”

Shunsuke Manaka is a relatively young 5th generation blacksmith from Kasukabe city in the Saitama prefecture and the man behind the Kisuke brand. He started making knives 10 years ago and is considered one of the most upcoming young blacksmiths right now. He learned the craft by himself through trial and error and he managed to perfect his craft. Despite many others that use ready-made cladded pieces of steel, he is forging and welding the steel himself using the Warikomi method.This method is a very old, traditional and difficult thus it results in stronger, tougher, sharper and more durable knives.