The Beginning of My Journey with Knives

Hanada: Could you tell us how you came to start making knives?

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: I originally admired traditional swordsmiths.
When I told my parents, they said, “You’re attending a college-prep school—what are you suddenly talking about?” (laughs)

Hanada: I can see why they felt it was “sudden.”
What initially drew you to swords?

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: I liked archaeology and history, and at the time I was really into the novelist Shotaro Ikenami.
But I didn’t want to worry my parents, so I decided to go to university first.

Hanada: What became of your passion for swords after you started university?

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: I asked various people for advice, but all I heard was, “You can’t make a living,” “It’s dangerous,” “There’s no need for it anymore,” and so on.
While all that was happening, I read an essay about a French train ride where a local female college student casually took a knife and an apple out of her bag, peeled it, and started eating it.
It instantly brought back memories from my own childhood—
using a knife in the nearby hills to make toys out of bamboo or peel nuts and berries.
But looking around me now, all I see is the danger or strangeness associated with blades.
We hear unpleasant news about them too.
I even heard from someone at a pencil company that “most new employees can’t sharpen a pencil with a knife.”
That’s when I began thinking, “A knife, as a tool, should have a much better image than this.”

Hanada: A knife as a tool…

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: During the earthquake disaster, people said that not only could they not make a fire, but they also “couldn’t do many things because they didn’t have a blade.” Even something like opening tough packaging.
In that sense, a knife is something that “makes things possible just by having it.”
I grew up close to the mountains, so going out without a blade makes me uneasy.
For example, even if I see a sign warning about bears, just having a knife gives me some peace of mind— even though I know I can’t actually fight one (laughs).

A Reliable Companion

Hanada: What does “handcrafting knives” mean to you?

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: Japan has had highly advanced blade-making techniques since long ago. You can see this clearly in forged tools.
We also care deeply about the quality of the materials themselves, such as steel.
This falls under metallurgy—there are many types of steel materials.
Simply put, carbon hardens steel, but you can add chromium for rust resistance and make stainless steel, add rare metals, use lasers, apply pressing methods, use special solutions, or supercool the steel after hardening…
There are countless approaches.

Hanada: What kinds of materials do you personally use most often?

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: I mostly use stainless steel. I cut and shape it all by hand.

Hanada: What do your knives represent for the user?

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: A companion… I suppose. Like a car you keep for years, or a pair of shoes you always end up wearing.
You can use it as a kitchen knife, for mountain work—really for everyday tasks of any kind.
Handmade knives aren’t about being “generally convenient for everyone,” but rather about “matching the specific hands of each user.”
If someone has poor eyesight, I adjust the usability; if they have a unique grip, I adapt to that.
The strength of handmade work is its flexibility—though I can’t mass-produce, I can tailor things.
Chopsticks are similar: the ones that feel best differ from person to person.

Looking Good in the Outdoors

Hanada: How do you think about the overall form of your knives?

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: Besides function, I think appearance and atmosphere—elements that create a sense of “I want to own this”—are also important.

Hanada: There’s certainly a hobby aspect to it.

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: Recently, more people enjoy outdoor activities.
A friend who likes stream fishing once told me, “A good knife is too precious to drop or lose, so I take a box cutter instead.”
Even though he uses really cool clothing and fishing gear (laughs).
From what I’ve seen, many outdoor enthusiasts surprisingly pay little attention to knives, so I want to introduce—even in small ways—knives that look cool in my own style.

Hanada: I understand why some people say your knives are “too precious to take outdoors.” Losing one would be heartbreaking (laughs).

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: It’s flattering, so I don’t know what to say (laughs).

Bringing Knives Closer to Everyday Life

Hanada: Is there anything you’d like to pursue going forward?

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: There are issues I need to overcome, but I’d like to hold workshops someday.
Something like parents and children using folding knives together, with the father teaching the child how to handle them.

Hanada: When knives are familiar from childhood, like in your case, perspectives really change.

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: There’s an elementary school in Nagano where students receive a *Higonokami* knife as an entrance gift. They even keep whetstones at the hallway sinks so kids can maintain the blades themselves.
I’d like to do something like that in a workshop.
Nowadays, kitchen knives and such are inexpensive, so when they become dull, many people simply replace them—almost like swapping out a cutter blade.
If possible, I want people to maintain and care for their knives themselves, and let them grow with use.

Hanada: When it comes to blades—especially knives—people tend to focus on the risks.

Hideyuki Hirabayashi: A knife *can* be used with ill intent, and depending on the design, it might even look aggressive. The image is often “that looks painful.”
But I want people to feel, right after that, “but it’s incredibly useful.”
I want them to enjoy having a tool as a companion—and I plan to keep working toward that.

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