Traditional Japanese Knives
Who We Are
Founded in 2012, by Jeremy Watson, the Chubo Knives team brings over two decades worth of experience with Japanese craftsmanship and knowledge of knife-making. Our in-depth restaurant industry knowledge and hospitality mentality has been a cornerstone in creating a business in-tune with the needs of the world’s top chefs and culinary professionals.
Our team is in Japan and New York and we make regular restaurant kitchen visits and host pop-up shops all over the world. We travel throughout Japan meeting blacksmiths and artisans. It is through the act of forging relationships we have expanded our hand-crafted and traditional Japanese knives collection and other product lines.
Philosophy
Chubo was created with the goal of sharing the immense and unparalleled talent of Japanese blacksmiths with chefs and culinary enthusiasts around the world.
Despite the growing awareness and popularity of hand-crafted and traditional Japanese kitchen knives around the world, the number of people hand-forging blades, hand-finishing edges and crafting wood handles decreases every year.
We hoped through our business, we could contribute in a small way to preserving the ancient craft Japanese knife makers provide: a vital source of tools for the culinary world.
Sharpening
Every cook knows, your knives are only as good as the condition of your blades. A razor-sharp edge makes for more precise cuts and is essential for knives to perform at their peak potential. No matter how hard the steel is, all knives require regular sharpening and maintenance. Never use an automatic knife sharpener on Japanese knives, it can damage the blade angles and will remove more steel than necessary, shortening the lifespan of the blade.
We recommend using waterstones to carefully return a blade’s edge to its full potential. We have a wide range of Japanese sharpening stones for all steels. Read our guide to choosing a sharpening stone, shop our sharpening stone collection and visit our blog for tips and techniques for knife maintenance and sharpening.
Our Customers
It is our honor to supply the best Japanese knives, knife sets, kitchen tools and tableware. We provide cutlery for some of the finest chefs, sushi chefs and restaurants in the world. You will find our products in use at Daniel, Cosme, Le Coucou, Contra, The Grill, Rose’s Luxury, Pineapple & Pearls, Fork, Spoon & Stable, Rustic Canyon, State Bird Provisions, Quince Restaurant, Senia, Pujol, Dersou, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Atoboy, Tetsuya’s and The French Laundry to name a few.
"You can't go far without a great knife, and I highly recommend Chubo Knives. They are extremely sharp which will allow you to have knife skills of even the most trained chef."
- Gunner Gíslason, Chef of Dill & Agern
testimonials
Underbelly Hospitality Group
"Working with Chubo, I have found the sheer level of service and care they put into their knives unparalleled. Chubo introduced me to craftsman Takeda's knives and it changed my life. Just a perfect attachment to my hand. The weight, balance and ease of maintenance are amazing. Like a razor blade every time."
- Chris Shepherd, Chef Owner of One Fifth Houston
Contra & Wildair
"I really appreciate the way Chubo is always looking for new knife makers to work with. They have the understanding that cooks can't always afford extremely high end knives but still want to work with exceptional product."
- Jeremiah Stone, Co-Chef and Co-Owner
Rose's Luxury
"Chubo feels like part of our family. They work with as much urgency, service and care as we put into the business ourselves. They treat our business with the same level of attention that they treat their own. Aside from great quality product (and it truly is), they also get us access to stuff no one else can get us."
- Aaron Silverman, Chef Owner, Rose's Luxury + Pineapples and Pearls
Why Japanese Knives?
More and more chefs and home cooks are choosing Japanese knives. If you are wondering, what makes Japanese knives special? The main distinguishing features are Metal Composition, Weight and Blade Thickness, Blade Angle and Sharpness.
Metal Composition: The one thing that really sets Japanese knives apart from knives made in other regions, is the metal composition of the blade. Although plenty of blends and types of Japanese steel exist, Japanese steel is overall harder and forged thinner by top blacksmiths for better edge retention and more precise cutting.
Weight and Blade Thickness: While traditional European style blades tend to be thicker and heavier, Japanese knives are typically thinner and lighter and have excellent balance, making them comfortable in the hand over long hours of use.
Blade Angle: Japanese craftsmen typically sharpen edges to steeper blade angles. This allows the blade to glide through ingredients with very little resistance. After you use a knfie like this, you can understand why they are often called 'lasers'.
Sharpness: Not only are high-quality Japanese knives sharpened by top craftsmen for unparalleled out-of-the-box performance, their steel composition allows them to get extremely sharp and maintain an edge for a long time. These features create conditions for a knife that will perform extremely well, which is especially sought after by professional cooks.