Mr. Seizo Imai’s life-long involvement with knife making began at age 17, when he joined his father-in-law's knife factory in Seki. After taking over the factory at age 27, Mr. Imai and I worked with Parker Cutlery in Chattanooga, TN, to build a new factory in Seki, where high quality pocket knives were produced under the "Parker-Imai" brandname for about 20 years.
With a reputation for producing quality knives at reasonable prices, the factory expanded to employ 50 workers. This was a great success, however, with increasing production and employees, Mr. Imai started to worry about quality control. He made the difficult decision to close the factory and became an independent custom knifemaker at the age of 47. For a further 21 years, he handmade detailed, high quality knives with his sensitive, personal touch.
We often receive "thank you" letters from the folks who bought these replica models. Everyone mentions the outstanding detail, fit and finish, which far exceeded their expectations. Many people also comment 'this will be fine collector's item'. Here are just two examples:
"Hello, just recieved my beautiful new folding knife made by Mr Imai. Please tell Mr Imai thank you, this knife is a top quality piece of art. Trust me I know a well made knife. I am a custom knife maker myself and a knife collector. Also I wish to thank you for having great quality knife makers on your web site. I look foward to see what new knives you feature in the future. Again a pleasure doing business with Mr Imai and you.
Thank You
Joseph E Carr."
"Hi, I received my Seizo Imai Remington Bullet SI-310 knife with ivory handle a few days ago. I love it. It is a really beautiful knife. I am a knife collector and have quite a few knives which I really like, however this knife will be one of my favorites.
Thanks for selling me such a beautiful knife.
Regards
PETER KIMBER"
Unlike most other custom knifemakers, Mr. Imai did not attend any shows to sell his knives - He just made what he wanted to make and sold his knives to people he liked. He did not chase trends, he stuck to making time-tested traditional models and replicas.
Sadly, Genius Custom Knife Craftsman Mr. Seizo Imai passed away in the year 2014, aged 68. He passionately produced fine knives for over 50 years, and he truly loved knives and knifemaking.
Here is Mr. Imai’s final batch of knives and the remaining knives from his beautiful knife collections:
