He is 65 years old Custom Knifemaker in Mino, the neighbour city of Seki. He has been involved with knife making at age of 20, helping his father's business of the knife buffing and polishing. He has started making his own custom knives at 32 with a passion and yearning to Bob Loveless. In 1994, he had a chance to visit the Loveless's workshop in Riverside, California to show some of his knives. Bob was surprised with his work of high level craftsmanship, and asked him to stay and work together at his shop. At that time, there was no name marking on his blades, so Bob has wondered why you don't put your name on such well made knives, and has kindly designed his logo on memo pad with his signature and words of "Vigilant", "Diligent" & "Capable". Upon returning to Japan, he has started engraving this logo. It was an unforgettable moment in his life to be able to meet with Bob Loveless so called "A God of Knife" at his young age.
Sad News! Mr. Takayuki Watanabe has passed away in October, 2020 at age of 69, after fighting cancer for 4 years. He loved knives and knifemaking. We've lost a great knifemaker!
