HADO(刃道), a brand newly emerged in 2019 under the banner of Fukui Craft Co., Ltd. Its name translates directly to “The Path of Blade” and its founding has an interesting story to it. Being a company located in Sakai, its products are straight up a defiance to Sakai’s impression of old-school, traditional approach in knifemaking, and this young brand has shown us what Sakai is capable of in terms of innovation and breaking existing rules.
In 2015, Tadataka Maruyama, sales representative of Fukui Craft Co. decided to quit his current position and pursue the craft of knife sharpening, particularly Hatsuke(刃付け)-the process of giving the knife its bevel geometry and edge. The then chairman Ryuichiro Fukui told him to properly train himself and return to the company after three years, and in 2019, under the support of Fukui Craft Co., Hado was founded.
Typical Sakai approach in knifemaking would begin with a forged blade with intermediate thickness, sharpening in a lightly convex geometry where the bevel transitions smoothly to the Hira. After the finishing polish using a wooden wheel or sandblaster, the Kasumi finish would look like a uniform surface from the side. Hado took a very different approach in their knife design, staring with a slightly thinner blade that measure just above 2mm in the spine, they put a very aggressive bevel onto the blank, the Shinogi line is clear and defines, located close to the spine, which means a lot of material are removed and the bevel stays thin until very high up. This means minimal wedging in cutting even if you are dealing with a tough produce, and the sticking issue is solved via a subtle convex grind behind the edge.
The material choice is when you sense the tradition they the brand is clinging to, using mostly Blue, White and Ginsan, these blades forged with traditional materials are polished differently to create variety. What is consistent is their incredible sharpness and top notch fit and finish, with mirror polished spine and choil blends seamlessly into the organic Niashiji/Kurouchi blade and Kasumi finished bevel. Meanwhile, Hado is very open to newer material and manufacturing techniques too, the newly released Shiosai features a stamped SG2 billet and they can offer great value with the same Hado sharpening.
In July 2025, the sharpener Maruyama announced his independence from the company, and started his own store in Nara, his colleagues took over the sharpening task and held up the quality to the standard after the change. In the city of Sakai where tradition reigns supreme, we can still see innovation from a young brand. Initiating its journey backed up by the trust and faith of Fukui Craft Co., Hado’s efforts have been proven effective by their popularity amongst knife lovers, their success have pointed out a path of innovation for the industry, and we will be happy to see more vitality getting brought into this market.
