Gifu Workshops(3)

This excellent experience was led by our guide Hiro who was knowledgeable and helpful. We were picked up at our hotel in Seki City and he met another guest at the train station in his comfortable roomy modern and air conditioned van. Our first experience was making a knife at the G Sakai knife making shop. A precut Damascus knife could be selected from a number of different patterns, we then went through the steps of polishing, shaping the handle, Putting a pattern of our choice on the knife, etching it (which left the painted part shiny), sharpening and reattaching the handle. The final knife was a beautiful razor sharp Damascus knife. There was an extensive shop with many types of knives to purchase. During this time we broke for lunch (unagi) and then took some photos and experienced slicing a water bottle in half with one of the handmade blades. We.then proceeded on to a sword making shop that makes repica katana and had a museum of (for sale) antique katanas and other types of weapons. Our trusted guide dropped us off at our respective pickup points and sent us on our way. When you factor in lunch. The many gifts and souvenirs and the knives themselves as well the experience and knowledge of the masters we were instructed by this experience was well worth the price. Highly recommend - 10 out of 10.

Hiro, Sumi, and Yoshi were very friendly and patient with our group of three. We got to try our hands in different aspects of knife making and got to bring home an extremely sharp knife with us at the end. Most importantly is that I now have a very sharp knife I had a hand in making that I will be using for a very long time! Highly recommended.

I’d give 6 stars if possible! Attendees: 62 year old woman with her 23 year old nephew. We both had a great time. I would describe this as a knife assembly class, not knife making. We were provided with the blade, which we then polished and sharpened under guidance from skilled craftsman (retired from the Sakai factory, I think). We wrote our names on the knife in Japanese characters, which were then etched into the blade. After that we attached the handle and then polished it. We had a choice of three restaurants for lunch, and chose Tempura. Our counter seats let us watch the chef in action. The food was terrific. Lots of knives are on display in the museum, many for sale. Ask them to show you the knife made from a meteor! Very cool. The staff were most welcoming, and lots of fun. Give yourself lots of time. We went well over the 4 hours allotted. Seki Gifu is not so easy to get to, but the trip was definitely worth it.