Higonokami is a folding knife that represents Japan.

The Higonokami folding knife is a short knife resembling a Japanese sword. The Higonokami short knife is famous in its own right, but not much is known about its history. The Nagao Kanekoma factory, which has produced Higonokami short knives in Miki-shi, Hyogo since 1894, is now the sole manufacturer of Higonokami short knives. The history of the Nagaosu knife dates back to the last years of Edo, and this was the beginning of the history of Nagaosu ancestors’ knife making. Mitsuo Nagao, who is the fifth generation, plays a key role in the production of Higonokami short knives.

Hirata Knife – Birth of Higonokami –

In 1893, a knife appeared for the first time in Japan in Hirata, Kurume-cho, Mino-gun (existing Hiratacho). The predecessors in the family line, Sadaji Murakami and Nagao Taro, were the first people to start production. All the processes in the production of knives were made by hand, the sheath used iron plating, which was painted with brass, on which various sculptures (man, horse, flower, bird, scenery) were depicted. The number of knives produced per craftsman per day was between 5-8 pcs, then 14-15 pcs which were registered in Hiratacho. In the industrial age, the production of knives increased and knives were produced in large quantities as the demand for them increased, but poor quality products increased and the reputation of the “Hirata Knife” of Hiratach was liable to fall.

Taro Shigematsu, who took the scepter in 1904, began work as an ironworker from Kyushu (Kagoshima, Kumamoto) demanded significant improvement. When Murakami, Nagao added “knife” to the knife, Shigematsu invented the folding knife. Since this knife was selling very vigorously in Kyushu, he decided to switch from Higo and change the name to “Higonokami short knife”. The original form of the Higonokami short knife began to be talked about, and it seemed to be a simple matter. During the holding of the “Kobe First Trade Exhibition” held in 1911 in Kobe-shi, Hyogo, the fame of the Higonokami short knife became more solid when the later Emperor Taisho bought a Higonokami type knife and was said to like it very much.

Higonokami is the most famous folding knife in Japan. Now Higonokami is famous all over the world because Higonokami is light, has simple construction, durability, different colors and blade lengths. Simply Japanese high quality steel at the best price.
Our Higonokami is 100% real!