I went to see him while I was in Japan. He was just great, as well as his knives....

The multi layered jigane is not "riki-zai (factory made material)". It was layered and folded by Machida-san himself. The pattern seen on the polished bevel looks much fine with the actual stuff. I'll try to capture it later when I have more time.

Depending on the style of the knife, Machida-san's knives (smallest simplest) are from around AU$300 to $800 (larger most elaborate).

Machida knives are made using Takefu V1 steel, which has just a bit of non ferum substances to make the blade last longer, so in a sense it is like White Steel with just a touch of Blue Steel. Personally it feels like Tougou-kou Steel. He can also use White Steels upon order, but he says Takefu V1 is better. This steel forged by Machida-san is basically unbeatable.... Only Yokoyama-san's Reigou Steel can compare.

He makes so many kinds of knives, including super high quality kitchen knives as shown below. He can basically comply with any kind of orders.

Machida-san is a bit slow in getting back, so please give me a bit of time to get you the quote and etc.

For all Shigefusa, Heiji, and Machida knife purchased from me, free lifetime sharpening service (as long as this site is running.)

Machida blacksmith at work. Huge deltoids and back muscles for a Japanese!!! This is becaues he doesn't use any spring hammers. He is a swordsmith turned knife maker, so I thing he wants to preserve the secret technique he has learnt through his sword making. All the hammerings done manually to make sure the carbon molcules are evenly dispersed (needs to be hammerd repeatedly, so if you use spring hammers the blade tends to takes shape too quickly). The hammer he was using was seriously heavy and he's turning 60.... unbelievable youth. He was not just young and strong, but surprisingly kind. Can't write enough about him.

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Newly arrived Gyuto and a Petit (20/Feb/08).

Handle material: Rio Grande
Blade material: Takefu V1 (basically carbon steel but has a bit of non-ferum substances, so a "light" alloy. My most favorite steel from Machida-san)
Jigane material: Machida handmade 32 layers nickel kitaeji
Ferrule: Nickel silver
Inlays: Nickel silver
Blade length: Gyuto 175mm, Petit 140mm

One of the most beautifully crafted knife I've ever seen....

Petit Knife SOLD

Gyuto SOLD

Scroll down a bit and you can see more in detail how the layers look.

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The Santoku knife shown below, my mom got when we went to see Machida-san at his factory.

At first I wasn't able to appreciate the design too much, because it was so different, but as I took it in my hands and also learnt Machida-san's personality,,,, Wow, this knife looked and felt great. The fact that the handle is raised away from the cutting board makes it so easy to chop things. Like mincing garlics and stuff.... All handle fitting and marquetries are done by him. Everything is made by one person.

My mom is using it everyday. Being a normal house wife, she's never spent so much on a single knife in her life, so she was apprehensive whether she'll be able to feel the difference, but the very first time she used it, she was more than pleased by its sharpness. I was even surprised myself. Its performance was almost shocking.

As we kept using it while I was in Japan for about a bit over a month, although the blade was shapened to a too keen angle by Machida-san, there was no visible micro chips at all.

The ferrule is made of silver, the handle ebony, the inlays again silver, all done by Machida-san himself.

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The kiridashi-kogatana shown below are about $500~ since these are the high-end models, using very rare material called "susu-dake" for the handle and the sheath. Susu-dake is a bamboo which has been used for the traditional style "kayabuki" roof, that has been smoked for multi-decade over traditional Japanese "irori" fire place.