FK5 Friction Folder Knife

Hiroaki Ohta is a Japanese knifemaker and world-class craftsman specializing in traditional folding knives. Ohta believes that Japan’s history of bladecraft is rich, but he has endeavored to progress beyond it to hone his skills. “It’s necessary to learn the traditions and methods of different countries,” he says. Beginning with a Sheffield-style knife, Ohta started to make traditional Western slipjoints. When he began to sell knives in America, his style took up characteristics of American knife making. Now, Ohta also makes dozens of American slipjoint knives. His FK knives are modeled after the traditional higonokami knife. The higonokami is a Japanese pocket knife that can trace its lineage back to the 19th century. Like American makers do with slipjoint patterns, Japanese makers have offered different spins on the higonokami over the years. Ohta trained under Yoshimi Kotoh, a maker who was one of the first to make modern higonokami-style knives out of wood. Production Details: Leng