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Fake Japanese Advertisers

Welcome to my website! I’ll share what I have learned about brands you may consider for your Damascus knife purchase this season. Many major online Damascus knife retailers, including Seido, Senken Yakushi, Kamikoto, Kyoku, and 38 other Chinese companies, mislead Consumers by marketing that implies their knives are made in Japan by using copy like VG-10 steel, sometimes even as Japanese VG-10, or talking about Japanese craftsmanship, without disclosing they’re made in China.

I must admit that many Chinese knives are of poor quality. Although there are hundreds of retailers, only a handful make their own knives. All the other Japanese-sounding brands buy from OEM manufacturers, which stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. They make knives to sell to different companies and put that company’s logo on the knives. Almost all companies go the OEM route to create their own private label brands, like Sedio and Senken, for example. This gives them complete control over branding, pricing, and policies. Once their brand is established, they can advertise whatever they want about their knives, which is why you see all the Japanese, Japan, and Japanese craftsmanship in their advertising, along with VG 10 steel. Because of this, advertising fools the public into believing they are Japanese, and they can set the selling price at whatever price they want.

The next time you’re looking at brands, remember—many of those “exclusive” knives are actually built by the same OEM manufacturers that supply the same knives to multiple different Japanese-sounding companies. The blade material may change, but the blade is still the same. The difference is in who tells the best story and how much extra they charge you for the name on the box. I sell my knives under the factory's brand name, which they use for their own knives. That’s why my knives are usually less expensive than all these Japanese-sounding companies. Multiple retailers around the world selling the factory brand maintain competitive prices, which means less margin for me, but it is good for you, the consumer.

Below is a list of 43 brands mentioned in three articles about misleading Damascus knife advertisers. These brands go to great lengths to create the impression that their knives are made in Japan. You can follow the brand links to access the specific articles in which each brand is mentioned. The articles are great because they go into detail about all the tricks these companies use to disguise the origin of their knives.

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