In Japanese, the kanji forming the word Hado (刃道) represent "the road of blades". Another Japanese word, also pronounced "Hado", means "moving wave". These two definitions speak volumes about the philosophy behind the Hado project from Fukui Co & Ltd, a highly reputable Japanese knife sales company with a 109-year history.
Hado is Fukui Co & Ltd's first "in-house" series! The project stands out mainly for its daring departure from the beaten track. Indeed, it all began when Tadataka Maruyama, who was in charge of sales and warehouse management at the company, went to see President Ryuichiro Fukui to tell him that he wanted to leave his position in order to learn the art of "hatsuke" (blade grinding). President Fukui saw in Maruyama a burning desire and seized an opportunity. This is where the story gets interesting: the president agreed that Murayama would leave his position at Fukui Co & Ltd to learn blade grinding, on condition that Murayama would return to the company three years later and become the company's senior grinder. He accepted the offer, and during those three years he was paid a salary and the company prepared a workshop with the best possible equipment. Afterwards, this workshop awaited only the return of the new grinder Maruyama was to become. So, add up the president's vision, mutual trust, passion and, above all, a huge amount of work, and you get Hado: a small wave in motion with far-reaching repercussions.
Since Fukui had very good contacts in the field, Maruyama learned directly from the great masters, notably Syotaro Nomura and Masaaki Nakamura. Normally, it's said that it takes at least ten years to master blade grinding, and that it also takes several years of observation before you can touch the blades. Since Maruyama was able to start straight away and, after his first three years of apprenticeship, a new workshop in which to hone his mastery of "hatsuke" was waiting for him, he quickly achieved a satisfactory and respected mastery in Sakai. Indeed, even Yoshikazu Tanaka, one of Japan's most renowned master blacksmiths, agreed to collaborate with Fukui Co & Ltd and Tadataka Maruyama on two of Hado's flagship series.
