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The compact Gentey shears held in the hand. Gentey is the name on the tailor’s shears and snippers described in Eight Needles’ existing supplier material. That account dates the work to 1967 and describes forged construction combining a hard cutting layer with softer supporting material. Eight Needles’ recorded background. 1. A recorded trade connection The […]

Renko Kondo with Emiko Narumi, pictured in Narumi’s teaching history. Photograph: JOCHICAJEL. A curve ruler is a flat object made for thinking about a body. In Renko Kondo’s work, that relationship between the flat pattern and the three-dimensional garment was central. To understand the ruler, it helps to begin with the teacher—and with the people […]

Kiya’s buildings before the 1923 disaster, as identified in the company archive. Photograph: Kiya. Kiya’s story begins with a new shop and an unusual condition: the apprentice opening it must sell something different from his former employer. That choice led towards cutlery. More than two centuries later, the connection reaches a pair of shears carrying […]

A worker checking blade engagement in the shigumi stage. Photograph: Hasegawa Cutlery. Two sharp blades are only the beginning of a pair of scissors. They also have to meet properly. At Hasegawa Cutlery in Seki, that final relationship is adjusted by hand—a small movement at the end of a much longer manufacturing story. 1. From […]