Kin Knives are imported from small makers dotted all over Japan. These knives are not coming from large mass produced factories. The steel that our knives are made from along with the techniques to make the blades make these superior to any mass produced knives. Our knives all have a high carbon content within the blade which not only makes them extremely easy to sharpen but they hold their edge brilliantly. The blades on most Kin Japanese knives are sharpened to 15° which results in a much finer cutting edge (most European knives are 20°).