Thank you for the photo. I retract my previous guess that they were manufactured in Japan for some US importer.
Having examined the photo, my opinion now is that these knives were made probably in China and marked to "appear" Japanese
for a Western market.
I am quite familiar with cooking knives made in Japan, both past and present, and these knives do not fit anything I have
ever seen. A search on Google Japan produced nothing. The two pin metallic handle design is unheard of in Japanese cooking knives.
The reasons for my conclusion are as follows:
1) All knives have アラタなとかstamped into the handle. It would be read "Aratanatoka" but it makes no sense at all in Japanese.
2) The knife on the right which looks like a carver has パンのはもの (pan no hamono) Blade for Bread on it. This is incorrect Japanese
as a Bread Knife is called Pan Kiri Bochou. Not to mention that Japanese bread knives are serrated.
3) The second knife from the right, a serrated Santoku with a bottle opener on the spine says 凍る肉はもの（Kooru niku hamono）literally "Blade for meat that will freeze". Grammatically Incorrect Japanese language use.
4) The last two cleavers, one a Western Style and the last one a Chinese Cai Dao design, both have a mark on the blade. My best guess on the brand name is
CAIWEIDE, with Cai Weide presumably being a Chinese name.
Î can not tell what that "cowboy like face" is about. Under "Japan" there are kanji 格進特 which makes no sense in Japanese.
Sorry if this is not what you were expecting.
I am very grateful that you took so much of your time to reply. I would never find all that info on my own. So I have a set of knives with an unverified origin and an unknown or imvented brand. I paid $15. I will try to at least get my money back stating just that. The choppers are sharp enough to split a hair. I know because I almost sliced my fingertip off with a brush of my hand. Maybe someone can use them even though not collectable.. Thanks again.
