Not sure how anyone can know who you've heard of who you haven't. Are you familar with all the names I mentioned?
For those of us who were into knives back in the 1980s, we've seen Parker-Imai folders, Imai made Blackjacks, and Tak Fukuta was the first Japanese knifemaker to become a member of a US Knifemakers Guild. Look up Oda Kuzan, he lived in the US (Idaho then Alaska) for a few decades training under RW Loveless and returned to Japan to train under Yoshihara Yoshindo to attain a master swordsmith status. If you can find one of Kuzan's custom knives today they sell for around $2000.-
Look up the custom maker Katsumi Kitano, he is well known for his asymetrical grind knives, sabre on one side and full convex on the other. One side to slice and the other to chop. He also does solid ZDP189 blades.
I say again that there are countless custom knifemakers in Japan, most not known very well even within the country. If you really want to see it, go to a knife show in Japan, Tokyo would be the easiest. If you are willing to travel to the outdoor knife show in Seki which is in the fall overy year, not only are the major Seki names there but numerous Custom makers as well. They even have knives hand made by Seki high school students. And no, they don't look anything like you'd expect from a high school kid. LOL
Since I don't know what you know and what you don't, knifes are divided into Houchou (cooking knives) and Outdoor knives (hunting, fishing, tactical). Many Japanese makers from factory to custom do both. The Outdoor knives are divided into Washiki-Knife (Japanese style) as exemplified by the Kanetsune line. Based on a traditional Japanese hunting/mountain knife, the use of wood materials for handle and sheath, and carbon steels (shirogami, aogami - steels based on the color of their wrapping paper; white, blue, etc) requiring good maintenance, and frequently with tsuchime (hammering marks) along the upper part of the blade.
Takeshi Saji:
An unusual blending of traditional washiki knife and current steels is G.Sakai's Bosen Enkuu-To. Despite it's traditional appearance
and use of beechwood for the handle ad sheath with leather, the blade is a laminate with a SRS-15 powder steel core with SUS-405
stainless sides.
The other type is called the Youshiki Knife, or "Western knife". Here there seems to be a tremendous influence of R.W. Loveless across most makers, who is considered the "God" of knifemaking. Loveless visited Japan numerous times with his Japanese-American second wife and was instrumental in forming the Japan Knife Guild IN 1980. He is also said to have brought the use of ATS-34, a Japanese version of 154-CM into US knifemaking. The Loveless Fighter and Drop Point Hunter seem to be the most common influence and they are indeed "Homage" works to a man they consider the "Grand Master" of the art.
Bob Loveless in Japan:
Imai Seizo:
Mr Itou.
Hiro:
Hattori Aus8:
Hattori VG2 core 321 layer nickel stainless Damascus:
