About Cheness Cutlery

Cheness is a company dedicated to the highest quality customer service available while specializing in blade manufacture alone. They focus solely on blades (versus fitting, sheaths, etc.) and use traditional Japanese hand-forging methods as well as modern steel treatment techniques. Experts in monosteel swords, wrapped core steel, sandwiches steel, folded steel, Damascus Forge, and cicada forge, Cheness' prowess at making the “best cutters in the business” is known and respected world-wide.

In terms of customer service, Paul Chen (not from Hanwei but ironically with the same name as that respected craftsman) of Cheness will often pick up the phone to speak directly with customers and deal with any concerns over manufacture or delivery issues. His honesty and integrity are common knowledge, as well as his desire to deliver top-notch blades at reasonable prices.

It should be noted that although Cheness blades are lovely to look at, there are designed with practical applications and cutting as their core usage. The founders of Cheness are practitioners of Iadio and Kendo, whose lowest-ranking members possess degrees of Nidan or above (which is the equivalent of a second-degree black belt). Cheness blades are also unique in this manner because the founders practice with and test all their own equipment to improve quality and durability via actual use in combat situations.

Cheness takes pride in the fact that their blades are never produced with stainless steel (like the “wall hangers” of other companies). Stainless steel would not be safe for the applications Cheness intends for their blades, so their hand forged carbon steel (1045 to 1065) is always quenched in water or oil to improve durability and strength. Hamon are then clayed by hand for both aesthetic and functional purposes, thereby reinforcing the dedication of Cheness to produce blades that are both works of art and unbreakable in battle.

Cheness is also known for their focus on heat-treatment methods for their blades that extract the highest quality from within the steel itself. They also understand that a sword intended for the dojo can be “too sharp” if it doesn't have enough “niku” or “meat” on the blade. This means that the cutting edge of a blade on other swords can be hammered too thin which will leave it vulnerable to dulling or even breakage after a short amount of use in the dojo or for cutting exercises. This “rolling”, or “crumpling” of the blade is not desirable for sword owners/users when engaged in combat or tamashigeri (test-cutting). This is why Cheness prefers to defer to the traditional Japanese practice of leaving the blade in an “appleseed” or “clam shape” to provide greater strength/durability over time versus acute sharpness without quality craftsmanship.

Cheness blades, for this reason, are perfect for utilization in the dojo and the cutting of goza mats or tatami. While some swords owners want the thinnest/sharpest blades (for paper-cutting exercises, for example) Cheness blades are designed for the owner focused on longer lasting, heavier cutting exercises uniquely forged by craftsman from the Japanese tradition dedicated to the highest level of customer service.