Carter Cutlery: Interview with Murray Carter

When I was 15 and in high school, I started the study of Karate. I became very interested in all things Japanese and eventually travelled there when I was 18 to get some further instruction at the karate headquarters in Kumamoto. On my second day in Kumamoto, I had a fateful chance encounter with 16th generation Yoshimoto Bladesmith, Mr. Yasuyuki Sakemoto. The rest, as they say, is history.

As much as I try to honor and preserve 16 generations of family bladesmithing heritage, one can’t help but develop one’s own style after forging and completing nearly 25,000 blades over 27 years. The basics of fit, finish, symmetry, blade geometry and metallurgy must always be strictly adhered too though. Without those, personal style just becomes an excuse for poor bladesmithing.

The differences are numerous and they all stem from the fundamental difference in Blade philosophy. Blades in Western culture are considered sharpened tools, whereas blades in Japan are considered fine cutting implements. This difference in philosophy dictates such things as selection of steel, fuel source for the forge, forging goals, application of cold forging, pre heat treatment grinding, straightening techniques, blade geometry, blade finish, handle design, maintenance and final sharpening touches before delivery to the end user. I go into much greater detail here:

The things I value the most in my bladesmithing business are first and foremost, my customers. Without them, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to make thousands of blades, nor hone my skills through sheer repetition and via their feedback on the performance of my blades. I also value the heritage and tradition of bladesmithing, as well as the dedication of Hitachi Metals to provide the finest cutlery steel in the world. I also value the dedication by the abrasives makers to who make the finishing of forged blades possible. I also value every supplier and vendor who make our work possible

A knife that I forge with my own hands has a very deep and profound meaning to me. It symbolizes the victory of mature confidence over childhood insecurity. It symbolizes the persistence and dedication it required to master the craft. It represents livelihood for my wife and children. It represents the accomplishment of dreams and life-long goals. It represents success in both a spiritual and worldly way.

I do agree with Mr. Sakemoto that my bladesmithing skills have eclipsed his own. That is mainly because when I accepted the title of 17th generation Yoshimoto Bladesmith, he retired to pursue his life-long dream of photography. If his dream had been to be the worlds greatest Bladesmith, I’m sure I would have never caught up to him! As far as patience, wisdom and understanding go, he will always be several steps ahead of me, I’m sure!

I currently have three very capable and enthusiastic Bladesmiths, whom I have trained who work directly under my supervision. It is quite probable that one of them, or a future apprentice Bladesmith, will become number 18 in a long line of Yoshimoto bladesmiths. I always have my eye open for the best person for the job.

There is no way to be a professional Bladesmith and “avoid the commercial world”. We sell what we make to earn a living. Carter Cutlery supports 10 households. The way we comfort ourselves in charging money for our knives is to provide blades that consistently surpass the customer’s needs and expectations at any price. We are also dedicated to our customer’s satisfaction with honest after sales service. We take pride in the fact that a very high percentage of our sales are to repeat customers.

I don’t think it is too helpful to dwell on what we could have done different in life if “we had only known better”. I personally was born into this life with some pretty heavy chips stacked against me, and have been very lucky to have made it to where I am today. We can’t go back and change the past, but we can control over what we do today and hopefully tomorrow. Each day I just try to make the wisest and most compassionate decisions possible so that in the future I won’t look back and regret the present.

My advise for anyone is to learn from the best and brightest in any industry; to work not only hard at what they do, but to work smart as well. Make good plans, short term and long term, and stick to those plans. Concentrate on the immediate task at hand and do it to your greatest ability. Take care of your physical and mental health and be sure to never put work before family.