G. Sakai factory in Seki in 1989

[saipan59]

In May 1989, my wife and I visited Seki and the G. Sakai factory store. While looking around, a fellow started talking to us about knives and such - turned out he was Sumio Sakai. He told an employee to show us around the factory. Later, I told him that I was interested in Japanese swords. He made a phone call, put us in his car, and took us across town to meet Magoroku Kanemoto, a traditional swordsmith. When we got back to the States, we sent Mr. Sakai a thank-you gift. He wrote back saying that Sal Glesser had come to visit a couple of weeks after we were there (he took Sal to meet the swordsmith also).
Back at the factory store, I bought myself an Al Mar "4 X 4" multitool. At the factory, I saw parts of Spyderco, Al Mar, and SOG.
I just transcribed these video clips to DVD.
Any comments from Sal or the other Spyderco folks?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR-LRLivn_Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkN-ipWLUkc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ0epni-qJA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC4R4iUeQu4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zic-7h0hmeI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUtE6k4wWoA

[cosmo7809]

WOW! Very cool. True knife history.

Thanks for converting those clips!

[markg]

Cool, thanks for sharing...

That Al Mar Sere in the end of the last clip... Oh I would have loved one of those (OK, I would still love one of those!!!)

[Sequimite]

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting.

[1623]

Awesome, thank you for taking the time to transfer and post that.

[razorsharp]

hah, that was really cool, thanks for posting

[The CoPilot]

Neat to see some Spydercos in the different stages of production. Loved seeing the C01 Workers in clip #5.

[razorsharp]

Neat to see some Spydercos in the different stages of production. Loved seeing the C01 Workers in clip #5.

my favorite clip cause of that :p

[Mako109]

Thank you for posting the videos. It was neat seeing the birthplace of my Worker, Mariner, and Police.

[The Deacon]

Fantastic! Thanks for posting these clips Watching them might help some of those who don't realize how "low tech" the Japanese knife "factories" Spyderco contracts with really are to understand how much of the work on these knives is done by hand.

[BAL]

Awesome videos, saipan59. Thanks so much for taking the time and work to post them. Very interesting and educational. You know, there are people somewhere that have the exact knives that were being worked on in those clips.

[bh49]

Great videos. Thank you for sharing. It is very interesting.

[jackknifeh]

I'd like to echo what Deacon said. Those clips showed a workplace that looked nothing like what I had imagined. I had pictured the parts being on an assembly line, held in place and cut, shaped, sanded, etc. by a machine calibrated to make every cut the same. In the videos a lot of the work I had pictured is actually done by hand. That shows that at least some of the work still requires skill and dedication to work. It also accounts for some of the differences people mention on how the same model may be a little different from the knife their friend bought. Thanks for sharing the videos and your experience.

Jack

[syphen]

Very interesting, however that was 22-23 years ago now? I'm willing to bet it doesn't look like that any more.

I would assume that like most other areas of manufacturing, some positions have been automated for consistency and quality control. I'm also sure that health and safety standards have risen in Japan since and the facility would be a little more high-tech.

I have respect for the Japanese manufacturing industry of the 80's and 90's. I just finished restoring a 1989 Honda CRX Si to showroom condition. Gained a lot of insight into how they must have assembled things and the processes used.

Thanks for posting.

[jackknifeh]

Wow. I didn't even notice the year.

Jack

[Left Hand Path]

Thank you for posting these great videos. They remind me of the Queen and GEC factory tours I have taken.

[sal]

Hi Saipan,

Thanx for the memory flashback.

sal

[tonydahose]

talk about low overhead, i have seen garages bigger than that and yet they make some great quality knives. thx for posting.

[HotSoup]

Wowwwwwww.
Thats FREAKIN' COOL!

[BAL]

If you are reading this and haven't looked at at least one clip, PLEASE do. 1989 craftsmenship at work, low overhead, just getting the job done. Great stuff. Thanks again Saipan for posting.