Kazutoshi Tanabe was born in 1967 in Okinawa, the most south edge of Japan. When he was born, Okinawa was an occupied territory by the US. He grew up in mixed culture between Japan and The US even though he had never been to the US main land.

He moved into Nagoya in his childhood days. Nagoya is located in the middle of Japan, one of the most famous city as Toyota automobile hometown, also near from Seki, heart of the production cutlery industry. He was a child loved drawing, painting, and handicrafts. His interest in them might be a beginning of making custom knives by himself.

He started making knives in 2002. He has never learn making knives from anyone else. His knowledge in knife making comes from reading books and magazines about knife, learning by trial and error. First knife show he attended was Seki Outdoor Knife Show in 2005. And at the next knife show in Seki, all of his knives were sold out in just 30 minutes from start in 2006. It was a brilliant achievement for a new face. He attended Kuzan Blade Show in Tokyo in 2007, he won high praise for his work again, and therefore he has decided to be a full time custom knife maker in 2008. He has attended many shows in Japan up to now. The year of 2008 is remarkable for his career, it is not just the year to be a full time custom knife maker, but also the beginning of being an international custom knife maker. He attended 31st New York Custom Knife Show in fall of 2008.

His policy of knife making is "The only one knife in the world". It is easy to make same models, however, he believe making just only one knife gives its user the pleasure and dream, and also expresses his appreciation of having his knife.
1967　 Born in Okinawa, Japan
2002 　Started making custom knives
2005　 Seki Outdoor Knife Show in Gifu, Japan
2006 　Seki Outdoor Knife Show
2007 　Seki Outdoor Knife Show
2007 　Kuzan Blade Show in Tokyo
2008　 New York Custom Knife Show
2009 　East Coast Custom Knife Show in NYC
2009 　Chicago Knife Expo