After a lifetime of enjoying woodworking and cooking, Joe started making handles for Japanese cooking knives as a way to express his artistic and creative energies. His highest priority is to make beautiful, high quality items that add to the enjoyment and happiness of people the world over.

Joe’s love for this craft grew along with his knowledge, skills, and finesse, and he soon found his handles to be in increasingly high demand. He provides handles for retail shops, professional chefs, blacksmiths, avid knife collectors, and home cooks. His work has made its way to several countries and continents across the world, including Singapore, the Netherlands, Japan, Great Britain, Korea, France, Germany, and Canada.

As more and more people discovered his handles, Joe’s wife and daughter joined the Sugi team to allow him to focus more on the creative and specialized work of creating one of a kind handles and providing breathtaking knives to enthusiasts around the world.