Niwaki
Curation of Japanese garden tools - secateurs, shears, knives
Philosophy
Making the best of Japanese tooling accessible to Western gardeners. Each tool is selected for its cutting quality, steel and manufacturing tradition.
History
Dorset, 2007. Jake Hobson, English landscaper obsessed with Japanese pruning (wrote a book on it). Wife Keiko is Japanese. Together they founded Niwaki - the word for Japanese tree shaping.
Not a manufacturer, a curator. Direct sourcing from traditional Japanese blacksmiths. Secateurs, shears, kitchen knives, woodworking tools. Chiltern Street London shop is pilgrimage for serious gardeners. Premium pricing: the curator's margin. You can buy the same tools from Japan cheaper. But you won't know which ones to choose.
Iconic Products
Secateurs japonais
Hand-forged secateurs by Japanese artisans. Carbon steel, exceptional edge. Niwaki's gateway product, the one that converts Western gardeners to Japanese tools. Once you've cut with Japanese secateurs, there's no going back.
Cisailles Sentei (topiary)
Japanese topiary shears. The cloud pruning tool par excellence - Jake Hobson's specialty before even founding Niwaki. Shirogami white steel, hand-forged. Cutting precision on another level from Western shears.
Couteaux de cuisine (gamme)
Kitchen knife range curated by Niwaki. Same approach as garden tools: direct sourcing from Japanese blacksmiths, selected by expertise. Natural brand extension: if you trust Niwaki for secateurs, you trust them for knives.