Walking into Shilin Knife Store is like walking into a knife museum.
Taiwan’s oldest knife store, with a history of more than 100 years, the establishment carries just about every type of knife imaginable: kitchen knives, tailor knives, carving knives, mountain knives, ornamental knives, knives to pare dead skin off feet, barber shears and nail scissors, to name just a few.
Guo Ming-rang, the fifth generation of the Guo family operating the establishment, recalled that at the height of the trade there were at least 10 knife stores around Dabei Street in Taipei City, and that one could constantly hear the sound of knife-grinding.
Over the decades, however, the manufacture of knives has become a mechanized process, forcing many traditional knife-makers to close shop. Shilin Knife, however, is committed to making knives the traditional way, with most of its output becoming collectors' items.
The store still has a traditional workshop that includes all types of tools and materials used to make knives. Guo works on making knives daily, spending 10 hours each day tempering them.
“Handmade knives take a lot of time and effort to make, and each one is unique,” Guo said. “It’s quite a challenge to make just one knife a day.”
As Guo discussed the history of his establishment, a woman walked into his store. She previously spent NT$1,000 (US$36.53) on a pair of scissors from him to clip her dog. The shears, however, got stuck in the dog's coat and now she needed to get the scissors repaired.
After Guo helped her solve the problem, the woman remarked, "You can use one of his knives for a long time. The price is well worth it."
In spite of the excellent quality of Shilin Knifes, the store faces an uncertain future.
"It's a very exhausting trade and no one is interested in learning it anymore," Guo said. “The mass production of modern knives is making it more difficult for us to stay in business.”
(This article originally appeared in The Liberty Times April 17.)