Rene grew up inside a family shop full of kitchen tools, sharpening stones and chefs looking for good advice. That environment shaped him early. He learned how knives should feel, how they should cut and why small details matter. After years of helping customers and testing countless blades, he decided it was time to build something of his own. That became Kazoku Knives.

With Kazoku he brings together everything he learned in the family business and everything he continues to learn in Japan. Rene spends a large part of his time visiting blacksmiths, grinders and handle makers in places like Seki and Sanjo. Not as a tourist but as a student who wants to understand how great knives are made. Those makers inspire him, challenge him and push him to improve every new design.

In his writing he shares that same curiosity. He explains techniques, tells stories from his travels and shows why Japanese craftsmanship is worth protecting. His goal is simple. Help people cook with better tools, teach them what makes a knife truly good and make the world of Japanese knives easier to understand.