The origin of Echizen forged knives goes back to the early Nanboku-cho period (in the early 14th century). In 1337, Kuniyasu Chiyotsuru, a sword maker from Kyoto Prefecture in Japan, moved to "Echizen no kuni" (=present Echizen city), and  made sickles (=one kind of farming tools) for citizens who live there. While he stayed there, he thought how to make the products for many citizens, and many of them began to make the products referring to his techniques. Since then, the Echizen city became a big producing area which was famous for the farmer tools . During the Edo period (from the 17th to the 19th century), merchants selling sickles, which are farming tools,  walked from "Echizen no kun"i to many places around Japan such as Osaka prefecture or Tokyo Prefecture to sell these tools made in Echizen city. As these products were sold in markets, their high quality such as lightness or sharpness was evaluated, so forged knives made in Echizen city became popular around Japan. Now, Echizen forged knives produce many other products such as hatchets that are used for cutting trees in addition to knives.