what's your experience sourcing Japanese kitchen knives wholesale?

Hi everyone,

We're a small team in Japan working directly with local blacksmiths who make handmade Japanese kitchen knives (wa-bocho). Before building anything, we wanted to ask people who actually run or buy for knife/cookware stores a few honest questions.

If you own, manage, or buy for a shop that carries chef knives — whether that's a dedicated knife shop, a cookware store, or a knife section within a bigger retail store — we'd really appreciate your take:

1. Do you currently carry Japanese-made kitchen knives? If not, is it something you've considered?

2. If you already import from Japan (or elsewhere) directly, what's been the hardest part — finding reliable suppliers, minimum order quantities, language/communication, shipping & customs, payment terms, something else?

3. What's a realistic MOQ (minimum order quantity) you'd be comfortable with for a first order from a brand-new supplier?

4. What wholesale price per knife would make a $150–300 retail chef's knife worth stocking for you?

5. Would sourcing directly from a small workshop (instead of a big trading company/distributor) be a plus, a concern, or neutral for you? Why?

We're not selling anything here, just trying to learn before deciding whether this is worth pursuing. Happy to share what we learn back with this community once we've gathered some responses. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience!