The ancestors of the Nagata clan were swordsmiths. In the 21st year of the Kanei era (1664), Awataguchi Ouminokami Tadatsuna established a forge for swords in Himeji. The second generation gave the world swords bearing the name Ikkanshi Tadatsuna. At one point, work ceased, but the coming of the Meiji era saw the Nagata forefathers move to Sakai, where they began the production of cutlery.

This tradition continued in Sakai until it was disrupted by the Oil Shock of the 1970s (Showa 48, 1973). Severing ties with its best customers, the forge was reintroduced as a specialty store by its owner, Yukihiko Nagata. In order to make "knives that would earn the admiration of professional chefs," Nagata bought a specialized microscope for metals. He studied by talking in elaborate detail with the smith employees and learned about "quenching."

The knives that Nagata strives to make have "an edge with a clean feel," "keep their edge," "are well balanced and don't overwork the hands," and "have minimal nicks."

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From a young age, he has caught glimpses of the world that is his father's profession. Upon reaching elementary school age, he began to gradually be entrusted with more work from his father. The essence of his work in the store actually began when he was in college. Afterwards, he foresaw the destruction of Kansai's old industries and thus proceeded to Tokyo to gain new customers. His dream is to recreate an Edo era store with a dirt floor, smithy, and polishing area.