Etaro

Etaro is the more accessible sibling of Hikari, launched in 2011 by Hikari Products USA out of Gardena, California. The thinking behind it is easy to like: take Hikari’s convex-edge craft and bring it down to a price more stylists can reach. If you’ve admired a Hikari pair but balked at the spend, Etaro is the line aimed at exactly that hesitation.

The name, and why it signals craft

The story behind the name is more than trivia. “E” stands for Edmund Tsuji, who apprenticed under Fukutaro Takahashi at Hikari in Japan, and “Taro” comes from Fukutaro himself. Hikari USA says Tsuji is the only American to have trained directly under Takahashi. That lineage is the real selling point, because it means the convex edge isn’t an imitation of Hikari’s, it comes from someone schooled in the same hands-on tradition.

Made and finished in California

The blades are built from Japanese steel, then reshaped, sharpened, balanced, and polished by Hikari-certified craftsmen at the Gardena facility to produce Hikari’s convex profile. That hand-finishing in the US is what separates Etaro from a generic import at a similar price; the edge is worked by people who know the geometry intimately.

Range and price

The lineup covers cutting scissors, thinning and texturising shears, and dedicated left-handed models across several blade lengths. The specialties run to sculpting, shaping, finishing, texturising, angle cutting, and both line and no-line demarcation work, which is detail-oriented, finishing-focused territory. Pricing starts around $269 and sits in the mid-range band, well under premium Japanese lines while still giving you a hand-finished convex edge. For a brand that punches above its price, it’s an easy one to recommend trialling.