Get to Know the Brand: Olfa – World Famous Tools
We are excited to introduce you to our new range of the world famous Olfa hand tools.
Renowned for their high quality, efficiency and durability; Olfa maintain a commitment in providing high class, premium products.
In this article we take a closer look into the Olfa brand and share their interesting and inspiring story...
Olfa Corporation was founded in 1956 in Osaka, Japan. Their huge range of products include heavy-duty and specialty cutting tools for the building industry, safety tools for industrial applications, rotary cutters and crafting tools.
The name “OLFA” comes from two Japanese words, which, when translated, mean “to break a blade”. If you look closely at the OLFA logo you will notice this also resembles the shape of a snap-off blade. This is because the company is most famous for inventing the snap-off blade.
Founder Yoshio Okada and his younger brother Saburo worked for printing companies, where they cut paper with razor blades. These blades quickly became blunt, so the brothers decided to invent a new type of blade. Their clever design featured scored lines, which could be snapped to reveal new sharp sections of blade. This idea came to them from a childhood memory of a chocolate bar, given to them by an American soldier, which could be broken off in sections.
The snap-off blade transformed how people cut materials by greatly improving work efficiency. The angle and length of the invented blades has now become a world standard design.
Yoshio Okada also invented the world’s first rotary cutter. This has revolutionised how people cut fabric, by switching them from using scissors, to simply rolling a circular blade.
The company's products are also very popular for use in crafts, such as paper cutting, calligraphy, modelling, quilt making and sewing.
During the manufacturing process for all Olfa products, strict measures are followed to ensure the blade has the best balance of high sharpness and longest life according to a usage.
We offer a great selection of Olfa tools available to order online or collect from any of our branches. Whether you are a trade professional or DIY hobbies person, you will be sure to find just what you are looking for at a competitive price amongst our quality range of tools.
