YouTube is an amazing learning tool. If you speak to older knifemakers, they’ll tell you they had to travel for hours to visit a knifemaker/bladesmith who could teach them how to make knives. Today we are fortunate to have such a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips.
Here are some YouTube videos that I’ve come across over the years (in no particular order) that I have found useful or interesting in my pursuit of how to make chef knives. If I’ve missed any that you feel should be here, please let me know.
Like anything, I wouldn’t follow the advice word-for-word like gospel, but incorporate what you need or like into your processes. I have found that as you learn more, your skills develop and your style changes, you will naturally develop your own way of doing things. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Ekim Knives was one of the few channels that had a chef knife-specific video available when I started making knives. Mike’s been AWOL for a few years (sad face) but his videos are still available and are a great starting point.
Don’s been a thought leader in the realm of Western kitchen knives for a while now. His work speaks for itself and his approach and thoughts are worth emulating. As chef knives should arguably be more performance/function over beauty, these tips are a great insight into how you can get one step closer to the ultimate cutting performance.
Similar to Ekim’s approach, but with a higher, more blended plunge line.
When you grind a chef knife, you remove almost half of the steel. If you don’t believe me, try weighing your knife before and after. As we’re removing so much of the material, it’s beneficial if it can be done quickly and efficiently. This video by Gavko shows how “cutting the corners” can save you both time and belts.
Salem makes beautiful and sort-after kitchen knives. He’s also one of the first makers to use the compound s-grind in their knives and this is a great tutorial for those wanting to do the same.
Jeremy from SimpleLittleLife has been putting very well-produced content out into the world for a while now. He does take you through the whole build and imparts a lot of knowledge at the same time.
One of the most famous knives in modern history. Anthony Bourdain is sadly no longer with us, but following this video, these two masters collaborated on a knife and the rest is history. Bob is a legend in his own right, and whose knife designs many have tried to copy. Myself included. I would be remiss not to have this video on the list.
Kyle and his father Jeff, not only create amazing knives but the quality of their videos is second to none. You can always learn something from them, if not marvel at the attention to detail in their work.
So there you have it. I believe there is something for everyone here and if you’re starting out making a chef knife for the first time you should be well on your way to making a great kitchen knife.
If there is a video on YouTube that you believe I should include above, please reach out and let me know. #Bettertogether
