Knifemaker’s Blog - Topham Knife Co

How to minimise Retained Austenite in Knife Steel

What is Retained Austenite (RA), why we as knifemakers should be mindful of it and how to minimise its presence in our knife blades.

What’s the Machi with gaps on wa handles

What are machi gaps on Japanese knives? Are they good, bad or just plain ugly? What are machi gaps on Japanese knives? Are they good, bad or just plain ugly? Learn more about the tradition behind them, their benefits and how to spot issues.

Flat Grind Bevel Angle Calculator

Online calculator. Do you need to know what angle to flat grind a knife? Finding the right bevel angle is important if you’re aiming for consistent grinds.

How to heat treat Damasteel DS93X damascus

Learn how to heat treat damasteel DS93X stainless damascus. I cover hardening temperatures, tempering, cryo and expected final hardness values.

Type N Thermocouple Upgrade

So recently (at the start of 2024) my thermocouple packed up on me and as karma or the universe willed it I had some blades I needed to harden some […]

How to heat treat CPM MagnaCut

CPM MagnaCut was specially designed and developed for knives in 2021. Its composition was conceived by Larrin Thomas, a doctor in metallurgy (son of Devin Thomas), and is well known […]

How to heat treat Damasteel® RWL34

RWL34 is a Rapid Solidified Powder (RSP) martensitic stainless steel, hardenable and non-patterned steel. The alloy represents an excellent combination of corrosion resistance and hardenability. RWL34 is named after the […]

Best Youtube Videos on how to make a chef knife

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 […]

How to harden 440C stainless steel

AISI 440C (X105CrMo17) has the highest carbon stainless steel of the 400 series. It has one of the highest attainable hardnesses (58-60HRC) of the corrosion and heat-resisting grades. Grades 440A and […]

How to heat treat 5160 spring steel

Whether you’re making swords, bowies or choppers, heat treatment and tempering of 5160 steel is straightforward and yields 58-61HRC.