80CrV2 (1.2235) (AISI L2) is a relatively new steel for South African knife makers (2020). However, it is popular in northern Europe (Finland) as Swedish saw steel and has seen […]
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How to Plate-Quench Stainless Steel
Heat treating (if done in-house) is a critically important step in the knifemaking process. It’s also one that when it goes wrong it can go wrong very quickly, resulting in […]
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How to Heat Treat Bohler N690 Stainless Steel
N690 is Bohler-Uddeholm’s best conventional stainless knife steel. High hardness and stain resistance make it a durable steel for every day use. Here’s how to heat treat it.
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Types and Shapes of Japanese Wa Knife Handles
The Wa-Handle is the traditional Japanese handle and like many aspects of Japanese knives, the design is simple, functional, and aesthetically pleasing.
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How to Heat-treat PM Elmax Steel for best results
ELMAX has been called the “best all-around knife steel,” because it will make a razor-sharp blade and deliver the best possible knife experience. Here’s how to heat treat it.
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What is a K-Tip or Kiritsuke Knife?
At the time of writing this, I had recently been commissioned to make a unique 21st birthday present for a client and we decided on a 250mm K-tip gyuto chef knife. Japanese gyuto’s themselves have a rich history but I wondered if that was true for K-tips. Were they truly just the current trend or was there historical significance behind the design as well?
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Sub-Zero Cryogenic Treatment of Knife Steels
In my collection of heat treatment specifications and research papers is a fair amount of info on the topic of cryogenic treatment of knife steels. Not that I’m a metallurgist […]
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Japanese vs Western Handles, Which is Better?
We’ve been told that western full-tang handles are the best. But with Asian style knives becoming more prevalent in the market, is it time we challenge this long-standing and common belief and find out if Japanese handles are just as good?
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The Knifemaking Process of Chef Knives
Many people have asked how I make my knives. To that point, I wanted to put together a photo recreation outlining the entire knife making process from start to finish. This is for “stock removal” knives rather than forged blades.
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Easy-Laser Cut Knife Boxes in Under 5 Minutes.
Tools and tips on how to make a wooden laser-cut knife box for presenting and shipping your custom knives using Inscape and the Tabbed Box Maker extension.
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