OUR PROCESS
- All our knives are hand-made from high-carbon steel plates. They are NOT made from thick billet which requires the ability to mix and weld steel and are NOT shaped with a large mechanical power hammer. We do not have that capability at the present time but it is in the plans for our future shop!
- Knives are rough cut to net length and shape from a pattern keeping the grain direction with the length. They are then put in a gas (propane) forge and heated until the metal reaches approximately 2000° (metal is yellowish in color and pliable).
- The knives are removed from the forge and put on the anvil to facilitate the shaping and tapering of the knife. This is achieved by hammering the blade starting from the spine and moving the material down to the edges and out to the tip of the knife. This creates a solid thick spine and a tapered thin cutting edge and sharp point. Once the knife has been shaped and tapered, we hand hammer our design into the knife. This process is repeated several times due to the cooling of the material until the desired shape and thickness is achieved.
- Once the shape and thickness have been achieved, the knives go back into the forge and are heated to approximately 1200°, checked for straightness, and submerged in the quench tank.
- The knives are then heat-treated in an oven at 400 degrees for 2 hours, taken out, and then we repeat that process. The knives have now achieved a Rockwell hardness (RC) of 60-61 on the C scale HRC.
- The knives are now ground to the final shape on a 2 x 72 grinder with 40-grit sandpaper. Depending on the product, the knives are then sanded to a smooth surface finish.
- Once the basic knife shape is complete, we hand-select the wood for the handles, place the knife on the wood, and create the outline for the handle. Each handle is cut out and then applied to the knife. After 8 hours, we insert the pins.
- The handle is then shaped and sanded. The next step is to complete the final touches and treat the handle with beeswax to preserve the wood.
- If a box is included with the product, it is made from the same piece of wood that the handles are from and a leather insert is hand-tooled and inserted in the lid. Customization of the leather is optional.
- The final step in our process is to sharpen the knives, clean the blades, put a protective coating of oil on the blade, and ship them out.