Current/Newer Trend - Kitchen Knives

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A couple years ago I would have laughed at the idea of spending more than $200 for any kitchen knife.
But over the last year or so things have changed. Not just for me either. Now about 1/3 of the handle material I sell is getting used on kitchen knives. As I pay more attention I see the $500 to $1500 kitchen knives selling very fast when they are posted for sale.
These are selling to both the pros and the home users.
To me I think it would be a compliment to the maker to see that their knives are being used daily.
With the kitchen knives both performance and cosmetics are important.

Some of the well known names making good kitchen knives are;
Bill Burke
David Lisch
Michael Rader
Devin Thomas
Butch Harner
Murray Carter
and that Kramer guy in Olympia, Wa

I am sure I have left out several very good kitchen knife makers, my apologies. I just wrote this spur of the moment while coming inside for coffee.

I am curious to here what the makers think of the kitchen knife surge in popularity as well as those of you who are buying them.
STeven, if you see this I would really like to hear your take on this.
 
Love the kitchen knife surge!! :thumbup:


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-Michael
 
I am a master smith and I dont make kitchen knives like Bill Burke, so that is what I buy my wife for Christmas and birthdays. Best of the best, Bill Burke kitchen knives.
Gary
 
Burl Source said:
A couple years ago I would have laughed at the idea of spending more than $200 for any kitchen knife.
But over the last year or so things have changed. Not just for me either. Now about 1/3 of the handle material I sell is getting used on kitchen knives. As I pay more attention I see the $500 to $1500 kitchen knives selling very fast when they are posted for sale.

I am curious to here what the makers think of the kitchen knife surge in popularity as well as those of you who are buying them.
STeven, if you see this I would really like to hear your take on this.
Click to expand...

Hi Mark,

The "trend/surge" isn't new. Devin has been designing, making and selling kitchen knives out of amazing damascus for over 20 years. My good friend Phil Baldwin made me a forged kitchen knife over 15 years ago. Tim Wright has been making killer kitchen knives for over 20 years. Ed Schempp has been making amazing kitchen knives for over 15 years....to name a few.

The visibility and viability have changed. This is due to my good amigo Bob Kramer more than anything else, getting crazy money for his knives and getting factory deals, which have changed the landscape for Wusthof and Henckels mystery stainless steel knives. People are demanding more ergonomic, thinner and harder, better performing kitchen knives, both professionals and home cooks.

I can only view this from my own lens, as it is applicable. 20 years ago I could not understand paying bigger(over $500.00) money for two types of knives....slipjoints and handmade kitchen knives. I changed my opinion on both, as I saw the merits of both. Ed Schempp had a laminated straight grain damascus kitchen knife handled in Desert Ironwood that I picked up from him about 10 years ago. It handled wonderfully, was thin and worked amazingly well in the kitchen, and I was converted on the spot.

People use their kitchen knives and it is easy to have a paradigm shift when you experience the results....

Here are my handmade kitchen knives, it's a quick and dirty cellphone pic, so please forgive me:

From the top,
Phil Baldwin carbon chef's knife with Japanese styling and desert ironwood scales
Laminated carbon damascus Ed Schempp chef's knife with desert ironwood scales
Busse INFI Thick NICK with green canvas micarta scales(amazing chicken cleaver!)
Boye Dendritic 440C paring knife assembled and finished by J.P. Holmes, fossil ivory, mokume gane' and African Blackwood handle.
Tom Krein Chef's knife in Devin Thomas Ladder pattern stainless damascus and desert ironwood scales
Devin Thomas chefs knife done in Japanese styling, but the "ferrule" is black paper micarta and the wood is a stabilized burl
The last three shown were all done by J.P. Holmes in S90v, and natural linen micarta....there is a center pin of Phil Baldwin mokume gane' that JP incorporated into the chef's knives.

The factory knives that I use are Shun, and I have found no better commercially available kitchen knives on the market.

EVERY one of these knives has hundreds of hours of use and they are all completely practical and appreciated. For natural materials, I have found nothing better than desert ironwood, and for synthetics, I prefer micarta of some sort, as it stays "grippy" when wet, and G10 does not in my experience. I prefer stainless steel knives for my own use, both in professional situations and at home. Michael Gettier and I have spoken about this, it just comes down to personal preference.

If I have to pick a favorite, it is the Devin piece. It was a completely unexpected gift from Devin as a token of appreciation for my unwavering support and friendship, it could not be any more special to me, and it cuts like a laser.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson


 
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I agree that the higher end kitchen knives are new to the mainstream.

I also agree that Food Network is playing a large role but it's part of a much broader trend in food. Molecular gastronomy, farm to table and other trends are contributing to people wanting to up their game at home.

My cousin who 5 years ago could care less about cooking is now concerned about the right way to cook sous vide.
 
These are the ones that got me started a little over a year ago. Since then there are several more.
1st was by Stacy Apelt, then a slightly modified Ichimonji, 3rd Pierre Rodrigue, then 2 on the far right were made by Mike Davis.
What a difference compared to store bought knives. I still use my old store bought ones....in the garden pulling weeds.
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This is a rare Bob Loveless/S. R. Johnson - “Kitchen Set” from 1972
and its exciting in depth story as taken from my coming book (February 2014) -
"The World of Art Knives: Vol.II

This is a one of a kind 6-piece handmade set of kitchen knives
from the Loveless shop. The knives are (from the top):
Chef Knife, overall length 12 1/8” (308 mm).
Carving Knife, overall length 12 1/4” (311 mm).
Fork, overall length 11 3/8” (289 mm).
Utility Knife, overall length 9 5/8” (244 mm).
Cheese Knife, overall length 8 3/4” (222 mm).
Paring Knife, overall length 7 1/4” (184 mm).

The handle material on all 6 knives is rosewood, the bolsters are
nickel silver which explains the very clean soldering to the 154CM steel blade.

The collector bought the set in 1972 at “The Brass Rail” for $2000
and used it for a short time in his kitchen.
When he realized the true value of this set which was still in
near mint condition, he found a new home for it, in his safe...

Today experts still agree that knives made during those years by
Bob Loveless and Steve Johnson are considered the best to ever
leave Bob’s workshop.

Here is Steve Johnson’s input on this set:
“I don’t actually remember much about the exact situation surrounding
this set of knives, only that we did visit that gun shop now and then and
that we, for sure, did make them and they did go to Joe at the Brass Rail.
It was quite fun making them, as they were all quite different from
the “norm” at the Loveless shop, in design, grinding, handle shape and
contours. Very “Out of the ordinary” for Loveless knives, to say the least!
Add the fact that they are in great condition and are marked
“Loveless-Johnson” and “One of a Kind”, this is a truly rare set”.

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

LovelessJohnson-Kitchen-set
 
Mark,
Interesting topic!
When I started knife making in 1998 I made a few hunter/camp knives but due to my personal love of cooking and the market around me in sunny southern cal I have been making mostly culinary since.

There are many reason why the market opened up to custom culinary knives with TV cooking shows helping a lot as people get more informed they seek out the best tool for the job also there are many more stay at home dads and men that do all of the cooking for the household.

I have teenage early 20's men come in to my store wanting to look at my custom and high end Japanese culinary knives.
In my day as a teen, "I am dating myself here ;)" I had a Buck 110 folding hunter and just used whatever my folks had in the kitchen to cook with. I have had two customers come in and purchase culinary knives for a 12 & 7 year old boys in the past couple of days. One of my customs went to the 12 y/o.

I am having trouble posting pictures here but have a few on my site for any that are interested?
 
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I cooked for 20 some years and my all time favorite chef knife is my Kevin Wilken's Ryback Restaurant model.
The overall design of this knife and Becut steel is just superb. I did round the spine. Chef knives need a round spine.
rolf
 
I strongly believe that information and the ability for knifemakers to be able to inform potential customers about their services is driving the success of custom kitchen knifemakers. I don't think there is a trend, business has been the same and customers still have the same mentality as they did before. I think the difference now is that people are seeking out options and trying to become more informed in niche areas.
 
Every non cutting edge in these kitchen knives are beveled and rounded much like Chris reeve knives.

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I was just coming here to ask how good stabilized wood is for a kitchen knife. Are there any special rules for caring for it?

The knife is under the tree at the moment, but I'll post pics later. It's a gorgeous Santoku for my wife.
 
Strigamort, stabilized wood is pretty forgiving as long as it's not going in the dishwasher. I am OCD with my knives so I put a light coat of oil/wax on every couple of weeks, but I don't think it is required.
 
It's exciting to see people getting back into cutlery and more importantly cooking. Part of me hopes it is because people are sick of eating processed crap and are taking the time to enjoy cooking, food and the tools used to create an end.
 
For me a knife is a tool. The most important is sharpness, followed by profile, geometry, grind, handle (grip), steel and looks.

IMO: Sanmai is my style. Im a sucker for 52100 core steel, laminated with stainless steel. For knives with flex I prefer stainless like AEB-L
Hopefully I will have some knives ready in february that might be the most perfect knives ever to hit my drawer.

However to use 500 USD + on a knife is regarded as a mental illness among my friends and my GF.
 
kalaeb said:
It's exciting to see people getting back into cutlery and more importantly cooking. Part of me hopes it is because people are sick of eating processed crap and are taking the time to enjoy cooking, food and the tools used to create an end.
Click to expand...

That's what's up at my house. My wife has been cooking a ton at our home for the last few months. No easy feat considering our crazy work schedule.

She's never had a decent blade, and believe me this one is fantastic. The Photobucket app is trash now so I'm having trouble posting pics. I knew she'd love it, but not as much as she does. Now she wants a pairing knife and a couple of others.

Oh I also grabbed her a nice big and heavy end grain chopping block to go with it. :)
 
With all of the mass-produced crap out there, it's great that people are appreciating (and paying for) tools that are high quality and beautifully made (and frequently made by local artisans).
I cook at home and I'm a hobbyist knifemaker. I recently got into making kitchen knives and I'm real happy that I did — it makes food preparation so much more fun (and more effective) when I'm using a great knife, and it's a great opportunity for me as a knifemaker to test and refine my designs. I can make a fighter and never know how well it'll work, but I can make a gyuto and find every single design flaw within a couple of weeks.
I'm just glad I can make them myself so I don't have to break the bank getting good kitchen knives!

- Chris

ETA: and my girlfriend is totally ruined for kitchen knives, now, ever since she started using mine! I made her a gyuto and she brings it whenever she think she may be cooking at someone else's house. She's got a petty and a sujihiki on the way, too.
 
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