Knife grinding in Solingen, Germany

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kwackster

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This two-part documentary shows the knife grinding process of German made Robert Herder knives as done by Wilfried Fehrekampf, one of the last (if not the last) Solinger grinding masters, on equipment that is over a century old.
Everything is shot entirely in the German language but filmed in great detail, so it's more than worth it to watch.


[youtube]4sfcDHMkLpU[/youtube]

[youtube]LQKHiL3jrGg&feature=relmfu[/youtube]


Wilfried Fehrekampf is one of last German knife grinding masters who can still create the famous "Solinger Dünnschliff" (an extremely thin & flexible grind) on the forged carbon steel blades produced by German manufacturer Robert Herder.
The process involves various steps of grinding and polishing up to the last step which more or less "closes up" the pores in the steel which helps to keep corrosion at bay.
All work is done on more than a century old equipment using leather and felt covered wooden wheels and natural abrasives excavated in Greece (Naxos)
After the polishing is done another craftsman puts on the wooden handles which are then polished also.

Since i do the sharpening for a few restaurant chefs in my hometown i get to sharpen quite a few of these Robert Herder knives on a regular basis.
The knives are very well made and the blades cut extremely well too, even when they are a bit blunt, because of their superb thin geometry (which is much thinner than any of their stainless counterparts from Wusthoff or Henckels.)
The steel itself has a good hardness (60HRC), while at the same time being very resilient and also very easy to sharpen since the wear resistance is fairly low.
Corrosion isn't really a problem due to the very fine polish the blades are given, but they do develop a patina fairly quickly.
The steel loves to be polished on Paper Wheels and gets astoundingly sharp, as in easily whittling hair and cutting single sheet toiletpaper.

So if you like your kitchen knives to be well made, capable of cutting better than most stainless steel counterparts, and don't mind a bit of a patina: check them out.
I'm looking to get the Chef's Knife model 1922 (which is shown in the documentary) for myself,
 
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kwackster that was fantastic, the best thing i've seen on the forum in a while. so much skill & certainly an eye opener to many whom had no idea what is involved to make a quality product. thank you sir.
dennis
 
Herder is a great company who make great knives. I believe they are training a few young people in the old way too now.

One correction: Fahrenkamp is not a knife "sharpener" he is a knife Grinder.

"Pließten" is the Solingen word for fine or finish grinding and the word exists only in that area. In Solingen knifemaking has been a highly specialized cottage industry since time began with one person doing only grinding and another doing only grips, etc. Blades would be carted from one house to another until they were finished with the same craftsmen working on knives bearing different tradenames.

In Solingen there are quite a few special words or phrases used to describe things or processes more usually described by other German words. I have been told the special words - most of which have been used for centuries - were originally coined to keep "outsiders" from understanding what was being talked about and copying the Solingen people's methods and techniques.
 
I don't think you'll find "pließten" or "Pließter" (one who pließt) in any German Dictionary! Half the other words they use in and around Solingen aren't in the dictionary either... ;-)

Oh, and the work he's doing in the film is a WHOLE LOT harder to do than he makes it look! It takes years of practise and training.
 
Thank you, Kwackster, for those most enjoyable video clips! I have a new respect for knife makers.:thumbup:
 
Wow, this was incredibly enjoyable. What was the brown liquid he applied to the blades before grinding/polishing? It looks like mud; its it to keep it cool or are those the "natural abrasives"?

I'm going to make sure not to test edges on my thumbnail any more!

Beautiful, beautiful knives.
 
I have 3 Robert Herder kitchen knives the K2, K1 and the Yatagan (last one is in carbon steel) and they are tremendous slicers. In fact I do prefer them over my Globals, and while they look very unassuming, they perform as well as several other expensive japanese knives that I've used.
I plan to eventually make a little video clip about them.
 
Heiheit said:
Wow, this was incredibly enjoyable. What was the brown liquid he applied to the blades before grinding/polishing? It looks like mud; its it to keep it cool or are those the "natural abrasives"?
Click to expand...

That's the polishing compiund which is mixed from oil and sand-like abrasives from Greece.
 
a rancher friend of mine cleans lots of hogs & deer each year & swears by the herder boning knife. he tested one of the 1st k.o.a. friction forged in d2 & the herder out performed the much more costly friction forged. my buddy has lots of different knives & actually runs 2 ranches so he gives knives a hard workout. i intend to order some herders when i get that catalog.
dennis
 
Very interesting. My German is a little rusty, but I was still able to understand pretty much everything.

I wouldn't mind picking up a few of these once I find a new job, but a quick search for vendors only showed some in Europe. Any in the US?
 
There's a got to be somebody selling Herder knives in the USA!? I have a bunch of them - to use myself, not sell.

Did you guys notice the traditional wooden shoes he's wearing in the films? Thought they only wore those in Holland right? Wrong! Of course they don't wear them anywhere much anymore.

If you guys (and Gals) like the film, try and visit Solingen and see the Rheinisches Landesmuseum für Industrie- und Sozialgeschichte.

Click the link and you can take a small tour of the former drp forging production. At the bottom of the linked page click "weiter" to be shwn the next pic. (The whole page is in German but the pics are still in English! ;-))

The museum still has a working drop forge where they make scissors and you can even buy a pair they made in the museum store. I go over there eyerytime I'm in Solingen, it's a really cool museum and you need at least 1 1/2 hurs to see it all.
 
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