Can you remember every meal you’ve prepared?
These knives can.
Each handmade knife comes with a native Australian hardwood handle; reclaimed from a beachside jetty, a suburban loading dock or a farm shed. Each blade is shaped, ground and sharpened by hand, developing a protective patina over time. Each food cut will add a different coloured patina to the blade, leaving behind reminders of each meal they’ve helped prepare. High carbon steel knives last generations when cared for properly- washed and dried thoroughly after use.
A modern take on timeless design.
Each knife design draws inspiration from history. Classic French and Japanese chef knife shapes are classic for a reason but you don’t need to sacrifice form for function. High hardness carbon and stainless steels with Australian native hardwood handles ensure these knives will last for generations.
The process.
It all starts with the steel selection. Your store bought knives are probably made from some generic ‘stainless’ steel that is sharp at first but quickly becomes dull and unsafe to use.
The blade steel in our knives is made from 52100 carbon steel, originally developed for ball bearings over a century ago. It’s incredibly hard and hard wearing, and shaped in a way to maximise its best qualities: the ability to become razor sharp and maintain that edge for a long time without needing attention. The steel is heat treated to maximise hardness, then tempered for toughness; resulting in a blade that can be passed down for generations.
After the blade is created, the handle material is selected. Australian hardwoods such as karri, jarrah and brushbox are so hard wearing that they are used to construct jetties and loading docks. The karri used for our knives was sourced from a jetty on Yorke Peninsula that was built in the 1860’s. After being exposed to the elements for over a century and a half, the weathering has only penetrated the timber by a millimetre due to its density and natural oils. During a storm in 2016 part of the jetty was damaged. This material has been saved and re-purposed as a knife handle that will last for centuries to come.
Once shaped, the blade is then given a satin or mirror finish and the handle is hand-shaped and sanded for comfort and function. The handle is pinned and epoxied to the full tang blade for extra strength. Larger blades have longer handles due to their intended function as the kitchen workhorse, smaller blades are given slightly smaller handles to maximise control and balance.
