Blade Steel Today . . .

- All high carbon knife blade steels are forged steel.

- HRC ratings of 56 to 59 are considered ideal for kitchen knife blades. 

- These blades are:  durable, easy to sharpen, flexible, forgiving, able to endure daily use & most accidental encounters. 

- Traditional knife steels are evolving ...  yielding significant durability benefits & currently remain competitive.

- Performance data for traditional knife steels found online today is often outdated.

- Modern Super Steels of 60-62+ HRC are emerging providing more durability, though they remain difficult to sharpen.

Knife Steel Info . . .

- Producing high-carbon stainless steels ideal for knife blades is a lengthy forging process, which can take months. 

- Final optimization processes include heat treating & cryo-quenching to form the most desirable steel microstructures.

- Ideal blade steels selections depend upon the end users needs.

- We use steels designed & optimized for individual knife style & their intended use including . . .

- High Carbon Forged  Stainless Steels,

Multilayer... High Carbon Forged

Stainless Steel & Super Steels.

- We are always open to considering other high-quality knife steels. 

Blade Length - Selection

Relative Power Requirements

Kitchen Knife Ergonomics

Blade - Style

     & Performance

- The real magic in culinary knife blade performance is in thinner blade profiles.

- Thin, precision ground blades, require challenging & time-consuming machining processes. 

- These challenges increase the costs of creating knife blades with outstanding performance. 

- Thin/lightweight knives, provide more user feedback, yielding optimized knife handling skills & cutting techniques.

- The enhanced ergonomics of thinner/ lighter knife blades are apparent, especially when used for extended periods of time. 

- Thicker/heavier culinary blades resist damage, though unable to match the performance of thinner blades for most culinary tasks. 

- Thicker knife blades require more power input, increasing a user's risk of losing control & cutting themselves.

Cutting Edge ... 

         Performance ...

- The ultimate cutting edge: is unique to the end user, their knife handling skills, the knife blade steel & the foods they cut. 

- All knives get dull... the best knives to own are the ones you can easily sharpen. 

- Learning to sharpen thin, flat-ground  knives with inexpensive diamond sharpeners, is quick & easy.

- Low abrasive speed/pressure sharpening methods yield twice the durability of knives sharpened w/high abrasive speed/pressure.

- Sharpen & conduct your own real-world testing for edge performance/ durability. 

- Synthetic & standardized test methods are often irrelevant to your use case scenario. 

- Remember... you will be the first tool to wear out; sharpen your knives, preserve your health & energy.

Culinary Knife - Designs

Blade Height (Width)...

Increased Blade Height:

- Provides finger/knuckle to cutting board clearance.

- Yields more available blade surface area for the guiding fingers.

- Provide clearance to increase handle angle, reducing wrist angle & stress.

Added Functionality/Uses:

- Crushing ginger & garlic cloves to activate enzymes for health benefits.

- Ease transfer of sliced & diced foods from cutting boards to pots, pans & bowls.

Limited Blade Height:

- Enhances directional control & stability.

- Reduces blade surface area & related slicing friction.

- Improves food carving attributes.

Blade Profiles & Styles ...

- Thinner/lighter blades are easier to push through harder, high-density foods.

- Taller/wider blades ... yield visual cues for consistent/accurate slicing & dicing... while  substantially improving user safety, comfort & control.

- Shorter length blades enhance user control & cutting accuracy.

- Double bevel blade profiles reduce cutting force by 20%; compared to conventional convex ground blades.

- Thicker/heavier blades increase chopping power & reduce flex, but incur more unintentional cutting edge damage.

- Knife styles with the lower portion of blade exposed ( half or no bolsters ) are easier to re-profile, thin & sharpen.

Blade Spine & Finger Reliefs

- Blade spines rounded & contoured minimize handling pressure points.

- Thinner blades ( 1.0 ~ 1.7 mm ) reduce cutting power requirements significantly in high-density foods.

- Finger reliefs allow for hand & finger positions closer to knife point & cutting edge, improving comfort & control.

Granton Blades . . .

- These blade reliefs are designed to prevent food from sticking to the blade.

- According to knife testers, most Granton blade designs do not function as intended.

- Improve food release ... Wet the blade with a low-viscosity fluid like water & select a thinner blade.

Knife Blade Geometry 

Behind the Cutting Edge

Very Thin - 0.005”~0.006” 

Note . . .

- Cutting edges - 17º to 34º often yield imperceptible changes in cutting force on very thin blades.

Pros . . . 

- Lowest cutting force in high-density foods. 

- Perceptibly half the cutting force of standard thin kitchen cutlery in high-density foods. 

- Lightweight blades provide excellent user feedback. 

- Simple/easy to sharpen.

Cons . . . 

- Ability to withstand abuse is very limited.

- Not compatible with carbide pull-through sharpeners.

- Knife tips are easily damaged. 

- Not a substitute for a pry bar.

Std. Thick - 0.015”~0.017” 

Note . . .

- Low-angle cutting edges are often used on thicker blades to mitigate higher cutting force requirements.

Pros . . . 

- Ability to withstand most accidental encounters. 

- Good performance on delicate & low-density foods. 

- Knife tips are less likely to bend/break when dropped, especially on softer surfaces. 

Cons . . . 

- Low-angle cutting edges are easy to roll over, rapidly dulling the knife.

- Higher cutting forces, especially in high-density foods. 

- Perceptibly twice the cutting force of standard thin kitchen cutlery in high-density foods. 

Std. Thin - 0.010”~0.012” 

Pros . . . 

- Low cutting force in high-density foods. 

- Perceptibly half the cutting force of standard thicker kitchen cutlery in high-density foods. 

- Easy to sharpen with quality abrasives. 

- Lightweight blades provide good user  feedback.

Cons . . .

- Ability to withstand abuse is somewhat limited.

- Knife tips may bend when dropped, especially on hard surfaces. 

- Not a substitute for a pry bar.

Tough Thick 0.020”~0.022+” 

Note . . .

- Prevalent in thicker butcher knife designs w/stronger 32º per-side cutting edges.

Pros . . . 

- Tough/durable with an ability to endure most accidental encounters. 

- These designs provide the durability to cut through small to medium-sized bones.

Cons . . . 

- Increased cutting forces are required, especially when cutting high-density foods. 

- More metal to remove; therefore, more difficult to sharpen.

Blades & Cutting Edge Profiles

Blade Tip Designs . . .

- Western/Euro Chef Knives ... with thicker, low-profile points work well...

- Maneuvering between bones

 in large cuts of meat &

   general food preparation.   

- The trade-off is low profile; finer knife points are less durable when accidentally dropped.

- Santoku Knives - a newer style, intended to be a more user friendly cook's /chef's prep-knife.

- Designed for...  slicing, dicing &

chopping of . . .

meats, fruits & vegetables.

- Larger tip/point designs increase stability & durability

on thinner knife blades.

Ideas to Consider . . .

- Your height... more precisely, how far your elbow is above the cutting surface.

 Helps determine appropriate ...

  - Blade curvature in the forward

section of the cutting edge. 

- Handle geometry relative to

the knife cutting edge.

Chef - Knives

         Western/European

- Blade geometry features more cutting edge curvature . . .

which generally works well on a

cutting board for taller

users ( 5'10"+). 

Santoku- Asian Styled Knives

- Versatile ergonomic cooks/chefs

Prep-Knife for smaller users. 

( 5'10” or less)

- Reduced cutting-edge curvature.

Cutting... Edges & Boards

Flat Profile Cutting Edge

- Flat cutting-edge profiles work well under ideal circumstances with extremely flat cutting boards.

- Improperly... sharpened, steeled, or honed flat cutting edges quickly turn into concave cutting edges.

- Concaved knife cutting edges &/or cutting boards yield partially sliced/cut foods.

- A flat cutting edge’s contact with a cutting board is relatively abrupt, sending a shock wave up through the hand & arm. 

- Personally, I find this uncomfortable & annoying.

Curved Cutting Edges

- Edge profiles with slight or significant curvature are more practical, forgiving & comfortable for daily use. 

- Convex/curved cutting edges perform well on slightly worn/concave cutting boards.   

- They are more forgiving in terms of imperfect sharpening.

- Reduced contact areas require less pressure to cut into or through high-density foods.

- These cutting edge profiles lend  themselves to rocker-style slicing & dicing methods.

Cutting Edge Destruction

Pull-Through ...

     Carbide Sharpeners

- These sharpeners rip apart the structural bonds in high-carbon steels.

- This destabilizes/cracks the metal in & behind the cutting edges on all knives.

- There is virtually no way to maintain a desirable cutting-edge profile.

- The resulting concave cutting edge profiles will deteriorate cutting board knife performance.

- Sharpen thin high-carbon knife steels on a flat diamond or stone abrasive surface.