There are some really good makers emerging lately.

I've been following kitchen knives for a few years now, and I noticed that there's a good number of new makers doing kitchen stuff that are putting out some really dang good stuff. Is it just me, because I'm new to the scene myself, or is it actually a legitimate case? Probably the internet with the abundant resources out there.

I've probably talked about this before somewhere, but it still is impressive.

 

It's hard to judge the amount objectively, but I think you're likely right. Lots of contributing factors, but an increase in information, and a general rise in food culture are likely culprits.

 

Absolutely Don. I loved your thread on KKF about new maker's work. These guys deserve to be recognized for their efforts and craftsmanship!

 

I think the growth and accessibility of KKF via google has allowed some people getting involved in knives to find out more about kitchen stuff without depending wholly on intuition or more "traditional" knifemaker resources. The result is that makers are blossoming out of a basic understanding of kitchen knife geometry and profile, rather than simply steel and heat treat and handle ergonomics.

Of course prices keep rising too, even for less experienced and established makers.

 

I think the trend towards men being the main cooks in the household has increased the interest in quality and custom knives thus more info becoming available. Boys love their toys!

 

More makers and the established makers continually raising the bar on the work they do. Look back just a couple years and you can see the sea change.

 

the bigest flux in like jim said was a few years back when the hunter/bowie makers market dried up some. makers were looking ot expand there market and kitchen knives with there "simple" flat grinds "easiest" place to expand. older makers ether said i make my knives liek this or learned how to make proper kitchen knives. there has been a bit of a wash out of the older makers since the hunter and bowie market is starting to pickback up and they have those orders to fill.
the new guys starting up again see flull flat ground knives as not as hard to make then they read up on off the grind differences and ajust from there. they had a clean slate of thought as to what a knife should be liek and soaked up all the info they coudl from forums liek this were info is jsut a click away

 

In the last few years I have noticed more new quality makers popping up and actually putting out a knife that resembles a kitchen knife. When I was just learning I noticed a lot of new makers make a knife that did not fit into the hunter, chopper, fighter, bowie categories and they would just call it a kitchen knife, although it had no real attributes of a good knife to use in the kitchen.
These forums have also helped create a consistent dialogue on what constitutes a quality knife that is actually used as a tool. Even back in the In the Kitchen days, the info was varied, sparse and every one used different terminology, making it difficult to make sense of. Now with all the info on the newer forums an knife maker could spend a few evenings of reading and at least have an understanding of the different things that a maker needs to address to make a decent kitchen knife.

 

This is how I learned to make knives period over five years ago. I read and read and read and read...then went out and did it, and posted my results in places where makers I respected hung out. Within four blades I was making Japanese swords that were decent enough to catch the attention of high end American swordsmiths like Howard Clark and Randall Graham. From there I eventually turned my attention to kitchen knives...not due to the lack of market for the other things (though Butch is ABSOLUTELY correct in that being the reason many makers switched), but due to the fact that I wanted to make blades that people USED...in which performance was a quantifiable thing. Again...I read and read and read and read...then went out and did it. My first set is still the bar I use for cutting performance in my knives (thinnest gyuto I've ever seen lol), and my second knife went to Son for critique.

I say this not to pat myself on the back...but to pat YOU ALL on the back...as the kitchen knife community specifically, but also as part of the knife/sword community in general. Without your discussions, commentary, and willingness to educate would be bladesmiths in your wants and needs...we couldn't do it in a hundred knives over years...much less in one or two over weeks.

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