£50.00
Your knife is only as good as your sharpening skills. Join us at our workshop in Peckham for a hands-on knife sharpening course where you’ll learn how to achieve and maintain a razor sharp edge using traditional Japanese whetstones.
In this small group class, we cover the fundamentals of sharpening, from understanding grit progression to selecting the right whetstone for the job. You’ll practise the basic technique needed to sharpen any kitchen knife with confidence, along with practical advice on ongoing care and edge maintenance. We’ll also show you around the workshop and introduce the basics of our knife-making process.
Basic sharpening technique for kitchen knives
Introduction to Japanese whetstones – choosing the right stone
Care and maintenance tips
Bring your own knife or use one of ours
Maximum 6 people per class
1.5 – 2 hours
£50 per person
Perfect for home cooks, professionals, and anyone looking to improve their knife skills.
If you’d like to book this as a gift but aren’t sure which date to choose, we recommend purchasing a digital Gift Card.
Already know the basics? Check out our Advanced Sharpening Course which is perfect for those who understand whetstone sharpening and want to take their skills to the next level.
The Forge Collection blades are available in two laminate constructions: stainless clad Aogami Super and folded iron clad. These are two steels we have worked with since very early in our knifemaking, and both are particularly well suited to the way we like to forge and the kinds of knives we like to make. Both are made for us by Takefu Special Steel in Echizen, Japan, one of the country’s oldest blade steel mills.
The stainless clad version has an Aogami Super core with a stainless outer layer.
It offers the cutting feel and edge performance of a hard carbon steel core, with easier day-to-day maintenance thanks to the stainless cladding. It is a good option if you want a high-performance carbon steel edge with a little less reactivity and a little less upkeep in daily use.
The folded iron clad version has a reactive iron outer layer around the hard core steel.
It will develop a patina with use and tends to show a little more texture and variation from blade to blade. This is the more traditional, more reactive option, and is often the one people choose if they like the feel and look of a fully carbon steel knife. The trade-off is that it asks for a little more care in use.
If you want easier maintenance, go for stainless clad.
If you prefer a more traditional carbon steel feel and a blade that will develop more character over time, go for folded iron clad.
Both are excellent performers, and the right choice mostly comes down to how much maintenance you want to take on and which finish you prefer.
If you are still unsure which is right for you, please feel free to give us a call or come down to the workshop.
Each knife in our Forge Collection is shaped for a particular set of tasks, and together they cover almost everything you’ll do in a home kitchen. All four are forged in our Peckham workshop with high-carbon steel, a 3mm spine at the handle, and a walnut handle with a solid copper ferrule.
Petty — 125mm blade, 250mm overall. Our smallest knife, sitting between a full chef knife and a paring knife. Ideal for off-board cutting tasks like peeling, intricate work like chopping herbs, or even filleting fish. We leave our Petty knives with a slightly more robust grind, so with care they can handle light butchering too. Suitable for meat and vegetables.
Santoku — 175mm blade, 310mm overall. Our all-time bestselling knife and the most versatile shape in the range. The name means “three virtues” in Japanese — slicing, dicing, and mincing — and that’s exactly what it does. A great starting point if you’re buying just one knife. Suitable for fish, meat, and vegetables.
Nakiri — 150mm blade, 290mm overall. Our take on the classic Japanese vegetable knife. Forged extra thin so it glides through hard vegetables without wedging, with a deep flat blade that makes downward chopping fast and precise. Suitable for vegetables.
Gyuto — 220mm blade, 365mm overall. Highly favoured by professional chefs. Long and thin with a curved edge for seamless slicing and a pointed tip for precise work. The profile is flatter towards the heel for chopping and curves gradually towards the tip for a comfortable rocking action. Suitable for meats, vegetables, and fish.
What to avoid with all four: bone, frozen food, hard cheese rinds, pumpkin and butternut squash skin, and any cutting surface other than wood or end-grain. These are precision blades, not cleavers.
If you’re starting a collection, the Santoku alone covers most home cooking; pair it with the Petty for detail work, then add the Nakiri or Gyuto depending on whether vegetables or meat dominate your kitchen.
With regular home use and proper care, a Blenheim Forge knife should hold its edge for several months between sharpenings. The clearest sign that the edge needs work is when the knife starts crushing rather than slicing — particularly noticeable on tomato skin, soft herbs, or when peeling an onion takes more pressure than you remember.
We sharpen, service and repair every Blenheim Forge knife free, for life. There are three ways to use the service:
For sharpening at home, we use and recommend the King Combination Stone (800/6000 grit) — a single stone that handles both setting an edge and finishing it.
One note: please avoid pull-through sharpeners and electric sharpening machines. They remove far more steel than necessary and can damage the bevel of a hand-forged blade. If you’ve used one in the past, don’t worry — bring the knife to us and we can usually restore it.
We only sharpen Blenheim Forge knives — we don’t service blades made elsewhere.
Please allow 2 working days to process and ship your order. The engraving service will add up to 7 working days to our standard delivery time.
Special Editions can take up to 2 weeks to process.
Shipping to the UK – We are currently offering free shipping for all UK orders over £100. UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail and will require an adult signature on arrival. Collection option is also available just email us at: info@blenheimforge.co.uk. Please allow up to 2 working days to process the order, once the order is ready for collection you’ll receive ‘Order fulfilled’ email and can collect it from Arch 229, Blenheim Grove SE15 4QL, Monday to Friday between 9am-5pm.
Shipping to the EU & USA – £30
We charge a flat shipping fee of £30 for all orders going to the USA and countries within the EU. This fee INCLUDES all customs fees, import duties, and taxes, so there will be no additional charges upon delivery.
Shipping to the Rest of the World – £10
For orders shipped to all other international destinations outside the EU & USA, we charge a flat shipping fee of £10. This fee DOES NOT INCLUDE customs fees, import duties, or taxes. These charges are the responsibility of the recipient and may need to be paid before your package is released from customs.
International delivery times vary by country but generally take 1-2 weeks. Delays may occur due to customs procedures or local postal service timelines. If you would like to use a specific courier service, please email us at info@blenheimforge.co.uk to make arrangements.
We will address any issues with workmanship or quality as long as the knife has been used in normal conditions and according to the care instructions supplied. The guarantee only applies if the product has not been used for purposes other than those for which they were intended, nor do we cover damage due to improper or unreasonable use. However we do understand that accidents happen and we will always do our best to get a knife back on the road if possible.
We accept returns and exchanges up to 14 days after delivery, please email info@blenheimforge to arrange. For a full refund goods must be returned unused, in the original packaging with proof of purchase within 14 days of delivery.
Please note that we do not accept returns, exchanges, or refunds for engraved blades.
The use of sustainable materials in the creation of our knives has always been important to us. We only use native hardwoods for the handles, with the traceability of its source a high priority. Our main supplier is the charity Goldfinch. Based in Bermondsey, they mill and season timber sourced from within London, mainly from windfallen trees.
Within the knife making industry as with most manufacturing there is a huge amount of waste in terms of both energy and materials. We focus on efficiency at every stage of our process, forging as close as possible to the finished dimensions not only helps our blades’ performance it also means we make the most from our precious Japanese laminated steel. We also believe that the longevity of a product is just as important – even if something is made from materials with the greenest credentials they are worth nothing if it is thrown away or replaced in a couple of years.
We make our blades with the aim for each one to be cherished for years to come, with ease of sharpening and maintenance at the forefront of our material selection and design process.
