In 2022, Richard took on the task of completing a 5 blade set over the course of the year. He developed a set of knives that will tackle every task in the kitchen. This carefully thought out collection of blades includes a mix of Eastern and Western design. The inspiration for the blades has come from Rich’s own experience as a Bladesmith, taking aspects from many different projects and putting it into one ultimate set. He has chosen to do it the hard way, with an integrated forged bolster, which completes a clean, seamless transition between blade and handle.

The set was available one knife at a time: 

Paring Knife (90mm) – February release. This tiny paring knife is great for off board work, a slim handle for an easy grip makes it a perfect peeler. The blade geometry is thicker than usual- similar to our hunting knife- lending itself well to intricate butchery tasks.

Small Chef Knife (200mm) – April release. A general purpose blade, this Small Chef Knife is a great all rounder. The light, thin blade is good for smaller vegetable prep and finely cutting herbs and spices. The edge is curved towards the tip allowing the blade to be used in a rocking motion, as well as for push-cutting.

Filleting Knife (160mm) – July release. A flexible filleting knife is a great blade to have in a set, with the ability to remove skin from raw fish, some light butchery tasks, contouring bones and accurately removing flesh. The blade is light and ground super thin to allow it to bend.

Slicer Chopper (250mm) – September release. This versatile Slicer is great for carving cooked meat, but also lends itself well to some heavier butchery tasks. The curved tip is great for getting in and around the bone when serving up. The thicker convex geometry and added weight is perfect for cutting steak or chopping a chicken in half through the bone.

XL Nakiri (220mm) – December release. This blade is the veg work horse. Making veg prep fun and fast, this larger than usual Nakiri has a nice bit of weight behind it but is thin enough to provide very low cutting resistance. For best results adopt a push-cut technique with a large chopping board, then you can fly through your veg prep, scooping up and transferring ingredients easily.

Materials
*Blade – 1095 and 15n20 Damascus
*Handle – Rippled English Walnut