Make a Custom Chef Knife (One Session)

Learn the fundamentals of knife making by designing and making one from scratch!

Have you ever wondered what kind of person handcrafts their own kitchen knives? It may sound like the stuff of legends, but after this workshop, that person will be YOU! This workshop will teach you all the skills needed to design and make a custom knife a professional chef would be proud to call their own.

This workshop is focused on the reductive/stock-removal knife making technique. We’ll provide you with a bar of high-carbon tool steel and then teach you how to cut, grind, shape, and polish it, all at room temperature, into a custom knife that rivals most cutlery you’ll find in stores.

You can choose from several classic knife designs – a french chef, a vegetable slicer, a mini cleaver, or an all-purpose “3 virtue” Santoku. If you prefer to leave the cooking to restaurant professionals, you can make a sexy Bowie Knife for your next hunting expedition or trip to a sketchy part of town.

And the best part? You can customize your knife’s design, including sizing the handle so it fits perfectly in your hand. If a dinner guest isn’t impressed by you preparing the meal with a knife you made with your own hands, that person doesn’t deserve to break bread with you.

In the first half of the workshop, you’ll craft your knife’s profile and cutting edge and drill the holes for the pins that will adorn your knife’s handle, using various hand and power tools. Once that’s done, you’ll heat your knife in our forge and then quench it in oil to harden the steel so it fears no fish, fowl, meat, or bone it encounters in its future. Ever seen contestants in the “Forged in Fire” TV show quench their knives? That’s exactly what you’ll be doing!

You’ll then give your knife a short rest in our tempering oven while you bask in the glory of your bad-ass-ness and grab a slice from the yummy pizza place around the corner (or something else from the many Park Slope eateries nearby).

We’ll reconvene about 45 minutes after the quench for the second half of the workshop.  During this time, you’ll clean and polish your blade and install custom brass-pinned hardwood scales to form your knife’s handle, which you’ll shape and refine until it fits your hand like a glove. Once that’s done, you’ll apply a protective finish on your handle, sharpen the blade to a razor’s edge, and celebrate the addition of “bladesmith” to your arsenal of skills!

Skill Level:

• Beginner — no prior experience is required. This workshop is designed to introduce you to the core concepts of knife making – profiling, beveling, polishing, handle-making and sharpening.

• You will use various hand tools to shape your knife, including hacksaws, files, and sanding blocks. You’ll also use belt sanders and rotary tools to make your knife.

• One 8 hour session with a 45 min meal break, give or take thirty minutes.