Cooking knives are one of the reasons I started out in knife making. When retiring from my work as an exploration geologist I wanted a custom made cooks knife and decided making my own would be a good project. Here I am nearly twenty years later still trying...

I strongly favour high-end stainless steels for these knives. The days when carbon steel kept a better edge are well and truly behind us. Modern stainless is a high-tech wonder and there are a number of superior versions to choose from such as M390, RWL34, Damasteel damascus and some of the Crucible steels from USA. However, I will use 52100 carbon steel if the intention is to promote that olde-worlde patina that gave grandma's knives so much character. Kitchen knives come in many different forms such as fruit knives, paring knives, choppers, carving knives and of course general use chefs. Either way, they need to be sharp and so often are made from thinner steel with a fine grind and low angle edge bevel. Most of the kitchen knives I make are conventional double bevel however keep in mind that a chisel ground knife can be deadly sharp and easier to sharpen. 

Given the acid and wet environment found in kitchens, we are limited in what woods can be used on the handle, so that will be part of the discussion. Outside of those few suitable timbers there is a wonderland of man-made materials that will do the job and still look special. If you want to see a general collection of my knives you can visit these pages Photo Library Page or this page Photo Library Page 2