How to order a custom knife

If you’d like a custom handmade knife made for you but don't know where to start or what to ask for then this quick buyers guide is just for you..

Let's start with the three types I generally make.

Kitchen Knives, Camping Knives and Fishing Knives. 

Kitchen Knives for me fall into two categories - Western style or Japanese style.

A Western style kitchen knife can usually be identified by the handle design - it’s called a “full tang” the steel of the blade is visible in the handle and it’s usually held together with visible pins.

A japanese style knife has a “hidden tang” where the steel part of the handle is not visible and inside the handle it looks like a steel stick attached to the blade.

There are exceptions to this in terms of design but to keep it simple you’re either going to have a full tang or hidden tang knife.

Then comes the purpose of the knife - if it’s for yourself, you'll have a pretty good idea about what type of food you like to cook, if it’s a gift you probably want to stay safe and go for an all rounder style kitchen knife. 

Generally the most common full tang kitchen knives I make are.

Chefs or Cooks Knife

Cleaver

Slicer

Paring knife 

Chefs or Cooks Knife is in the range of being 30 cm in length and would be considered an all rounder type knife in the kitchen. So good for cutting, slicing and chopping. 

The Cleaver is a more heavy duty style around 27 cm in length and 7 cm tall, mainly used for processing proteins but can also be used to chop vegetables.

The slicer, while similar in length as the chefs knife it’s not quite as tall with a sleeker profile and often a little thinner it excels at slicing and carving proteins

Then comes the paring knife, while usually used as a vegetable knife, it tends to be used for just about anything you need a small knife to do in the kitchen. 

So from the above four options for a full tang kitchen knife, then comes the decision about what steel to make the knife from.

High Carbon Steel

I generally use a high carbon steel called 1084 for kitchen knives, there are many different types of carbon steel but this would be the most common and widely used. 

The benefits of high carbon steel for kitchen knives is its strength and ability to hold a sharp edge with repeated use - so less frequent sharpening and less likely to break if dropped.

High carbon steel knives age with use and develop a patina, they also will rust if not taken care of - But don't worry, they are easy to look after. 

Stainless Steel

As with carbon steel, there are many types of stainless steel. I don't have a favourite, but typically use a Swedish cutlery stainless steel. 

Stainless steel is obviously great for kitchen knives, it doesn't however have much character in terms of looks which is entirely subjective of course.

 I have and use both at home, and I like to use both, the stainless kitchen knives i use tend to be thinner and lighter than the carbon steel knives which for some can be a consideration. 

Stainless steel also costs more than high carbon steel, not significantly more although a finished knife in stainless steel may be $60 to $100 more.

Hidden Tang

The same 4 full tang style knives can be made with a hidden tang. 

Chef, Cleaver, Slicer, Paring 

The hidden tang knives would typically be thinner and lighter than the full tang counterpart and also be more in line with the design of japanese style knives.

Handles and Handle materials.

Most commonly used material in custom knives is wood. There are hundreds of possibilities. The wood can either be stabilised ( impregnated with resin ) or natural. I tend to use either local to Queensland wood or reclaimed hardwood, usually blackwood and sometimes teak. It’s nearly always natural unless I'm buying a specific wood for a particular custom knife. 

The other option is Micarta and G10, both are synthetic materials. I use Micarta quite often, it’s very versatile and also waterproof. It can be finished to a high polish or textured for a satin look. Both wood and micarta can be used for either style of handle.

Another option is the use of spacers and liners in the handle to give it a pop of colour, i don't generally use colored spacers and tend to stick to the classics like brass, stainless steel or black g10 sheet. It’s also perfectly fine to not use any spacers, something I tend to do more of as it’s a cleaner minimal look.

The actual shaping of the handle is something that is a more organic process, I don't tend to do many straight line or geometric type handles, for full tang handles I shape them individually to suit the knife and also how it feels in the hand. The hidden tang handles are more rounded and again shaped to suit the individual knife. 

Handle shaping tends to change from time to time and it’s one element that gives a custom knife its handmade artisan qualities.`

Camp Knives.

The camping knives I make are generally all purpose knives that are good for either food prep and / or utility. A little thicker, heavier and shorter than a kitchen knife.

There are again many different versions of what a camping knife can look like, the knives I make for camping come in 2 sizes.

The Field Knife. A small utility based fixed blade knife, mostly made with stainless steel and featuring either a timber or micarta handle

Camp Chef. Similar in shape to a chef knife but with a little more weight and usually made from stainless steel with a timber or micarta handle.

The camp style knives are built for heavy use in all weather conditions to tackle a variety of uses. The blade profile is usually a wedge type of bevel called a scandi grind as opposed to a flat grind for kitchen knives. It allows for better edge retention and a more general purpose use than just slicing or chopping.

Most of the camp knives I make are a western style handle with a paracord or lanyard hole at the base of the handle. 

Fishing Knives. ( filleting Knife)

Most people know what a filleting knife looks like, it’s a classic shape defined by a long thin flexible blade. The length of the blade is usually the part that is customised the most, some prefer a shorter stiffer blade while others prefer the opposite, usually it’s determined by what type of fish it’s going to be used for. 

I almost exclusively make these out of stainless steel and prefer to make them with a hidden tang to reduce the amount of steel in contact with water and also to keep it as light as possible.

While most are designed to be used outdoors, it’s also possible to make a more kitchen based fillet knife with a higher level of finish.

A general guide for pricing is as follows

Kitchen Knives $350 - $600

Small Kitchen Knife - $200

Camp Knives - $250 $400

Field Knife $200 - $300

Fishing Knife $300

The difference in cost is attributed to variable factors such as type of steel, size of knife,type of handle material and additions such as leather or kydex sheaths.

Most of the custom knives i make are variations of something i have made previously, so take a look through my instagram and website to see if there is something that is similar to the knife you would like made, then just send a text or email a screenshot and we can go from there.

Time.

Usually it takes around 2 - 4  weeks for you to receive your knife, it totally depends on how many knives are in the queue and if i need to order in specific materials, but i’ll let you know before you order.

Deposit.

Once you’ve decided on the knife you would like it’s just a matter of paying a custom Knife deposit here and we will add you to the queue.

I’m more than happy to answer any questions that you have - you can email me here or send a DM through Instagram.