Forged versus stamped
There are two methods used in making a metal kitchen knife blade, forged and stamped. Both methods are created to function for specific cutting purposes.
While there are many varying opinions about which method determines the best quality the fact of the matter is that it is more about personal taste and needs, i.e., the size of your hand, your strength, and how much cutting you will be doing.
When it comes to food preparation the overall size of a kitchen knife generally correlates not only to the size of the food you are cutting but to its texture, e.g., thick and fibrous, hard, soft, turgid, juicy, sinewy etc.
The forged process begins with cutting out a blade shape from a piece of steel in the shape of a blade which makes it thicker and wider.
This weight is determined not only by its thickness and size but by its accompanying bolster (an added layer or shoulder of steel at the butt end of the blade which meets the end of the knife’s handle) which gives the entire knife its balance.
In unison both weight and balance help make heavier, short and quick cuts using less effort.
Stamped kitchen knife blades on the other hand are thinner (stamped from a roll of steel) and therefore much lighter than a forged blade.
In this case the razor sharp blade compensates for the lack of notable weight and balance by allowing you to make slower more precise cuts on smaller foods for longer periods.
Forged kitchen knife blades
Forging is a method used to shape steel from a metal bar called a billet or blank. The bar is heated to near melting point and then either hammered manually or mechanically into the desired shape.
If you’re imagining a scene from a movie where a guy is hammering out a sword from a glowing hot strip of metal, you get the idea. The only differences between that process and the more modern one now is of how the steel cut and heated and the time it took.
Today’s modern forged method uses a hydraulic hammer press to pound the steel into a the desired shape and then it goes through a series of fine honing until the blade is balanced sharpened and polished.
Important features of forged kitchen knives:
- Blades are thick and heavy
- Blades have a bloster between the heel and handle
- Forged knives have measurable blade strength
Stamped kitchen knife blades
Stamped knife blades shapes are cut from a steel sheet as it passes under a hydraulic press. This is followed by grounding the blade down and then honing it to a thinner finely sharped edge.
With regard to weight and balance stamped kitchen knives are not made with a steel bolster which makes them lighter and less balanced than their forged counterparts.
Important features of stamped knives:
- Blades do not have a bolster
- Blades are thinner and lighter than forged blades
- Blade balance and strength is minimal in comparison to a forged blade
In conclusion:
“Does the method a kitchen knife blade is constructed determine its quality”? The answer is no.
Bottom line: The process used in producing a kitchen knife blade is not so much about quality but how it can best work for you – it’s a personal choice.
