Kitchen Knife Blade Production

How a kitchen knife blade is produces determines both its level of quality and expense and it’s difficult to have one without the other.

Good quality and expensive kitchen knives are sharper and harder because they are forged from carbon-steel which allows them to retain their blade’s sharpness for a long period of time.

On the hand a lesser quality kitchen knives are stamped from stainless-steel which is much softer and their cutting edge is often quickly ground, resulting in a less than straight edge.

Forged kitchen knife blades

Forging is a method used to shape steel from a metal bar, or single block of carbon-steel, called a billet or blank. The bar is heated to near melting point and then either hammered manually or mechanically into the desired shape. (Imagine a scene from a movie where a guy is hammering out a sword from a glowing hot strip of metal.) The only differences between the process of the days of old and today is the method used in heating, cutting and shaping the steel and the time it takes.

A forged blade is made in varying degrees of hardness (see Rockwell Hardness Rating).

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. (A forged blade has a bolster between the heel and handle whereas a stamped blade does not.)

A forged kitchen knife blade is considered by many kitchen knife aficionados to be the best quality, and more costly.

Stamped kitchen knife blades

A stamped kitchen knife is more economical to produce and less expensive for the consumer. It is machine cut from one sheet of stainless-steel making it lighter and less durable than a forged blade.

A stamped blade is razor sharp which compensates for its lack of notable weight and balance thus allowing you to make slower more precise cuts on smaller foods for longer periods. For some cooks this is preferable over that of a heavier forged knife.

Hardening and tempering

Hardening and tempering are two processes that kitchen knives are put through to produce a hard durable blade.

Taper ground

Taper ground blades are the best quality because the entire blade is ground from the back of the blade to the cutting edge and from the handle end to the tip. This process produces a blade that has a sharp and very strong cutting edge.

Hollow ground

A hollow ground is not as strong or durable as a taper ground blade because only the bottom portion of the blade is ground to form a cutting edge.

Tang

A tang is that part of the blade that attaches the blade to the handle.

Full tang

Full tang knives have a tang which runs the full length of the handle, follows its shape and is secured by rivets along its entire length. This helps to provide strength and balance and is a feature for the serious cook to look for.

Half tang

A half tang, or neb tang, is the name given to a tang that extends part way along the handle from about halfway or three quarters of the way. It is secured by rivets although those rivets furthest from the blade are for design more than function.

Whittle tang

Whittle tang knives have only a short point which extend into the handle and cannot be seen and are only suitable for lightweight work.