Collaborating on knife design with a Chef is always a fantastic opportunity to delve deeper into the possibilities of knife making. Professionals at the top of their game always bring a unique perspective to developing the perfect tool for their style of cooking. Always on the hunt to bring variety to our collection, we wanted to concentrate on a “every day” style knife...which led to sandwiches...which led directly Chef Trevor Kunk who is currently the “Director of Culinary Innovation” at “The Little Beet” Brands, has spent time in the kitchens of Aureole, Blue Hill, and The Breslin and is no stranger to the kinds of food that we all want to eat every day. He’s the Wizard of the Wing, the Prince of Pickles, and not to mention the Executive Director of #funstuffontop.

Through a few design discussions and prototypes, we settled on an offset serrated knife, the unsung hero of professional chefs everywhere, but put a curve to the blade edge to really provide the extra radius and ergonomics needed to get through a nicely tall, delicately layered sandwich with maximum efficiency.

Chef Kunk is also providing his recipe for his “Roasted Turkey, Krispy Bacon, Horseradish Braised Kraut & Dill Pickles, Swiss, Sauce ‘Kenny Loggins’, Pumpernickel Fried in Bacon Fat” Sandwich which we all felt really set the tone for the neighborhood this blade wants to live in. 

FEDER KNIVES IS DONATING 12.5% OF THE PROCEEDS OF THIS SALE TO THE CHARITY BENEFITING THE WORKERS OF THE LITTLE BEET & THE LITTLE BEET TABLE. 

Trevor wanted a handle material that made each knife truly unique and funky, so we sourced some sustainably sourced Cherry Burl, each piece with different whirls and swirls. This went through a several weeks long drying out stage before we cut it into appropriate chunks to “stabilize”. From there we put it through our ‘stabilization’ process. Which is where we submerge the blocks in a resin type of liquid in an air-tight canister and then attach a vacuum pump to it. This vacuum sucks all of the  air out of the wood, (you would be very surprised to see how much air comes out, it runs for hours and hours). As the air escapes the wood, the resin chases in behind it filling every void. When the solution stops bubbling it indicates that all of the air is gone, and the wood has sucked up as much of the resin as it can handle. The liquid resin is made solid by heat activation, so after we drain it all out of the excess liquid we then bake it nice and slow which hardens it and makes it extremely durable.

This whole production yields a wood ‘material’  that will last a lifetime of use, and won’t warp or bend or ‘move’ in any way. Essentially it is petrified. This process also yields a nice smooth sheen to the wood as it is sculpted down to the final profile.

These ‘scales’ are then bolted onto the handle with brass corby bolts as well as epoxy. The bolts end up looking like rivets after the heads are ground off, but they are indeed actually bolting the wood to the steel for a very firm grip to keep the scales secure. The epoxy, apart from further securing the scales to the handle, also fills in the file work along the spine, which gives a nice unique and hand-made effect. 

Each serration is ground slowly by hand, creating a daisy chain of razor sharp “scalloped” edges which combine to yield a glorious cutting edge. These teeth are used in knife making to assist in cutting through items that need a little grab, the teeth kind of hold something in place while the cutting happens. Think of slicing a piece of angel food cake, even the sharpest straight edged blade is prone to squishing the cake before it cuts. The teeth, along with the thin 1/16” steel was chosen to create a tool that can sever the most delicate of items like a laser. 

The blades are finished with an etching of their number, Trevor’s signature, and the Feder Knives touch-mark. 

The knife includes a form fitted kydex sheath, for travel and drawer storage and a small original watercolor of the design signed by both Geoff and Trevor

Metal: 1/16th “ Stainless Steel

Blade Length: 8”

Over All Length: 12.75”

Scales: Cherry Burl

Liner: Deep Red

Bolts: Brass

Weight: 6 oz

We will make only as many as we sell during the sales window of (12:00pm EST JULY 20th - 12:00pm EST AUGUST 2nd ).

After the sales are complete, we will begin to source and prepare the materials. You will receive email updates with photos detailing the what’s, when’s and why’s of the knife making process. Please expect your knives to be out for delivery about 4 months after the pre-sale has closed.