HOLLOW-HANDLED KNIVES

High-quality table knives with a blade made from special blade steel

Hollow-handled knives are made from two different metals which are welded together. The handle is made from the same material as the other components of the cutlery set, while the blade is made from a special blade steel. This blade steel ensures that the knife is exceptionally sharp and durable.

In order to ensure a perfect balance, the hollow handle is filled with various materials. For our T. FONTANE, F. V. SCHILLER and W. BUSCH cutlery sets this is a special cement, while a metal insert ensures perfect balance for J. S. BACH and T. STORM.
T. FONTANE, F. V. SCHILLER and W. BUSCH also have a tang which is located on the blade and is inserted into the handle. Owing to the fact that all knives are welded and not bonded, the two parts blend seamlessly into one another.

STEEL-HANDLED KNIVES

High-quality table knives with a blade made from special blade steel and a solid handle

Steel-handled knives are made from two different metals which are welded together. The blade is made from high-quality blade steel which ensures exceptional and long-lasting sharpness. The handle, in turn, is made from the same material as the other components of the cutlery set – this handle is made as a solid piece. Our H. HEINE cutlery set contains such top quality steel-handled knives. The handle is made from 18/10 stainless steel and the blade from a nickel-free blade steel.

The benefit of hollow-handled and steel-handled knives in comparison with monobloc knives, which are punched from a single piece of steel (generally simple 18/0 steel), is their high quality and the resulting top quality edge retention, as well as their durability and sharpness.

DOUBLE-SIDED SERRATED EDGE

A bread knife is characterised by a serrated edge because this allows the knife to cut through even hard crusts and skins – the serrated edge gets its name from the characteristic serrations on the cutting edge.

The serrated edge, sharpened on both sides, on our BREADLOVER in turn indicates a top quality bread knife – it guarantees optimal and precise cutting performance. The extra manual labour pays off because the double-sided serrated edge makes it possible to cleanly cut slices from a loaf of bread with no effort. Thanks to its special edge and its double-sided sharpening, the bread knife is also suitable for both right-handed and left-handed people.

BOG OAK

Black oak wood matured and refined over thousands of years

Bog oak wood is obtained from oak trucks that have been refined by nature itself over time – it is therefore not a separate type of wood but rather very old and valuable oak wood. The oak trunks have survived for thousands of years in wild bogs before they were discovered and are now worked to form our ergonomic knife handles after a slow and careful drying process.

While the oak trunks lie hidden deep in the bog for thousands of years, the wood becomes coloured and hardened. This reaction provides the characteristic properties of the wood which set it apart and make it so valuable. The bog oak gets its brownish to black colour through this storage in the bog and has this to thank for its particularly refined appearance. This high-quality handle design can be seen on our MEATLOVER chef’s knife  and BREADLOVER bread knife.

WILD OLIVE

Light wood from wild olive trees with a striking grain

Our olive wood handles come from the wild olive trees in the Mediterranean region and its natural surroundings. Olive wood wins people over visually with its distinctive and wonderful grain which varies from dark to light wood. Each knife handle is therefore a unique piece, like our MEATLOVER chef’s knife and BREADLOVER bread knife, as well as the CHEFSTALK chef’s knife for professionals.

SANDVIK 12C27 STEEL

High-quality steel for premium blades and outstanding quality

Sandvik 12C27 is the best rounded knife steel from the traditional Swedish company Sandvik, which has been setting continuously new standards in the steel industry and steel production for more than 150 years. The special Sandvik 12C27 steel stands out with its high hardness and tremendous sharpness, as well as impressing with its exceptional toughness and its outstanding edge performance and corrosion resistance. It guarantees optimal cutting performance and give the knife blade unbeatable sharpness and performance.

DCL (DIAMOND-LIKE CARBON)

Diamond-like carbon coating – surface treatment for outstanding blades and impressive visuals

The diamond-like carbon treatment (DLC for short) is a diamond-like carbon coating and numbers among the amorphous carbon materials. It has some of the unique and characteristic properties of diamonds. The DLC coating is applied to the blades in order to further optimise their properties – for particular resistance to wear and for outstanding frictional and non-stick properties.

In addition to the increased resistance to wear, the look also benefits from the wafer-thin carbon layer because the blade becomes an unmistakeable black as a result of the surface treatment. This wonderful black knife blade stands for top quality, like our BREADLOVER bread knife and MEATLOVER chef’s knife with their black DLC coating.

Rockwell

The unit of measurement for steel hardness

HRC denotes the Rockwell hardness and is the unit of measurement used to define the hardness of knife steel.

A soft blade shows signs of wear more quickly than a hard one, the wafer-thin cutting edge stays sharp for longer and has outstanding durability thanks to higher hardness. For this reason the quality of a knife is significantly dependent on the hardness of the knife steel.

Good kitchen knives – Made in Germany – are generally in the 55 to 57 HRC range. Outstanding chef’s knives, including ours, can even reach 59 HRC – this hardness is achieved by knives made from Sandvik 12C27 steel.