We recently created our first batch of Australian knives to quench the thirst of many of our local knife customers.
So what were the appetites we are endeavor to satiate? What steel is used for the blades? What inspired the designs? What makes an Australian Kitchen Knife different from a German, French or Japanese Knife?
Australian Kitchen Knives
When we first started making knives, our Koi Knives, we focused mainly on Japanese designs. The beauty of Japanese knife is the fusion of harder, sharper steel blades whilst still being remarkably light weight. Japanese knives use less steel but use it to create the worlds finest knives.
However, after making 1000 or so Japanese style knives we started to itch...
1. Our Australian Kitchen Knife Customers wanted knives with additional heft
Many of our customer were used to heavier knives but still wanted Japanese steel to provide a tougher, sharper spine - and so did we. In crafting our Oz collection we returned to high carbon steel (made in Japan) and added thicker cladding to provide the heft needed for stronger chopping.
In addition, we added a sand blasted section toward the spine of the blade to prevent items being cut without Big Red Knife Collection from sticking to the blade. The sand blast was also and honour to the country we live in - much of which is covered in dust.
2. Our Australian Kitchen Knife Customers wanted knife blades designed to match what we eat in Oz.
Japanese knives are the best knives on planet earth when slicing fish or intricately chopping a range of vegetables however the cuisine here in Australia is broader and has more focus on proteins like lamb, pork and cows. When preparing many of these cuts for weekend BBQ's, chopping oversized watermelons for dessert or crunching our way through pumpkins our customers wanted a little more heft.
To deliver these knives we widened the spine, added more steel to the handle and extended the blade length where necessary to tackle larger cuts and slices.
3. Our Australian Kitchen Knife Customers wanted unique knives that reminded them where we are.
For every knife we make we look back at what inspired it. For our strong, short chunky chopper we used inspiration from the wombat.
For our serrated bread knife we let the Salt water crocodile from Australia's north dictate the shaping of our serration.
For the biggest chefs knife to be found we looked at the largest kangaroo - the big red kangaroo.
For every Australian kitchen knife we ever make we look to the Animals that arrived here long before we were - and we let them inspire the knives that we create.
Lastly, What makes Australian Kitchen Knives Unique?
The core difference in the Australian knives is much the same as the people here in Oz - we are a fusion. We are made with local and unique Australian wood as the basis of our handle and use the finest steel we can find (Japanese) but in a very different way. The Australian Big Red knives are built of HEFT, POWER and LONGEVITY by fusing extended quantities of Japanese steel with life long wood found within Australia itself.
