Cooks knife

A little smaller than a traditional chef’s knife, this cook’s slicer has become one of my favourite all-rounders in the kitchen. It’s the sort of knife that will handle most jobs without fuss, and still looks right at home if it comes to the table to slice a Sunday roast.

The blade is made from AEB-L stainless steel—something I’ve come to enjoy working with for its balance of toughness, edge retention, and ease of maintenance. It’s a very practical steel for a knife that’s going to be used regularly.

The handle is Huon pine with a walnut burl section, and I’ve added red liners and spacers to give it just a bit of lift. Sometimes a small detail like that is enough to take a knife from being purely functional to something with a bit more presence.

One of the things I’ve started doing more consistently is keeping a record of the knives I make.

In the early days it was all a bit haphazard—notes here and there, the occasional sketch—but over time I’ve realised how useful it is to properly document what I’m doing. Now I keep a book with drawings, measurements, steels, timbers, and any changes I make along the way.

It’s partly practical—I want to be able to go back and recreate something that works—but it’s also a way of tracking progress. You start to see how designs evolve, sometimes in small ways, sometimes quite significantly.

I also make templates of blade shapes that feel right in the hand, along with any variations that come out of the process. And somewhere along the way I got into the habit of naming each knife—if nothing else, it makes it easier to keep track of them all.

This particular design is one I’ve come back to a few times now, and it’s proven to be quite popular.

I think that comes down to its versatility. It’s comfortable to use, suits a wide range of kitchen tasks, and has just enough presence that you wouldn’t hesitate to bring it to the table when the job calls for it.

Which, in the end, is what I’m aiming for—knives that work well, feel right, and quietly become part of how you cook.

My design book is a great reference source when I am trying to work out what I have done and which materials I have used

when I find a design I like I make a template for future reference