One year ago, Todd Harrington challenged himself to construct a useful kitchen knife from scratch. With little to no background in the how-to of hammering, bending, and shaping a blade, let alone attaching a sturdy handle, it was no easy task. But then again, this is a man who says he can put together Ikea furniture without instructions, so knife making should be a cinch.
“I’ve always been fascinated with knives,” Harrington says. “Then one day I decided to challenge myself to make one. I made it and I just fell in love with the final product. I took it to work, and everyone was like, ‘You made that? Wow.’ That gave me more fuel to try it again and do better. I look at it today and it doesn’t even look good compared to what I’m putting out now.”
A full year into his passion project, Harrington, who is culinary director of Blau & Associates, is churning out knives for friends, fellow chefs, and even housewives who want to slice, dice, and entertain with a bit of style. He’s close to completing his 100th knife and admits there has been a lot of on-the-job learning along the way.
I love stories like this but they are often hard to find in a search when you aren’t local. If you see something like this in your local paper, please pass it along.
View Linked Article
Hocky
Great story. I like his comment, “You get something that you can not get anywhere else.” Sounds like “Bill” Moran in his book, “Master of the Forge” in part, “. . . The fine hand-made knife is owned and used because the person takes great pride in its workmanship and beauty.” Chef Harrington impresses with his truly unique approach to creating knives. Well done!