An unassuming chef/blacksmith in Ireland is known by his contemporaries for his unique and incredibly high quality knives. Fingal Ferguson has a small workshop in his family's farm in West Cork. It may not look like much from the outside, but his knives speak for themselves.
Fingal's knives catch your attention because of the unique materials he uses and his almost obsessive attention to detail. His knives have "patterned firework finishings" as Vice described them. Knife handles made with buffalo horn, antlers, and reclaimed wood can be seen. He also uses a 7,000-year-old oak for some of his knives.
Chef Lee Tiernan from London describes the knives as nothing short of genius. He says, ""Fingal's knives have a great aesthetic. He uses unusual materials for the handles, makes each knife unique, and takes every detail into consideration. It's genius. The quality of Fingal's knives mirrors everything else he turns his hands to."
Fingal first got into knives when he inherited his uncle's knife collection. Then, he would play with them with reckless abandon, throwing them at trees and other "silly boy stuff." However, he eventually became fascinated with the process in making them and started to repair the knives by himself. He has since made more than 300 high quality blades.
He uses Swedish AEB-L stainless steel. He says of the metal, "What you are looking for is great grain structure. If you snap the blade in half it should be very fine. If you have done a bad heat treatment you will see little dots and lines. The finer the grain structure, the finer you can sharpen it."
His knives also have much purposes behind them. Fingal shares that "a Japanese-style santoku knife must be light and nimble; a European chef's knife must be firm enough to strike a bone without fear but light enough for plenty of use. The handle material should be attractive, and as versatile and strong as unobtanium."
For the knife he made with Vice tagging along, he utilized his precious ancient bog which was given to him by a fellow knifemaker Rory Conner, his mentor. He included his trademark design in the blade: a small-angled step behind the blade where you can tuck in one or two fingers.
See it here.
"It's almost like you would hold a pencil," Fingal shares. "It kind of stops your fingers going further up the blade so you don't get blisters, which often happens to me. It's ergonomic, but I wouldn't complicate the design any further; it just feels comfortable in your hand."
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of foodworldnews.com
