Umbra7 Design

The project is coming along nicely, however i was wondering what people's opinions are to different materials; In terms of the blade, i feel a more standard stainless steel would be required as opposed to the high carbon used in many high end knives as in the end i am still aiming these at a price point not out of reach of your average persons top end and thusly the user may not be willing or prepared to look after the knife in the best way to keep them from becoming damaged. However as raised by Edward J, most people think blades are infinite and with a lower carbon steel losing its edge so much quicker, it might be an issue if they are not prepared to sharpen/hone it as often as they should. Its a balancing act and i don't want to go serrated, in your experiences has anyone come across a good middle ground?

I asked for help, and you sure didn't disappoint. Thank you everyone for your comments, i have some very interesting aspects to explore now that i just hadn't considered before. This project is getting more and more rewarding as the sheer amount of things to learn about the design of kitchen knives is wonderful. Since i last posted i have refined the shaping of the handle down somewhat as to bring it more in line with smaller hands and look more like what people expect (and feel comfortable using) yet still keeping the important aspects required to make it help grip. The blade has formed something slightly between a santoku and traditional chefs knife (much closer to chefs still), to discourage the tendency to stab at food whilst not making it impossible if that is what you must do. The Shun Ken Onion line has been very helpful to analyse in regards of form with the handle and what exactly makes it that much easier to grip properly. Although i do love the idea of being able to adjust the blade angle for people and the weight (something i am particularly interested in) i'm finding difficulty implementing these kind of features without making the knife way too high a price point for the intended users and dangers with moving parts and harbouring bacteria with little areas difficult to reach and clean properly.

First of all i would like to express how impressed i am with this site and the valuable opinions people have posted on it, especially about kitchen knives. I am a second year Industrial Design student at Brunel University, currently undertaking a kitchen brief. My current process has lead me to trying to design a set of 5 knives (Chef, Paring, Utility, Carving, Bread). I have learnt a lot through reading these posts on what makes a good knife good and what to avoid. What makes the design different is that if am aiming these knives at people with little knowledge of proper food preparation and knife technique. The design comes with altering the shape of the handles to encourage good practice. For example with the chefs knife i intend to include a sloped edge to the blade to make the chefs 'pinch grip' more comfortable and natural for those not used to it, perhaps with a textured surface in the areas where your thumb/finger should rest. Essentially guys, is there anything you can tell me to help with consideration of all aspects a novice knife user could be helped with minimal instruction to use these knives correctly - by the design of the knives themselves. Thank you. Luke Firth Brunel University School Of Engineering And Design.