I’m obsessed by food and have a strange addiction to kitchen gadgets.
Je suis coutelier, ‘innit.
Craig is the knife maker and his wife Amie keeps him inline and provides customer support and stops the wheels falling off. Although Craig wouldn’t admit it, Amie is clearly the boss. The twins provide the workshop entertainment.
Born and raised in South Wales, Craig and his wife now run Chop Knives from a tiny little village in rural France, just a short trip from Thiers, the French capitol of knife making.
Using both traditional methods coupled with innovative processes, The goal is to make the best knives possible. This may result in some unusual methods but the the focus is always on that goal.
Chop Knives supply restaurants, chefs and home cooks all around the world with knives built to order. Occasionally, individual knives will be put up for sale but the focus is on custom orders.
The long winded back story.
For as long as I remember, I have always had a fascination with knives. As a kid I remember my grandfather (Bamps) having an old chest of drawers at the top of his staircase; in here he kept his treasures. The third drawer down was my favourite, this one held a collection of old knives.
I can still remember the first knife I ever owned, an old 3" folding pen knife with a mock ivory handle which was given to me by Bamps from his collection. I treasured that knife and wish that I still had it now. From that early age, knives were something special to me, although at the time I didn't know why. It was just a strange fascination.
I now know why I love knives so much, apart from their beauty, I love the pure utility of a knife. A knife is a tool which performs a task with little fuss; no batteries required. A good knife will last a lifetime and beyond.
Bamps didn't just have a kick-ass collection of pen knives; his kitchen knives were equally as beautiful. Bone handled with a rounded end, his knives were always sharp enough to slice through the toughest of steaks. I can still picture Bamps standing in the kitchen sharpening his knives.
As a child of the late 70's, my teenage years were rudely interrupted by the advance of home computers. Move forward twenty years and I have been working with computers for over half of my life. This equates to tens of thousands of hours hunched over a keyboard with a blue phosphorus glow burning into my face. A few years back I made the decision to change this unhealthy way of spending my days. Since then I have been making knives. I love the whole process; sparks fly and I feel at ease. After making hundreds of knives, each getting progressively better; the idea for Chop Knives was formed.
Mixing traditional processes with cutting edge technologies, Chop knives are built to stand up to the demands of a busy restaurant. Vacuum chambers, extreme temperature kilns, lasers and cryogenic treatments are used to build each knife. Think science lab rather than a dusty workshop.
In generations to come, I would love for somebody to think of one of my knives as a treasure, just as I did with my Bamps' knives.