News

We partnered up with local brand Curated By to create a limited edition ‘Dining Knife’. Curated By is a collection of collaborative art and design objects from across the world, available to purchase and unique to the brand. They champion a slow-consumption model, quality over quantity and believe in the longevity of a really well made object. Here at Florentine Kitchen Knives we think this is important too. The knives are a variation on our classic scaled Micarta table knives in ivory, assembled with three brass corby bolts.

The new knife care range of products is a collaborative design effort between industrial designer and founder of FKK, Tomer Botner and Barcelona’s Liken wood, a local custom furniture and woodworking company and fellow family owned business. The collection, exclusively produced by Liken wood, comprises cutting boards, magnetic knife holders and Oak blade guards, known as Sayas, for FKK’s Kedma line of knives. Each object is designed with careful consideration for its functionality, durability and aesthetic with scrutiny throughout the manufacturing process in order to reduce waste and uphold both Florentine Kitchen Knives and Liken Wood’s dedication to creating superior products.

We are happy to share news of our latest project with Osip, a petite farm-to-table restaurant in the English countryside, from chef Merlin Labron-Johnson. Merlin, formerly at London’s Michelin starred Portland has recently been awarded a Michelin star for his new venture. Osip is a rural fine-dining restaurant focussed on the freshest local produce and with no set dinner menu to ensure that only what is the utmost seasonal will be served. 

Tomer and Merlin worked together on ideas for a knife design that would fit Osip’s clean, modern yet rural aesthetic and is simultaneously a pleasure to dine with. This led them to Studio Mermelada's knives designed for our Table Knife Project towards the end of 2020. Upon reopening post-lockdown, Osip’s tables will be complete with these knives - a little bit of Barcelona in Bruton, Somerset.

In the wake of our first lockdown here in Barcelona, we wanted to look to our local community and think of a way that we could give back by doing what we know best. And so, The Table Knife Project was born, bringing together 28 local design studios and collaborators to create 56 extraordinary table knives, each with their own unique and personal take on the existing FKK table knife. The project was started in order to raise money for El Repartidor restaurant, part of the El Llindar Foundation, a local charity supporting disenfranchised young people by developing their skills for the workplace, into professional kitchens and the wider hospitality industry. 

The 28 pairs of knives were showcased during Barcelona Design Week at the CUBIÑÁ design store in Eixample. You can find out a little more about each set of knives on The Table Knife Project website and also purchase the remaining pairs with all proceeds going to our chosen charity. 

The project was curated by Barcelona based designer Berta Julià Sala and The FKK team with branding and visual design of London based studio Gymnasium and the images of local photographer Coke Bartrina.

Participating designers: 

Angel Valiente, Goula / Figuera, Pablo Santos, Max Enrich, Alejandra Perini and Prosper Riba, Marta Ayala Herrera Studio, Elsa Casanova, Julen Ussia, Sebastian Alberdi, Sanna Völker, Aya Ulan, Jordi Canudas Studio, Isaac Piñeiro Studio, Altherr Desile Park, Nahtrang, Nut Creatives, Oriol Gener, Mermelada Estudio, Curro Claret, AOO Studio, OiKo Design Office, OWL, Andreu Carulla, Octavio Barrera, Banzai Turba, Júlia Esqué, Berta Julià Sala and Mike A. Hausmann, Gonzalo Mila.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new capsule collection, KEDMA. A nod to our own mixed heritage, the name ‘KEDMA’ is an ancient Hebrew word meaning ‘towards the east’ or ‘facing east’, echoing Tomer’s inspiration for designing the collection. The new range comprises a 240mm Gyuto, 180mm Nakiri and a 150mm petty knife, drawing upon largely Japanese and Chinese knife silhouettes, yet retaining elements from the western knife making methods that we use.

Traditionally, Asian knives have hugely varied profiles for each different task in the kitchen. Tomer explored this in his designs for KEDMA, but this time meeting the east with the west to create something well-rounded and more suited for the modern kitchen. As our culinary tastes become globalised, so must our kitchen tools. 

Unlike the custom made F4 knives, KEDMA are available to purchase instantly, either individually or as a full set. Each handle is composed of stacked Iroko wood disks, a dense and durable hardwood, gentle in colour and with a lightly dappled grain. The octagonal handle makes for a comfortable grip and is finished with our signature brass pommel and bolster. The full tang knives are made from the same tried and trusted Sandvik steel that the F4 range is made with.

Each knife will be engraved with our newly imagined logo, especially designed to celebrate the launch KEDMA. The branding includes words from a poem by Judha Halevi, a Spanish born, Jewish poet and philosopher from the middle-ages. A nod to the great fusion between east, middle-east and west.

We teamed up for a third time with our friends at Blenheim Forge on something really special‭. ‬James Ross-Harris and Jon Warshawsky‭, ‬two self-taught‭, ‬master blade smiths‭, ‬alongside machine-making extraordinaire Richard Warner are the trio behind Blenheim Forge‭. ‬They design and make all of their knives from their workshop‭: ‬a converted railway arch in south London‭.‬

This collaboration knife is a combination of Blenheim’s unique Gyuto blade profile alongside our signature and distinctive stacked custom handle‭. ‬It’s a great general purpose large blade‭, ‬flatter towards the heel for chopping and gradually curved towards the tip for a comfortable rocking action‭. ‬The steel is‭ ‬‘blue paper super’‭ ‬also known as‭ ‬‘aogami super’‭ ‬with stainless steel cladding‭, ‬giving the blade a ferociously sharp edge and unparalleled edge retention‭.‬

We released a limited edition run of 50‭ ‬knives for pre-order and they really created quite a storm‭. ‬We are thrilled to have sold‭ ‬out within the first day‭. ‬We’ll no doubt be doing another collaboration soon‭.‬

We are happy to announce that we are now retailers of Swedish made Tormek Sharpening Systems.

We use a T-8 to sharpen all of our knives here at the shop, so we can vouch firsthand for the durability and reliability of their machines. Tormek holds close to 20 patents on its systems - a firm industry leader - offering complete systems, including jigs and attachments, each one specially designed to easily achieve the optimal sharpness on all kinds of knives and hand tools.

We're retailing all three of Tormek's different machine models, all of them carefully designed and adapted to their respective audience and type of use, whether for a professional kitchen or workshop. Common to all the machines is that they are equipped with a powerful industrial motor and built for high quality and functionality. There is a 7-year warranty on all machines.

A dab hand at using the machines, and with a recent trip to Tormek's production site in Sweden, Tomer is more than happy to offer demonstrations of the machines either here at the shop, or on site with your new machine. 

You can shop the machines and the accompanying accessories on our Accessories page, and if you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to drop us an email.