Black Diamond Knife Set

This is a set of handmade Chef's knives I finished last week. Stainless steel blades, Ebony handles and a black diamond set in each one. Fully polished, razor sharp and ready to go.


I started the set with 440-C stainless steel. This is a great all-around cutlery steel with a high resistance to corrosion, and holds a razor sharp edge with proper heat-treating. These views show my initial designs cut from the steel. Here, I've done my basic shaping and grind for the blades. On the right, you can see the hollowing and taper I put in the handle area of my full-tang knives to lighten the handle and give a special taper to the spine of the blade.

The customer made one special request... that I feature a black diamond somewhere on each knife. I worked with NYC jewelery designer Itay Malkin to have 2.5 ct., square cut, black diamonds set in gold bezels upside down so the point protrudes like a spike. Once the diamonds were set in the bezels, I made notches in my blades so they could be soldered in.


I do a lot of filing and hand sanding to get just the right shape a finish. One of the blade styles I like to do is a Japanese Santoku. The one above has a 7 " blade and I ground the divots by hand before final polishing.


I made the handles from striped Ebony hardwood. Since the diamonds were set in a gold bezel, I added a layer of bright brass under the wood so it would leave a thin "gold" line leading into the bezel.