Where does one start when looking for a new chef’s knife? Which compromises will you accept, and which are you unwilling to put up with? At one end of the spectrum you have Japanese knives – beautiful, precise, but generally brittle and hard to sharpen. The more popular European marques are more durable and forgiving, but the trade-off is softer steel and a little too much heft. You might have your heart set on something made by a bladesmith in his forge, but the quality is variable and these blades are often made with carbon steel, which rusts easily and requires plenty of maintenance.
When we think of world-class knives, it would be fair to say we don’t immediately think of them coming from Wiltshire, but that’s where Savernake Knives are hard at working creating exceptional blades for enthusiastic amateurs and Michelin-starred chefs alike. Every knife is made to order using a combination of aerospace tech and artisanal craftsmanship, as they continue their pursuit of ’the perfect knife’. The Wiltshire operation – based in an old sawmill on the fringes of the Savernake Forest – launched in 2017, but already has a string of top chefs on its books, including Tom Aikens, Mark Sargeant, Pip Lacey, Daniel Galmiche, Kuba Winkowski, Emily Scott, Matt Worswick and Margot Henderson.
Though founder Laurie Timpson and his small team employ some traditional hand-making techniques to create their knives, they have also dragged knifemaking into the future, using aerospace-grade materials and state-of-the-art computer-assisted design to create a best in class knife for the modern chef.
Laurie is well-travelled, previously being an officer in the Scots Guards before working across Africa and Southeast Asia in mine clearance, emergency relief, gold exploration and power generation. His team’s background ranges from the Royal Marines to Formula 1 engineering and a great deal in between. As a result, Savernake has a unique approach to the craft. ‘Almost counter-intuitively, our strength lies in not having ties to old techniques or manufacturing baggage,’ says Laurie. ‘At the outset we spent a huge amount of time figuring out what makes the perfect knife, and then spent the next three years getting here.’