Shopping & Reviews

Knives for Locavores

By SAVEUR Editors


Published on January 29, 2015

Around the country, bladesmiths like Washington's Michael Rader and Pennsylvania's Butch Harner forge raw metal into beautiful knives. Choosing small over large-scale can make a world of difference for artisans. Onetime industrial mechanic Quintin Middleton of South Carolina was able to go full-time as a blade whisperer after Southern chefs like Sean Brock and Frank Stitt went nuts for his line of ergonomic kitchen knives ($100–820; middletonmadeknives.com). Middleton shapes the wooden handles with a finger notch in the heel and forges his high-carbon steel blades with rounded spines, which are less likely to cause blistering. Any way you slice it, both cooks and craftsmen win when you buy local.

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