James Kenji Lopez-Alt
patreon
Pre-order the Kenji x Vonhelmick Knife Today
🕑 Added 2025-05-25 19:00:06 +0000 UTCPre-sales for the Kenji x Vonhelmick knife are available now for Patreon and Vonhelmick subscribers. Any unsold knives will go on sale to the public on Wednesday, May 28th at noon Pacific.
Order at www.VonhelmickKnives.com/the-kenji-exclusive using the password "Kenji100VKC". Limit 2 per customer.
Introducing the Kenji x Vonhelmick Knife
For me, a knife is more than just a tool. It’s my most valuable partner in the kitchen, the tool I reach for more than any other. Of course, it needs to function perfectly. It needs a hard, sharp edge that stays that way through all my prep. It needs finesse and precision for nimble cuts. It needs heft and balance to help me power through root vegetables or large meat cuts.
But the perfect knife needs to be more than that. It needs to be an object that I truly enjoy interacting with. An object that is as natural to hold as it is beautiful to behold. A knife that gives me a tingle of pleasure every time I reach for it. A knife whose character and utility will only grow with time.
I am so proud to present this collaboration with bladesmith Gordon Hanson of Vonhelmick. We hope you love using this knife as much as we loved making it.
Our Story
A few years back my family and I were on a road trip exploring the Pacific Northwest. We’d planned a two night visit to Falls City, OR, where we booked a tiny home on the property of Gordon and Dusty Hanson. As we pulled into their lot, I saw Gordon emerging from his shop with the rough, metal-stained hands and apron of someone who has spent a lot of time working with metal. We immediately connected as he found out I was a chef and I found out he was a knife maker.
Taking Gordon up on his offer to guide me through making my own knife was a no-brainer.
I spent the next day and a half laboriously pounding away at a billet of 20-layer Japanese takefu steel with a three pound hammer and an anvil as Gordon walked me through the steps of forging, shaping, hardening, grinding, and sharpening my knife. The result was a gorgeous–if amateur–blade with a shape I designed to perfectly suit my style of cooking.
It has the basic shape and weight of a Japanese santoku knife, but with a finer, more tapered tip and a slightly deeper arc, making it an all-around workhorse whether I’m breaking down a chicken, smashing garlic cloves, rough-chopping a mire-poix, or making a fine chiffonade of basil.
Over the next few years, Gordon and I worked on refining the shape and balance of the blade until we finally arrived at the knife we are offering now.
Each piece is individually hand-forged by Gordon in Falls City, OR, using 21-layer suminagashi steel from Takefu Special Steels, featuring a Shiro2 ultra high carbon core. It’s engineered for exceptional sharpness and precision and tempered to a Rockwell hardness of HRC 60 to 61. Hammered under a Sakamoto Shiki spring hammer, the steel is finished in the traditional nashiji style, which creates a lightly textured surface that keeps food from sticking to the face of the blade and gives each knife a unique appearance.
The bevels are ground on a Kyowa Japanese water wheel, then acid-etched to reveal the layered suminagashi pattern. The handles in this limited batch are hewn from stabilized black walnut, sourced from a 200-year-old tree in downtown McMinnville, Oregon, and accented with bands of my signature colors: Guava Pink and Golden Yolk.
Each of the 100 knives we are offering today are individually stamped with their batch number and come with a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity.
Each knife is a singular creation—born of heritage, collaboration, and material integrity, as beautiful as it is functional.
Kenji López-Alt
Caring for your Knife
These are heirloom-quality hand-made carbon steel knives with natural wood handles and will require a bit of special care and attention to maintain their beauty and utility over time.
Blade Care
Carbon steel is known for its exceptional sharpness but is susceptible to rust because it lacks chromium. Here's how to care for the blade:
Wash Immediately: After each use, promptly wash the blade with warm, soapy water. Avoid harsh detergents.
Dry Thoroughly: This is the most crucial step. Immediately and completely dry the blade with a clean cloth or paper towel. Pay attention to the tang where it meets the handle.
Oil Regularly: If your knife will go unused for more than a day or two, apply a thin layer of food-grade mineral oil, camellia oil, or another knife-specific oil to the blade after drying. This creates a barrier against moisture and air. Wipe off any excess oil. You might need to do this more frequently if you live in a humid environment.
Avoid Dishwashers: Never put your carbon steel knife in the dishwasher. The high heat and prolonged exposure to water will cause rust and can damage the wooden handle.
Handle Acidic Foods with Care: Ingredients like lemon, tomatoes, and onions can react with carbon steel and cause darkening of the metal. This discoloration will not affect its cutting ability.
Remove Rust Promptly: If rust spots appear, remove them as soon as possible using an oxalic acid-based cleaner like Bar Keeper's Friend. After removing rust, clean, dry, and oil the blade.
Wooden Handle Care
The wooden handle also needs care to prevent it from drying out, cracking, or warping due to moisture.
Avoid Soaking: Do not let the wooden handle soak in water for extended periods.
Dry the Handle: When washing the blade, also ensure you dry the wooden handle thoroughly.
Oil the Handle: Occasionally, treat the wooden handle with a food-safe oil or wax, such as mineral oil, linseed oil, beeswax, or a specialized wood conditioner. Apply a small amount to a cloth and rub it into the wood. This helps to moisturize the wood, prevent it from drying out and cracking, and can also offer some resistance to moisture. You might do this every few months or when the wood appears dry.
Sharpening
A sharp knife is safer and more effective. Carbon steel knives can achieve a very keen edge and are generally easier to sharpen than many stainless steels.
Hone Regularly: Honing with a steel or ceramic rod between sharpenings can help maintain the edge. For an even keener edge, finish with a waxed leather strop. If honing and stropping do not return the blade to razor sharpness, it’s time to sharpen with a whetstone.
Use Appropriate Sharpening Tools: Never use an electric knife sharpener on this knife. If you are proficient with hand-sharpening, natural whetstones will do the job. If you are taking the knife to be sharpened professionally, make sure you take it to a service that is familiar with carbon steel and can sharpen your knife by hand.
With proper care, this knife will last more than a lifetime and improve with use.
Comments
Lee Asher house
Love it
Lee Asher house
Yes I love it
Amy
Thanks, Kenji 😊 Happy to try again, and it was really cool to read about everything that went into making this knife… glad your dream knife was made real.
Patricia Lundman
Your knife sold out before I could even sign in
Valerie Goulds
Wagoose55@gmail.com
James Kenji Lopez-Alt
There are 25 more reserved for the public release on Wednesday, so anyone who missed will have one more shot! Noon pacific on 5/28.
Dina
Wish I could afford but I just spent $139 on the KAN 8 inch chef's knife, hammered blade.
lateparty
So much for the public release! Good job on the run. I was still sleeping when this sold out here in Aus. Nvm
Trash Boat
Man, “limit 2” was a mistake. In runs like this, that basically means “get a free knife” to anyone with a credit card and an eBay account. Gotta keep these limited to one each, making it at least a little harder for people to buy two, flip one at 200%.
Bradley
can you please make some more of these? I missed it on this Holiday weekend : (
Kaz
even though i was not able to snag one, i appreciate the effort to combat bots by putting in a password
Diana L Vazquez
missed it too. Went really fast!!
Joshua Buergel
I'll add my voice to those who missed out as well.
Matthew Jordan
Missed out too… absolutely would have purchased one. Any chance this (or similar!) will be released again?
Ed Conolly
ah I missed it :(
RJ Sargent
doh! sold out
Naomi Knox
Damn, would have loved a chance at the knife. Too bad I work Sunday and just had a chance to read the post now
seageeme
Really gorgeous knife. I thought of gifting it for my cousin’s wedding. Knew it would sell out. Love my little collection of knives, one of which is the workhorse chefs knife my bf gave me from Kenji’s recommendation years ago and three other Japanese knives. 🔪 ♡
DaveR
Yeah. I've seen this happen with some limited release wrist watches. Always makes me suspicious that some people have figured out how to game the reservations system. Then again, 100 slots (or conceivably 50 slots if everyone reserved the max of 2) stands no chance against a subscriber/fan base that numbers in the millions
A. M.
Sad it’s already sold out! 😢
DaveR
Man. Don't even know why I clicked through :( Did some people actually order 2? Maybe limiting to just one per person would have given us more of a chance?
Stephen Phayre
Sold out... :(
Jon N
Definitely underpriced this work of art. It should've been $1,650
rrennerr
Oof sold out, interested still.
John Edward Torres
Nooooooo sold out
Alex
sold out in less than a minute :| went to preorder at 1201
Peter Woodman
lol wow gone in zero time
Naxia Lascif
Just pre-ordered the knife! What are you thoughts on using my Wüsthof Culinar Diamond Steel? I've been using the entire Culinar series since 2002 -- is that a good steel to use with this knife? Should I replace it with a newer steel? Or should I pick up a waxed leather strop?
George Lin
Damn already gone
bruce oberg
well shoot. sold out in 3 minutes. i would have paid more (or made a donation somewhere).
Jordan Spence
Sold out immediately... lame
Dario
Wow sold out in less than 5 minutes!
NickinIreland
Sold out?
Zack
Wow, already sold out. I guess it was dumb of me to read the post first.
Devansh Gandhi
A bit too much for what I was looking to spend but congrats either way! And happy for those that are able to get it. Looks really well done.
Dan Aimone
Beautiful, $650 too much for my wallet but I so wish I could afford it!
Joe
Can’t afford it but if I were to look for a hand forged custom knife; I’d def take up on this! Grats Kenji
