Spalted beech, stabilised in County Durham, on three knives with a lot of reach.
Spalted beech, stabilised in County Durham, on three knives with a lot of reach.
Price range: £280 through £1,020
A bunka-influenced chef’s knife, a utility knife and a long serrated slicer: three knives that between them handle the board, the hand and the bread. Buy the set, or choose the one you need.
Spalting is what happens when fungi move into a fallen beech before anyone gets round to cutting it up. Different species stake out territory, and where they meet they draw dark lines between themselves. Left alone, they would eat the tree. Caught at the right moment, they leave some of the most striking figure in any hardwood.
The catch is that good spalting and sound timber rarely arrive together. The process that draws the lines also softens the wood around them.
So our spalted beech goes to Henry Lee, an arborist and stabilisation specialist in County Durham. Where there was air and softness, there is now thermoset resin, forced in under pressure until every void is filled. It looks and feels like wood, and behaves like the modern composite it has effectively become. It will not move, warp or soften.
No two handles share the same map.
Each knife in the Spalted Beech Trio is made from Sandvik (Alleima) 14C28N, a modern Swedish stainless steel, hardened in-house to 60 HRC using a nitrogen atmosphere process. The heat treatment takes the steel from 1080°C to -75°C in a controlled cycle that maximises carbide formation, edge stability, and corrosion resistance.
The blades are concave ground to 0.3mm thickness at 1mm from the edge. This geometry reduces drag and improves slicing performance without sacrificing rigidity. Our plain edges are sharpened to 15° per side.
CATRA, the global authority on cutlery performance, rank our blades in the top 2.5% of all blades ever assessed for initial sharpness and edge retention, tested to ISO 8442-5.
Washing
Wash by hand and dry immediately. The steel handles dishwashers, but the handle materials don’t, and the blade will dull faster regardless. Ten seconds at the sink is the right habit.
Day-to-day maintenance
A honing steel realigns the edge between sharpenings. Two or three passes per side before heavy use is enough. You don’t need to do this every time – just when the blade starts to feel less certain.
Sharpening
We offer complimentary workshop sharpening once a year for the first three years. After that we sharpen at cost. If you prefer to sharpen at home, our blades are ground to a 15-degree bevel – specify this if you use a third-party service, as most sharpen to 20 or 22 degrees as a default. The Serrated Extreme is the exception: serrations need specialist attention, so send it back to us.
Storage
A magnetic strip or knife roll is ideal. Loose in a drawer accelerates dulling and risks chipping the edge. If a drawer is the only option, a blade guard solves both problems.
Handle care
Stabilised beech is resin right through, so it needs nothing beyond normal washing. Keep it out of the dishwasher all the same.
Yourself
“Sweet are the uses of adversity, / Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, / Wears yet a precious jewel in his head”
– William Shakespeare, As You Like It
Every Spalted Beech Trio knife is made to order. We aim to despatch within 4 weeks. If you have a date in mind, get in touch and we will usually be able to help.
All orders are delivered by Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed in specially-designed tubular Savernake packaging. A signature and age verification will be required on delivery.
We charge a £40 flat rate for delivery worldwide.
Lifetime Guarantee
With proper care, our knives are guaranteed for a lifetime of use
Unique Concave Geometry
Our signature blade profile. A cutting edge with only the thinnest sliver of near-parallel steel to follow through.
CATRA Top 2.5% Worldwide
Independently ranked in the top 2.5% of all knives ever assessed for sharpness and edge retention
60 HRC Hardness
Hardened in-house to 60 HRC using a nitrogen atmosphere and cryogenic treatment to -75°C
Individually Crafted
Every knife is made by hand in our Wiltshire workshop, from steel selection through to final edge
Like some more options?
Our configurator lets you choose from 18 blade designs, with full control over handle material, shape, spine pattern and accent colour.Â
