Field Utility. Honest work, honestly named.
Field Utility. Honest work, honestly named.
£495
Made from scratch and despatched within 4 weeks
The workhorse of the collection. The FU is built heavy for its length and asks nothing of you except that you use it: baling twine, feed sacks, kindling, lunch. It does not mind which.
And then there is the handle. Massy-Birch tweed, set into a three-part handle that is riveted and bonded into an almost seamless whole. No two are quite alike, and nobody else makes anything like them. Each knife comes with a leather sheath, hand-formed and hand-stitched in the workshop by our Master Saddler, Tiffany.
We have been able to set cloth into a handle for years, and had been waiting for the right reason to use it. Meeting Massy-Birch, bespoke tweed tailors working from the Devon countryside since 2012, settled the question in about five minutes: their cloth, our knives, a collaboration as obvious as the nose on your face. The Tweed Collection is the result. Each handle is built in three parts, then riveted and bonded into an almost seamless whole, with Massy-Birch tweed set permanently into the material. FU stands for Field Utility, which tells you everything about the design brief and something about our approach to naming. Each knife comes with a leather sheath, hand-formed and hand-stitched in the workshop by our Master Saddler, Tiffany.
CATRA – the global authority on cutlery performance – rank our knives in the top 2.5% of all blades ever assessed for initial sharpness and edge retention. The blades in The Tweed Collection are made from Sandvik 14C28N, a Swedish stainless steel developed specifically for knives, hardened in-house to 60 HRC. It holds a fine edge while offering the corrosion resistance an outdoor knife needs: rain, blood and a wet sheath are part of the job description. Each knife is sharpened to 15 degrees per side.
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.
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
Timber handles benefit from a light application of food-safe cutting board oil once or twice a year. Composite handles need nothing beyond normal washing.
Yourself
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.”
– Alfred Wainwright
Essentials & Maker's Choice — Default Handle
Each knife has a default handle that is held in stock and available for next working day despatch.
Essentials & Maker's Choice — Alternative Handle
If you'd prefer a different handle from our standard range, we'll despatch within 7 working days.
Knife Builder & Sets and Collections
All knives designed through our Knife Builder, or ordered from Sets and Collections, are despatched within 3-4 weeks. If you have a particular date in mind, get in touch — we're often 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.
International 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
