Beautiful and Versatile Knives from New West KnifeWorks
Nothing can make cooking more enjoyable than really good knives.
Poorly designed and manufactured knives aren’t balanced in your hand, won’t hold their sharp edge and can make chopping a hassle.
Our standby in the kitchen has been an 8-inch Henckels chef’s knife, which is great for large chopping jobs but a bit unwieldy for chopping herbs, fine chopping, or slicing. So when I received an e-mail from New West KnifeWorks wanting to know if we’d like to try out and review their Fusionwood Petty Knife, I went to their website to do some research, then read an article about their products on Saveur.com and decided to accept the offer.
New West KnifeWorks is based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and combines state-of-the-art Japanese steel and blade technology with a flair for beautiful craftsmanship and functionality that reflect the founder’s experience as a chef.
New West KnifeWorks combines the art of Japanese steel and blade manufacturing technology into their knives.
For those home cooks as well as professional cooks who believe the quality of your meal is only as good as the quality of your ingredients and the cooking tools used to prepare them, these knives are for you.
Each New West knife is the perfect fusion of form, function and raw materials.
The backbone of the Fusionwood Petty Knife is a high-carbon stainless steel blade produced by the Hitachi Company of Japan. Japan’s metalworking tradition as well as experience with swords and knives make them the leading producer of fine cutlery steel. According to New West, a high-carbon content (70% higher than a Wüsthof Trident) takes and retains a razor-sharp edge; chromium, nickel and molybdenum alloys make the blades stainless and increase hardness.
The blades are designed, engineered and tested by Corey Milligan, one of the founders of New West. They are cut, precision-ground, and hand-finished by the bladesmiths in Seki, Japan. The blades are also heat-treated and cryo-treated to ensure optimal performance.
The unique design of the Fusionwood handles comes from select hardwood veneers that are vacuum-impregnated with advanced, penetrating dies and engineering-grade phenolic resins. The result is a highly engineered material that can be precisely crafted into a super-durable handle that will be beautiful for a lifetime. The fusionwood handle material is produced in Vermont.
As a testament to their craftsmanship, all of New West’s knives come with a lifetime guarantee.
As far as the particular knife we tested, the Fusionwood Petty Knife, the handle colors come in six choices: Peacock (shades of green), Mountain Iris (shades of blue and purple), Jessica, Tahoe, Flamenco and Sunburst. The knife we received to test was a Jessica pattern, with a brown handle radiating outward into hues of purple and blue and then edged with brown again. The knife came in a leather protective case. The 5¾-inch blade has a classic Japanese shape that makes it very utilitarian and able to serve many functions. Its curved edge makes it a good chopper, and its sharp blade makes chopping herbs and small vegetables a snap. I also found that the thin blade made this a perfect knife for slicing tomatoes, which can be more difficult with a larger chef’s knife with a thicker blade.
The Petty Knife is the perfect size for small to medium jobs.
The tapered slender tip also makes this an ideal knife for carving and de-boning small cuts of meat. De-boning a whole trout that I brought home from a fishing trip was a snap with this knife. My mother, who is 75 and has small hands, found this knife very well balanced and easy to use. We also loaned the knife to a friend of ours, Anne Thompson, to test and she found it balanced, ideal for chopping herbs and vegetables, and great for small carving jobs as well.
The Petty Knife would be perfect to take on a camping trip where its multi-functionality would enable you to pack only one knife.
New West also produces another line of knives called Phoenix, which have a unique blade made of 33 layers of Damascus steel, precision-ground and fused to a beautiful, indestructible Nobel-Lite handle. The manufacturing technique of these blades makes them have a beautiful rippled pattern like that of flames or waves.
As in most quality-manufactured products, you pay for what you get. New West knives start at $45 and go from there. But their 100% lifetime guarantee for non-commercial use will make these knives worth your investment. Also, you can send the company your knife at any time for a “full tune-up” (re-polishing and re-sharpening) free of charge. All you need to do is add $5 per knife for shipping and a note to them if there are any particular problems with your knife.
For more information or to purchase their knives, click here to visit their website.
— Vic
Category: Kitchen tools
About the Author (Author Profile)
Victor Panichkul is a journalist and writer by training; a cook, wine lover and photographer by passion; and a lover of the outdoors since moving to Oregon more than 6 years ago. He is a native of Bangkok, Thailand.
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