How are shoe knives manufactured?

9th March 2020


How are shoe knives manufactured?


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		Forging
		The best quality shoe knives are made by forging, which is the process of using heat and mechanical energy to change the shape of metal. A forged knife is made in one solid piece, so it will always be stronger than a knife made in two parts.

		Drop forging Most forged knives are made by a method called drop forging, also known as modern forging. Heated metal, usually carbon steel or stainless steel, is compressed into the shape of a long rectangle called a blank using a hammer-like tool, or ram.

		As the metal is shaped by the hammer, its internal grain structure changes. Instead of flowing in many different directions, the grain begins to follow the shape of the part. This makes it stronger.

		The shape of the knife is then cut out of the metal blank by a robotic tool. The knife is deburred (smoothed) and holes are drilled in the tang for rivets. Further heat treatment, if required, will ensure that the blade, tang and cutting edge are at their optimum hardness. Finally a handle is added and the finished knife is sharpened, cleaned and polished before shipment.

		Hot forging Some of the more expensive knives are still hand-made by hot forging, where the metal is heated up and manually beaten into shape using hammers. As with drop forging, the process makes the metal stronger by changing and compressing its molecular structure so that the grain runs in a single direction.

		Carbon steel or stainless steel is shaped and hammered by hand to turn it into a rough knife shape. It then goes through several processes to refine its shape, smooth away imperfections, sharpen the blade and add a handle.

		Stamping
		Stamped knives are cut out of large sheets of stainless steel which are continuously passed under a mechanical press.

		The press stamps out the shape of the knives in a similar way to cookie cutters making shapes in dough. This method can produce thousands of knives every hour, keeping costs down.

		Further along the production line the knives are polished and sharpened, and handles are attached.

		Forged vs. stamped
		Forged shoe knives are stronger and more durable than stamped ones because the forging process strengthens the metal by allowing the grain of the metal to follow the outline shape of the tool. They are labour-intensive to produce so are considerably more expensive than stamped knives.

		Stamped knives don’t last as long but have the advantage of costing less, so are fine if you’re not going to be using them intensively. Their blades are more flexible than forged ones, which can be an advantage for certain tasks such as separating pages. However, they won’t cope so well with cutting through tough material like leather.