If you’ve ever bought a knife, you’ve probably heard that it was a “forged steel” knife. Or the manufacturer may have called it “stamped” knife. So what’s the difference between a forged knife versus a stamped knife? Quite a lot and you’ll understand the price difference after the description of how each is made.
Forged Knife
A forged knife is one that has been made out of a solid steel bar to a very high temperature, then set into a mold and hammered to produce the blade. The high temperature compacted the molecular structure of the steel which “hardens” it. The knife is then tempered, ground, polished, and assembled mostly by hand into the knife itself. The knife will always have a bolster and an integrated tang.
Stamped Knife
A stamped knife is one punched out of a thin sheet of metal, like how you make cookies with a cookie cutter. The blade is then temperated, sharpened, and then finished by machine. The blade is then attached to the handle. The blade will have little or no tang, be thinner than a forged knife, and is more prone to breakage because it’s not one solid piece.
Stamped knives, as you’d imagine, are usually cheaper than forged knives.
(Photo: yashima)
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