Cut the Cheese
Cut the Cheese is a custom designed cheese knife crafted with steel and carbon fiber to make cutting cheese a smooth and easy process. The steel and carbon fiber were cut using a Wazer (water jet), and the steel part of the blade was handcrafted using a belt grinder to create a sharp edge that glides through cheese.
The blade of the knife was intentionally curved upward, which then leads into two forks to allow for a smoother cut, and the forks were designed to pick up the cheese once cut and allow a smooth transfer onto the plate. The handle of the knife also has intentional curvature for an easier hold.
Below are pictures of the knife in action:
Below are some more features of the knife:
The Process
The process to craft the knife first began with a simple sketch of a cheese knife using Procreate, which was then converted on Inkscape to become a cuttable file when using the laser cutter and water jet. Once the file was ready to go, a prototype out of plywood was made using the laser cutter to test and see how the knife would look and feel. The wooden prototype of these cheese knife worked extremely well, and the actual knife was ready to be cut. Wazer software was used to create a gcode which was sent to the water jet. The first part of the process was cutting the steel, and then once that was done, the carbon fiber handles were cut next. After the components were cut, a belt grinder was used to clean the outer surface of the knife and create the blade. The knife was put into a knife sharpening jig which set it at a 10 degree angle to help assist in creating the blade on the belt grinder. After a thoughtful process of crafting the blade, it was ready to be put together. The carbon fiber and steel are connected using steel rivets. Once this final step was complete the cheese knife was ready to use and be tested.
Below are pictures of this process:
Crafting this knife ignited a new creative spark, and was a fun process from the handle to the blade! Check out these close ups!
