FOUNDED
in Bellevue, WA 2019.

EC Bladeworks

At EC Bladeworks, I create custom knives entirely by hand, rendering each piece unique - no two are alike as small refinements and adjustments distinguish each knife. Growing up, I always found knives to be a fascinating tool, extremely simple in concept but with room for a great deal of refinement and detail, and was an avid collector of pocket knives. When I learned a close friend was getting married, I cast about for a suitable gift, and decided to use my knowledge of blades and the basic machining skills I picked up on my high-school robotics team to try my hand at creating a tool I knew they would be able to use and appreciate.

I knew in short order that I had found something I loved. I liked the systematic refinement, the feeling of creating something with my own hands, the pragmatism of making something practical that could be used every day while still having room for personal expression. I eventually decided to create EC Bladeworks to better refine my craft by helping me connect to more people who could use and appreciate the tools I created.

The Knives:

I strive to create blades that embrace form without sacrificing function. My typical approach is to combine Japanese blade philosophy and western handle designs, taking what I see as the best of both worlds - relatively high hardness and thin blades, with durable and ergonomic handles.

My favored steels to work with are AEB-L and Nitro-V, stainless steels with fine grain structures for edge stability, decent corrosion resistance, and the ability to hit high hardness levels while being relatively easy to sharpen - an excellent set of characteristics for a kitchen knife, handling similarly to carbon steels, but with superior corrosion resistance. However, I've worked with several other steels such as 154CM, 440C, and 1084, and can branch out for custom orders upon request.

The handles are a design that I've refined over many iterations with both feedback from customers and using my own knives for cooking - for custom orders, I can adjust the shape for different hand sizes. I work with a variety of synthetic and natural materials, including dense hardwoods such as desert ironwood or African blackwood, stabilized (resin-impregnated) woods such as amboyna or maple burl, and durable man-made materials like G-10 and carbon fiber. I believe the handle is where the most customization is possible, and want to give my customers a large selection of suitable handle scales to fit their tastes.

If you have questions, comments, or are interested in placing a custom order, contact me below: