Know how
Production phases |
Simple yet complex!
Although knives are everyday objects, making them involves multiple techniques, which are actually very complex to apply on an industrial scale; the process involves making the handles, working and treating the steel, sharpening the blades. |
Blade - cutting out
In a single operation
in a 120 T press: the steel strap is cut out, punched with a groove and the
“crowned hand” mark.
Blade - quenching
This operation is
conducted in special controlled-atmosphere furnaces, with the temperature, which
is maintained with a precision of 1°C, constantly indicated on recording
tapes.
The carbon steel is heated to a temperature of 900°C and quickly
cooled by “quenching” in a bath of specially refrigerated oil.
This
transforms the internal structure of the steel.
The effect of quenching is to
make the steel very hard and very brittle. Quenching is "softened" by a
”tempering” operation, consisting of heating the blades up again to a
temperature of around 300°C and then leaving them to cool slowly in air.
The
blade then takes on a lovely blue colour. The steel has become very hard and can
now only be worked using an abrasive grinder, with liquid
spraying.
Stainless steels with a high chrome content undergo a different
type of heat treatment. Among other operations, they must be heated to at least
1050°C to transform their internal structure.
Obviously, the hardness of
treated components is also constantly checked on-site, using devices to measure
the Rockwell hardness.
Blade - grinding
At present, sharpening of
each side of the knife is performed continuously, with each blade put in
position, then pressed onto the grinder by a handling robot.
Blade - polishing
On machines fitted with
fine-grained grinders
High precision
Removal of grease by ultrasound.
Handle
Made from wood squares by 9 moulding
machines:
cutting to length , safety catch fitting, moulding, bevelling of
ends, sawing of slit, sanding, varnishing, marking.
Assembly
The knife is finally ready to be
assembled, with the blade and the safety catch.
Inspection
A series of checks is performed
at each of the major stages in production, generally by sampling, and each
product is individually checked at the end of assembly. Some products randomly
sampled after production undergo fatigue tests to measure the cutting quality,
its durability and its resistance.
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