Alex: You just told me I'm going to be the one like setting up the forge.
Robin: Sure.
Alex: Nervous.
[Machine Whirring]
Alex: Hey guys. Salut. It's Alex.
So, um, I am in the train now, as you can probably tell.
But I'm going from Paris to Nantes, which is [in] Western France for a very special project.
So, awhile ago I published a video called "The Day I Mastered Sharpening".
So a while ago I published a video called
And after that video I got contacted by many knife makers all over the world.
And after that video, I got contacted by many knife makers all over the world.
And among them was one:
Robin Gagachian.
He has a very genuine and interesting approach to knife making. He makes folding knife, chef knife...
He has a very genuine and interesting approach to knife making
Our exchange was fruit-i-ful or fruitful. [laughs].
Our exchange was fruit-i-ful or fruitful. [laughs]
Fruit-i-ful or fruitful?
Anyway, I'm on my way to see him.
Anyways, I'm on my way to see him.
He promised he was going to teach me how to forge my own chef knife.
how to forge my own chef knife
That's a bold promise. You can't argue with the guy.
We've just arrived in Nantes.
Alex: Do you speak English?
Alex: Okay. Ooh.
Robin: Welcome.
Alex: [Short happy laugh]
Robin: [The] first hammer I made, for myself.
Alex: Oh, you made this?
Robin: Yeah.
Alex: That's a bit what I'm gonna do in fact.
Alex: Making my own tool.
Robin: Yeah [chuckles]
Alex: Ok, coffee time before we start.
Both: Cheers.
Alex: I will ask you this simple question:
How confident are you that I will, you know, succeed in making my own, forged, chef knife?
Robin: Uh... [Chuckles playfully]
Robin: I will do the best I can to help you.
Alex: Deal.
Robin: Deal.
[Furnace ignited sounds]
Alex: It's the first matter. It's the original stuff.
Robin: Yeah. The original stuff that comes straight from
Robin: [The] big spring here.
Alex: It comes from that?
Alex: So, that's basically gonna be my knife? This is my knife?
Robin: Yeah, this is actually your knife.
Alex: So, what's the first step?
Robin: First step is to put it in the fire.
Alex: Ok, let's go! I'm following you on this.
Robin: Now, we are 1070 degrees.
Alex: 1070 degrees!
Alex: I mean, literally, you could cook a pizza in 15 seconds.
Alex: A small one but y'know.
[Machine hammering sounds]
Robin: Okay?
Alex: Ok, guys.
Now, it's my turn.
I am a bit nervous to use the power hammer.
But I'm gonna stay, you know, concentrated.
Right, so I just used the power hammer
I feel, I feel good. Honestly, I feel good.
I was a bit nervous, just to get the moves right.
It can be a bit overwhelming, a bit frightening.
But in fact, when you just, you know, slowly move the piece of metal
It's a bit less hard than I thought it would be.
Which doesn't mean it's easy!
Far from it!
Robin: For a first time, it's not so bad.
Alex: Not so bad, okay, so what is the next step?
Robin: Next step is to forge the tip of the blade.
Alex: On the anvil? This bad boy?
Robin: This one.
Alex: This is the one I'm gonna use.
Robin: Yeah, this is the one you are going to use.
Robin: And if this one is too heavy, I can get a lighter one if you want.
Alex: [VICTORY SCREAM]
Alex: Wait, I just wanted to share a thought with you guys.
Alex: It take a second or two to use the hammer, but in fact, it must take years to feel the hammer.
Robin:Well [ehm] yes.
Robin: At the beginning, we can
[removes hearing protection] Robin: Yeah thats a bit odd, we can [both laugh]
Robin: it takes me, indeed, years.
Alex: To just feel it better, to understand the rebound?
Robin: Yeah. Alex: It's a bit like poker.
Everybody can play cards,
but it's very hard to master poker.
Alex: So, this is the current status.
So, this is where we are
and this is what we are doing
My job, now, is to cut the piece of steel using this very sharp thing.
Just to be very reassuring, he's a nice guy.
Robin told me that if I mess up, I could cut my finger in half.
No consequences. Let's try it.
Ha ha!
Alex: So, we just, uhh. I just cut the knife. In fact, you did nothing.
Robin: [light chuckle]
Alex: You did nothing!
I cut the knife.
Robin: Next step is to draw out the handle.
Robin: Now, we have created a nice triangle shape.
Alex: So, I am about to dive into the next step.
But just before that, let me state that I am really enjoying this.
Oh oui!
Alex: Wow!
Little bit of running before start.
Robin: [forced chuckle]
Alex: So basically, in this step, correct me if I'm wrong, you remove lots of matter on this knife.
Robin: Yeah. Uh.
Alex: And now, the next step is–
Robin: We have to stamp it.
Alex: [claps] Oh yeah, we have to stamp it.
We have to put my name on it and your name on it.
Alex: So, that is the tool you're going to use to stamp your name on it.
Robin: [nods] Exactly.
Alex: And then, what? Then, I stamp my name on it?
Robin: Then, you stamp your name on it.
Alex: Oh!
Robin: With a tiny, little chisel that I will give you.
Alex: What? A tiny, little chisel for me, and then a big [beep]
Alex: I just stamped a nice "A".
Right next to, uh, Robin's logo.
Well, that is all. Well, and good.
But that foolish, French boy right here doesn't know that the worst is still to come.
The next step is called "quenching," and it's a heat treatment, which is quite complicated to achieve.
You gotta go up to certain temperature, and then cool it down very rapidly.
There is much room to fail, but let's hope for the best.
[Click]
That's the tricky part because you need to take it out at the right moment.
Then, you need to test if the blade is still magnetic or not, and then you need to just drench it in oil.
[It's a] very tricky process.
[knife ignited]
[dem duck lips]
Alex: So basically, the test now, with the file you just tried to scratch the blade.
Alex: If it scratched the blade, I did a poor job, a lame job. If it doesn't–
Robin: If it bites in the steel–
Alex: It looks like it's slicing through it, no?
Robin: Yeah. It looks like it.
Alex: [foreign language]
Alex: So, we need to do it again?
Alex: Okay, let's do it again.
Robin: First time [inaudible]
Alex: Argh!
Robin: You cannot succeed everything in the first time.
Alex: I think, I think that's why you need a knife maker to make a knife.
And, uh, probably a cook to make a meal.
Robin: Hot! Hot!
[knife ignited]
And now, the [moment of truth].
Alex: Let's put you to the test now.
Robin: To what?
Alex: Well, uh, it seems to slit over the surface. So, uh.
[You win!]
Robin: [high-five] Bravo!
Alex: [high-five] Bravo, man.
Alex: Last step.
Robin: The handle.
Alex: Yes!
Alex: [It's] our last stroke before the final test.
Alex: [claps] I'm waiting for my knife.
Robin: Alex, here is your knife.
Alex: [bows] Oh. Merci.
Robin: Congratulations.
What–
Robin: Here is the test.
Alex: [exhales] Final test.
Alex: So satisfying.
Alex: I could go on and on for hours, guys.
Alex: Like the fact that you could see the hard work behind it, and yet the finish is polished.
So there is both the roughness and the the skill of the craftwork.
Alex: Shall we give this a test, like a proper test, a cooking test? You have onions.
Robin: Yeah, I have onions, of course.
Alex: Let's get some onions then!
Alex: You taught me how to make a knife.
Robin: Yeah.
Alex: I can teach you how to cut an onion.
[laughs] That's the deal I can offer.
It's super fair. If I were you, I would take it because I have nothing else to offer.
Robin: [reluctantly] Alright.
Alex: [chopping] One, two–
Alex: Honestly, there's no waste on such a technique.
Alex: So, you know what? It cuts [inaudible]; it's probably not like a surprise for you.
It does cut very, very well.
Also, I think that the, you know, pebble finish is helping not to get the blade stuck into [inaudible].
Because it's creating like small pockets of air.
Enough talking. Your turn to cut the onion, man.
Alex: Chef, [inaudible].
Robin: Thank you very much.
Alex: Alright guys. Back at the station, [I'm] about to take my train back to Paris.
It's been an absolute pleasure and a very satisfying experience to forge my own chef knife.
If you like this video, please give a big thumbs up and like it, and shout it out on all your social media; you know how it works:
In the meantime, take care. Bye bye. Salut.