For almost 1 year I have been busy with the Idea of a full titanium oyster knife. There are a lot of steps between an Idea and a finished oyster opening tool. Arranging financing, buying the machine, having it shipped and learning to run the Syil X7. But I can finally say we are making great progress!
As always I’ve been filming the process. This is a very honest and open way to show what goes into the knives I make. I know they are not cheap, but they are always thoughtful and elegant!
The cnc mill that I’m using is the Syil X7. It is relatively affordable, but really functional. It cuts titanium well and I hope to make a lot of parts and knives on it. The carbide tooling is from the Hoffmann Group and their service is excellent as well.
Steps to go
As for this ”Hugo” knife, there are still a lot of steps to go. The titanium needs to be heat treated to withstand the abuse of hard oyster shells. I’d also like to anodize them and put a tumbled finish on the shuckers. In order to do that I’ve bought two stone tumbling machines and they should arrive by the start of May.
Why the name ”Hugo”
The ”Hugo” knife is named after my grandfather. He was a oyster and muscle fisher all his life and he thought my dad how to fish. Our oyster vessel, the Ye 123, was also named after him and I spend my youth working onboard that ship. So this titanium oyster knife is really special to me and I’m making it in my grandpa’s honor. And he would have loved all the machinery I’m using to make it! I also have a knife that is named after my grandmother and the Ye 86: the Jacomina.
The knife should launch in September!
