The cutlers from Solingen – everything about the famous kitchen knives from Solingen
Solingen is the famous blade city in the Bergisches Land. Are you interested in a Solingen blade made of German quality workmanship and want to find out about all the important information?
Then read the following article now. How is a knife made in Solingen created? What materials and processes are used for kitchen knives made in Solingen? What makes the Solingen blade so special? Why are there so many forges in this particular location in Germany? Read the following article now to make your decision to buy a knife from Solingen easier.
How is a knife made in Solingen created?
Um eine Solinger-Klinge herzustellen, wird ein aufwendiges Verfahren zur Produktion verwendet. Zunächst einmal ist zu betonen: Solinger Qualitätsarbeit wird seit über 600 Jahren am Standort betrieben. Viele bekannte Firmen, darunter z. B. die Felix Solingen GmbH, die Wüsthof GmbH und die Franz Güde GmbH produzieren seit vi
To make a Solinger blade, an elaborate process is used for production. First of all, it should be emphasized: Solingen quality work has been done at this location for over 600 years. Many well-known companies, including, for example, Felix Solingen GmbH, WĂĽsthof GmbH and Franz GĂĽde GmbH have been producing knives for many centuries: and exclusively in Solingen! Here you get your knife made in Germany and not made in China or Vietnam.
So how is a Solingen blade created in the quality forges of Bergland? First of all, it should be mentioned that a kitchen knife from Solingen is created through a combination of manual labor and a precise production process. For example, the production process of a WĂĽsthof knife is as follows.
Exemplary production process of a WĂĽsthof knife
A Solinger blade of the WĂĽsthof brand is created in 40 steps from the well-known WĂĽsthof steel. This steel is a mixture of molybdenum, vanadium, stainless steel and chromium. Advantages of this steel type of WĂĽsthof kitchen knives from Solingen are mainly corrosion resistance, hardness and easy resharpening. Hard knives have the advantage that they wear less. Easy re-sharpening keeps the knife sustainably sharp and performs a precise and sharp cut. Due to the latest laser technology, the Solingen blade is extremely sharp and safe to cut right from the start.
The WĂĽsthof knife from Solingen – materials and their benefits
The stainless steel is the basic material for a Solinger blade from WĂĽsthof. The percentage of carbon must be 0.5%. This makes the knife from Solingen hard and sharp. Chromium makes the kitchen knife from Solingen resistant to rust and corrosion. Molybdenum serves as an alloy and also provides hardness and sharpness. Vanadium is a very hard material. It ensures that with proper care, the knife can be used for many, many more years and wear is minimized. A 15 percent chrome content gives the Solingen blade from WĂĽsthof a noble design.
The production process of the WĂĽsthof knives from Solingen in detail – the production of the blanks
Abraham WĂĽsthof learned the craft of grinding from his father Wilhem WĂĽsthof. Abraham WĂĽsthof founded his first company as early as 1814. Today, his descendants in Solingen have developed a highly engineered production process, which we will discuss in more detail here.
First, the new knife is technically planned and constructed in a development process that can last up to two years. If everything is right, the knife goes into series production. A flatbed laser is first used to cut the knife blank from the steel plate. The steel for the kitchen knives from Solingen is produced with the components described above in a German factory. It is first cast in a block and then rolled out into plates.
The steel is delivered on large rolls, also known as coils. A machine unwinds the steel from the coils and cuts the plate to size. WĂĽsthof makes its own production tools for the Solingen blade in its own factory! This allows the company to ensure that its Solingen blade is of outstanding quality at all times. In the forge, forging robots heat the steel to exactly 1000 degrees.
A hammer with a force of 120 elephants then strikes the knife to form the bolster of the Solingen blade. In the laser, the kitchen knife from Solingen then receives its shape, so that the blank of the Solingen blade is now ready. In the professional furnace, the steel is now strongly heated and cooled again by a gassing process, and then heated again. This process changes the structure of the molecules in the kitchen knife from Solingen.
The knife from Solingen is now no longer brittle, but hard, tough and abrasion-resistant. After the knives are locked in place, quenching follows. This ensures that the knives do not warp and retain their shape. State-of-the-art robots take over the grinding process and then take care of the plating.
During this fine grinding process, the blade receives a grease film that makes the blade even more resistant. Some Solingen blades from WĂĽsthof are still ground by hand. This is especially the case with individual series in small quantities. Approximately 15% of all kitchen knives made in Solingen by WĂĽsthof are ground by hand.
A serrated bread knife was developed in the 1930s. WĂĽsthof also manufactures serrated knives. In the filter house, waste produced during the production process is filtered out. Now the kitchen knives from Solingen are cleaned in a large cleaning facility. Each individual blank is examined by trained employees for quality characteristics under a special light.
Only when the knife from Solingen meets the quality requirements 100% does the Solingen blade enter the further manufacturing process.
The further manufacturing process of a Solingen blade at WĂĽsthof
Once the blank for the kitchen knife from Solingen is ready, it is delivered to Plant 1. Here, the knife from Solingen is manufactured based on the blank. First, the logo of the trident and the family name are etched on the blade. For this purpose, a special electrolytic process is used for the Solingen blade.
Next, the kitchen knife from Solingen is provided with so-called Kullen. These Kullen are small indentations on the knife. They prevent food debris from sticking to the Solingen blade. The assembly of the handle can be done by hand or by machine for a knife from Solingen. A special highlight of WĂĽsthof knives is the integrated sacrificial anode. This sacrificial anode is integrated into the knife handle.
Normally, the handle knives are made so that no water can enter. However, if this should exceptionally happen to the Solingen blade anyway, the sacrificial anode ensures that the stainless steel at the tang of the knife does not rust. The sacrificial anode consists of an aluminum alloy that rusts beforehand and thus sacrifices itself before the stainless steel begins to rust. This small example shows how sophisticated state-of-the-art German knife technology is.
A special robot now makes out the assembled handles of the kitchen knives from Solingen. The making out is an elaborate process. Here, the handle of the knife is ground down and brought into shape. The smallest irregularities are removed by state-of-the-art robots.
The handle then lies perfectly in the hand. In the next step, the kitchen knife from Solingen is checked again by trained employees. Using a special scouring paste, the transitions of the handle to the steel are finely ground again to ensure that the knife from Solingen meets the highest quality standards. After another grinding process with two abrasive belts, the grinding process of the Solingen blade is completed.
Now only the sharpness is missing: For this purpose, the knife is sharpened in the PEtec (Precision Edge Technology) facility. It is measured with a laser and then precisely ground on a wet stone. This makes the blade extremely sharp and pointed. The kitchen knife from Solingen is now cleaned and receives the final finishing touches at the manual work station. The final test is a cut through foam. If the knife passes this test, it finally reaches the final inspection.
At the control station, the Solingen blade is cleaned again and the handle is oiled. At the very end, another cut test is made through the foam. A kitchen knife made in Solingen by WĂĽsthof goes through 55 production steps and 18 quality controls before it is delivered.
This example of the WĂĽsthof brand shows how elaborate and high-quality kitchen knives from Solingen are produced. Chefs from all over the world trust in the blades from Solingen.
What makes blades from Solingen so special
No matter which brand you choose: A knife from Solingen convinces with outstanding quality. The sophisticated production process and local production in our own Solingen factories, coupled with strict quality assurance, creates the highest quality knives Made in Solingen.
For 600 years, the knowledge surrounding the high-quality production of the finest kitchen knives from Solingen has been concentrated at the Solingen location. The blade city is a stronghold for precision knives for the whole world. For this, the Solingen location is world famous. A Solingen blade is not just any blade: it is a piece of German precision work that is manufactured in many production steps and through quite a few quality controls into an outstanding masterpiece.
Why are there so many forges exactly in Solingen?
A short historical outline
Since the Middle Ages, for 600 years to be exact, Solingen has been the center of blade production throughout Europe. The best blades were and are still made here. In 1363, the first blade made in Solingen was mentioned in a document.
You may wonder why exactly Solingen became the hub of European blade production? In the past, blades were made by blacksmiths. The production required mills. These mills absolutely needed streams and rivers to generate energy. Solingen, as a water-rich area, was perfectly suited for this. Many manufacturers settled in Solingen and started producing their high quality knives from Solingen.
Why most knives soon came from Solingen had another economic reason. The economically strong location of Cologne was just around the corner. The hardeners and grinders were granted the right to form a guild as early as the 14th century. Solingen’s reputation as a blade city already preceded it at that time. Two centuries later, knifemakers from all over Europe moved to the small town to manufacture their knives from Solingen.
Soon every Solingen blade was emblazoned with the inscription “me fecit Solingen,” which meant “Solingen made me.” In the 16th century, other branches of production developed. A knifemakers’ guild was formed, which from then on also made kitchen knives from Solingen.
Until 1850, Solingen lived almost exclusively from the blade industry. The First World War marked a hard break. Knives from Solingen now found hardly any sales worldwide, as the markets for the Solingen blade collapsed. From 1950, razor blades were manufactured in Solingen as a new production branch.
In 1994, the Solingen Ordinance came into force. This ordinance stipulates that only cutlery that has been machined and finished in Solingen may bear the Solingen indication of origin. So when you buy your knife, make sure that it bears the Solingen mark. Only then can you be sure that your kitchen knife was machined and finished in Solingen.
Hard to believe: Solingen is the only city name protected worldwide!
Good to know: The regulation does not only cover knives: blades, scissors, corkscrews, shaving accessories, blank weapons and cake lifters are also included. Knives from Solingen therefore only really come from Solingen if they are engraved with the word Solingen. The people of Solingen are proud of their blade town. That is why town signs bear the addition Klingenstadt.
Knives from Solingen have shaped the city’s economic value for centuries. The Solingen blade is world famous and you can be sure that your kitchen knife from Solingen is of outstanding quality.
Trivia – Blades and Solingen: an inseparable history
Did you know that …
- on July 07, 1935, the town of Klingen received a new coat of arms? Two crossed swords with golden hilt underpinned since that year the importance as a blade city.
- Solingen is the only city name protected by law worldwide under the Solingen Ordinance?
- the cutlery industry still accounts for a good 21% of total sales in Solingen today?
- the Industrieverband Schneid- und Haushaltswaren e. V. is headquartered in Solingen?
- Wilkinson-Sword has its German headquarters in Solingen and also operates a plant in the city of blades?
- you can visit the Hendrichs drop forge in Solingen? It is a museum site of the LVR Industrial Museum in Solingen.
Purchase your Solingen blade Made in Solingen now! Knives from Solingen convince with centuries-old tradition, combined with expert craftsmanship and state-of-the-art production processes. There is no other place in Europe like Solingen.
Kitchen knives from Solingen are world famous and appreciated by chefs around the globe. The sharpness, quality and hardness of the blades are unique. When buying a Solingen blade, make sure that the knife comes from Solingen.
You can recognize a kitchen knife from Solingen by the fact that the Solingen lettering adorns the sheath of the knife. The lettering is protected by law. As soon as you recognize the lettering, you can be sure: This is an original Solingen Kline: Made in Solingen.