Florentine Kitchen Knives
It’s no coincidence that Florentine Kitchen Knives are able to invoke an almost borderless aesthetic that somehow exemplifies very specific cultures across the globe.
Florentine Kitchen Knives is the brainchild Tomer Botner – an industrial designer who spent 10 years in the restaurant industry ruminating on how he could apply his very practical mastery of design to bring his culinary musings to life. The result is a collection modern-Mediterranean-Middle-Eastern cutlery that draws upon a mishmash of locales.
Using the name of the Tel Aviv neighbourhood in which the company was founded, Tomer and his partner Noam Blumenthal launched Florentine Kitchen Knives from their studio apartment. They spent these fledgling years handcrafting custom knives and fulfilling orders until their design cues lead them to Barcelona, where they currently operate out of their ergonomically divine premises. In keeping with Botner’s background, the space is one of immaculate design and is the perfect environment for creating implements of equal beauty.
A Catalan setting informs Middle Eastern roots to yield uniquely exquisite blades – equal parts otherworldly and nostalgic in their design. They come in a variety of steels and handles that are available in multiple configurations: a high carbon Swedish stainless steel, or a French high carbon steel blade for all scaled knives and a high carbon German steel for all stacked knives. The carbon steel offers the additional customisation of a leopard or forced patina finish, oxidising the blade and forming a dappled or matte semi-protective coating. As for the handles, the stacked option is formed from a series of black leather and coloured Micarta discs (a strong composite material of canvas and resin). The scaled iteration is more traditional – both options come in 8 different colours.
Florentine’s latest editions – the F4 slicer and the classic bread knife – complete the arsenal of blades already offered by Tomer and co. Like all Florentine Kitchen Knives, they are custom made to the client’s specification and handcrafted to order. The bread knife is expertly serrated and carves through crust with that satisfying rough ease one can only glean from cutting bread. The F4 boasts a semi-flexible blade that is perfect for slicing meat or applying a defter touch to more delicate cuisine. Both blades sit at a well-balanced 27cm and are a vital addition to any calibre of chef.
