About Keith Nix Knives, Black Mountain
North Carolina Custom Knife Maker
Family Owned Business, How We Operate
We Are A Family Business, Doing Business Locally Whenever Possible. We treat people the way we like to be treated, by placing a high value on honesty and integrity in all we do.
Learn About Keith Nix Knives And The Knife Making Shop
"My kitchen knives were so dull they wouldn’t cut anything without effort. Keith sharpened them and they’re better than new. Service was quick, easy and reasonably priced. Easy location in Black Mountain. I highly recommend him!"
-Mary
Black Mountain Knives
Keith Nix Knives creates handmade custom knives that are perfect for any kitchen. Our Black Mountain Chef’s Knives are crafted with the finest quality materials and are designed to last a lifetime. Whether you’re looking for a cleaver, petite chef, or another custom kitchen knife we have the perfect blade for you. We also specialize in hunting and outdoor knives for campers, hikers, backpackers, hunters, and fishers. Every knife is handcrafted with attention to detail and superior craftsmanship.
We also offer Professional Knife Sharpening Service, Scissors Sharpening near you, and knife edge and tip repair for customers and businesses in and around Black Mountain, Asheville, Weaverville, and Greater Western NC.
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Black Mountain News Article on Keith Nix Knives
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Family Owned And Operated
Keith Nix Knives is a family-run business with outside support that produces unique and custom knives. Keith designs, produces, heat treats, grinds, polishes, and sharpens the knives to exact specifications, giving you a one-of-a-kind knife crafted to the highest quality. Likewise, ALL sharpening jobs are performed by me, and all knife sharpening is finished by hand, at a fixed angle, with a progression of diamond stones.
My son Micah is joining me in the shop 2-3 days a month to assist with building and assembling knives.
My daughter Sarah has become my "Marketing and Social Media Manager," helping with research, developing the newsletter, and posting the great pictures and videos you see on social media.
My friend Curtis Cooper makes each custom sheath by hand, fitting every knife perfectly. Curtis also assists in the shop, preparing blades for the heat treat oven, and helping with handle and blade finishing. See the sheaths HERE!
My friends at Precision Graphics in Black Mountain laser etch the logos on knives, embroider caps and apparel, and print T-shirts, forms, receipts, etc.
My friend Ortencia "Tez" Garcia has helped with web design and, hopefully, some future photography.
Can you see where this is going? I get to make knives and play "Knife Making Business." And I get to hang out with, and do a little business with people I ENJOY being around! Great job, right?
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Knife Sharpening In Black Mountain
Custom Sheaths For Any Knife!
Check The Knife Store Now!
"The Norton" Fillet/Boning/Camp Kitchen Knife
Check out the new MICRO CLEAVER here!
Why A Keith Nix Knives Custom Knife?
I take great pains in getting the edge geometry right on your custom knife, whatever it will be used for.
The edge geometry of your new knife is the most critical part of knife making. Edge geometry plays an important role in the performance of your custom knife. It affects how sharp the blade is, how easy it is to sharpen, and even how durable the knife is over time. With edge geometry, you can choose from a variety of shapes and sizes to suit your specific needs. For example, a camp knife might have a thicker, steeper edge for superior durability, or a chef's knife might be thinner, with a more shallow angle for greater sharpness. The choice is yours! Whether you want a long-lasting blade or a razor-sharp edge, you can find the perfect edge geometry for your custom knife.Mass producers make knives way thicker and heavier than they need to be to make them "feel" like they're high quality and as a safeguard against warranty claims. I wonder why we associate weight with quality.
I get the heat treat right on your knife.
This is also a critical part of custom knife making. My ovens are digitally controlled, and my heat treatment protocols are proven, tested, retested, and repeatable. Many "knife makers" don't even own a hardness tester and can only guess what they're selling you.
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I don't mind adding extra steps to the heat treatment protocol for a steel if I know it will benefit the end product for the long term.
Learn the basics of Heat Treating HERE, and why I use Liquid Nitrogen HERE!
A lengthy description makes it sound like sorcery, but it boils down to a couple of simple rules:
1) Make the knife hard enough to do the job through hundreds of uses. Harder steels exhibit better edge retention and wear resistance. For me, that is almost always harder than than 60HRc
2) Make the knife ductile enough to survive the job through hundreds of uses. This requires tempering at least twice
for the right time, at the right temperature.
3) Use heat treat protocols that ensure the finest grain and carbide size for the steel being used.
4) Grind the bevels and sharpen the blade appropriately for its intended purpose! I have equipment, jigs, and fixtures to set bevel angles at precise, fixed angles. Keith Nix Knives have no faceting, no "wandering" of the bevel angle, and every knife has a hand-finished, diamond-honed, leather-stropped edge.
I have many unique, beautiful, exotic and locally salvaged, and responsibly sourced wood blocks!
When people look at your knife, most will see the handle first. It may be all they look at. Check out some of the handle materials I offer HERE!
The Keith Nix Knives Handle design fits your hand.
Our beautiful ergonomic handles are designed by and unique to Keith Nix Knives. I chose this handle design that nestles into your hand, has a palm swell for grip and offers ZERO square corners or edges to create "hot spots" in your hand with prolonged use. It isn't the easiest to produce, but it's comfortable and attractive!
I hand sharpen an extremely keen edge on your knife.
I've never seen any factory knife with an even, hand-sharpened edge. They're machine ground, usually freehand, and usually very poorly. Whether purchasing a custom knife or using our professional sharpening service, your knife will receive a hand finished, 3000 grit, hair shaving, leather stropped edge. I provide Professional Knife Sharpening for well over 100 knives a month in addition to what we make and sell, and I'm getting good at it! Check this link to learn how I know I offer the best Local Knife Sharpening available.
Learn Why We Hand Sharpen Every Edge!
We offer three stainless steels (AEB-L, 14C28N, and CPM MagnaCut), three carbon steels (52100, 80CRV2, and 26C3)and three tool steels (A2, D2, and CPM M4) for you to choose from. All the hand made chef's and kitchen knives at Keith Nix Knives are made from AEB-L stainless unless you specifically ask for a different steel. AEB-L has an outstanding balance of properties, extremely fine grain and carbide structure, exceptional toughness, reasonable cost, good stain resistance, and ease of sharpening. To learn more about AEB-L chef's knives, Read THIS Blog Post!
Your Keith Nix Knives blades will be built from scratch in Black Mountain, NC. We're just minutes from Asheville, Hendersonville, Weaverville, Candler, or Marion. Give us a call or stop by!
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