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Knife Making Courses

Knife styles

Types of knives

Knives fall into five broad families: kitchen knives, outdoor and bushcraft knives, historical and traditional styles, folding knives, and specialist craft knives. Within each family, the shape of the blade follows the job it does.

Updated 27 October 2026 · 3 min read

At a glance

  • Fixed-blade knives have a blade that doesn't fold; they are stronger and simpler to make.
  • Folding knives are more complex: a pivot, a spring or lock, and precise fitting.
  • Most first knife making courses make a fixed-blade knife in a day.
  • Kitchen knives usually take two days because of the thin grind and fitted handle.

Kitchen knives

Kitchen knives are thin and hard, made for slicing on a board. The main types are the chef's knife and its Japanese cousin the gyuto, the santoku, the nakiri for vegetables, the petty and paring knives for small work, and the serrated bread knife. See types of kitchen knives.

Outdoor and bushcraft knives

Outdoor knives are thicker and tougher. They are built to carve, split wood and prepare food in the field.

  • Bushcraft knife: a sturdy fixed blade of about 9–11 cm, often with a scandi grind and a full tang.
  • **Puukko:** the traditional Finnish knife, with a short blade, a hidden tang and a barrel-shaped wooden handle.
  • Hunting and skinning knives: curved blades with a lot of belly for dressing game.
  • Camp knives: longer and heavier, for chopping as well as cutting.

Historical and traditional knives

  • **Seax:** the single-edged knife of early medieval England and northern Europe.
  • **Sgian dubh:** the small knife worn in the hose with Highland dress.
  • **Bowie knife:** a large American fighting and hunting knife with a clipped point, named after Jim Bowie in the 1830s.
  • **Tanto:** a Japanese short blade; in modern knives, the angular "tanto point".
  • Kiridashi: a simple Japanese utility knife with a chisel grind, made from a single bar.
  • Viking-age knives: simple forged knives with a straight back. Many UK "Viking knife" courses make a knife in this style.

Folding knives

  • Slipjoint: held open by a spring but doesn't lock, like the classic penknife.
  • Lockback: a spring-loaded bar on the back locks the blade open.
  • Liner lock: a sprung metal liner inside the handle locks the blade.
  • Friction folder: the simplest folder, held open by a tang that presses on your finger.

In the UK, only a folding knife with a cutting edge of 3 inches or less that doesn't lock can be carried in public without a good reason. See UK knife law.

Specialist and craft knives

Whittling and spoon-carving knives, hook knives, leather round knives, crooked knives and marking knives are all made for one craft. Many are short, simple and good first projects.

Which knife should you make first?

If you wantMakeTypical course
A first taste of forgingA Viking-style or blacksmith's knife1 day
A knife for camping and the woodsA bushcraft knife1–2 days
Something for the kitchenA chef's, petty or utility knife2 days
A patterned bladeA Damascus knife1–3 days
A pocket knifeA slipjoint or friction folder2–3 days, often for improvers

Questions people ask

How many types of knives are there?

There are hundreds of named styles, but they fall into five families: kitchen, outdoor and bushcraft, historical and traditional, folding, and specialist craft knives.

What is the difference between a fixed blade and a folding knife?

A fixed blade has a blade that doesn't move, so it is stronger and simpler. A folding knife folds into its handle, which makes it easier to carry but more complex to make.

What knife should I make first?

A simple forged fixed-blade knife, such as a Viking-style or blacksmith's knife. Most one-day courses make one, and you take it home the same day.

Can I make a folding knife as a beginner?

Some forges teach friction folders to beginners, but most folding knife courses are for people who have already made a fixed blade, because the fitting is precise.

Learn to make one

60 UK forges teach this. Book directly with the forge.

Viking knife making courses · Bushcraft knife making courses · Kitchen knife making courses · Folding knife making courses

Related pages

Types of kitchen knivesKnife stylesParts of a knifeKnife anatomyBest steel for knife makingKnife steels

Sources

  1. British Museum: seax (the Seax of Beagnoth), museum number 1857,0623.1
  2. Nozaki, H. (2009) Japanese Kitchen Knives. Kodansha International
  3. GOV.UK: Selling, buying and carrying knives

Written by the Knife Making Courses editorial team. Last updated 27 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Suggest a correction.