Windmuehlen Salami & Cheese Knife

This cheese and salami knife is made from hard stainless steel and is taper-ground — the unique method that brings its very thin, sharp edge. The offset handle gives you excellent leverage for slicing, and keeps your knuckles from slamming against the cutting board. Cuts like a pro, and looks gorgeous leaning against the edge of cheese plate.

Windmuehlenmesser has been making knives since 1872 in Solingen, Germany, where it is actually against the law to make a bad knife. In a world full of industrially-made knives, the company's motto is still the same: "Good knives are made by hand."

When holding the knife, the first thing you notice is the thinness of the blade. There’s no bevel — it just gets thinner and sharper from rib to edge so you can make very clean, crumb-less cuts. The blade is smooth and more durable because of a super-fine “blue glaze” finish. It’s a difficult, ancient technique hand done by Windmuehlenmesser’s master grinder, one Wilfried Fehrekampf, who is among the remaining few in the world with the skills to do this.

The rustic cherry wood handle has a beautiful, gently sinuous grain. No chemical sealers are used on this wood, retaining its natural beauty and — most importantly — making it completely safe for contact with food.

This knife can cut anything from a whole soppressata to a triple-cream brie, and every manchego, aged bleu, dried fig or baguette in between.

Handwashing is best. Like all knives, this one doesn’t like to go in the dishwasher (it degrades the edge prematurely). Rub a bit of edible mineral oil into the handle occasionally. Never use a cutting surface harder than a knife’s blade — wood and plastic boards are ok, but don’t cut on glass or metal, and don’t use it to hack away at frozen meats.

Only a handful of grinders in the world know how to sharpen knives to the unique taper grind, then finish it to a blue glaze. At the Windmuehlenmesser workshop, only master grinder Wilfried Fehrenkampf knows how to do it, though some young apprentices at his knee are hoping to master the technique.

These knives are drop-forged from solid steel bricks — not punched out of a sheet like many industrially-made knives. In Solingen, where these knives are made, you can feel the ground shake when the giant hammers are at work, pounding the blades into shape. Every step of grinding Windmuehlenmesser knives is done by hand by skilled craftsmen.

Cured Meat, Kaufmann Mercantile Blog
Stainless Steel, Kaufmann Mercantile Blog
Library of Cheese, Cheese Library
History of Solingen, Wikipedia 

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