Chefs around the world use these Filipino knives

Filipino company Nacionale Bladeworks was a project born out of couple Ryan & Karen David’s love for the rugged and fast-paced nature of a professional kitchen. 

Ryan has been fascinated with kitchen knives since culinary school. He collected Zwilling knives and Chinese cleavers. In 2017, he saw a YouTube video of Anthony Bourdain visiting Bob Kramer’s knife workshop. That triggered his fascination with knives and he got so obsessed that he continued exploring knives at a deeper level. He learned the various steel types, knife styles, hardness ratings and history and learned how to sharpen using whetstones. He even bought a belt grinder to learn how to shape knives.

Ryan and Karen started Nacionale Bladeworks so they could provide alternative, more personalized knife options for cooks and chefs. Their knives are a bridge between factory-made knives and ultra-expensive custom, artisanal knives. Their goal is to make beautiful, high-performance knives that use the best materials at relatively affordable prices.

They use high-performance steel for their blades and unique, repurposed handles assembled locally with a team of small artisans.

Some chefs that use Nacionale Bladeworks’ knives include JP Anglo of Sarsa; James Beard Award’s Best Chef Mid Atlantic 2019 and former chef of Bad Saint, Washington, DC, Tom Cunanan; Charles Montañez, the chef of Alegria Manila, Alegria Singapore, Kilo Kitchen SG, and Camp Kilo Charcoal Club; Kevin Carvalho, executive chef of Dean & DeLuca Hawaii; Tyler Kessler; sous chef at Wine Market at Fountain Square, Indiana; and Jordan Borlaza, executive sous chef of Wood & Salt Tavern in California. I am thrilled to see these Philippine-made knives being used by chefs around the world.

Their bestselling knives would be their skateboard-handle knives, which are currently out of stock, but they are constantly improving the material so they are excited about their new batch of handles. I myself have been using their 215-mm San Mai Gyuto knife with skateboard handle for a little over a year and I love using it! Cutting and slicing vegetables or meat has never been easier for me!

If one were to get one knife from Nacionale for an all-around beginner's knife, they suggest getting their western-style Gyuto, which is very easy to maintain and care for. Its edges stay sharp for a very long time. 

Aside from knives, they also offer plating tools (spoons, tweezers, spatulas, and thermometers), knife rolls and knife guards, and sharpening tools (whetstones, leather strops).