Increasingly small living spaces in new developments and the Tiny House Movement have inspired Patrick Nixon’s modular Small Space Food Preparation Knives.
Nixon’s knife and chopping board set places versatility, functionality and size at the forefront of the design process while the modular design includes everything needed to store maintain and utilise multifunctional kitchen knives in a small space.
With development space increasingly constrained, housebuilders have to be clever with allocating space. Nixon notes,
“This lack of space is leading to a revolutionary design movement of tiny homes and small space living. On the contrary passion and want of good quality products is ever increasing and rapidly growing so companies are reducing the size of material goods to cater to this revolution”.
Dixon is currently working with steel, fascinated by the range of types available, from carbon-rich O1 to low carbon mild steel. Hand crafting from ground stock only using traditional techniques he creates elegant yet useful knives and tools. Offsetting the harshness of cold steel are his handles crafted from varying hard woods with tight grains to mirror the grain of the hardened steel. Dixon is currently developing his skills with hardening of knives and stock removal, both important factors in the manufacture of food preparation knives, both entwined with Sheffield’s own rich knife-making history.
He mines the history and archaeology of knife and tool making, using traditional techniques and processes to create authentic, original pieces for specific purposes, yet beautiful enough to be displayed as artworks in their own right.