Art Meets Culinary Excellence… New West KnifeWorks

Tucked into a small town in Idaho, not far from Jackson Hole and Targhee, is a company manufacturing some of the most beautiful and well-performing knives I’ve laid eyes on and sliced beef with. New West KnifeWorks is on a mission to “make knives like we cook. We use the best ingredients and prepare them with the patient hands of an artist. Our aim is to bring more joy to everyday chores by making tools that are as beautiful as they are useful.” Using the highest quality USA-made steel, specifically intended for knife making (CPM S35VN), the blades have a superior edge, sharpness and strength that make slicing and chopping in the kitchen truly a pleasure.

The ergonomic handles are gorgeous, and are available in rich ironwood for a classic look and G-fusion, a unique fabrication of glass-woven fabric and epoxy resin, and baked under extremely high pressure, resulting in an artful design. Some knives are available carved of antler as well.

The knives are gaining huge enthusiasm among chefs, top magazines and home cooks, receiving high praise and rave reviews from throughout the culinary world.

Sold in sets and individually, you can mix styles and colors and put together your own unique collection. Go a step further and invest in one of the stunning artisan rock blocks or exotic wood blocks the shops carry, each one of a kind. Some of the blades are custom made and hand-forged from Damascus steel in dizzyingly beautiful patterns, truly works of art. The shops also sell artisan accessories such as hand blown glass olive oil bottles, gorgeous wood chopping blocks and charcuterie boards and hand forged steel woks.

The company also runs Mtn Man Toy Shop (“Dangerous Toys for Big Boys”), a selection of handcrafted hunting, fishing and outdoor knives, tomahawks and a variety of adventure tools.

New West also has an art gallery in Jackson Hole (with pop-up gallery shows in other places, at times), called New West Fine Art, featuring the contemporary western art of Connor Liljestrom and others.

Order online here or visit one of the shops, located in Jackson Hole, Park City and Napa Valley.

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