Cook's Knife double crop, POM black

ALPHA

The knives in the Alpha series are perfect for professional and amateur chefs, because they meet the requirements of the guidelines for knives for use in the catering trade. Thanks to the finely polished handle made of robust and easy-care Hostaform, they are even dishwasher safe. The Alpha series offers the largest variety of models of all the GÜDE series. Professional and amateur chefs alike will find their favourite knife to suit their taste.

Material

The blade material of knives has to meet a wide range of requirements, some of which are contradictory. It is therefore important to achieve an optimum between the different requirements. A knife steel should be hard, but not too hard, otherwise it would break. But it should also not be too soft, otherwise the knife would become blunt too quickly through wear. That is why the knives in the Alpha series from GÜDE are made of a chrome-molybdenum-vanadium knife steel that has an optimum hardness of approx. 57-58 HRc (Rockwell). The hardness of the knife steel of the series Alpha of 57-58 HRc is optimal for the different requirements that a good knife must fulfil. Thanks to this hardness, the blade of the Alpha series knives is torsion-resistant and thus guarantees a more precise guidance of the knife and thus a more precise cut. But even a hard steel, such as GÜDE knife steel, can be very flexible when ground very thin. A flexible blade like that of the Alpha fillet knife is particularly suitable for filleting fish by moving the blade back and forth between the skin and the fillet with a slight bend.

Production

Knives in the Alpha series are drop-forged from one piece of steel. Drop forging ensures high material strength even under dynamic stresses. During drop forging, the entire forging blank is heated and deformed. In up to 55 additional steps, the forged blank is transformed into a unique handmade knife from the knife manufactory GÜDE. After the knives have been roughly ground, calibrated and cleaned, the so-called ice-hardening process follows: the knives are cooled to -80 °C to improve the microstructure in the blade steel. In the next step, the knives are tempered in two stages, i.e. heated again and thus made unbreakable. The blade is then pre-ground, followed by pre-grinding of the back of the knife. This is followed by the fine grinding of the back of the knife and the sharpening of the bolster. The inside of the handle is now pre-ground. Pre-grinding of the bolsters is done in 5 steps. This is followed by the fine grinding of the blade. This is also called "pliesten". For bread knives, the serrated edge is now applied, and for dimple knives, the culet. Tomato, cheese and steak knives are given their serrations The handle scales are now adapted to the knife handle. Then the holes for the rivets are drilled. A countersink must be made in the holes for the rivet heads. The handle and the blade are now joined by rivets. The handle scales are roughly ground on the tang and bolster in about five operations. These five operations must be repeated with a finer abrasive belt. Now the back of the knife gets the finest grinding. The fine grinding of the front bolster follows and the knife handles are pre-polished. Then the central decorative rivet is mounted and the handles are finely polished. Then the knife edge, also called the bevel, is ground (stripped) and the trigger is polished. In the next step, the GÜDE logo is etched onto the blade. Then the knives are cleaned and the quality is checked. After that, the knives are put into a sheath for protection. Finally, the shipping bags are fitted with rivets and appropriate stickers. The finished knives are now sent to the warehouse for shipping.

Form

In drop forging, the design language is free from the tip of the blade to the end of the handle. A design language like that of Alpha is only possible in the drop-forging process. That is why GÜDE has remained true to this proven technology since 1910, now in its fourth generation. An unmistakable feature of many series from GÜDE is the so-called double bolster. A bolster is the thickening of the blade steel. The (front) bolster between the handle and the blade serves both as finger protection and balance weight. The second bolster at the end of the handle gives the knives a better balance. This guarantees the user pleasant and fatigue-free work. The tang is the part of the steel to which the handle of a knife is attached. If the tang goes from the blade to the end of the handle, it is called a full tang. The knives in the Alpha series from GÜDE all have a full tang, as this provides a better balance of the weight. Since the full tang is completely visible from above and below over the entire length of the handle, it virtually proves that the knives in the Alpha series are forged from one piece. No seam, no material transition - simply drop-forged from one piece.

Function

A good knife must be sharp, stay sharp, fit well in the hand and be balanced so that fatigue-free and safe work is guaranteed at all times. The hardness of the GÜDE blade steel with approx. 57-58 HRc (Rockwell) and the GÜDE bevel angle of approx. 33 degrees ensure optimum sharpness and edge retention of the Alpha series. The shape of the handle, the full tang and the double bolster typical of GÜDE guarantee perfect handling and balance of the knives in the Alpha series. In terms of sharpness and edge retention, the bevel angle is of particular importance: because cutting is "physically" the driving of a wedge through a material to be cut. The more acute the angle of the wedge, i.e. the bevel angle, the better this works. The blade angle is the knifemakers' term for the cutting edge, i.e. the sharply ground part of a knife. An acute bevel angle makes a knife sharper than a blunt bevel angle. However, if the bevel angle is too acute, the bevel can break. That is why the knives in the Alpha series from GÜDE have an optimum bevel angle of approx. 33 degrees. This angle guarantees sharpness and stability at the same time. The chrome-molybdenum-vanadium knife steel of the Alpha series with its hardness of approx. 57-58 HRc (Rockwell) ensures that the sharpness lasts for a long time. The prerequisite is cutting on a suitable cutting surface, e.g. wood or plastic. The proverbial balance of the knives in the Alpha series is achieved thanks to the double bolster in combination with the full tang, which creates a counterweight to the blade in the handle area. For the user, this means perfect balance and fatigue-free work. A secure grip is always guaranteed. The front and rear bolsters enclose the hand and protect it from slipping, even when greater force is applied. The knives in the Alpha series deliver what both professional chefs and ambitious amateur cooks expect from a perfect knife. And thanks to the Hostaform handle, they are also dishwasher-safe. Handmade, drop-forged from one piece, with the experience of centuries of Solingen knifemaking.