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Hesse, Germany · High Performance Kitchen Knives Inspired By Bauhaus Design
Oliver Märtens
Oel
The latest from Oel
Recent work
Recent releases from this workshop. Each made by hand in extremely limited numbers.
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MCx design studio
MCx collaborations
MCx Oliver Märtens — limited pieces from a continuing collaboration.
About the maker
On the workshop
Oliver Märtens spent many years as a machinist in the German steel industry before turning to the forge, and the precision of that earlier discipline runs visibly through his work. He founded Oel in 2015, where each blade is forged, ground, and finished by hand from his workshop in Hesse, Germany. The transition from industrial steelwork to bladesmithing was a measured one, shaped by a long-standing eye for design and a clear sense of the kitchen knife as both tool and object. Oel has since become quietly recognised among collectors for a Bauhaus-leaning sensibility — minimalist form, functional clarity, restrained material palettes — rather than any single dramatic gesture.
That Bauhaus orientation extends from the blade to the handle, and Oliver's signature in recent years has been an internal takedown handle mechanism — a deceptively simple innovation that allows the handle to be cleanly disassembled for maintenance while preserving the sculptural integrity of the knife in use. The handles themselves are constructed in faceted geometries, with winged swells and tapered transitions worked in materials including Australian ringed gidgee, brass, bog oak, and synthetic composites. Steel selection, heat treatment and grind geometry are treated as inseparable parts of the same problem, and the resulting blades are balanced, composed, and confidently sharp.
That precision-led restraint has made Oliver a central voice in Modern Cooking's MCx Design Studio, where his handle architecture has paired with the blade work of Benjamin Kamon on a sequence of limited-edition collaborative pieces. Outside the MCx releases, the Oel catalogue carries the same coherent language: profiles that feel familiar but quietly refined, finishes that are clean rather than ornamental, and proportions tuned for long prep without strain. The result is a quietly luxurious kitchen tool, beautiful enough to display yet built first and foremost to cut, and one of the most considered makers in the Collectors Selection.
Steel preference
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Signature construction
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From the archive
2 pieces
Past pieces
Pieces from this workshop's previous releases. No longer available, kept here for record.
Limited release
Reserve your place
Oliver Märtens's work is highly sought-after for its distinctive combination of craftsmanship, performance, and design, with each piece produced by hand in extremely limited numbers — a pace of production that naturally cannot keep up with demand.
For those hoping to secure a piece through Modern Cooking, joining the waitlist is the best way to register your interest in Oliver's work and share your preferred dimensions, design preferences, and intended use. As opportunities become available, we use this information to guide future allocations with care and consideration.
