Korben Bloomfield

Korben Bloomfield is a British bladesmith working from a family-run workshop in Newchurch, Kent, under the KWB Knives name. His route into the craft was self-taught and methodical, beginning in 2015 with an obsession for fundamentals — forge welding, heat treatment and the structural integrity that separates an attractive knife from a genuinely capable one. By 2017 he had committed to bladesmithing full time. Years spent experimenting across formats, from razors to long blades, have given him an unusually broad technical base, which now feeds directly into his focus on kitchen cutlery.

His philosophy is straightforward and consistently applied: performance leads, and no material, however striking, should be used to disguise inferior craftsmanship. That principle shapes every stage of the build. KWB knives are defined by controlled geometry, clean execution and the quiet confidence that comes from iteration rather than improvisation. Steel selection is treated as a structural decision, not a marketing one, and heat treatment is approached as the foundation of edge stability and toughness. The result is work with real material integrity, where the visible surface of the knife is honest about what lies beneath.

What gives Korben's work its character is the borderline-perfectionist refinement of each piece. Knives are tested, adjusted and refined until they meet a standard he is willing to put his name to, and that discipline shows in the resolution of the spine, choil and handle transitions. The aesthetic is composed and understated, with the kind of workshop character that rewards close inspection. For Modern Cooking, KWB Knives represents a rising and unmistakably maker-led voice in contemporary British bladesmithing, the work of a young smith building honest, high-performance kitchen knives intended to last.