Marco Guldimann

Marco Guldimann works from a workshop in Rümlang, just outside Zurich, where he runs Guldimann Knives as a one-person practice focused on custom, one-of-a-kind kitchen knives for chefs and collectors. A former professional chef, he began bladesmithing in 2007 and has built a career around an unusually deep understanding of how a knife is actually used at the pass as well as how it is made at the forge. He is also a founding member of the team behind Apex Ultra steel, developed alongside Tobias Hangler and Larrin Thomas as an alloy tuned for high toughness and edge retention.

That dual background — kitchen and metallurgy — drives a practice that reads as Swiss engineering-led functionalism: exceptionally technical without losing sight of the user. Marco's process combines precision water-cooled grinding, ultrasonic hardness testing and precision-guided sharpening equipment, treating the heat treatment and edge as measurable, repeatable outcomes rather than matters of feel alone. Steel selection, including but not limited to Apex Ultra, is approached with the same metallurgical seriousness, and forging is treated as the first step in a long, controlled sequence rather than its dramatic centrepiece. The result is work that reads as quietly state-of-the-art.

Each knife is finished with materials chosen as carefully as the steel, including sustainable options such as Swiss Wood Solutions' Bijouwood alongside more exotic timbers and composites. The aesthetic is composed and restrained, allowing the geometry, hardness and balance to do the talking. For Modern Cooking, Marco represents the technical apex of our maker roster: a chef-turned-bladesmith with a hand in one of the most discussed contemporary steels, building bespoke knives where every claim can be measured. A longer profile on his work is available on the Modern Cooking blog for readers who want the full background.