The competition is divided into two stages. 

 

On the morning of December 31, 2024, in the production workshop of Hunan Yinghua Village Knife and Scissor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., 24 contestants strictly followed 52 processes including softening materials, forging rough blanks, and manual fine grinding to produce their most satisfactory kitchen knife from the knife blanks and tools provided by the organizer.

 

 

To save time, the knife embryo of this competition was prepared in advance by an experienced blacksmith with 40 years of experience from the Company.

 

“This round of competition aims to test the proficiency of contestants in the traditional craftsmanship of Jiahe kitchen knives, the beauty of the cutting tools, and the sharpness of the blades,” said Li Wenfei, chairman of the company. He introduced that forging a good Jiahe clamped steel kitchen knife requires up to 52 processes, and each knife must withstand at least 3,000 hammers.

 

 

Jiahe hand-forged kitchen knives have always won the favor of high-end customers with their features. Many customers are willing to spend much money on customized kitchen knives that meet their aesthetic preferences and are easy to handle. 

 

A customized kitchen knife carefully crafted by Jiahe’s blacksmiths can be given to elders relatives and friends as a gift, or the most popular souvenir in Jiahe's cultural and tourism industry.

 

 

On January 1, the competition entered the second phase. At Zengjia Square of Tangcun Town, contestants showcased the sharpness, practicality and hardness of kitchen knives through cutting papers, meat and pork ribs.  

 

Performances such as martial arts, singing and dancing were staged during the competition.

 

 

After a fierce auction, the “Knife King” was bid by Zhou Baiping from Hunan Yinghua Village Knife and Scissors Manufacturing Co., Ltd. for 16,800 yuan. Zhou Baiping gifted the “Knife King” to the county cultural center for collection. The proceeds from this auction will be used as the Jiahe Forging Technology Fund.

 

Jiahe Foundry originated in the Qin and Han dynasties, and has undergone thousands of years of inheritance and development. Jiahe is a pilot county for China’s foundry industry cluster and a foundry industry base in Hunan Province. 

 

 

It has been awarded the titles of “Jiangnan Foundry Capital” and “Hometown of Chinese Forging”. 

 

Jiahe kitchen knives have enjoyed a high reputation in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hunan provinces since ancient times. 

 

 

In 2021, the “Jiahe Kitchen Knife Forging Skills” was selected as the provincial intangible cultural heritage project. Jiahe county is one of the four major pure hand forged kitchen knife bases in China.

 

Chinese source: rednet