Cutting edge: Bloodroot Blades enjoys immense popularity

Luke Snyder holds an unfinished chef knife featuring a single bevel at Bloodroot Blades in Arnoldsville. There’s a 52-month waiting list for the knives handcrafted by Snyder and partners Katy and David Van Wyk. (Sarah Donehoo/The Oglethorpe Echo)

Finished knives from left to right on Feb. 13, 2023: 1. Boning knife with coffeebag laminate handle from burlap coffee sacks supplied by Charlie Mustard at Jittery Joe's in Athens and steel from a sawblade sourced from a granite mill in Elberton, Ga. 2. Octagonal integral petty knife with a scorched osage orange handle and roller bearing steel. 3. Integral chef's knife with a spalted copper beech handle and roller bearing steel from a machine shop in Birmingham, Alabama. 4. Octagonal integral Damascus slic

A ground coffee patina finish and embossed logo are visible on two finished cleaver knives on Feb. 13, 2023. The slightly acidic coffee combined with ferric chloride bring out a distinct finish that both protects the knife and pleases the eye. (Photo/Sarah Donehoo)

A close view of the handle’s detail displays the wood grain intricacies on Feb. 13, 2023. The Van Wyks keep an array of wood stock to choose from in their workshop; chestnut, sycamore, white oak, walnut and more mainly sourced from Northeastern states. (Photo/Sarah Donehoo)

Finished knives left to right: Octagonal integral petty knife with a scorched osage orange handle and roller bearing steel. Petty knife with Blackwood faceplate (sourced scrap from a clarinet factory in Paris) and black-dyed maple burl handle. The maple burl is from a tree harvested on Bloodroot Blades' property and steel is roller bearing steel. (Photo/Sarah Donehoo)

David Van Wyk and Luke Snyder belt-sanding two unfinished blades on Feb. 13, 2023. (Photo/Sarah Donehoo)