Leather knife roll

    Ring ring!
        Hello, Will Ferraby here.
    Hi, would you like to make 15 leather knife rolls for Nigella Lawson's new T.V. show?
        O.K.
    The programme will be called The Taste. And by the way you have 3 weeks.

So that was how I came to be designing and making leather knife
rolls with a speed that has thrown up a dust cloud over parts of Sheffield. The
first 9 days were spent sourcing materials - the leather needed to be just the
right shade of medium brown, thick enough to roll and the same colour/texture
throughout. In the end I got 2 skins from Claytons Tannery in Chesterfield which I found
at the bottom of a big pile. They were left over after covering a London
boardroom. The colour is called Whisky.

I used a sharp knife with a 0.7mm blade and a steel rule to cut out the main sections with enough room for the 5 knives to fit safely. 

I decided on nickel plated tubular rivets with a double head as they are really secure, look great from front and back and will not discolour over time. The silver colour complemented the whisky nicely. I use a special rivet container so they can't escape across the work top. They come free with tubs of dried milk!

Batons keep the roll rigid and allow an even distribution of tension when using the handle.
I have used oak here as it can withstand high tension and has a beautiful looking grain.

I used a softer leather with a more textured finish for the handles making them feel comfortable as well as looking great.

I used a leather punch to make just the right sized holes.

I used an ebony stain to bring out the grain and complement the colours and textures of the lighter orange leather and light grey suede.

'What a strapping lad I hear you say!'

Here I am with 30 straps all dyed, oiled and ready to be fitted.

The Taste logo is branded onto the leather using a lazer machine.

Here is my new diamond rivet logo, and my makers plate. I wanted to highlight that this was a product entirely made by me even though it had another name on the handle. These plates were made by David Greensmith out of aluminium. He always does a great job!

Here is inside of the finished roll with a set of factory knives. The flap is genuine suede made from pig skin. It was hard to find a bit without scar tissue on the skin side but I managed to get this fine looking pale grey. It is rivetted and glued with an added welt for extra security. Suede was perfect for this use as it is supple enough to protect each knife when the leather is rolled up.

So here they all are, ready for collection. You can see my new stickers on the parcels, they are my seal of quality and look snazzy. Thats my compliments slip in the green envelope.

I enjoyed this latest making mission and look forward to getting a phone call from Nigella saying how much she likes my leather work!

The reality show has been a hit in the U.S. this year and the UK version is now being filmed to hit our screens in 2014 on Channel 4 .