The Nine
Making the cut – Japanese-style, hand-sanded knives by a Melbourne tradie.
There are, of course, downsides to working with knives. Melbourne electrician Robert Trimarchi started tinkering with blades and handles in late 2014 and, yes, he endures cuts every time he sets to work. It’s been more annoying than tragic, he says. Trimarchi began making his knives, for his label The Nine, at Flock Studios in Brunswick and they have ended up in homes across Sweden, South Korea and New Zealand.
The Nine seems like the logical outcome for someone who has a fixation with samurai swords and Japanese culture, and grew up in a food-obsessed Italian family. With most clients using his artisanal knives to slice through meat, it’s surprising to learn he’s a vegetarian. But he says that doesn’t detract from his ability to test his creations. “If it cuts through a hard vegetable, it’s going to cut through meat.”
How did you get into making knives, Robert?
Knife-making has been an urge that’s been lurking for some time. Between other projects, I decided to make a knife with only the use of hand tools. From there, it went from investing in traditional smithing tools, like an anvil, forge and hammer, to building my own heat-treatment oven. Most of what I have learnt has been by trial and error.
What do you specialise in?
Custom pieces. One client could simply have a particular timber in mind for the handle, while another client has specific requirements, such as geometry, weight and grind.
What are some of the defining characteristics of your knives?
The design is minimalistic and influenced by Japanese bladesmithing. The majority of the knives retain the rustic forge finish. The cutting bevels are hand-sanded – etched and polished with waterstones leaving a traditional Japanese bladesmith finish.
What do you love most about making knives?
The longer I make knives, the more I enjoy using water stones. You can carry out the refinement of a knife blade on a mechanical knife grinder, but sitting down with a small pond of water and a muddymud waterstone is simply calming.
From $220, 0408 080 173, the-n the-nine.co LEE TRAN LAM