The VPCo Properly Made Knife
A LIMITED EDITION OF 7
Made to celebrate a year since we collected the keys for our new HQ at The Old Bank, in Stromness, Orkney.
The past year has seen us pick up the keys for our building, rip out the 1970s interior and reinstate the 1870s, have a baby, get married, create a new coffee business, move our print and bind business into its forever home and now... we look to the future!
We thought this deserved something special to celebrate a life changing '25 and so we made 7 beautiful handmade knives, for paper, leather, vellum and fabric. However, they're also just knives and will do what knives do, which is cut stuff, so if your vellum cutting needs are few and far between but slicing apples or opening letters is your thing, these'll work just fine of that too.
7 BEAUTIFUL HANDMADE KNIVES FOR PAPER, LEATHER, VELLUM AND FABRIC.
Crafted by hand in Stromness, Orkney, Scotland, this limited-edition knife marries traditional craftsmanship with distinctive character and everyday practicality.
This is both a usable and sentimental object, combining the tools we use in our craft, the prints we make on the press, whilst reclaiming and reusing material taken from the fabric of the building itself.
Featuring a beautifully etched blade made from Sheffield carbon steel, the pattern on the blade is taken from our much loved Vintage Flowers print.
The reverse is signed and numbered by Andrew Buckenham of Crowsfoot Knives, a renowned Stromness-based knife maker responsible for engineered these pieces and who, incidentally, was vital in the refurbishment of the building too.
The razor-sharp blade is paired with a handle of mahogany that tells its own story.
The wood we used to handcraft these handles was originally part of the fixtures and fittings removed during our refurbishment of The Old Bank.
It was used to make an unnecesarily expensive frame, crafted from mahogany, which held up the 70s suspended ceiling. We've reused this timber throughout the refurbishment of the building but we kept some back, especially for this wonderful project.
The knife blade is based on a vintage George Barnsley rubber cutting knife. It varies slightly from a traditional clip point (or cobbler's) knife normally used in bookbinding simply because it's our preference.
We much prefer the practicality of the shape of this blade compared to a clip point knife. We find it superior in use for accurate, reliable cutting and slitting of bookbinding materials.
Each of the seven knives in this limited-edition run is supplied with a hand-sewn leather blade cover, the pattern embossed on it perfectly reflects the pattern etched on the blade.
The pattern was embossed onto the leather using a specially made, one-off brass plate, as seen above.
The VPCo Artists' knife is a simple yet refined tool for artisans who value both functionality, heritage and design.
SHIPPING RATES
UK £8.80 (tracked and signed for, proof of age required)
USA & REST OF THE WORLD £26/$35 (tracked and signed for)
EUROPE £14/€16 (tracked and signed for)