Kramer Knives

Bob Kramer spent a decade in professional kitchens before turning to knife sharpening, then bladesmithing, in 1994; by 1997 he had earned Master Bladesmith certification from the American Bladesmith Society, one of a small number in the country to hold it and, notably, the only one to focus specifically on kitchen knives rather than fighting or hunting blades. A 1998 Saveur feature on his work created a backlog that has effectively never cleared — Kramer makes only around twenty fully custom knives a year, released by email announcement or auction, with prices starting around $10,000.

The workshop operated in Olympia, Washington for twelve years before relocating to Bellingham, where knives are still made entirely in-house in the United States. Jessica Peterson, an industrial designer who joined in 2017, now runs day-to-day operations, customer service and the online store, while Kramer remains the shop's primary maker; his wife Leanne also works behind the scenes.

Kramer's name is also licensed to a separate, factory-made line produced with Zwilling J.A. Henckels — those knives are made in Germany and sit at a different price point, and are a distinct product from the hand-forged, shop-made pieces coming out of Bellingham. For a store listing, the distinction matters: it is the Bellingham workshop's own fully custom output, not the Zwilling collaboration, that represents an ABS Master Smith working exclusively in kitchen cutlery.