FAQ

The Bowie Chef® is America's first culinary blade shape. The United States has a rich, deep culinary history but never had a domestic chef's knife to call its own -- until now. Designed by Mattia Borrani, the Bowie Chef® pays homage to an original American blade shape steeped in almost 200 years of history: the Bowie knife.

What sets it apart is the clip point and deep belly design. The clip point facilitates higher rocking cuts because the tip sits slightly higher than conventional chef knives, allowing a more fluid motion while chopping. The deep belly effectively rocks and chops food while keeping a nice distance between your knuckles and the cutting board. It combines the best aspects of western-style blade geometry with a precise 16-degree razor-sharp edge like that of the highest performing Japanese cutlery.

We offer two distinct product lines:

Our custom knives are 100% handmade in our facility in Petaluma, California. Each one is built by hand using AEB-L stainless steel and premium handle materials like carbon fiber, Micarta, stabilized wood, G10, and various metals and alloys. Every custom knife is unique, featuring intricate handles with a variety of colors and materials. All of our custom knives are labeled "Custom" in their product name.

Our production models, including the Bowie Chef® Production and the Bowie Chef® Five Piece Set, are produced through our long-standing manufacturing partner in Shenzhen, China. We have worked with this shop since 2014 and trust them to meet our exact standards for materials, fit, finish, and consistency. This is the same partner that produced the original Bowie Chef®, which has been in real-world use since 2019, confirming the quality and longevity of their manufacturing capabilities. All production knives feature black G10 handles and are labeled "Production" or by their set name.

Mattia Borrani Cutlery is a 100% American-owned, family-run company. All profits from our production line stay in America and directly support our custom shop.

We currently offer several blade shapes across our product lines:

The Bowie Chef® is our flagship -- an 8.2-inch all-purpose chef knife with the signature American clip point design. The Toscano Chef® is our twist on the classic western European chef's knife, featuring a traditional shape with excellent geometry, full distal taper, and convex bevel for outstanding performance and food release. Our Ichinaga Series includes Japanese-inspired shapes like the Gyuto Slicer, Santoku, and Kiritsuke. The Bowie Chef® Five Piece Set brings the Bowie Chef shape into a complete kitchen knife collection.

The Bowie Chef® Five Piece Set is a complete kitchen knife collection that includes the 8-inch Bowie Chef, the 7-inch Bowie Chef, the 9-inch Serrated Slicer, the 5-inch Utility, and the 3.5-inch Paring. Each knife in the set features a VG10 steel core and black G10 handles, materials chosen for durability, stability, and long-term performance.

For our custom knives, we use AEB-L stainless steel. AEB-L is a workhorse in the kitchen that can stand up to the most demanding jobs. It has great edge retention, durability, and toughness. Because the grain structure of the steel is so small, it is also very easy to sharpen.

For our production Bowie Chef® and the Five Piece Set, we use VG-10 steel. VG-10 is widely regarded as the gold standard for high-end chef knives, offering extreme sharpness, excellent corrosion resistance, and durability. Our Damascus versions feature a VG-10 core encased in over 60 alternating forged stainless steel layers, creating the beautiful layered pattern known as Damascus. The steel undergoes precise cryogenic quenching with liquid nitrogen, which creates a profound impact on the carbide structure, adding to its strength and hardness while imparting extremely high wear resistance. The production Bowie Chef® achieves a hardness of 61 HRC.

For our custom knives, we use a variety of premium materials including carbon fiber, Micarta, stabilized wood, G10, and various metals and alloys. Each handle is custom made and unique. Our stabilized wood handles are impregnated with resin to prolong their lifespan and help prevent shrinking and cracking.

Our production Bowie Chef® and the Bowie Chef® Five Piece Set both feature black G10 handles, chosen for their durability, stability, and long-term performance.

Full tang means the steel of the blade extends all the way through the handle. This provides superior balance, strength, and durability compared to partial tang construction. All of our custom knives feature full tang construction.

The most important thing is to either wipe down or hand wash with soapy water and dry thoroughly after use. Even though we use stainless steel with high levels of chromium, do not let your knife sit wet for extended periods as it can lead to rust spots. Remember: it is stainLESS, not stainFREE.

Never put your knife in the dishwasher. Even though we use stabilized woods and industrial-strength composites, the heat and prolonged exposure to moisture will damage the handles. When properly cared for, your knife can last generations.

The best way to store your knives is out of direct sunlight on a wooden or synthetic magnetic wall bar or rack. Avoid metal magnetic strips as they can scratch the finish. Keep your knives out of drawers where they can clank around, becoming dull and scratched.

If you are storing knives for an extended period, very lightly oil the blade with mineral oil and store away from moist environments. If a stabilized wood handle ever becomes dry or dull-looking, you can apply Tung Oil, Danish Oil, or something similar to bring back its luster. Just apply to the wood areas, let it soak in, and wipe clean.

Always use wood or synthetic cutting boards. This will help significantly with the longevity of your edge, and your knife will rarely need to be sharpened. Never cut on marble, glass, ceramic, granite, tile, or metal surfaces as these will rapidly dull and potentially damage your blade.

Never use your knife for prying or leveraging something apart. This is one of the fastest ways to permanently damage your blade. Unless you have purchased a custom knife specifically built for hard use (over .120 inches thick), do not try to cut through bones, frozen foods, winter squash, or other extremely hard items. Your knife is a precision cutting tool -- treat it as one.

Honing realigns the edge of your blade. During normal use, the thin cutting edge can fold or roll slightly to one side. A honing rod straightens that edge back into alignment. It does not remove steel.

Sharpening actually removes a small amount of steel to create a new edge. If you regularly hone your knife after use, you will rarely need to take it to a sharpening stone. We recommend a super fine ceramic honing rod over steel ones. Making honing part of your kitchen routine is an easy skill to learn and goes a long way toward keeping your knife performing at its best.

Yes. We will sharpen your knife free of charge as long as you arrange the round-trip shipping. That said, sharpening is easy to learn yourself with a little practice, and you will feel more rewarded in doing so. There are countless instructional videos available online that cover this topic in depth.

All of our knives are guaranteed for life to be free of defects in workmanship and materials when received from our shop. Any product we find to be defective in its original material, construction, or workmanship will be repaired at no charge.

Our Limited Lifetime Warranty is non-transferable from the original owner (with proof of purchase) and does not extend to normal signs of wear, rust, damage or breakage due to improper use, improper maintenance, accidents, loss, or theft.

If there ever arises a situation due to material defect or workmanship where your knife requires repair or replacement, send it back to us and we will either repair or replace the knife to your satisfaction.

Please keep in mind that all our custom knives are unique, so there can be some slight differences and variations due to material availability. In the event a knife needs to be replaced, we will try our best to make it as similar as possible.

Our warranty does not cover damage caused by abuse, neglect, or misuse (such as prying, opening cans, cutting bones with a knife not designed for it, etc.), normal wear and tear, rust resulting from improper care, or loss and theft.

Yes. The Bowie Chef® Five Piece Set carries the same Limited Lifetime Warranty as our production models. We stand behind all of our products for manufacturing defects.

All custom knives are made to order. Due to our backlog, lead times can be six months or more. To start the process, contact us directly at contact@mattiaborrani.com and we will discuss your preferences for blade shape, handle materials, and any other customization you have in mind.

Our custom knives range from approximately $320 to $395 depending on the blade shape, size, and materials selected. Visit our shop page to see current models and pricing, or contact us at contact@mattiaborrani.com for a custom quote.

Yes. Domestic orders ship free via USPS and are packaged and shipped within 2 to 4 days of your order being placed. International shipments are shipped by USPS or UPS. Customers placing international orders are responsible for any customs and duties that may be incurred. Please confirm with your country to understand what taxes might apply. With internationally shipped orders, the customer takes full responsibility for all shipments and contents including loss and damage.

If you need your order expedited or have special shipping requirements, let us know and we will try to accommodate your request.

If you are not completely satisfied with your knife, please reach out to us at contact@mattiaborrani.com. If we cannot make it right, we will issue a refund upon return of the knife. Returns are accepted within 14 days of the delivery date, provided the knife is in new condition with no visible wear. The cost of shipping will not be refunded.

We believe the most sustainable products are the ones that are built to last. The Five Piece Set is crafted with premium VG10 steel and black G10 handles, materials chosen for durability, stability, and long-term performance. When properly cared for, these knives can serve you for a lifetime and can be passed down to future generations. Long-lasting tools mean fewer replacements and less environmental waste over the years.

We have been collaborating since 2014 with our manufacturing partner to reduce production errors, minimize waste, and maintain consistent quality. Our packaging reflects the same mindset -- we remove as much plastic as possible and use responsible materials that protect your knives without unnecessary environmental impact.

Mattia Borrani is the founder and maker behind Mattia Borrani Cutlery. Born in Florence, Italy, Mattia spent his early years surrounded by the fantastic meals his family would make. His culinary journey took him from prepping food at a restaurant in Oaxaca, Mexico at age ten, to working as a chef at restaurants and private parties around the San Francisco Bay Area. Before founding Mattia Borrani Cutlery, he spent eight years (2011 to 2019) owning and running Begg Knives, a world-renowned knife company in Sonoma County, California, with a track record of awards, acclaim from international publications, and a reality show on the Discovery Channel. Mattia Borrani Cutlery combines his lifelong passion for cooking with his deep experience in knife making.

Our shop is located in Petaluma, California, just north of San Francisco in the heart of Wine Country. This is where all of our custom knives are handmade.

You can reach us at contact@mattiaborrani.com or through the contact form on our website. We are happy to answer any questions about our knives, custom orders, or anything else.