Manufacturing
Henckels knives are manufactured in several different ways. TWIN Select, Four Star, Four Star II, and Professional "S" are all forged from a single piece of high carbon stainless steel, which is ice hardened to improve stain resistance. Forging is intended to produce improved cutting-edge retention, weight, balance, and reduced opportunity for metal fatigue.
TWIN Cuisine knives are forged from one piece of steel using a traditional hot drop forging technique followed by ice-hardening to produce a heavy, durable steel. TWIN Gourmet and Signature knives are stamped from a single piece of steel. All knives featuring a forged hand guard are manufactured in Germany, with the exception of the TWIN Cermax.
Most knife blades are hand honed in order to keep a lasting edge. The forged series also have enlarged bolsters for safety and extra balance while cutting.
Henckels International cutlery is manufactured in several different ways. The Classic and Forged Synergy series are forged to produce a heavier utensil. The Fine Edge Pro and Fine Edge Synergy models are stamped to provide for a lower cost knife.
"Ice Hardening" is Henckel's name for a common practice to all stainless steel cutlery manufacturers. The correct name is cryogenic tempering, and involves immersing the finished knife blades in liquid nitrogen. This process is required to get full hardness from most stainless knife steels, as it completes the conversion of Austenite to Martensite.
Read more about this topic: J. A. Henckels