Hi, my name is Dave Martell, I'm the man behind the knives that you're considering to purchase.

My knife business started in 2004 when I began, along with my wife Robin, a mobile professional sharpening business. We serviced restaurants, catering companies, made house calls, and even did a stint sharpening high end convex hair shears for salons in and around the Philadelphia area.

Around this same time, by pure chance, I stumbled upon an online forum that was the first of its kind where Japanese kitchen knives were being discussed. I found myself at the epicenter of what would become the emerging kitchen knife market in the United States. 

After a year+ of study, and lots of practice, I opened what was the first mail order sharpening business in the USA specifically dedicated to the hand sharpening, and repair, of Japanese knives. See JapaneseKnifeSharpening.com

In the years that followed I handled many thousands of high end knives, sharpening them, making repairs to them, yet more importantly I was often tasked with modifying them to perform better. This is where I began to see in my mind how a knife should be shaped and ground for optimum performance. 

Martell Knives are made using the knowledge I learned fixing other makers' knives. I learned what works and what doesn't and set out to create the best knives I can.

Fit 'n finish are paramount to my requirements but foremost I demand maximum performance in how the knife works. This means that a Martell knife will be fast in the hand, make perfect contact with the cutting board, have proper hand/knuckle clearance, great edge retention, ease of sharpening, correct (slight) forward balance, good food separation over a variety of products, and an overall feeling of quality.

I put my all into every knife I make, all my experience, all my passion, and all my skill so that you can give your all in your food preparations. You can confidently purchase Martell Knives knowing this to be true.

Regards, 

Dave