Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association

Last updated

CATRA
Formation1952;72 years ago (1952)
PurposeTechnical organisation for kitchenware,cutlery, knife and blade manufacturers, retailers and users
Location
  • Henry Street, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Region served
Worldwide
Website www.catra.org

Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association (CATRA) is an internationally known research and technology organisation in Sheffield, England which specialises in knives, cutlery, tableware, metallic holloware (such as pans), shaving razors, industrial knives, blades and garden tools. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

CATRA was originally set up by the British Government in 1952 to carry out developments for the UK's cutlery and knife industries, for which the area of Sheffield in Yorkshire is world-famous.

CATRA has developed a range of unique machines for measuring the cutting performance of all types of cutting edges from razor blades to large knives used in machinery and for testing of blade performance in general.

Since the 1980s CATRA has become an internationally recognised (60% export, CATRA published accounts 2013) cutting technology organisation, supplying consultancy, testing services and knife/blade making and testing equipment to manufacturers, developers, designers, users and retailers. Their particular expertise is unusual and important to the knife history and culture of Sheffield.

Aims

CATRA's aim is to provide manufacturers, retailers and users of all types of cutting implements with independent technical experts that can advise, carry out product comparisons/tests and develop blade, knife and cutting technologies.

Services

The association has a wealth of knowledge which is available to everyone on a competitive fee paying basis, however CATRA will enter into dialogue with consumers and users of cutlery, knives and tools where their expertise may be of help, on a free of charge basis. Petersen's Bowhunting magazine uses CATRA to measure sharpness of arrowheads. [4] [5]

Products

CATRA manufactures a wide range of special purpose equipment including knife and cutlery testing machines and knife sharpening systems including the CATRAHONE and CATRASHARP machines. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utility knife</span> Knife used for general or utility purposes

A utility knife is any type of knife used for general manual work purposes. Such knives were originally fixed-blade knives with durable cutting edges suitable for rough work such as cutting cordage, cutting/scraping hides, butchering animals, cleaning fish scales, reshaping timber, and other tasks. Craft knives are small utility knives used as precision-oriented tools for finer, more delicate tasks such as carving and papercutting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knife</span> Tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade

A knife is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of wood, bone, and stone, over the centuries, in step with improvements in both metallurgy and manufacturing, knife blades have been made from copper, bronze, iron, steel, ceramic, and titanium. Most modern knives have either fixed or folding blades; blade patterns and styles vary by maker and country of origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blade</span> Sharp cutting part of a weapon or tool

A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historically, humans have made blades from flaking stones such as flint or obsidian, and from various metal such as copper, bronze, and iron. Modern blades are often made of steel or ceramic. Blades are one of humanity's oldest tools, and continue to be used for combat, food preparation, and other purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese kitchen knife</span> Type of knife used for food preparation

A Japanese kitchen knife is a type of a knife used for food preparation. These knives come in many different varieties and are often made using traditional Japanese blacksmithing techniques. They can be made from stainless steel, or hagane, which is the same kind of steel used to make Japanese swords. Most knives are referred to as hōchō or the variation -bōchō in compound words but can have other names including -kiri. There are four general categories used to distinguish the Japanese knife designs: handle, blade grind, steel, and construction.

<i>Yanagi ba</i> Japanese knife for preparing sushi and sashimi

Yanagi-ba-bōchō, yanagi ba, or yanagi, is a long and thin knife used in the Japanese cuisine. It is the typical example of the sashimi bōchō used to slice fish for sashimi and nigiri sushi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grind</span> Cross sectional shape of a blade in a plane normal to its edge

A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and the centre contour of the blade's back. The grind of a blade should not be confused with the bevel forming the sharpened edge; it more usually describes the overall cross-section of the blade, not inclusive of the beveled cutting edge which is typically of a different, less acute angle as the bevel ground onto the blade to give it a cross-sectional shape. For example, the famous Buck 110 hunting knife has a "hollow ground" blade, with concave blade faces, but the cutting edge itself is a simple, flat-ground bevel of lesser angle. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to put a "hollow grind" onto the actual cutting edge of the blade itself, which is a very narrow and small bevel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitchen knife</span> Knives intended for use in the process of preparing food

A kitchen knife is any knife that is intended to be used in food preparation. While much of this work can be accomplished with a few general-purpose knives – notably a large chef's knife, a tough cleaver, a small paring knife and some sort of serrated blade – there are also many specialized knives that are designed for specific tasks. Kitchen knives can be made from several different materials.

In cooking, a chef's knife, also known as a cook's knife, is a cutting tool used in food preparation. The chef's knife was originally designed primarily to slice and disjoint large cuts of beef. Today it is the primary general-utility knife for most Western cooks.

<i>Santoku</i> Kitchen knife originating in Japan

The Santoku bōchō or Bunka bōchō (文化包丁) is a general-purpose kitchen knife originating in Japan. Its blade is typically between 13 and 20 cm long, and has a flat edge and a sheepsfoot blade that curves down an angle approaching 60 degrees at the point. The term Santoku may refer to the wide variety of ingredients that the knife can handle: meat, fish and vegetables, or to the tasks it can perform: slicing, chopping and dicing, either interpretation indicating a multi-use, general-purpose kitchen knife. The Santoku's blade and handle are designed to work in harmony by matching the blade's width and weight to the weight of the tang and the handle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Straight razor</span> Knife used to remove body hair

A straight razor is a razor with a blade that can fold into its handle. They are also called open razors and cut-throat razors. The predecessors of the modern straight razors include bronze razors, with cutting edges and fixed handles, produced by craftsmen from Ancient Egypt during the New Kingdom. Solid gold and copper razors were also found in Ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to the 4th millennium BC.

Wüsthof is a knife-maker based in Solingen, Germany. Family owned for seven generations, the company's main products are mid-priced to high-end kitchen knives for domestic and professional use. Wüsthof is one of the leading manufacturers of chef's knives.

Spyderco is an American cutlery company based in Golden, Colorado, producing knives and knife sharpeners. Spyderco pioneered many features that are now common in folding knives, including the pocket clip, serrations, and the opening hole. Spyderco has collaborated with 30 custom knife makers, athletes, and self-defense instructors for designs and innovated the usage of 20 different blade materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharpening</span> Creating or refining the edge of a cutting tool

Sharpening is the process of creating or refining the edge joining two non-coplanar faces into a converging apex, thereby creating an edge of appropriate shape on a tool or implement designed for cutting. Sharpening is done by removing material on an implement with an abrasive substance harder than the material of the implement, followed sometimes by processes to polish/hone the sharp surface to increase smoothness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceramic knife</span> Knife with a blade made out of non-metallic material

A ceramic knife is a knife with a ceramic blade typically made from zirconium dioxide (ZrO2; also known as zirconia), rather than the steel used for most knives. Ceramic knife blades are usually produced through the dry-pressing and firing of powdered zirconia using solid-state sintering. The blades typically score 8.5 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, compared to 4.5 for normal steel and 7.5 to 8 for hardened steel and 10 for diamond. The resultant blade has a hard edge that stays sharp for much longer than conventional steel blades. However, the blade is brittle, subject to chipping, and will break rather than flex if twisted. The ceramic blade is sharpened by grinding the edges with a diamond-dust-coated grinding wheel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleaver</span> Large knife

A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife and is mostly intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and slashing through thick pieces of meat. The knife's broad side can also be used for crushing in food preparation and can also be used to scoop up chopped items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global (cutlery)</span> Japanese cutlery manufacturer

GLOBAL is a Japanese brand of kitchen knives and accessory tools owned and manufactured by the Yoshikin factory of Japan. The Yoshikin Factory is owned by the Watanabe family and located in Tsubame, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knife sharpening</span>

Knife sharpening is the process of making a knife or similar tool sharp by grinding against a hard, rough surface, typically a stone, or a flexible surface with hard particles, such as sandpaper. Additionally, a leather razor strop, or strop, is often used to straighten and polish an edge.

Friedr. DICK is a German cutlery manufacturer founded 1778 in Esslingen, Germany. Known by their logo name of F. Dick, the company has three lines of business. F. Dick specializes primarily in butcher's knives and tools, where it is regarded as a market leader in both Europe and North America. The company is known for its wide range of high quality sharpening steels and is also renowned for its chef's knives where it is a respected manufacturer in the professional sector, but less established for the casual user. Although F. Dick cutlery is available for purchase in the American market, the brand has not caught-on with mainstream American consumers. As a result, the brand is limited in its availability, and is generally only available at cutlery specialty-stores in the American market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiers Issard</span> French cutlery manufacturer

Thiers Issard or Thiers Issard Sabatier is a French cutlery manufacturer; they are one of a number of companies using the Sabatier name. It exports a wide range of knives and straight razors to approximately thirty countries. They are viewed as one of the top cutlery firms in Europe.

References

  1. Boughton, Paul (27 May 2016). "Magneto-inductive sensors measure displacement of blade cut depth". Engineer Live. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  2. "Cutting it for the consumer market". The Star. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  3. "Maximizing Edge Retention – What CATRA Reveals about the Optimum Edge". Knife Steel Nerds. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  4. "Do Targets Affect Broadhead Sharpness? - Petersen's Bowhunting". Petersen's Bowhunting. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  5. "2017 Fixed-Blade Broadhead Test - Petersen's Bowhunting". Petersen's Bowhunting. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  6. http://www.catra.org/pages/products/sharpening/sharpening.htm Archived 30 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine