NIFE - a knife for life
Detailed Description
Through innovative use of recycled materials and a commitment to eco-friendly practices, NIFE offers a high-quality product that inspires change and promotes a sustainable, circular future.
Project Details
- In your project's current stage of development, how does it align with the OPENNESS value of the Distributed Design Platform?
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NIFE will create a marketable solution within the circular value chain allowing for a new thought process on recycling and commercialization of recycled products.
It will encourage others to promote a more wholesome vision to consumer purchases through a deeper understanding of material processing
NIFE will provide effective use of marine plastics pollution and find use for a wide variety of post-consumer and industrial waste whilst affording the customer with a durable, high-quality product range and experiences.
We want to encourage others to questions their design processes, their material choices and make positive impacts in local environments across the globe
NIFE proposes to be a truly circular product range. Designed and made with passion and care to give a knife that will last generations, be made from ethically and responsibly sourced materials whilst giving the consumer the chance to make an impact on the wider world – buy once, buy wisely, buy for life.
William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement encouraged these ideas over 140 years ago and provides us with continued inspiration for our working and family lives; we would like NIFE to plant that seed again.
- In your project's current stage of development, how does it align with the COLLABORATIVE value of the Distributed Design Platform?
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Our evolving journey has opened exciting paths and connections, both for NIFE and our dream of a community-based crafts and cookery school.
We are thrilled to join the Blue Point Project, an EU-funded initiative addressing marine plastic waste through sustainable and circular solutions. This wide-reaching program benefits customers, communities, and society by promoting eco-friendly practices. It also provides us with a platform to showcase our product and skills.
Wider conversations around NIFE have led us to the world of craft breweries. Thanks to Garrett Oliver, brew master and owner of Brooklyn Brewery, we now have materials from the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen, along with plastics they are recycling and repurposing with Danish design group A.GAIN .This connection has sparked other breweries to examine their industrial waste, and we are currently in talks with breweries in the UK, Europe, and Ireland to explore a brew master series of blades.
We have also begun talks with Galway based EIREComposities to see how we might repurpose their industrial waste, this highlights the idea that "one man's waste is another man's treasure" as we continue to explore material possibilities for different editions of NIFE and future accessories.
We believe NIFE can inform and educate, inspire, and provoke thought. Traditionally a tool that has helped define us as a species, the knife can also become a tool for social change.
Moving forward, NIFE will build ties with communities that align with our approach to life, focusing on storytelling, collaborations, and experiences. The NIFE brand will have a physical embodiment at our school in Clare, where people can engage with our ethos first hand.
NIFE is more than just a product; it's a movement towards sustainability and community connection.
- In your project's current stage of development, how does it align with the REGENERATIVE value of the Distributed Design Platform?
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As an artist, maker and chef I have spent the last 30 years developing a working and living belief in seasonal produce, sustainable material use and circular living by re-imagining waste from the seashore, skips, industrial salvage and even hosting high dining experiences using ingredients destined for landfill.
Now as we move forwards with our community based crafts and cookery school we have the chance to educate and inspire others with our key beliefs
- the importance of materials used, production methods, fuels and final products and their part in a circular economic environment, both locally and globally
- the growth and use of local and seasonal produce to promote a healthy lifestyle and place as a global citizen
- a respect for historical heritage skills, whilst allowing development of continued and refined practice in the modern world
A key part of these beliefs is the development of NIFE; a chance to showcase these ideals through a consumer product that not only addresses some key global environmental issues but also holds up a placard to poor quality design, inappropriate material use and consumerism fuelled by a throwaway society.
- In your project's current stage of development, how does it align with the ECOSYSTEMIC value of the Distributed Design Platform?
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As we explored the potential of NIFE, we quickly realized the vast range of materials that could be incorporated and how far our commitment to recycling and circular value could reach.
Our goal is to create a product that not only stands as a testament to sustainability but also inspires transformational thinking in everyday life.
Each NIFE blade is crafted from 95% recycled stainless steel (an industry high) sourced at a time when steel mills and refineries worldwide face shifting production and declining raw materials. This high percentage of recycled steel was crucial to our project. We use state-of-the-art CNC modelling to cut and shape each blade, ensuring minimal waste. Any steel waste generated is simply recycled back into production, maintaining a closed-loop system.
Marine plastics, abundant in our seas, require collection, cleaning, sorting, and processing before they can be reborn as NIFE handles. Our collaboration with RELIC PLASTICS in the UK has shown that 20-25 kg of cleaned and graded ocean plastics can produce around 300 average-sized knife handles. We are working on prototypes with RELIC and, with the launch of THE BLUE POINT PROJECT in Ireland, we aim to bring RELIC's expertise to local facilities for direct processing. Advanced recycling of post-use plastic can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 23%, offering a sustainable alternative to fossil-based plastic production.
For our prototype editions, we have used carbon fibre industrial waste from the motorsports industry. These parts and trimmings, which would otherwise end up in landfill or undergo expensive recycling, are repurposed to create a significantly lower carbon footprint. As NIFE evolves, we will explore additional sources of industrial and post-consumer waste, such as e-waste and precious metal recycling. These efforts not only reduce landfill but also minimize the need for mining virgin resources.
Packaging is a crucial aspect of our sustainability journey. The shift from fossil fuel-based plastics to paper or plant-based alternatives has transformed our understanding of material use. My experience as a product tester and ambassador with Finisterre, a UK-based clothing company committed to plastic-free packaging, has been invaluable. We are currently exploring various options for recycled paper and card products, ensuring that eco-packaging does not compromise on quality or aesthetics. High-end products made from 100% recycled materials are now readily available in Ireland and the UK.
NIFE is more than just a product; it is an invitation to make positive decisions for the world and future generations. By choosing NIFE, consumers support a product made from recycled materials and contribute to a larger circular movement toward sustainability and environmental responsibility. We want our customers to feel good about their purchase, knowing they are making a difference.
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