Konygin Alexey

Konygin Alexey

If you were asked to name a Russian knifemaker with a distinctive and instantly recognizable style, you would probably think of the futuristic creations of Alexey Konygin, better known as Ratatouille. Alexey specializes in custom folding knives, combining unusual designs with excellent mechanical action. The knifemaker himself admits that when developing a new model, he draws inspiration from cyberpunk, high-tech aesthetics, and space opera.

Alexey has been working confidently with a wide range of materials for many years. After completing the ninth grade, he enrolled in a technical college and later went on to university, where he studied mechanical engineering and manufacturing technology. The name of the profession may not have sounded particularly romantic, but it gave him a solid theoretical and practical foundation.

After graduating, the former student began searching for both a profession that suited him and his own place within it. Like most young people his age, he wanted creative work — and decent money. Around that time, a position opened up at a small Moscow company. Alexey Konygin landed a job in its advertising-products manufacturing department.

The company had a modest but functional collection of machinery, and the easy access to equipment proved too tempting to resist. Alexey began experimenting with all kinds of projects, and eventually made his first knife.

It looked formidable, to say the least — terrifying might be more accurate. A crude plastic handle ended in a carved snarling bear's head, while the massive fixed blade featured a serrated edge. His next handle was made of wood and already looked considerably more respectable, complete with decorative grooves. Then came a somewhat rough-and-ready chef's knife.

All the blades were made from a favorite material among beginner knifemakers: worn-out, rust-covered saw blades. The knives looked decidedly homemade and were probably better suited to garage work and gardening than anything else. Yet these early “masterpieces” helped Konygin realize that he had found the creative and professional path he wanted to pursue.

In 2011, Alexey bought a grinder and decided to take knifemaking seriously. Once he had his first piece of proper equipment, he abandoned fixed blades — they seemed boring to him — and immediately turned his attention to designing and making folders.

The transition did not go smoothly. His first folder was downright frightening, the second was somewhat better, and by the third he had produced a genuinely decent folding knife.

Under the nickname “Ratatouille”, Alexey Konygin began appearing on online knife forums, where he showed his work to fellow makers, listened to praise and criticism, and occasionally received some genuinely useful advice.

In 2014, a new player entered the custom knifemaking market: Russian company CKF (Custom Knife Factory), which brought together talented Russian knifemakers under one brand. CKF offered the young maker a collaboration, and it was not long before Alexey Konygin’s knives became bestsellers for the company.

Ratatouille's first major bestseller was the Decepticon, also known by its abbreviated name, DCPT. The knife stood out for its striking high-tech design and excellent action. CKF put the “Decepticons” into production, while knifemaker Stas Bondarenko customized many of the knives, primarily through anodizing.

Alexey Konygin created five versions of the Decepticon, with the main difference between them being the blade profile.

Another highly popular model was the Krokar. It features an arched handle with an angular, broken-line shape and a hawkbill-style blade. As the name suggests, the knife was inspired by the author's associations with the raven, a bird surrounded by centuries of myth and mystery. Another distinctive feature of the Krokar is the absence of a flipper tab, with a thumb stud used for opening instead.

Alexey Konygin continues to work actively as a knifemaker and has created around 20 folding-knife models to date. Ratatouille has even shown some mercy toward fixed blades: he has already made several Scandinavian-style knives and kitchen knives for his own use.

If Alexey Konygin, aka Ratatouille, has caught your attention and you would like to add a custom knife made personally by the master to your collection, we will do our best to help.