The person behind the bench
Our story
One workshop, one bench, and eight blades we were willing to put our name on.
How Modular Ready started
I am Ray Calloway. Modular Ready began in a rented unit a few blocks from where our office sits now, on West Market Street in Louisville, with one grinding wheel, a second-hand belt sander, and a landlord who was more patient than he needed to be.
The idea was not complicated. Good kitchen knives were either expensive enough to feel like a commitment or cheap enough to be disposable, and there was very little in between that I actually wanted to hand to a friend. So I put together one set — eight blades, chosen because they are the eight you genuinely use — and finished them the way I would want them finished.
That set became the Ironbark Series, and three finishes followed after it.
How we work
What actually happens here
- We choose the steel firstHigh-carbon stainless, hardened to around 58 HRC. Hard enough to hold a working edge, tough enough that it does not chip when it meets a bone.
- Every bevel is set by hand15 degrees per side, checked on a jig and finished on a strop. A machine can set an angle; it cannot feel when a blade is done.
- Handles are fitted, not glued onFull-tang steel, triple-riveted through resin-stabilised pakkawood, with a forged bolster rather than a welded collar.
- Cases are packed one at a timeEach set is laid out, counted, and closed by a person in Louisville, Kentucky. That is why dispatch takes a few hours rather than a few seconds.
- We answer our own emailSupport is Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET, in English, from the same building the knives ship from.
Why we are closing
A small bench only scales so far. Making each set properly takes time we can no longer buy back, and the alternative — handing the grinding to someone else and putting our name on the result — was never something we wanted to do.
So we are winding the workshop down and letting the remaining stock go at close to what it cost to make. There is no restock planned. When the last case ships, that is the end of it.
If one of these knives ends up living on your counter for the next fifteen years, that is the outcome we wanted all along.
Company details
- Registered name: Modular Ready LLC
- Trading as: Modular Ready (modularready.com)
- Address: 400 W Market St, Suite 1800, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
- Email: team@modularready.com
- Phone: +1 (502) 555-0123
- Support hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET
- Language: English