I started off this week making more knife prototypes. I have a couple of knife blades left and that I have made several handles already I know how to make the perfect knife for my final prototype.
Once those new knife handles had cooled off, I cut off the excess plastic and used the round sanding machine to make the handle smooth. I realised that the bigger the cylinder the easier it is to sand. It took a lot less time and since I am trying to be time efficient at this point, I will be using the larger cylinder from now on.
I have also started to sand down the prototypes with a finer sand paper and have polished the first knife.
While I was in the workshop, I also made a packaging prototype out of MDF.
Overall, I am very happy with the aesthetic of it. I feel like the sleek minimal style with the rounded off elements tie in well with the aesthetic of the handles.
While the box frame turned out just the way I wanted it to, I still struggled to figure out a possible idea for my lid/stand situation. The most ideal situation that I could come up with is that the lid somehow turns into the stand that supports the back and allows the box to sit upright at an angle and display the knives. Since my earlier prototypes gave me a bit of insight into what is possible and what is not, I really liked the idea of something being foldable or be able to roll back.
For my first prototype attempt of the lid/stand, I used thick card to mimic what bendable bamboo could look like. The cardboard worked and was not only covering the top of the box, but also bending back and keeping the box up. However, I realised that this would only work in theory because my wood did not actually bend at a 90-degree angle. This meant that while the bamboo could fold back and support the box, but it would never be able to neatly cover it as a lid.
My second idea was to stand the box upright and you just pull out the knives it could still create the effect of an angled knife stand.
While this idea did work after I added a thin piece of cardboard to the back of the dividers and a piece of plastic to pull it out, I still was not a fan of it. I looked exactly like what it was: a frustrated attempt to come up with a solution.
I diverted back to the idea of the lid rolling up to create a stand. Since the first prototype did not work, I realised I had to work with a material that is sturdy but easily bendable. My initial thought was to get felt to cover the top, but that just did not look right. I did not like introducing yet another material to this packaging, especially one that had nothing to do with the reuse of plastic or sustainable materials. I wanted to keep my materials to either reused plastic or bamboo. After some research I stumbled across these bamboo table matts. They are sturdy and hold up the packaging but at the same time bendable enough to curve at a 90-degree angle and cover the top. I have ordered these and look forward to testing them out on the box.
Towards the end of the week Polly came into the studio. Since I was struggling to pick my one great image, I thought I would just ask her for feedback. She really like this shot:
I was quite surprised because I had never really considered this one. In my opinion it did not look professional enough. However, after a closer look it definitely had all the elements that my one great image should have. It clearly shows the environment in which the knife should be used. After reanalysing all the images, I realised that the only reason I had never considered this image was because I wanted the blue knife in my pictures. I have now played around with it and edited it to create a better focus on the knife. This is going to me by final image:
I have also been working on both the video and the booklet. The video is starting to come together. It really did help to create a storyboard at the beginning.
However, I am realising that I will definitely film a couple more shots of me actually manufacturing my product. Since my project revolves around reusing plastic, the manufacturing method is a great part of that! I have made a plan of certain shots that I still want to film, and I will make sure that I get that done by next week.
The booklet is coming together too. I have finished almost half of the pages now, but I am certain that I will be able to finish it in time to properly edit it.
