Our Story

Three Generations of Hong Kong Knife-Making

From a small shop in Sham Shui Po to professional kitchens and homes around the world, Leung Tim Choppers Factory carries forward a family tradition shaped by Hong Kong, practical craftsmanship, and tools made to be used. For generations, our knives have been made with a simple purpose: to give cooks, butchers, restaurants and tradespeople dependable tools designed for the work they do.

A Hong Kong Tradition Since 1962

Founded in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, Leung Tim Choppers Factory has grown from a small family knife shop into a name recognised by generations of cooks, butchers, restaurants, and market professionals.

For us, a good knife has always had a simple purpose: it should be sharp, dependable, and designed for the work it is expected to do.

Across three generations, the tools, techniques, and city around us have changed — but that principle remains.

A Craft Passed from One Generation to the Next

The story of Leung Tim began before the shop itself.

Knife-making knowledge was already part of the family trade. Leung Tim learned the craft from his father, continuing a tradition that required an intimate understanding of steel, heat, sharpening, and the different forms of knives used in Hong Kong kitchens.

That knowledge would eventually become the foundation of Leung Tim Choppers Factory.

The First Shop in Sham Shui Po

In the 1960s, Leung Tim opened his first small shop inside Pei Ho Street Market in Sham Shui Po.

The shop was modest, but it served a neighbourhood where purpose-built knives were everyday working tools. Cooks, restaurants, butchers, fishmongers, and market traders depended on different blades for different jobs.

As the business grew, Leung Tim became part of the working fabric of Sham Shui Po.

From Pei Ho Street to Cheung Sha Wan Road

By the 1970s, the business had grown enough to move from the small market shop to Cheung Sha Wan Road, where Leung Tim Choppers Factory would become a familiar presence for generations of customers.

The new shop placed the business directly among the dense streets, markets, restaurants, and trades of Sham Shui Po — an environment closely connected to the knives Leung Tim produced.

Over time, both the shop and its distinctive signage became part of the neighbourhood itself.

From the Forge to the Modern Workshop

Earlier generations of knife-making were intensely physical.

Steel was heated, worked, shaped, straightened, ground, and sharpened through a series of specialised processes. Different craftsmen could be responsible for different stages, and each step contributed to the finished knife.

As manufacturing changed during the 1970s, machinery gradually took over many of the most labour-intensive processes. Production became more efficient, but skilled finishing remained essential.

Today, modern manufacturing methods work alongside traditional knowledge. Blades continue to receive their final sharpening and finishing from experienced craftsmen before reaching the customer.

The process has evolved. The purpose has not: to produce dependable working tools designed for the jobs they are made to perform.

The Big Knife of Sham Shui Po

For decades, a giant cleaver hung above Cheung Sha Wan Road.What began as a shop sign became one of the most recognisable sights associated with Leung Tim, and, for many people, a familiar part of Sham Shui Po itself.

More Than a Shop Sign

For generations of local residents, commuters, customers, and visitors, the giant blade became an unmistakable landmark.

In January 2023, the sign was removed as Hong Kong continued to tighten regulations surrounding large projecting signboards. On its final day, people came to photograph, sketch, and remember it before it disappeared from the streetscape.

But the Big Knife was not simply thrown away.

It was preserved, with hopes that this familiar piece of Sham Shui Po’s visual history could continue to be seen and remembered.

Tradition Does Not Mean Standing Still

For us, preserving tradition does not mean pretending that nothing has changed.

It means carrying forward the knowledge that still matters: understanding the purpose of each knife, choosing the right material for the job, sharpening and maintaining a blade properly, and making tools that people can depend on in real kitchens.

Across generations, Leung Tim has adapted alongside Hong Kong while remaining connected to the practical culture that created these knives.

The story is not simply about preserving the past.

It is about keeping a Hong Kong tradition useful in the present.