The decision to expand beyond the Gaucho BBQ Grill Apron was made in early 2023. The Gaucho had performed. Customers were asking what else we made. The logical next step was a tool range — and the tool range needed a foundation. That foundation became the BBQ Blade.
The Question That Shaped the Brief
We started with one question: what does every fire cook need that doesn’t exist in one piece? Not what accessories are commonly sold. What is actually needed, every session, that requires reaching for multiple tools or making do with something that isn’t quite right?
The answer came from our own cooking sessions: a grate scraper, a spatula edge, and a bottle opener. Three functions that every fire cook uses. Three tools that are usually bought separately, stored separately, and lost separately. The brief was to put them in one flat piece of 420 stainless steel that fits a pocket.
Why 420 Stainless
420 stainless steel was specified for the same reasons it was chosen for all our planned tools: it holds an edge, resists corrosion in outdoor conditions, and can be maintained. A BBQ tool that rusts after a season isn’t buy-once kit. 420 stainless is.
Brief to Prototype to Launch
The brief was written in February 2023. Prototype work started in April. The BBQ Blade launched in June 2023. The tight timeline was possible because the brief was tight: single flat piece, no moving parts, three functions, pocket-sized. Constraints make design faster when the constraints are the right ones. These were.
The BBQ Blade became the foundation of the Bison Hill tool range. The King Fork and Bison Skewer followed in September 2023.
