Damascus Boning Knife, Hand Forged 6 Inch Kitchen Knife with Olive Wood Handle

A boning knife is the one you pick up before the cooking starts, when there is a chicken to break down or silverskin to strip off a loin. The blade is narrow so it can follow a joint, and the fine point reaches into places a chef knife cannot. This one is a 6 inch Damascus blade over a high carbon core, full tang through olive wood, with a stamped leather sheath.

Specification

The blade

The Damascus is pattern welded over a high carbon core and etched, so the light and dark layers show, and the bevel is mirror polished. No two patterns repeat. The narrow blade is the whole idea. There is little steel to drag, so the edge follows a joint and lifts meat off the bone in small cuts instead of sawing. Treat the tip as a tip and not a lever, it is ground fine. The steel under the pattern is carbon, so it darkens with use and it spots if left wet.

The handle

Olive wood is dense and slightly oily, so it stays warm in the hand and does not go slick when wet. The grain runs in honey and brown waves, and no two pieces match, because the tree decides the figure. The tang is full, steel unbroken from tip to butt, with brass pins through the scales. Boning is close work, and a handle of 4.75 inches keeps your grip near the heel of the blade, which is where the control is.

The leather sheath

Every knife in this batch ships with a slim leather blade sheath cut for that exact blade. Vegetable tanned leather, welted edge, hand stitched, and the face on this one is hand stamped with a carved rope border around a small flower center. It covers the blade only and leaves the handle out, so it is a cover for storage and for carrying rather than a belt sheath. A fine point is the first thing to catch in a loose drawer, which is the best reason to keep the sheath on.

Who it suits

A boning knife pays for itself if you buy whole birds, bone out roasts or trim your own meat. You get the cuts you want and the trimmings for stock.

• Cooks who break down whole chickens
• Hunters and anglers processing what they bring home
• Anyone trimming a brisket before a smoke
• Buyers who want a Damascus pattern they can see

What comes in the box

• The boning knife
• The stamped leather blade sheath
• A care card
• A free laser engraving quote on request

Every piece is different

Every knife is forged, ground and finished by hand, so runs stay small and no two are alike. The Damascus pattern, the color of the olive wood and the stamping vary from the photographs. Yours will be its own piece.

Looking after it

Wash it by hand and dry it straight away. Never the dishwasher and never left soaking, since dishwasher damage voids the warranty. Damascus darkens with use, and that gray patina is normal and protects the steel. Sharpen on a whetstone at roughly 20 degrees per side, then strop. No pull through sharpeners. Cut on wood or plastic, never glass or stone. More in our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade. Around 30 characters fits on a blade, and longer messages sit better on the sheath. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Clean line art engraves well, photographs do not. Free on orders of 10 pieces or more. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

What is a boning knife for? Working around bone and joints, and trimming silverskin and fat.

Why is the blade so narrow? Less steel to drag, so the edge follows a bone without tearing meat.

What is the stamped sheath for? It keeps the point covered in a drawer or knife roll.

Is it dishwasher safe? No. Hand wash and dry it right away.

Will this steel rust? Carbon steel sits under the pattern, so dry it after every wash.

How long until it ships? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

Once the meat is off the bone, the Damascus brisket slicer in rosewood does the carving, and the Damascus chef knife in olive wood covers the rest of the board. More narrow blades sit in fillet and boning knives, this steel runs through Damascus steel, and the wood in olive wood handle knives.