Damascus Carving Set of 2 with Leather Roll, Stag Antler

A roast that shifts while you cut is why carving looks harder than it is. Hold the joint still and a 9 inch blade does the rest on its own. That is the case for two pieces rather than a knife alone, and the fork is the half people forget to buy. Both are Damascus over a high carbon core with stag antler handles, in a leather roll that ties shut.

Specification

What is in the set

The steel

Damascus is layers of steel welded into a single bar. Twist comes from taking that bar hot and winding it along its own length, so the layers wrap instead of lying flat, and the etch lifts them out as bands leaning across the steel. The pattern is decoration. The high carbon core underneath takes the edge and holds it. Both pieces come from one billet, so the banding on the fork belongs with the knife. Carbon steel darkens to a grey patina in use and spots if it is left wet.

The handles

Stag antler is dense, cool to hold, and never twice the same, which makes a matched pair harder than it sounds. The two are chosen together so the colour and the ridging sit close. Both are full tang, the steel running the whole outline with brass pins through the slabs, and nothing is glued on to work loose. The fork gets the same handle as the knife, which matters more than it should, because it is the piece somebody hands across a table.

The knife roll

Vegetable tanned leather, hand stitched, a pocket each, so the fork prongs never come to rest on the blade. An acanthus scroll is carved into damp hide with a swivel knife and shaped until the leaves lift clear. Two wraps of the strap and a tie close it. A block has no slot shaped like a fork. The roll takes both, stores flat, keeps a 9 inch edge off the inside of a drawer, and darkens as it is handled.

Who it suits

Nobody buys a carving fork on its own, which is why so many kitchens have a serving spoon doing a job it was never meant for.

• Anyone who carves in front of other people
• Buyers who want the pair to match
• People with a roast on the table often
• Anyone tired of chasing a joint round a board

What comes in the box

• The carving knife and the carving fork
• The hand carved leather roll
• A care card
• Free sharpening for life

Every set is different

Both pieces are forged and etched here in small runs. A twist tightens where the bar was hottest and opens where it had cooled, so the bands lean at their own angle. No two pieces of antler come out the same colour. The pair will belong together, and neither piece will match the photograph.

Looking after it

Hand wash both and dry them straight away, including between the prongs, which is where water likes to sit. A film of food safe mineral oil on both, put on before they go back in the roll, holds rust off. Boards of wood or plastic only, never glass or stone. Sharpen the knife on a stone and strop after, and leave the fork alone beyond a wipe. There is more on our care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Engraving is 35 dollars for the set, one flat price that covers both pieces, and it is chosen here before you check out. About 30 characters go on each, room enough for a name on the knife and a date on the fork. A proof image reaches you before the laser runs, and the work adds 3 to 5 business days. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Do I really need the fork? You need something holding the meat still. Two long prongs do it from above, out of the way of the blade, which no spoon manages.

Why two prongs and not three? Two go in with less damage and hold just as well. A wide fork leaves a row of holes.

Will they rust? They can. The core under the pattern is carbon steel. Dry both after use, prongs included, and keep them oiled.

What will engraving cost me? A flat 35 dollars for the set, and that covers the knife and the fork both. It is only ever an extra you choose.

How long does shipping take? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

Are the prongs sharp? Pointed rather than edged. They go into a thumb just as cleanly as a joint, so mind the other hand.

For the table itself there is the Damascus steak set of five in rosewood, and for everything before the roast reaches the board there is the Damascus barbecue set with black handles. You will find every roll under gift sets, and the blades under kitchen knife sets and Damascus steel.