Damascus Chef Knife, 10 Inch Blade with Black Micarta Handle

A tray of vegetables taken down in one session, then swept off the board with the flat. That is what the length is for. The blade is 10 inches of Damascus over a high carbon core, and the handle is black canvas micarta, which holds under a wet hand. Two extra inches sounds like nothing. On a full board you feel it every stroke.

Specification

The blade

The core is high carbon steel. Over it sits pattern welded Damascus, etched until the ladder rungs stand out across the flat. Grooves go into the billet and the bar is forged level again, which is where a ladder comes from. The pattern is decoration. The carbon under it takes the edge. The shape is a chef knife, flat at the heel and running into a long curve, so it rolls forward through a cut rather than chopping down. Carbon steel darkens to a grey patina and spots if left wet.

The handle

Canvas micarta is cloth stacked in resin and cured solid. It will not swell in a humid month or shrink in a dry one, and it grips better wet than dry, which suits a kitchen. The tang is full, running to the butt, with three brass pins through it. The handle is 5 inches, enough room to pinch the blade at the heel and still keep three fingers wrapped behind. Held that way, a 10 inch blade stops feeling long.

The leather blade cover

Vegetable tanned leather, cut to the outline of this blade and stitched by hand. A welt sits inside the seam, a leather strip that keeps the stitching in its own channel, clear of the edge. The face is stamped in a basket weave, pressed into damp hide. It covers the blade, handle standing clear, because this is for a drawer, a knife roll or a box going to a job. Never made for a belt.

Who it suits

Ten inches is a lot of steel on a small counter.

• Cooks who prep for a table rather than a plate
• Anyone who rocks a blade instead of chopping
• Buyers who own an 8 inch and want more reach
• People who want the etch on a working knife

What comes in the box

• The 10 inch Damascus chef knife
• The stamped basket weave leather blade cover
• A care card
• Free sharpening for life

Every piece is different

The grooves that make a ladder go in by hand, so the rungs sit at their own spacing on each blade and the etch bites deeper in some places. Micarta is steadier, though the weave surfaces where the sanding took it. Yours is the shape in the photograph, not the piece in it.

Looking after it

Hand wash it and dry it straight away. A knife left wet is where orange spotting starts. A light coat of food safe mineral oil goes down both sides before it returns to the drawer, more if it will sit a month. Keep it on wood or plastic boards. Sharpen on a whetstone at roughly 20 degrees per side, then strop it. More on our care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade, added here on the page. Around 30 characters fits, so a name and a date sit comfortably. A proof image comes to you before the laser runs, and nothing touches the steel until you have seen it. Allow 3 to 5 business days. Free on orders of 10 or more. The engraving page has the rest.

Questions buyers ask

Why 10 inches and not 8? Reach. A half cabbage goes in one pass instead of two, and the tip stays down while the heel comes up.

Is it too big for a home kitchen? It can be. If your board is the small plastic one beside the sink, buy shorter and be happier.

What do the flat heel and the long curve do? The flat presses down over a hard root. The curve rolls the edge forward through soft herbs instead of stopping dead.

Will it rust? It can. Carbon steel sits under the pattern, so dry it after washing and keep oil on it. It never goes in a dishwasher.

Does the ladder pattern change how it cuts? No. It is etched for the look, and the core beneath does the work.

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

If that reads as more knife than your counter wants, the 8 inch chef knife with buffalo horn and brass covers the same jobs on less board, and the 6 inch chef knife in walnut suits a tight kitchen. The shape lives in chef knives, etched blades in Damascus steel, the board range in kitchen knives.