Damascus Chef Knife, Hand Forged 8 Inch Kitchen Knife with Olive Wood Handle

The chef knife is the one that does most of the work in a kitchen. The heel is flat for chopping and the edge curves up to the tip so it rocks through herbs and garlic, and 8 inches is the length most home cooks and professionals settle on. This one is Damascus over a high carbon core, full tang under an olive wood handle, with a stamped leather sheath cut for that blade.

Specification

The blade

Pattern welded Damascus over a high carbon core, etched so the light and dark layers stand out, with the bevel polished bright. At 8 inches the blade is long enough to cross a cabbage and still short enough to control on a small board. The flat heel does the chopping and the curve carries a rocking cut. It takes a fine edge and comes back quickly on a stone. The trade is the carbon steel under the pattern, which darkens with use and will spot if you leave it 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 waves of honey and brown, and no two sets match because the tree decides the figure. The scales sit on a full tang, steel unbroken from tip to butt, held by brass pins through both sides. At 5 inches the handle takes a whole grip with room to pinch the blade in front of it.

The leather sheath

The sheath is vegetable tanned leather cut for this exact blade, with a welt along the stitch line so the edge never rides on the thread. It is stitched by hand, and the face on this one is stamped with a basket weave inside a carved border. It covers the blade only and leaves the handle standing free, so it is a cover for storage and for carrying rather than a belt sheath. That suits a drawer where a bare edge is a problem, a knife roll, or a run out to a job.

Who it suits

A chef knife is the first knife to buy and the last one you would give up. It handles onions, herbs, meat and most of what lands on the board, and that is why 8 inches is the usual choice.

• Home cooks who want one knife for most jobs
• Cooks stepping up from a factory blade
• Anyone buying a gift for a cook

What comes in the box

• The Damascus chef knife
• The stamped leather sheath
• A care card
• A free laser engraving quote on request

Every piece is different

Every knife here is forged, ground and finished by hand, so runs stay small and no two are alike. The Damascus pattern never repeats, the olive wood grain and color shift from piece to piece, and the stamping sits differently each time.

Looking after it

Hand wash it and dry it straight away. Never the dishwasher, never left soaking, and dishwasher damage voids the warranty. Damascus is carbon steel underneath, so it takes on a gray patina with use, which is normal and protects the steel. Sharpen on a whetstone at roughly 20 degrees per side, then strop. 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, 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 comes out well, photographs do not. Free on orders of 10 pieces or more. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Why 8 inches? It crosses most food in one cut and still fits a home board.

Can I rock chop with it? Yes. The curve is there for it, and the flat heel chops straight down.

What is the stamped sheath for? Covering the blade in a drawer or a knife roll. It leaves the handle out.

Is it full tang? Yes. The steel runs unbroken from tip to butt, pinned in brass.

Will this steel rust? It can if left wet. Dry it after use, oil it before storage.

Will my knife look like the photo? No. Size and steel match, pattern and grain are their own.

The same blade with a darker grip is the Damascus chef knife in burl wood and resin, and for vegetables the Damascus nakiri with a rosewood handle is quicker. More sits in chef knives, the steel runs on through Damascus steel, and the wood carries on in olive wood handle knives.