Damascus Kitchen Knife Set of 3, Olive Wood with Leather Knife Roll

Three knives cover most of what happens on a board. A chef knife does the cutting, a cleaver the chopping, a paring knife the small work in your hand. This set is three hand forged Damascus blades with olive wood handles over full tangs, in a hand tooled leather roll that ties shut. It suits a cook who would rather own a few knives that all get used than a block where half of them never move.

Specification

What is in the set

The steel

The blades are Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core, so the etched layers read as light and dark. The pattern is raindrop, soft concentric rings down the flat that open out where the grind cuts into them. The etch is done after grinding, so it runs the whole blade including the bevel. Carbon sits under all of it, and carbon has a trade. It takes a keen edge and comes back on a stone quickly, and it darkens with use and rusts if a knife goes away wet.

The handles

All three knives carry the same handle, olive wood with strong wavy grain running from honey through to dark brown, and the figure moves even between the three knives in one set. The wood is oiled rather than lacquered, so you feel grain instead of a film over it. Brass pins run through the scales into the steel. The tang is full on every knife, so the steel carries the whole length of the handle and shows all round the wood.

The knife roll

The roll is vegetable tanned leather, cut as one long panel with stitched pockets across it, one pocket per knife, so each blade sits in its own slot and the three never touch. You fold the flap over the handles, roll the panel up and tie it shut with the leather strap sewn to the body. The outward face is hand tooled in basket weave, a square woven stamp struck row by row across the whole face, inside a plain border. Other sets in this category arrive in a plain bag.

Who it suits

This is a first real set, for someone who wants a small number of knives that all get used. Three blades sit in the roll and all three come out in a normal week of cooking. It also makes a solid wedding gift.

• Cooks setting up a first kitchen
• Anyone moving off a block of stamped knives
• People short on counter space
• Wedding and housewarming gift buyers

What comes in the box

• Chef knife, 8 inches
• Cleaver, 6 inches
• Paring knife, 3.5 inches
• The tooled leather roll
• A care card

Every piece is different

Each blade is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small and no two sets finish alike. The raindrop rings land differently on every blade and the wood grain is its own. Yours will not match the photographs.

Looking after it

Hand wash each knife in warm water and dry it straight away. Never leave one in the sink, and never put one in a dishwasher. Damascus darkens with use, and that gray patina is normal and protects the steel. Oil the blades lightly with food safe mineral oil before they go back in the roll, and cut on wood or plastic. More is on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 35 dollars for the set, added on this page, and that one price takes in all three knives. It is not part of the set price, so without it the knives arrive plain. Around 30 characters fits on a blade. A proof goes out before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

How many knives are in the set? Three, an 8 inch chef knife, a 6 inch cleaver and a 3.5 inch paring knife.

Is the leather roll included? Yes. Vegetable tanned leather with a stitched pocket per knife, tied shut with its strap.

Is engraving included? No. It is 35 dollars for the set, added on this page, covering all three knives.

Will Damascus steel rust? It can. There is carbon under the pattern, so dry each knife and oil it.

Can these go in the dishwasher? No. Hand wash them and dry them right away.

Will my set look exactly like the photo? No. The raindrop pattern and the wood grain change from knife to knife.

For a fuller roll see the Damascus kitchen knife set of 5 in burl wood, and the Damascus kitchen knife set of 3 in bone and turquoise swaps the olive wood. More is in kitchen knife sets, chef knives and Damascus steel.