{"product_id":"damascus-santoku-knife-ram-horn","title":"Damascus Santoku Knife, Ram Horn Handle and Carved Cover","description":"\u003cp\u003eCut a potato into slices and watch them climb the side of the blade and stay there until you knock them off. The dimples down this flat are aimed at that. The blade is 7 inches of Damascus over a high carbon core, tall with a straight edge, and the handle is ram horn. How much the dimples help is worth being honest about.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecification\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlade length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e7 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOverall length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e12 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHandle length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e5 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlade steel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDamascus, high carbon core\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlade finish\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEtched twist pattern with dimples along the flat\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlade shape\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSantoku, tall with a flat edge and a blunt rounded tip\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eTang\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFull tang\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHandle\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRam horn, three brass pins\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlade cover\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHand carved thistle and scroll leather blade cover\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEngraving\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e20 dollars per blade\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMade in\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForged and finished by hand in High Point, North Carolina.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWarranty\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLifetime warranty against defects, free sharpening for life.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe blade\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDamascus over a high carbon core in a twist pattern, which comes from winding a layered bar round on itself before it is drawn out again. The layers spiral and the acid opens them into rings. Decoration. The carbon core underneath takes the edge. Along the flat sits a row of ground dimples. The shape is a santoku, tall with a flat edge and a blunt rounded tip, so it chops straight down onto the board instead of rolling forward. Carbon steel darkens to grey and will spot if left wet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe handle\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRam horn is harder and heavier than it looks, ridged where the animal grew it, running from honey coloured to nearly black across one piece. It sits on a full tang with three brass pins straight through. The handle is 5 inches, and on a chopping knife that length does something particular. A downward cut is driven from the wrist and forearm rather than from a roll, so your hand wants to sit well back with the blade hanging under it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe leather blade cover\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eVegetable tanned leather, hand stitched, cut to the outline of this tall blade so it seats with some friction. A welt is sewn into the seam, so the thread rides in a channel and never lies against the edge. The face is carved rather than stamped, a thistle and scroll cut with a swivel knife and worked with punches. It covers the blade. The handle stays outside, ready for a drawer or a roll.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWho it suits\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis goes to cooks who chop rather than rock and want to know what the dimples do first.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnyone cutting vegetables in straight cuts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCooks who find a chef knife too long\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBuyers who like ram horn and carved leather\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeople working through root vegetables\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat comes in the box\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 7 inch Damascus santoku\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe hand carved thistle and scroll blade cover\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA care card\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFree sharpening for life\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eEvery piece is different\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHorn is grown, so no two handles carry the same ridges or the same run of colour. A twist depends on how far the bar was wound and where the grinder took it back, so the swirls land differently every time. Each thistle is cut freehand. The photograph shows a model.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eLooking after it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHand wash it and dry it right away, dimples included, since water sits in a dished hollow longer than it sits on a flat. Food safe mineral oil over the whole blade afterwards, and the horn takes an occasional wipe of the same. Boards should be wood or plastic. Sharpen on a whetstone at roughly 20 degrees per side and finish on a strop. The \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/knife-care-sharpening\"\u003ecare and sharpening page\u003c\/a\u003e goes further.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePut a name on it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eEngraving is 20 dollars per blade, added on this page. Around 30 characters fits. The dimples take the middle of the flat, so lettering goes above them near the spine where the twist is quietest. A proof image shows that before the laser starts. Reckon on 3 to 5 business days. From 10 blades up we stop charging. There is more on the \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/engraving\"\u003eengraving page\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eQuestions buyers ask\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDo the dimples stop food sticking?\u003c\/strong\u003e They help. They break the flat into pockets, so a wet slice has less to grip and air gets behind. They do not end the problem.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThen why not dimple every knife?\u003c\/strong\u003e A thin blade has little side contact anyway. A tall flat sided one has plenty, which is where dimples earn their place.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDo they weaken the blade?\u003c\/strong\u003e They are ground well up from the edge, so they take nothing off the part that cuts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is a santoku shape for?\u003c\/strong\u003e Chopping straight down. The edge is flat, so all of it lands at once and nothing is left joined at the bottom. It will not rock.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWill it rust?\u003c\/strong\u003e It can. There is carbon steel beneath the pattern. Dry it, oil it, and keep it away from a dishwasher.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow long until it arrives?\u003c\/strong\u003e Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTake the flat edge further and you have the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/damascus-nakiri-knife-burl-blue-resin\"\u003eDamascus nakiri in burl wood and blue resin\u003c\/a\u003e, a rectangle with no curve at all, while a cooked roast wants the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/damascus-carving-knife-stag-antler\"\u003e9 inch Damascus carving knife on stag antler\u003c\/a\u003e. It sits in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/kitchen-knives\"\u003ekitchen knives\u003c\/a\u003e, etched blades in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/damascus-steel\"\u003eDamascus steel\u003c\/a\u003e, board shapes in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/chef-knives\"\u003echef knives\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viper Edge USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44145923293302,"sku":"VEF-KIT-DAM-2109","price":199.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/2427\/9670\/files\/chef-19-damascus-santoku-ram-horn_b319bb05-cd73-47d8-b7ae-e66315c2f25e.jpg?v=1788857087","url":"https:\/\/viperedgeforge.com\/products\/damascus-santoku-knife-ram-horn","provider":"Viper Edge USA","version":"1.0","type":"link"}