Damascus Steak Knife Set of 5 with Leather Roll, Rosewood

Five knives that go on a table together, and the awkward truth is that no two Damascus blades come out alike. Matching, here, does not mean identical. It means five blades cut from one run so they read as a family down a table. The steel is Damascus over a high carbon core, the handles are rosewood, and the roll is carved by hand.

Specification

What is in the set

The steel

Damascus is layers of steel welded into one bar. Raindrop comes from grinding dimples into the stacked billet and forging it flat again, so the layers you have cut through open out as rings around each dimple. Acid brings the rings up. The pattern is decoration and the high carbon core underneath does the cutting. Cutting all five from one billet keeps the ring size and the contrast inside a narrow range. Carbon steel darkens to a grey patina in use and it will spot if it goes away wet.

The handles

Rosewood is dense and dark with a close grain, and it browns down further as hands get on it. Five handles is where a set is won or lost. One pale handle among four dark ones is the thing everybody spots first, so they are cut from the same stock. Each blade runs full tang, the steel showing along the top and bottom of the handle with brass pins through the slabs. Nothing here is glued on to lift later.

The knife roll

Vegetable tanned leather, hand stitched, five pockets, so no blade ever lies against its neighbour. A rose and scroll pattern is carved into damp hide with a swivel knife, then worked with punches until the petals stand clear of the ground behind them. Slow work, and it is why this lands like a present for whoever opens it. The strap goes round twice before it ties. Flat storage is something a block cannot offer, and five edges stay clear of the inside of a drawer.

Who it suits

A boxed set of knives is a set of knives. A tied leather roll gets opened slowly, and that is most of what you are buying.

• People buying a wedding or anniversary present
• Anyone who sets a table properly
• Buyers who want five knives that look related
• People with no room for a block

What comes in the box

• The five steak knives
• The hand carved rose and scroll knife roll
• A care card
• Free sharpening for life

Every set is different

Every blade is forged and etched here in small runs. The dimples land where the grinder put them, so one blade rings tight and the next runs open. Across a table the five look like a set. Held side by side they are five different blades, and that is the honest version.

Looking after it

Hand wash them and dry them straight away, not left in the sink after dinner. A light coat of food safe mineral oil before they go back in the roll keeps rust off. Cut on wood or plastic boards, never on the plate itself, since china takes an edge off faster than the steak ever will. Sharpen them on a stone and strop them after. More is on our care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Adding laser engraving costs 35 dollars for the set, one flat price that covers all five blades, and you pick it here before checkout. Each blade holds around 30 characters, so five names, or one name five times, or a date. A proof image comes to you before the laser runs, which puts 3 to 5 business days on the order. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Will the five blades match? They read as a set. They are not twins. The pattern moves along the billet and every blade takes its own bit.

Does the carved roll make it a present? It is what people notice before the steel. Untying a strap beats lifting a lid, and the roll stays useful after.

Will they rust? They can. The pattern hides carbon steel underneath. Dry them after dinner and keep them oiled.

What does engraving cost? A flat 35 dollars for the set, covering every one of the five blades. You pick it, and it is never on the order unless you do.

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

Are they serrated? No, plain edges. Serrations cannot be brought back on a stone and these can.

For the head of the table there is the Damascus carving set on stag antler, and before anybody sits down the Damascus cheese set in burl wood covers the board. Every roll sits in gift sets, the rest in kitchen knife sets and Damascus steel.