Hand Forged Chef Knife, Carbon Steel 8 Inch Kitchen Knife with Rosewood Handle

The chef knife does most of the work in a kitchen. The blade is tall, keeping knuckles clear, flat at the heel for chopping and curved toward the tip for rocking, and 8 inches is the size most cooks settle on. This one is hand forged 1095 with the hammer marks left on the flats, full tang through a rosewood handle with brass pins. A stamped leather sheath is included.

Specification

The blade

1095 is plain high carbon steel and takes the sharpest edge of anything in the shop. It is also the easiest to bring back, since a few passes on a stone do what other steels want a long session for. It is forged rather than cut from bar stock, so the hammer marks stay on the flats and the bevel is ground mirror bright along the edge. The trade is rust. There is no chromium in it, so 1095 darkens with use and wants drying as soon as you are done.

The handle

Rosewood is dense and close grained, and it polishes up warm rather than slick, which matters on a knife your hand stays on through long prep. The color is deep brown with darker streaks, and no two sets of scales read the same. The tang is full, steel unbroken from tip to butt, with brass pins through the scales. At 5 inches there is room to pinch the blade at the heel and still keep a full grip behind it.

The leather sheath

Every knife in this batch ships with a slim leather blade sheath cut for that exact blade. It is vegetable tanned leather with a welt along the edge, so the stitching sits clear of the steel, and it is stitched by hand. The face is hand stamped with carved wheat and leaf inside a stamped border. It covers the blade and leaves the handle standing out, so it suits a drawer, a knife roll, or carrying it to a job. It is a cover for storage, not a belt sheath.

Who it suits

A chef knife is the first knife to buy and the last one you would give up. This one suits a cook who wants a forged blade rather than a factory finish.

• Home cooks who do most prep with one knife
• Cooks who like carbon steel
• Anyone learning to sharpen on a stone
• Someone buying a first serious kitchen knife

What comes in the box

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

Every piece is different

Each knife is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small. The hammer marks, the grain of the rosewood and the stamping on the leather all vary from the photographs. Yours will be its own piece.

Looking after it

Wash it by hand and dry it straight away. Never the dishwasher, never left soaking, and dishwasher damage voids the warranty. Carbon steel darkens with use, and that gray patina is normal and protects the steel. Cut on wood or plastic, never glass or stone. Sharpen on a whetstone at roughly 20 degrees per side, then strop. No pull through sharpeners. More in our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade, added on this page. Around 30 characters fits on a blade, and a longer message sits better on the sheath. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Line art engraves well. Free on orders of 10 pieces or more. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Why 8 inches? It handles a cabbage or a melon and still stays controlled on a small board.

Why are the hammer marks left on it? That is how the forging leaves them. The bevel is ground bright where it cuts.

Is 1095 better than stainless here? It takes a keener edge and comes back faster on a stone. It also wants drying after use.

Is it dishwasher safe? No. Hand wash and dry it right away. Dishwasher damage is not covered.

Will this steel rust? It can if left wet. Dry it after use and you get patina instead.

How long until it ships and can I return it? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days. Returns run 30 days.

For smaller jobs there is the hand forged kitchen knife in rosewood, and the Damascus chef knife in burl wood is the pattern welded version. More in chef knives, this steel in high carbon 1095, and the wood in rosewood handle knives.