{"product_id":"one-of-a-kind-damascus-cleaver-spalted-maple","title":"One of a Kind Damascus Cleaver, Spalted Maple and Amber Resin","description":"\u003cp\u003eOnly one of these was made and it is the one in the photograph, not a stand in. The blade is 7 inches of Damascus over a high carbon core. The handle is spalted maple set in amber resin, and the black lines through that wood were left by fungus working through the tree long before anybody cut it down. When this one sells the page comes down.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eSpecification\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\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 to the edge, no bare bevel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePattern\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLadder\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\u003eStabilised spalted maple set in amber resin\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFittings\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBrass mosaic pins\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSheath\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHand carved oak leaf 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\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThe blade\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDamascus over a high carbon core in a ladder pattern. The billet is pressed across its width and then ground flat again, which drags the layers into rungs running from spine to edge. Etching brings them up dark against bright, and it carries down the bevel with no bare strip left. The pattern is decoration. The carbon core underneath takes the edge. Seven inches of cleaver is a lot of steel over a board, and the weight does most of the work if you let it. Carbon darkens as you use it and spots if it goes away wet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThe handle\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpalted maple began as wood on its way to rotting. Fungus ran through it and left those black lines, and caught at the right moment they are there while the wood is still sound. Left alone, that block would be soft in patches and would move around the pins in a damp kitchen. This one was stabilised, soaked in resin under vacuum until it filled, then set in amber resin so the pale areas glow behind the black. The pins are brass mosaic, built from smaller rods fused together, so the pattern shows the same at both ends.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThe leather sheath\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cover is vegetable tanned leather, cut to this blade's outline rather than to a size that roughly fits. The face is carved by hand, cut in with a swivel knife and worked with punches, oak leaves running the length of it. That is several times the work of stamping. A welt is sewn into the edge so the thread sits inside the seam where the blade cannot saw at it, and it is stitched by hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWho it suits\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is for somebody who wants weight on the board and the only one of its kind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCooks breaking down big cuts at home\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnyone who likes figure in wood over a plain block\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBuyers who want the actual knife in the picture\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeople who dry a knife instead of stacking it wet\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat comes in the box\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis exact cleaver, sharpened by hand\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe hand carved oak leaf 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\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThere is only one of these\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe photograph is the piece itself. The spalting in that maple came from a fungus taking its own route through one tree, and nobody can order that again. The ladder rungs landed where the steel moved. The oak leaves were cut once, into leather that does not forgive a slip. When it sells the listing comes down and nothing replaces it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eLooking after it\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWash it by hand and dry it straight away. No dishwasher, ever, for the steel or the wood. Onions and citrus darken a carbon blade faster than anything else on the board, which is normal rather than a fault, and a wipe of oil before it goes in a drawer keeps spots off. Store it in the cover only when both are dry. More is on our \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/knife-care-sharpening\"\u003eknife care and sharpening page\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003ePut a name on it\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaser engraving is 20 dollars per blade and around 30 characters fits, which covers a name and a date. We send a proof image before the laser runs and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Since this is a one off, we will talk it through and agree the spot before anything is cut. The \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/engraving\"\u003eengraving page\u003c\/a\u003e has the rest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eQuestions buyers ask\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs this the actual knife in the photograph?\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes. That is this cleaver, and no second one exists.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow long does shipping take?\u003c\/strong\u003e Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWill it rust?\u003c\/strong\u003e It can. Carbon steel sits under the pattern, so dry it after washing and oil it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs spalted wood rotten?\u003c\/strong\u003e It was heading that way. Stabilising fills it with resin, which stops it there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWill the handle mind a wet kitchen?\u003c\/strong\u003e No. Stabilised wood does not swell or shrink around the pins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan I have the same lines again?\u003c\/strong\u003e No. The fungus took one route through one tree and that block is used.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf you want a thinner blade for the same board, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/one-of-a-kind-damascus-chef-knife-buffalo-horn\"\u003eDamascus chef knife in buffalo horn and brass\u003c\/a\u003e is the other kitchen piece here, and the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/one-of-a-kind-damascus-hunting-knife-ironwood\"\u003eDamascus hunting knife in desert ironwood burl\u003c\/a\u003e puts figured wood on a smaller blade. The rest sit in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/custom-builds\"\u003ecustom builds\u003c\/a\u003e, pattern welded blades under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/damascus-steel\"\u003eDamascus steel\u003c\/a\u003e, and \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/all-knives\"\u003eevery knife we make\u003c\/a\u003e together.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viper Edge USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44145588207734,"sku":"VEF-CST-1808","price":359.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/2427\/9670\/files\/custom-08-damascus-cleaver-spalted-maple_1e4a9a65-7ef2-45d3-8f5f-7e115103ebdd.jpg?v=1788851671","url":"https:\/\/viperedgeforge.com\/products\/one-of-a-kind-damascus-cleaver-spalted-maple","provider":"Viper Edge USA","version":"1.0","type":"link"}