Purple Iris Damascus Nakiri 195mm

Artist Isaiah Schroeder never fails to take our breath away with the striking and unique functional objects he creates, and as is his way to push the limits with each build, the credit for our breathlessness in the case of this collaborative chef knife is shared with Rebecca Rettenmund, Isaiah’s talented wife and partner. First the blade, in a carbon mosaic damascus steel pattern of Isaiah’s design and making, compiled and finished with incredible control and beauty, is tall and powerful, solid, and weighted at the rounded spine, and wonderfully thin, sharp, and hard at an edge that sits below convex bevels shaped purposefully for efficient vegetable chopping. As a traditional nakiri, the edge profile is flat from the 70mm tall heel forward for push-pull cuts, before curving up just slightly toward the flat front for added versatility. Then, there is the handle. The first element to merge with the damascus is a sculpted collar of shibuichi, a copper and silver alloy of Isaiah’s own making, a material traditionally used in Japanese art, and one which Isaiah has been known to cast, carve, and shape to adorn his more incredible knives. The high-polished collar then disappears into a piece of purple dyed and stabilized box elder burl with a comfortable, elegant, oval profile with which to control the cutting edge. Finally, enter Rebecca and her exquisite engraving: the handle’s end cap, in the same house-made shibuichi, is engraved across the rear face by her experienced hands with the image of a blooming iris, imparting on this one-of-a-kind tool an organic air and warmth that only this couple can offer. For protection and transport, a handmade flame birch saya with shibuichi pin is included.