French Octopus Chef 241mm

From the tip of the blade to the butt of the handle, the craftsmanship and detail of artist and Master Bladesmith Andrew Meers are on full display. With a BFA in sculpture and MFA in metalsmithing & blacksmithing, it’s no surprise that form and function collide in such pronounced style as when Andrew crafts a tool like the French Octopus Chef. A 241mm / 9.5″ French-inspired blade is forged by hand from a mesmerizing mosaic damascus pattern, the exploding elements created from two carbon steel alloys and hardened by Andrew for edge retention and a nice spring to the thin profile. Versatile and designed for all manner of daily cooking tasks, the blade’s heel stands 62mm high, delivering tall, slim, convex bevel geometry throughout its length. The rounded blade spine begins at just 2.1mm out of the forged integral bolster and slims further to only 0.8mm an inch from an especially fine tip, producing a quick, nimble, and flexible blade that moves effortlessly in the hand. At 8oz / 226g overall, this full-size build is solid and weighted in the hand, balancing just at the blade’s heel. Beginning the handle construction is a forged damascus bolster with the blade’s material extending backward in between opposing, forge-welded, faceted pieces of dense ladder-pattern damascus, together offering nice contrast between bolster and blade. Then, with stepped-down, heirloom fit, damascus meets a beautiful piece of amboyna burl with a tapering, octagonal wa form for comfort and control. A frame for Andrew’s repertoire of skills caps the handle’s back face: the polished steel backdrop is engraved, with the centered steel retention-bolt pin engraved as well. The feather in the cap is the knife’s namesake, a carved, engraved, and inlaid octopus that Andrew has sculpted from his own homemade shakudo, a traditional Japanese alloy made from copper and gold, the all-seeing octopus completed with pure 24k gold eyes.