Precious Steel by Carrillo

New Jersey artist Emiliano Carrillo’s contribution to The Art of Cutlery, a gyuto called “Precious Steel,” on show during summer 2024 in Tribeca, NYC, is named for the homemade tamahagane from which it is forged. This traditional approach to steel making, and in turn, this work of functional art, receive their moniker from two Japanese words: tama, meaning ‘precious’ and ‘hagane’ meaning steel. Emiliano, who has long studied traditional blacksmithing and tool-making techniques, first collects sand from a particular beach in Connecticut, isolating the raw iron ore using a magnet. He then fashions a one-time-use-only bloomery furnace from clay, mud, and peat to combine the iron with carbon under high heat to form raw steel. The raw steel, or bloom, is then forged and folded by hand repeatedly, forming the bar of steel which is then shaped into the finished blade. The D-shaped wa handle, configured for right-handed users, is sculpted from ancient bog oak and finished with a mokume gane bolster made from sterling silver and copper. A wooden display stand is included, as well as small amounts of both the iron ore sand and resulting raw bloom. This knife is razor-sharp and built to cook with.