Rolin Knives GoMai 180mm Chef 125cr1 Walnut Box Elder Purpleheart

Hand forged small chef / big petty / utility featuring a water quenched GoMai blade using A203 and nickel on top of a 125cr1 carbon steel core. The blade was acid etched to bring out the striking contrast of the GoMai cladding against the darkened blade. The blade has a convex grind with a strong distal taper. The handle is handmade with a purpleheart ferrule, box elder spacer and walnut handle.

125cr1 is a steel that is virtually identical to the well-known 26c3, or “Spicy White.” With carbon content upwards of 1.3%, it’s known to get very hard and have a bitier cutting feel than traditional shirogami steels thanks to the addition of a small percentage of chromium.

All aspects of this knife were meticulously forged, treated, ground, machined, worked, shaped and fit with an incredible amount of detail and intention by Nick Rolin. Originally from the Bay Area, Nick’s blade shapes and styles are inspired by his years as a fine-dining line cook that preceded his time spent in NYC as a bartender after earning a degree in Sustainable Agriculture from UCSC. After a weekend knife making class in 2016, Nick began making knives for friends and the eventual demand lead to returning to the Bay Area in 2022 to make knives full-time.

We were able to test a few of Nick’s knives and were impressed not only with the craftsmanship and aesthetics but also the edge performance, cutting feel and sharpenability of the knives. We are lucky to have Nick in our backyard and are proud to be able to offer his work to our knife community.