Sapphira the Dragon

Whether Sapphira takes to the skies or tucks her wings for a day of rest is the privy of her caretaker. Designed and created by Romanian artist and bladesmith Toma Fenes, the blade of this work of functional art represents the dragon’s wing in flight, while the forged titanium handle can be viewed as a blue beast’s wing laid flat alongside its body for an afternoon nap, her head and glaring eyes partially protected by the wing’s end. At the cutting board, the chef’s pinky finger is cradled beneath Sapphira’s chin. The blade (wing) and integral tang (body and head), which forms the handle’s lower section, are forged by Toma from a single piece of 26c3 ‘Spicy White’ high-carbon steel, a clean, low-alloyed steel prized by culinary knifemakers for its fine grain structure, hard, sharp edge, and ability to produce a beautiful hamon just as Toma has done here through a careful, differential hardening. Above this beautiful, foggy hamon that graces silky, satin-finished bevels baring Toma’s superb convex geometry, are blade flats that give way to the heart and soul of Sapphira herself: the dragon’s scales have been forged into the material to produce an arresting visual effect throughout an area which is also inlaid with a series of brass and anodized titanium ten zogan dots. Atop the blade which stands 71mm high at its tallest point is a spine with the same brass and titanium inlays of various sizes, mimicking the depiction of inspirational dragons such as Eragon’s dragon, the namesake of this tool. Not only does this incredible object envelop the being of a dragon from tip to heel, it does so in a utile package designed to cut and cook with daily. For comfort and control over the nicely honed, razor-sharp edge is the marriage of steel and anodized, hand-forged titanium, all embellished with additional ten zogan inlays of brass and titanium, and secured using titanium screws. As expected from the work of this talented young maker, every detail is considered, and neither form nor function are sacrificed while producing as unique a tool as we have seen. This knife was conceived and crafted alongside Jörmungandr, Sapphira’s distant, aquatic cousin.