Kitchen Knives.

A kitchen knife earns its place by how it feels after the twentieth cut, not the first. These are our chef knives, santokus, nakiris, cleavers and paring knives, forged in our own shop and finished by hand.Steel. Our Damascus is 1095 and 15n20 folded and hardened to 58 to 60 HRC. It takes a keener edge than most stainless and is easy to bring back on a whetstone. It is reactive steel, so it wants drying after use. If your knife will sit wet by a sink, choose one of our 440C blades instead.Which shape. An eight inch chef knife is the one knife most kitchens actually need: long enough to rock through onions, short enough to control. A santoku is flatter and better for straight downward chopping. A nakiri is for vegetables only and is very good at it. A cleaver is for bone and squash, not for fine work.Do these go in the dishwasher? No. The heat and detergent will dull the edge, attack the etch and split natural handle scales. Hand wash, dry immediately.How often should I sharpen? Hone on a rod every few uses; a full sharpen once or twice a year is enough for home cooking. Sharpen the edge only, never the flats, or you grind through the pattern.Is Damascus better than stainless in a kitchen? It holds a finer edge and looks better. Stainless is more forgiving if you leave knives wet. Pick for your habits, not the marketing.

Want to know more? Read our guides on telling real Damascus from a printed pattern, what 352 layers means and caring for a Damascus blade.