Art disguised as tool? Or tool disguised as art? However you see it, the fact is that bladesmith Joseph Schrum prioritizes nothing above functionality and cutting performance, just as no sacrifice is made to form and visual beauty. The result is a breathtaking harmony of elements, both in the hand, and in the eyes. Created in small batches at his studio outside of St Louis, Missouri, Joe works his house-made ball bearings damascus steel one hammer blow at a time to shape the 215mm / 8.5″ blade and sculpted integral handle bolster. First, though, the material has been carefully ‘feathered’ to produce the unique effect seen coursing through the center of the blade, skewing and elongating the dark elements, the 52100 high-carbon ball bearings, along the way. Nickel-rich 1090 powered steel provides the bright canvas through which the bears look. A hand-sanded satin finish gives the finished product an elegant sheen. For uncompromising utility in the chef’s kitchen, Joe imbues the blade’s bevels with the convex, dynamic, workhorse geometry we know him for, symmetrical on left and right, culminating at a thin, hard, hair-popping sharp edge. Weighted and powerful in the hand with a center of mass a finger’s width in front of the blade’s 54mm-tall heel, the knife’s balance is distributed wonderfully with the help of a versatile, full-distal taper along the spine. That spine, rounded and comfortable in the pinch grip (as is the choil), tapers steadily and progressively, slimming for just over 3mm, to 1.7mm at the midpoint, 0.95mm an inch from the tip, and further still. Completing the one-of-a-kind work of culinary art is a handle of flaming boxelder in a simple, comfortable, wa-style oval form.