Through patience, a thoughtful vision, and carefully calculated hammer blows, bladesmith Nick Anderson transforms a two-inch by two-inch by one-inch block of 52100 high-carbon steel into the one-of-a-kind chef knife witnessed here. An organic, hand-hewn combination of dark, forge-finished surfaces pairs with the blade’s brushed bevels to produce an aesthetic worthy of decorative sculpture, and utilitarian enough to become the cook’s daily workhorse cutting tool. Pronounced convexity through the tall bevels, a thin, razor-sharp edge backed by the superb, symmetrical bevel geometry, and a full-distal taper along the beveled spine to an especially slim, pointed tip, together create a versatile blade that will both chop through the toughest ingredients and slice with finesse. To wield the 207mm / 8.1″ tool with comfort and ergonomic pleasure that has to be experienced to be believed is a handle sculpted through heat and pressure from the same singular piece of material. With every element accounted for, from the purposeful contouring and rounding of the lower portion, to the finger swells at the choil and atop where grip becomes blade, to its overall profile, the handle is a work of art in itself. And through it all, within the solid steel construction crafted at his Northern California studio, Nick finds a balance point just at the blade’s 55mm-tall heel, giving a sense of power, control, and dynamic function to anyone lucky enough to cut with such a work of art.