Another stunner from Austrian bladesmith Martin Huber, this piece not only boasts a ku mai (seven layer) house-made blade formula that includes stainless outer cladding, 25-layer damascus, pure nickel, and 1.2519 carbon steel core, but it also enjoys beautiful compound 'S-grind' geometry above a thin, sharp, hard edge built to cut. The hand-sanded satin blade shows the marks of the forging process on the flats and tang, complementing a rounded spine and choil, and a full distal taper to a very fine tip for detail work. Balanced just at the front of the handle the blade is quick and nimble in the hand; this knife is going to provide boundless kitchen pleasure. For comfort and control Martin has shaped a traditional shield-style wa handle, faceted along the top and rounded through the lower two-thirds, from a combination of bog oak, nickel silver, stabilized mammoth tooth, and gorgeous striped ironwood.