Comfortable, balanced, strikingly designed, and built in a size to do it all in any kitchen, bladesmith Niko Nicolaides' newest chef knife leaves nothing to want. Crafted at Niko's Detroit studio, the Dark Waters damascus features a dense, zigging and zagging pattern through the integral bolster and along the top of the blade before giving way to darkly etched and polished bevels that feature the superb geometry we expect of this talented maker. Thin, hard, and razor-sharp at the edge, the primary bevels are medium height and convex, all below a spine that maintains strength and rigidity while slimming to a fine, needle-like tip for detail work. At 165mm / 6.5" long and 48mm tall at the heel, the blade rocks beautifully on the board, delivering a profile long enough for the biggest cuts in any kitchen, and compact enough for control and precision. Or simply to be the one cutting tool in small spaces. Dyed and stabilized maple burl capped with a carbon fiber spacer at the bolster completes a sculpted, Wester-style, hidden-tang handle that you won’t want to put down.