The second such build from Salem Straub featuring a hand-forged blade of homemade stainless-clad san mai steel with cutting edge of ApexUltra carbon steel, this chef's knife is built for daily meal prep in a head-turning and unique style. Recently developed specifically for the premium cutlery industry, ApexUltra steel was created with the help of our maker and metallurgist Tobias Hangler with uncompromising cutting performance and grain structure as the singular goal. Forged at his Washington studio, beautiful 'activity' is visible across the blade's silky, polished bevels where carbon migrates during the forging and hardening processes to produce a rainbow of greys. A nicely balanced blade provides every-day utility in every way: tall, convex lend provide cutting performance; an upswept profile offers welcome rocking on the board and a high, pointed tip for detail work; and a slight distal taper along the rounded spine maintains strength and toughness without compromising versatility. Thin at the edge from heel to tip, this is a blade to chop, slice, carve, and everything in between. One hundred percent Salem is a handle that provides the tool its name: a frame and bolsters in black canvas micarta surrounded by vintage Emerald Westinghouse paper micarta engraved with a repeating Kumiko pattern on each side, all sculpted into a Western profile combined with wa-like facets.