Nocturnal Redwood Petty 135mm

If ever there were a chef’s knife in a size, profile, and material combination suited to virtually every cut on the home kitchen’s cutting board, it’s the Dark Night Petty by California bladesmith Don Carlos Andrade. As a formally trained chef and artist-knifemaker of over 20 years, this is exactly the kind of versatile, hardworking tool Don is known for, all in an heirloom-quality package. For the 135mm / 5.3″ blade, 26c3 “spicy white” high-carbon steel is used, a clean, all-business alloy prized for its fine grain structure, hard, sharp edge, and ease of sharpening. With Don’s superb, freehand convex bevel geometry, a thin yet tough edge, and full-distal taper along the spine to a pointed tip, every ingredient is in play no matter the meal being prepared. A two-tone, foggy matte gray finish is a result of the carefully calibrated differential heat treatment and hardening process for which which Don is known. A hand-sanded satin finish and etch reveal the technique’s quench line. Control over the 39mm-tall blade is enjoyed via a handle of redwood, capped with a burgundy G7 laminate ferrule and secured with a single, flush, bronze pin. The handle’s form is that of the artist’s well loved shield-style wa rendition that sees a tall, tapering profile becoming slimmer toward the font, rounded along the sides, with flat faces on top and bottom.