Asymmetrical Wenge Gyuto 239mm

This one-of-a-kind chef knife by Austria’s Tobias Hangler leaves nothing to want. Unless you’re left handed. With asymmetrical geometry configured for right-handed chefs, the 239mm/ 9.4″ blade is beautiful inside and out. It features an ApexUltra high-carbon steel core, a new, high-performance, blade-specific steel developed by the maker of the knife itself, Mr. Hangler, who in addition to being a world-class bladesmith is the holder of a master’s degree in metallurgy. To reduce carbon diffusion from the core steel during forging and hardening, a layer of pure nickel jackets the ApexUltra beneath the outer cladding material, which happens to be an elegant, 123-layer damascus of 100L steel and nickel. With cutting performance and food release squarely in his sights, Tobias sculpts thoughtful and purposeful bevel geometry: the left side bevels only slightly, becoming noticeably convex approaching the thin, hard, and razor-sharp edge. The right side of the blade receives Tobias’s compound ‘S-grind’ geometry, concave below the flats, and then reversing to become convex to the edge. The spine’s distal taper produces a dynamic tool with a workhorse feel and balance in the hand, weighted slightly forward, the knife moving naturally and nimbly at the board. While the spine, rounded for comfort in the pinch grip, remains stiff and strong throughout, it slims substantially in the final inches to produce an extremely fine, glass-thin tip, perfect for precision slicing and detail work. The blade’s dark finish is highlighted by the sheen of the pure nickel, and the hammer marks along the flats that bare the marks of its hand-forged origins. For comfort and control in a form as stunning as any is a handle shaped from wenge wood with all of its lovely grain, completing the build with rings and a front ferrule of polished brass.