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Boning Knife 160mm AEB-L Orbital Double Black Canvas Micarta & Stainless Steel

Boning Knife 160mm AEB-L Orbital Double Black Canvas Micarta & Stainless Steel

By Dan Bidinger


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Dan Bidinger

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Introducing a one-of-a-kind kitchen knife, meticulously handcrafted by artisanal knife maker Dan Bidinger. Inspired by classic French boning knives, this exceptional tool is designed for precision and control. The thin convex bevels and gentle taper ensure smooth cutting performance, making it an excellent choice for detailed and intricate tasks. Whether you’re trimming meat or working around a joint, the refined geometry of this knife allows for effortless manoeuvrability and clean, precise cuts.

At the heart of this knife is AEB-L premium stainless steel, one of Dan Bidinger’s favorite materials. Known for its fine grain structure, this steel offers outstanding sharpness potential and exceptional edge retention. Originally developed for razor blades, AEB-L is prized by knife makers and chefs alike for its ability to take a razor-sharp edge while maintaining durability and ease of maintenance. This means that the knife will not only deliver superior cutting performance but will also remain sharp for extended periods, reducing the need for frequent sharpening.

The handle is crafted in a classic full tang construction, featuring double black canvas micarta scales and stainless steel pins for a secure and resilient build. Designed with an ergonomic coke bottle shape, the handle provides a natural and comfortable grip, ensuring ease of use during prolonged kitchen tasks. Dan has also integrated subtle finger notches on either side of the pinch point, enhancing comfort and control. Unique and rare features such as the orbital finish on the blade face contribute to the knife’s striking appearance and smooth slicing ability. With its exceptional sharpness, balanced design, and artisanal craftsmanship, this knife is a true standout in any kitchen.

Product Specification
  • Blade Type:
  • Overall Length: 285mm
  • Edge Length: 160mm
  • Spine Heel: 1.64mm
  • Spine Mid: 1.50mm
  • Spine Tip (20mm before): 1.11mm
  • Blade Height: 20mm
  • Weight: 114g
  • Cutting Edge Steel:
  • Steel class: Stainless
  • HRC: 65
  • Blade Construction:
  • Blade Finish: Brushed
  • Grind:
  • Handle Construction:
  • Handle Materials: Double Black Canvas Micarta
  • Handedness: Ambidextrous

Blade type

Boning Knife

A narrow knife built to separate meat from bone, with a thin blade and a fine point for working into joints and along the skeleton. Boning knives come in stiff and flexible versions: a stiffer blade gives control and power on beef and pork, while a more flexible one follows the contours of poultry and smaller cuts. The narrow profile keeps waste low by hugging the bone closely.

This is a specialist's knife, and the right degree of flex depends on the work. It excels at its single task and is largely wasted on general prep, where its narrow blade and pointed tip offer no advantage. For anyone who breaks down primal cuts or whole animals, though, it removes meat with a cleanliness no general-purpose knife can match.

View full knife type guide →

Cutting edge steel

AEB-L

Fine-grain martensitic stainless steel

Typical HRC
60–63
Corrosion class
Stainless
Production
Conventional
Origin
Sweden (Uddeholm)

AEB-L is the original fine-grain razor stainless — a steel developed for safety razor blades and rediscovered by knifemakers as one of the most refined stainless choices available. About 0.67 percent carbon and 13 percent chromium, with very low impurity content, allow the steel to take a near-carbon-grade edge while remaining genuinely stainless.

In a custom or boutique kitchen knife AEB-L typically lands at 60–62 HRC, sharpens with the easy feel of a clean carbon, and produces a polished apex that holds an edge longer than its modest carbide content might suggest. Toughness is exceptional: at 62 HRC, AEB-L compares well to 52100 at the same hardness in published toughness data, which is the point that contemporary metallurgical writing on the steel has emphasised. It is the steel that taught a generation of makers that stainless need not feel coarse.

AEB-L is heavily used in the modern American custom scene and is an honest answer to the cook who wants the feel of a clean carbon without the maintenance burden. Among the makers Modern Cooking carries, Lew Griffin and Oliver Märtens work in AEB-L. It is closely related to Sandvik 13C26 and a direct ancestor of 14C28N.

View full steel guide →

Blade construction

Mono Steel

A knife forged from a single piece of steel — no laminations, no clad layers. The simplest and most direct construction. The entire blade is the cutting steel, with no softer outer jacket to protect or contrast it. Most contemporary Western kitchen knives in carbon and stainless steel are mono-steel constructions, as are honyaki and most European bladesmith work.

The trade-off is straightforward: mono-steel knives are easier to forge, sharpen, and reason about, but the entire blade carries the cutting steel's properties — including its reactivity if it's a clean carbon. There is no soft jacket to protect a more brittle core from impact, so the heat treatment and geometry have to do all the work.

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Grind

Convex

A grind whose bevel bulges outward in a gentle curve from spine to edge, rather than running flat. That extra steel directly behind the edge makes a convex grind notably strong and resistant to chipping, while the curved geometry helps food release and lets the blade glide through dense ingredients with less wedging than a flat grind.

The strength comes at the cost of ultimate thinness and ease of maintenance. A convex edge has more metal behind it, so it is not quite as effortlessly keen as a thinly flat-ground edge, and it is harder to sharpen freehand — holding the curve takes a stropping technique or a deliberate hand rather than a single fixed angle. The reward is an exceptionally tough, smooth-cutting edge.

View full grind guide →

Handle construction

Full Tang

A construction in which the blade steel runs the full length and width of the handle, forming a flat core between two handle scales. The scales are fixed to either face of the tang with pins, rivets, or adhesive, and the tang's outline stays visible as a strip of steel around the top, bottom, and butt of the handle — often with the pin heads showing as a row down each side. It is the dominant construction in Western kitchen and outdoor knives.

Because the steel continues all the way to the butt, the handle is essentially the tang dressed in two scales, and the grip is ground and shaped from that sandwiched assembly as a whole. The extra steel carries weight and balance back toward the hand, giving the solid, blade-and-handle-as-one feel that defines the style, and it leaves the edge of the tang on show as part of the knife's line.

View full construction guide →

Shipping & Returns

Shipping

We process orders 5 days a week (Monday - Friday) and ship from our shop in Sydney, Australia. We ship with FedEx, UPS and DHL.

We are happy to offer free international shipping on a variety of orders depending on location and order value.

Free Shipping Regions and Minimum Order Values

For Australia and New Zealand the minimum is $500AUD. For the rest of the world it is approximately €1000EUR. The discount is applied automatically when you reach the minimum cart value at checkout.

Returns

If you're not entirely happy with your purchase, you can return it within 14 days of delivery for a refund. The item must be in its original condition with all original packaging.

  • Returns are accepted for 14 days
  • The customer is responsible for return shipping costs
  • A 15% restocking fee may be applied to change-of-mind returns
  • We do not accept returns on second-hand items for change of mind

Faulty or Damaged Items

You must notify us within 5 business days of receiving your order. Photographic evidence of damage is required. Once approved, Modern Cooking will cover return shipping costs.

Product Care

Cleaning: Clean by hand with warm water. Avoid wetting the handle when possible.

Sharpening: We advise using whetstones to sharpen your knives and a honing rod or steel to maintain the burr between sharpening sessions.

Reactive Steels: Reactive steels like Aogami Super, Apex Ultra or premium reactive German and Swedish steels are susceptible to rust if not properly cared for. Keep the knife dry between uses and when storing for longer periods, wiping the blade with Tsubaki oil or another food-safe oil is a wise choice. A patina can be a beautiful personal feature on your knife and helps to stop rust forming.

Handle Care: For non-stabilised wooden handles, apply Tsubaki oil or another food-safe oil from time to time. Food-safe wax can be applied to both stabilised and non-stabilised wooden handles. Never apply hot wax or oil as you risk warping or damaging the handle.

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