Gyuto 216mm Wrought Iron Clad 135Cr3 Full Kasumi "Phénix" Mali Irie-Cros

This is truly something special and such a representative piece, both in terms of Milan’s perspective on knife making, but also in terms of the very art of cooking itself. For this piece Milan forged the blade from a San Mai billet he constructed out of 135Cr3 clad in wrought iron. The wrought iron was up-cycled from a unused wagon wheel from his property in rural France. The handle is also up-cycled oak originally harvested and used to produce wine barrels. This concept of producing some beautiful from something unwanted or unused is fitting as in cooking it is often the same. Think of a rough cut of meat that is slow cooked until it is tender and flavorful or a vegetable that is bitter and tough until pickled or braised.

Milan partnered with world renowned hand engraving Mali Irie-Cros to have the blade engraved with the Phénix, a symbol that represents rebirth, a fitting icon for such a beautiful piece of work. Mali Irie-Cros has an intimate relationship with knife making or more accurately the art of sword making. She is a multi-award winner at the Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kai (NBTHK) sword making completion in Tokyo, where in 2018 and 2019 she was awarded first place for her engraving work on Japanese Katana.

The knife itself has a simple, yet elegant design, but Milan’s artistry is much more than skin deep. A water quenched HRC 64 San Mai blade that has been ground by hand on water cooled stone wheel and finished on natural Japanese whetstones. The result is a beautifully consistent convex grind with a stunning Kasumi polish, hazy and clean with lovely alloy banding elements that peak through highlighting the natural structure of the wrought iron cladding.

The realization of such a beautiful piece is the completion of many hours work using artisan techniques to produce a what is an undeniably beautiful culinary kitchen knife, but also a high-performance cutting tools with a very precise geometry. Just amazing!