• Gyuto 285mm Mono Apex Ultra 'Iarla'
  • Gyuto 285mm Mono Apex Ultra 'Iarla' – detail view
  • Gyuto 285mm Mono Apex Ultra 'Iarla' – side profile
  • Gyuto 285mm Mono Apex Ultra 'Iarla' – handle detail
  • Gyuto 285mm Mono Apex Ultra 'Iarla' – blade close-up
  • Gyuto 285mm Mono Apex Ultra 'Iarla' – view 6
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Gyuto 285mm Mono Apex Ultra "Iarla"

Gyuto 285mm Mono Apex Ultra "Iarla"

By Erik Gullikson

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Erik Gullikson

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This handmade kitchen knife, crafted by the renowned bladesmith Erik Gullikson, stands as a true testament to the artistry and precision of traditional knife-making. Uniquely "one of a kind," this exceptional cutting tool embodies the classic gyuto profile, renowned for its versatility and fluid motion. The blade’s gentle radius from heel to tip allows for seamless push cuts and long, controlled slices, making it a prized possession for chefs and culinary enthusiasts alike. Whether in the hands of a professional chef or a dedicated home cook, the knife’s refined profile ensures every cut is as smooth and precise as possible. It’s more than a tool—it’s a partner in culinary excellence.

The craftsmanship of this knife extends beyond its profile, as its geometry showcases Gullikson’s meticulous attention to detail. Forged from Apex Ultra steel, a material revered for its performance and edge retention, the blade features a super-fine taper that grants a 285mm blade the agility of a far smaller knife. This fine taper creates an unparalleled feeling of control, balance, and responsiveness. The blade’s crater texture and hand-polished satin finish add an element of raw beauty and tactile sophistication. Every glance and touch reveal the mastery of the forging process, creating a blade that is not only a high-performance tool but also a work of art. This knife’s blend of functionality and aesthetic appeal reflects the dedication and passion that Gullikson pours into every blade he forges.

The handle is where tradition meets modern innovation. Erik’s flared coffin taper Rokakku Hanmaru-shaped handle is a standout feature, offering an ergonomic grip that’s as comfortable as it is visually striking. The heirloom-quality handle is composed of stabilized hornbeam and stabilized red maple burl, accented by geometric textured copper spacers. Hand-filed and faceted grooves in the copper provide additional grip and visual interest, elevating the handle to a level of luxury and craftsmanship rarely seen. One of the knife’s most groundbreaking innovations is the removable copper dowel at the butt of the handle, allowing the user to adjust the balance to their preference. With the dowel inserted, the balance point shifts 30mm forward of the choil, offering precision control. The result is a knife that feels lightweight, agile, and perfectly balanced, ensuring that every cut is executed with confidence and ease. This handmade masterpiece by Erik Gullikson embodies the perfect harmony of art, craftsmanship, and performance, destined to be cherished for generations.

In keeping with his tradition of naming his creations in Irish, Erik Gullikson has named this piece "Iarla," which translates to "Earl" in English. This name perfectly captures the regal beauty and noble character of the knife’s design, reflecting both its aesthetic splendor and its unparalleled performance.

Product Specification
  • Blade Type:
  • Overall Length: 410mm
  • Edge Length: 285mm
  • Spine Heel: 4.64mm
  • Spine Mid: 1.62mm
  • Spine Tip (20mm before): 0.8mm
  • Blade Height: 61mm
  • Weight: 220g
  • Cutting Edge Steel:
  • Steel class: Carbon
  • HRC: 66
  • Blade Construction:
  • Blade Finish: Satin PolishTextured
  • Grind:
  • Handle Construction:
  • Handle Materials: Stabilised Hornbeam, Stabilised Red Maple Burl, Copper
  • Handedness: Ambidextrous

Blade type

Gyuto

牛刀

The Japanese take on the Western chef's knife, and the most versatile blade in a modern kitchen. A gyuto carries a long, gently curved edge — most often 210 to 270 mm — that allows both push cuts and a rocking motion, with a pointed tip for fine work and enough height at the heel to keep knuckles clear of the board. It handles proteins, vegetables, and herbs without complaint, which is why most cooks reach for it first.

Compared with a European chef's knife, the gyuto is usually thinner, harder, and lighter, ground to a finer edge that rewards good board technique and regular honing. That same thinness is the trade-off: the edge is less forgiving of bone, frozen food, and twisting cuts, and it asks for a little more care in maintenance in exchange for its keenness.

View full knife type guide →

Cutting edge steel

Apex Ultra

Low-alloy fine-grain carbon tool steel

Typical HRC
64–68
Corrosion class
Carbon
Production
Conventional
Origin
Austria (developed by Tobias Hangler and Marco Guldimann; project led by Hangler at Messerschmiede Hangler)

Apex Ultra is one of the most carefully engineered non-stainless kitchen knife steels in modern circulation, and the project of an Austrian smith — Tobias Hangler — who set out, with Marco Guldimann, to design a steel for the kitchen rather than borrow one from another industry. It carries roughly 1.25 percent carbon, around four percent chromium, modest tungsten and molybdenum, and a small vanadium addition. The composition is tuned to produce a fine, evenly distributed carbide structure that supports hardness up to 67 HRC while delivering toughness comparable to 52100 at the same hardness — a combination that is the entire point of the steel.

What this means for a cook is unusual permission. You can ask a maker to grind an Apex Ultra knife thin enough that a White #1 owner would call you brave, then ask for the heat treatment to land at 65 HRC, and the resulting edge will hold for longer than Aogami Super without microchipping. It sharpens cleanly on natural and synthetic stones alike and patinas slowly because of the chromium content, though it is not stainless and should be treated as a carbon steel.

Apex Ultra has become a signature steel of the European maker community, and the Modern Cooking catalogue carries an unusually deep bench of smiths working in it. Tobias Hangler himself heads that group, alongside Marco Guldimann, Benjamin Kamon, Martin Huber, Jonas Johnsson, Karol Karyś, Birch & Bevel, and MCx. It is genuinely a step forward — one of the relatively few cases where the marketing claims and the underlying metallurgical data are saying the same thing.

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.

View full construction guide →

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

Hidden Tang

A construction in which the tang runs into the handle but stays concealed inside it, rather than showing between two scales. A narrower tang — a full-length stick or a shorter projection — is set into a drilled or burned channel in a one-piece handle and secured with adhesive, a friction fit, or a threaded fitting drawn up against the blade. This is the traditional construction of Japanese wa-handles and many European hidden-tang knives.

The design puts the handle material in charge of the look and feel: a single piece of wood, horn, or composite — often with a ferrule or spacers at the front — is shaped into any cross-section the maker wants, from the classic octagonal and D-shaped wa profiles to fully rounded Western forms. With no steel showing along the grip, the handle can be slim and light, and is frequently made to be removed and replaced, with the balance sitting toward the blade.

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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