Birgersson Gyuto, 205mm

I am thrilled to offer this one-off series from Swedish bladesmith Björn Birgersson. His knives are function-first high performance kitchen tools. Precisely forged and ground, his handmade knives are something any kitchen knife aficionado should try at least once. He hand laminates his warikomi in house and executes an exceptionally hard and fine grained heat treatment on his hi-carbon core. I liked these so much I couldn't help but keep one for myself.

Blade Materials

This gyuto has an unspecified carbon steel core. Don't let the lack of specificity from the smith distract you from the undeniable truth that his steel is some of the finest out there. It ranks amongst my very favorite steels to use and sharpen. While extremely hard with good edge retention, it sharpens and de-burrs easily and is surprisingly durable even at extreme edge thinness. 

The cladding material is refined wrought iron. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first "production" run of wrought iron clad knives Björn has produced. While more enjoyable for a stone-polishing nerd, the material itself is more challenging to work with than the smith's preferred mild steel cladding. There is varied levels of visible banding in these knives but all show great promise as polishing canidates.

This particular blade has more subtle activity in the wrought than the others.

Björn specializes in hon-warikomi construction and these knives are no exception. Rather than welding 3 pieces of material together to create a san mai billet, he splits open a billet of cladding and inserts a slab of steel creating a "taco." This traditional technique requires great skill and is rarely seen. 

These knives are not stainless. Please hand wash and dry them immediately after each use. They will rust if left wet for extended periods of time and will patina through use. 

Handle Materials

The handle is burnt ash. It offers excellent grip, even when wet, but has a more polished feel than burnt oak or burnt chestnut handles I have used. They pair well with the purpose driven nature of these blades. 

Other Notes

This compact gyuto is an excellent performer. I find the profile natural and the blade exceptionally nimble. Björn's forging and grinds are more lasery than many of his peers, but for my tastes the performance speaks for itself. The cut feel on firm produce or while dicing an onion is unparalleled. 

The bevels come with a refined belt finish straight from the maker and will be shipped out unmolested. It will be the buyer's privilege, if they so choose, to polish the bevels on stones. My example had next to no low spots and was easy to work work with. However, there is great value in experiencing the knife as the maker intended and the finish "stock" is exceptionally nice as is. I recommend using the knife as supplied and working the bevels out on stones only when the blade needs its first thinning after many sharpenings. 

I will not be able to ship these blades until Friday, April 12th.