8" Chef's Knife

When we walked into my favorite knife shop, I spotted this on the wall and immediately let out an audible "Oh, wow...". I still feel that way every time I see it. Steelport have made what has to be the most beautiful chef's knife on the market with tons of thoughtful features, a stunning blackened finish, and a price tag to match. First, this is made of 52100 steel, which is a high-carbon "ball bearing" steel. It's medium-hard and super durable — especially at this thickness. It's a lovely steel to sharpen and maintain and 3 of my 5 favorite knives are made of it. Really, the only thing stopping this from being my favorite knife is the geometry — it gets just a little too thick at the spine — and I'm at a loss for anything else I don't love about this knife. It's got a hell of a price tag on it, but I've never really met a knife that I thought justified its price better with its materials and design. I just wish that spine were a *tiny* bit thinner. Update: I had it thinned by a pro sharpener with a belt and it's now my favorite knife. Pity it takes the extra work, but now I genuinely adore this thing.

It's too heavy for me to enjoy using more than I have to. But it is absolutely stunning.