"Llano Sunrise" Custom Chef's Set
A great set of knives for everyday use in the fine kitchen, custom
made for a great client to match with their taste and decor in a
Texas-style kitchen. The name Llano comes from the Llano
Estacado, the staked plains of West Texas and the Panhandle extending
into Eastern New Mexico. The name Sunrise describes the visual
character of the gemstone handles, chosen by my clients for this custom
project.
Knife Details:
The Knives
This fine set consists of three knives to cover a wide range of
kitchen and chef's tasks. From the smallest to the largest knives:
Talitha, Eridanus, and Corvus:
"Talitha"
- Size: Length overall: 8.3" (21.1cm), Blade Length: 4.0" (10.2 cm), Thickness: 0.128" (3.3 mm)
- Weight: 6.1 oz. (173 grams)
- Blade: 440C High Chromium Martensitic Stainless Steel, Hardened and Tempered, T3 Specialty Cryogenically treated to Rockwell C58, mirror polished
- Bolsters/Fittings: 304 High Nickel, High Chromium Austenitic Stainless Steel, mirror polished
- Handle: Cuprite Mosaic Gemstone (Sonora,
Mexico)
- Type/Purpose/Origin: "Talitha" is a great small, tough knife, with a very stiff and strong
blade, an aggressive point and a compact design for working in tight
spaces and with smaller tasks. The blade has a light sweeping spine,
a trailing blade design (with the point trailing just higher than
the spine), and a wide, useful hollow grind at the termination
(where the grind meets the ricasso at the handle). The distinct
choil gives a definite location for the beginning of the cutting
edge, and the spine and tang is full and clean throughout, for easy
maintenance and comfortable grip. The handle shape has a good width
at the rear bolster, so the majority of mass rests in the palm of
the hand. A smooth, rounded inside handle curve means the fingers
can move and locate to a variety of grips, helpful with a smaller
knife. The knife feels tough and able, with a stiff blade, and a
handle that offers comfortable control.
Eridanus
- Size: Length overall: 10.5" (26.7cm), Blade Length: 6.0" (15.2 cm), Thickness: 0.136" (3.5 mm)
- Weight: 7.5 oz. (213 grams)
- Blade: 440C High Chromium Martensitic Stainless Steel, Hardened and Tempered, T3 Specialty Cryogenically treated to Rockwell C58, mirror polished
- Bolsters/Fittings: 304 High Nickel, High Chromium Austenitic Stainless Steel, mirror polished
- Handle: Cuprite Mosaic Gemstone (Sonora,
Mexico)
- Type/Purpose/Origin: "Eridanus" is a long,
narrow bladed knife, useful for filleting, boning, and delicate
carving. The narrow blade will reach into meats, vegetables, and
allow tight radius cutting. For instance, think of slicing the skin
off of melon parts, filleting fish, or small cuts of meat. The blade
has a curved cutting edge at the point, giving it moderately high
strength, and the long straight cutting edge gives it the
performance of a slicing knife. The full tang knife has a very
smooth and even spine and tang, for comfort and easy cleaning, and
the handle has a good forward quillon to protect the hand from
sliding forward. The substantial belly of the handle means the knife
is comfortable and secure, the rear bolster balances the knife so
the blade feels light and maneuverable.
Corvus
- Size: Length overall: 11.5" (29.2cm), Blade Length: 7.5" (19.1 cm), Thickness: 0.133" (3.4 mm)
- Weight: 10.1 oz. (286 grams)
- Blade: 440C High Chromium Martensitic Stainless Steel, Hardened and Tempered, T3 Specialty Cryogenically treated to Rockwell C58, mirror polished
- Bolsters/Fittings: 304 High Nickel, High Chromium Austenitic Stainless Steel, mirror polished
- Handle: Cuprite Mosaic Gemstone (Sonora,
Mexico)
- Type/Purpose/Origin: "Corvus" is a design based
on a more traditional Sabatier, or French Chef's knife, but with
some distinctive differences. The blade shape has the useful curve
of this type of knife, made specifically for cutting board use,
rocking on the board, dicing, chopping, and slicing. The blade is
long and large, but incredibly thin, because it's hollow ground. The
deep hollow grind will give the life literally generations of use,
especially since the knife should only need to be sharpened about
once a year. How do I know this? This is the exact knife design that
I use in my own kitchen. The substantial blade is beautifully mirror
finished for super-easy cleaning, and the point is thin and stiff.
The handle is compact, making the knife easy to grip with the
fingertips for accurate dicing and chopping, while not being too
large and heavy. The large heel allows the blade to make certain
contact with the board, and the fingers are nestled away in the
slight front and rear quillons while the belly in the handle gives a
comfortable grip. I love my Corvus in the kitchen, and my client
will too.
Knife Blade Materials/Treatment
- Blade Steel Alloy: All three blades in this set
are hypereutectoid martensitic
stainless tool steels, 440C, my most
requested steel for good reason. When properly treated, 440C is a
dependable, reliable workhorse of extremely high corrosion
resistance, good toughness and high wear resistance. The extremely
high chromium of 440C along with the high carbon and moderate
molybdenum results in profuse chromium carbides, increasing
corrosion resistance as well as wear resistance. There is a reason
that 440C is the steel that all other stainless tool steels are
compared to. This steel is a high performer in the kitchen,
requiring little care other than a light wash. Air drying is fine;
it's absolutely corrosion resistant.
- Heat Treatment: The blades have my
T3 heat treatment, yielding astounding blade
performance and incredible
condition through advanced processing protocols. How advanced is
this treatment? It's a multi-stage cryogenic treatment,
involving temperatures ranging in over 1800°F
to -320°F (-196°C). The process is an evolution of my
advanced heat treating processes, and consists of 33 dedicated
and specific steps and takes 172 hours. This means that just to
heat treat this blade takes over a week. The reason for this is
scientific and critical, but yields the most stable, most
wear-resistant, most durable and long-lived structure of this
steel, profuse with fine multi-element carbides and a uniform
and unbelievably robust structure. This is a testament to my
determination to make the very best knives, steels, treatments
and kits in the modern world. I know of no one else who has
advanced the treatment to this level; it's unheard of in the
metals and knifemaking field. This is, simply
put, 440C at its very finest advanced condition.
- Blade Finish: The blades and bolsters of these
knives are completely smooth and mirror polished. All the
hand-contact surfaces are rounded, contoured, and smooth, for a very
comfortable feel. The mirror polish not only makes the surfaces easy
to clean, it dramatically improves the corrosion resistance. I
mentioned before that this is the kind of blade and finish that I
use in my own kitchen, and cleaning is absolutely the easiest
possible, even with sticky foodstuffs like dates and dried fruits. A
simple brush with soapy water, a rinse, and air dry is all it takes
to clean these knives.
- Bolsters: I bolstered the three chef's knives with
my signature zero-care, high nickel, high chromium 304 austenitic
stainless steel bolsters, contoured and rounded for comfort of the
hands, and shaped and radiused in the front face for easy cleaning.
They are attached with multiple through-tang pins of 304 stainless
steel, and the mounting is permanent, as well as extremely
corrosion-resistant. This is the same steel used for stainless steel
nuts, bolts, and fasteners, and the bolsters are heavy, thick, and
solid, giving great balance to the knife. Did I mention that this
type of bolster is zero-care? Of course it is.
- Handles: The handle scales for the set were
custom, chosen by my clients to fit their home decor. This is
cuprite mosaic, a mosaic of two types of associated minerals. The
bright red cuprite is a secondary mineral of copper oxide, and the
large compacted forms are cemented naturally into a sold mass. That
mass is bonded with chrysocolla, a hydrated copper silicate. In
fact, the copper silicate when oxidized forms the copper oxide, so
the stone demonstrates a transition of transformation in mineral
type and composition. The black mineral at the boundaries of the two
is tenorite, formed by the weathering of the oxidized copper sulfate
ore bodies, and associated with cuprite, malachite, azurite, goethite
and hematite. This material comes from the state of Sonora, Mexico,
directly south of Arizona
(and is typically called "Sonoran Sunrise"). The cuprite mosaic has a
slight textured finish, is solid and smooth, and simple to clean and
maintain, with just a soapy wash and rinse.
The Stand/Block
My clients desired a certain look to match their decor of
southwestern, native, and natural dark finish. The use of copper, and
black simple forms throughout their decor was the design idea for the
block for the knives.
- Size: Length: 9.0" (22.9 cm), Width: 5.8" (14.7 cm), Height: 8.5" (21.6 cm)
- Weight: 10.00 lbs. (4.5 kg)
- Materials: Hard (Rock) Maple Hardwood, Poplar Hardwood, Copper sheet strip, Black Galaxy Granite (India), Neoprene feet, Engraved Black Lacquered Brass, 304 Stainless Steel Fasteners
- Description: Designing by custom for my client,
I developed a simple motif, incorporating Native American
"stair-step" design arrangement. This is a very ancient geometric
arrangement, found on early Native pottery and hand-decorated items.
I built the solid, incredibly stout mass of the block in hard maple
(also called rock maple for a reason!). This is a very
hard, durable, and strong massive wood. The spacers for the slips
(the location of the blades) were built in poplar. Poplar is a
moderately soft wood, so it's great for the blades to have contact
with, particularly at the cutting edges. This beds the knife blades
safely and with no wear to the edges. My client requested all black,
or minimized tone appearance, so I ebonized the maple with
successive immersions in dye, penetrating the fibers of the wood,
between fine sanding steps. I textured the copper strips, antiqued
them, and accurately inlaid them in the hardwood block, following
the pattern of threes of the steps and knives. The block is coated
with a hard, glossy topcoat, for easy cleaning with a damp wipe. To
add mass to the piece and prevent movement and toppling over, I cut,
finished, and mounted a Black Galaxy Granite base to the block with
stainless steel screws. This is a beautiful granite from India, and
it has some translucency with copper flakes naturally throughout. I
mounted neoprene feet which lift the block off the counter to allow
drying and prevent abrading any surface of countertop. I milled an
inlay pocket in the base, and made and mounted an engraved black
lacquered brass legend plate, detailing the materials used in the
piece. The weight and mass of the stand and block, at 10 lbs.,
assures that it's stable and won't move in use.
This was a great project, and I'm proud to display it here, as proud as
my client will be to have it in their fine kitchen for many years to come!
Thanks, L. and D. S.!