"Sanchez" Custom Chef's Knife
"Sanchez" Fine Handmade Custom Chef's Knife
- Size:
- Knife with Stand: Height: 10.75" (27.3 cm), Length: 7.1" (18.0 cm), Width: 2.9" (7.4 cm)
- Knife: Length overall: 10.0" (40.3 cm), Blade Length: 5.7" (28.5 cm), Thickness: .118" (2.4 mm)
- Weight:
- Knife: 5.5 oz. (156 grams)
- Stand: 2 lbs., 5.4 oz. (1060 grams)
- Blade: 440C High Chromium Martensitic Stainless Steel, Hardened and Tempered with T3 Cryogenic Process to Rockwell HRC 57.5, Mirror Polished
- Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, Mirror polished
- Handle: Sodalite Gemstone (Brazil)
- Stand: American Black Cherry Hardwood, American Poplar, Sodalite Gemstone, Delicatus Gold Granite, Neoprene, Stainless Steel Screws
- Knife: The "Sanchez" is a great knife, named
for the gentleman who worked with me to create the original design.
The idea behind the Sanchez is a knife that is large enough to do
most kitchen cutting chores, yet is small enough to bridge the
expanse between a heavy, long-bladed traditional chef's knife and a
smaller, lighter, and more pointed design seen on boning, fillet,
and even paring knives. This is, then, a medium-sized knife designed
for the kitchen, tough and wear resistant, highly corrosion
resistant, stiff-bladed and comfortable to use, in a beautiful
everlasting gemstone handle and stand that will grace any
environment. My client who ordered this fine handmade custom knife
requested it with a blue handle, and the touch of white sets off the
striking color combination for the knife.
- The steel chosen for my client's Sanchez is 440C, my most asked-for
steel for a reason. It's very tough, highly wear resistant and
excels in corrosion resistance, for the lowest care needed of
just about any knife steel. It's also one of the very
best steels for chef's and kitchen use, since it meets all Food
Contact Safety guidelines. I applied my proprietary T3 deep
cryogenic process in heat treating this blade; it's a highly
detailed, extremely sophisticated process that takes 33
individual steps and takes over a week. The result of this is an
incredibly wear-resistant blade that has extremely high carbide
development, fine grain, and high toughness. Asperity is
reduced; the microstructure development is superior to any other
typical handmade knife, and far above any factory or
manufactured knife. This is, simply put, 440C at its very finest
advanced condition. I tempered this steel to be stable and
stiff, for little to no flexing, with a substantial spine for
support. The hollow grinds are well-matched and accurate, and
create a scalpel-sharp single bevel cutting edge. The blade has a fully tapered
tang, with a light version of my "Royale" filework completely
throughout the blade and tang for handmade artistic distinction.
- I bolstered the knife with zero-care 304
high chromium, high nickel stainless steel bolsters, and they are
contoured, rounded and finished for a comfortable feel. The
bolsters are secured with zero-clearance peened pins and
dovetailed to bed the handle scales. This is a true, no-care
bolster material; 304 is also known as 18-8 stainless, and the
standard for all Food Safe Contact materials, as well as the
toughest stainless steel nuts, bolts, and fasteners. The
bolsters are brightly mirror polished and easy to maintain.
- The handle scales are a medium-to-deep blue
Sodalite gemstone, acquired from Brazil. Sodalite is a
fascinating jewelry stone, but in large pieces like a knife
handle, much more of the gem can be detailed and experienced.
Along with the blues are some deep, rich beds of feldspars,
creating labradoressence, the fascinating light play that
displays an almost transparent, silvery sheen when rotated in
the light. This effect only exists on a few types of stone. The
areas that appear black or shadowy in the photos exhibit this
effect. The stone also has a few white areas of calcite and the
entire gemstone handle is smoothed, polished, and even, and is tightly
fitted and comfortable to hold.
- The knife feels very lightweight and easy
to use in the hand, the blade is long enough to reach most
kitchen chores, and yet robust and keen, feeling more like a
specialized instrument than a working tool.
- Stand: As with all my work, it was necessary to create and offer a
distinctive and useful stand for this knife that begs to occupy a
special place on a counter or table in a fine kitchen. I sculpted one of
my unique "Splash" designs, created to be warm, tough, and extremely
stable. I chose the American hardwood Black Cherry for the sides and
supports, arranged upon a central slip spacer of Poplar. Cherry is a
prized hardwood, one of the very best woods, chosen for the finest
uses in cabinetry, carving, and furnishings. The poplar
offers a relatively soft and non-abrasive bed for the knife blade
and cutting edge, and both woods are sealed with Danish oils and
waxed to maintain their natural color and soft appeal. On the sides
of the stand, I carefully created deep inlay pockets for four large "splash"
shaped panels of finished, polished Sodalite gemstone to compliment
the knife handle. The curves in the handle are reflected in the
shapes of the sculpted stand, cutouts, and inlays. The sodalite is
raised and domed above the hardwood for an excellent, gentle, and curved effect. The cutout
is carved in the stand to display a bit of the blade spine in a
"window" of hardwood. The stand elevates
the handle at a good angle for easy access. The hardwood is attached
to the base with stainless steel screws. The base I cut and polished
from Delicatus Golden Granite, a tough, thick, and heavy cut of
granite that keeps the stand extremely stable. The browns in the
granite reflect the Cherry hardwood, and the blacks work well with
the black areas of the Sodalite, bringing it all together. I made
solid neoprene feet set into the granite base, so that the stand
won't scratch any surface it contacts, and it keeps the stand
elevated to prevent moisture from accumulating underneath. See the
photos below; the stand alone is a sculptural work of independent
art, and nobody else on earth is making anything like it! This is
another reason I love this art.
- This is a beautiful, unique, striking, and useful custom knife
that was an absolute pleasure to make for my client's needs.
Thanks, L. D.!
Beautiful—
...it is a master work—detailed, exquisite, a gift worthy of a long term mentor.
Thank you,
--L.
Please click on thumbnail knife photos