Forged by hand in Detroit from his stunning Tesselate Stars mosaic damascus steel, bladesmith Niko Nicolaides delivers with a one-of-a-kind chef knife that we cannot take our eyes off of. The chatoyance and sheer beauty of the house-made carbon damascus’ pattern is second only to the superb bevel geometry it provides to every cut, as expected of this talented maker’s work. At 217mm / 8.5″ long with a 49mm-tall heel and gently curved edge profile, the blade is dynamic and versatile, giving the chef a workhorse tool with which to perform the most demanding cuts, while at the same time promising precision and finesse by way of a thin, razor-sharp edge, and a very fine, needle-like tip that sits low in relation to the handle, perfect for slicing and detail work. Forged from the same, single piece of material as the blade, an elegant, sculpted integral bolster shows the damascus pattern in dense and remarkable detail as it combines with a rounded blade spine and choil for comfort in the pinch grip. To complete a handle as attractive as the blade itself, Niko carves a slim, welcoming, and gorgeous piece of spalted tamarind, accented by a ring of black micarta. Culinary form and function that checks all the boxes.