After 17-years of making knives with the vast majority of that focused on the creation of kitchen cutlery, I have come to realize many things. One of the main things is that, nothing is new. Most of what I create, while unique, is a version of classic American and European Cutlery with some Japanese Influences thrown-in; I could say the same for almost every kitchen knife maker. We are all creating, variations on a theme, so to speak. I have bought and studied kitchen knives from all over the world, but the vast majority of them have been European and American Cutlery, I have done this for well over 30-years, long before I began making knives.
Some ideas transcend time and it is modern makers and smiths that breathe new life onto them. Some of the newness manifests in different ways, such as in the kitchen-camp hybrids that I have created, or the borrowed styles from Japan as seen in my Kiritsuke and Honesuki models as well as France, with the Alsace-inspired creations as seen in my previous post. >>> Fast forward to now, with this creation, which was in no way an intentional idea, however, once the forging was complete, I was left to wonder, what kind of knife is this? So much of how I work is to compose on the anvil. Forging and manipulating the metal into a shape that pleases me with the materials allotted. Once the blade was about 3.4 of the way forged, I then had to commit to the tang and then, did have a more intentional impulse towards aligning it to accept one of my Modern Alsace style handles.
My choice over the past year or so, has been to start placing more belly into my knife designs, they just function much better that way in my opinion. So, Here, with a blade not quite as wide and a Gyuto, but too wide to be a petty and a tip style that made it feel very much like a Honesuki (Japanese Boning Knife) a belly that has tons of utility and cutting-power, I again pondered “what kind of knife is this” Ultimately, I felt it could be a new style of knife and decided it was GYUTESEKI, a mash-up between the Gyuto and a Honesuki.
NOW, you have to allow some grace here, because much of this is my way of playing, of having fun. As a solo studio artist, time in the studio gets long and at times lonely, minds wander and days turn into months. Projects take WAY longer than most people would ever consider and a type of “boredom” can be a reality. SO, I have to entertain myself in some way:)) In reality though, this knife came out really cool and I might even explore expanding on the idea again in a larger format. This Gyuteseki can do about 80% of everything one could ever need a knife to do in any kitchen and feel amazing in that enjoyment of creating with your favorite vegetables or meats; creating complex and basic meals alike. It’s a cool creation that I wanted to share with you.
I thank you All, for taking the time to read this bit of sharing and if you so choose, extending some grace towards my creative spirit, how I work. This is a knife I was very tempted to keep for myself, but alas, I make knives for you-all not for me, yet I do it to please myself, which I did with this creation:))
Wishing You All >> Many Blessings of Health and Goodness in your Cooking and Life Pursuits. -DON:)