Edesia
"Edesia" Fine Master Chef's Handmade Cleaver
- Size: Length overall: 11.8" (30.0 cm), Blade Length:
6.75" (17.2 cm), Thickness: .078" (2.0 mm)
- Weight: Knife: 1 lb. ,3 oz. (539 grams) Sheath:
15.5 oz. (439 grams)
- Blade: 440C High Chromium Martensitic Stainless Steel, Hardened and Tempered to Rockwell C59, mirror finished
- Fittings: Copper, alloy 110
- Handle: Olive hardwood
- Sheath: Hand-stamped, hand-stitched Leather
- Knife: The Edesia is named for the Roman
goddess of food who presides over banquets. She ensures the food is
excellent and the feast goes well. The cleaver dates back to Paleolithic stone age
times, literally millions of years ago, and the first cleavers were
simple stone tools. Cleavers were present during the bronze age, and
were so revered that they were buried in ancient tombs. Today,
cleavers are instantly recognizable, useful, and elegant tools
spanning many cultures.
I made the Edesia cleaver blade of 440C high
chromium stainless steel, a highly corrosion resistant, tough, wear
resistant modern alloy tool steel that is the standard stainless
tool steel, a steel so popular that all others are measured by its
performance. This is a very large piece of steel, and extremely
difficult to grind and finish, because it's only .078" thick in the
flat, and then hollow ground by hand at the edge. The super-thin,
hand-ground edge is as sharp as a razor, and the thin blade spine
makes this cleaver extremely light for its robust appearance. It was
quite a challenge to finish the very large flat of the blade, and I
spent many hours getting it just right. The beautiful crystalline structure of
the steel is easily seen in the flat, which is as mirror like as
this stainless steel can be, which helps in corrosion resistance,
easy cleaning, and beauty. I added no filework for smooth and easy
rinsing without trapping foodstuffs. The curve of the edge
encourages comfortable rocking, since a professional cleaver is not a simple
hacking tool, but an elegant and speedy working blade used also for
clearing, scooping, and arranging on the board.
The handle of the Edesia is a classic, the venerated standard of copper for the fittings,
dating back to antiquity. This is
copper alloy 110, a nearly pure alloy of 99.9 percent copper for a
rich, warm feel and unique appearance. I made
both the guard and the pommel in ferrule or cap form, so that the
fittings are caps surrounding and containing the ends of the wood
handle material, not simply butting against it. These types of
ferrules protect and squeeze the end grain of the wood, and with the
epoxide bedding and sealant, the wood is as protected as it can
possibly be, mechanically and adhesively. The hidden tang is a large
an heavy 3/8" welded and annealed 304 stainless steel rod going
through the handle material threaded to the solid copper
pommel-ferrule. The copper is soldered and sealed to the blade tang,
polished, and will assume a flat patina, or appreciate the attention
of the owner as all classic copper cooking implements do. The wood
had to be very hard, durable, and self-sealing and olive was the
beautiful choice. Olive hardwood smells like olive oil when turning,
shaping, and finishing it (naturally) and it made me hungry to work
with this naturally oily and resinous hardwood. It's a wood that
maintains its color and figure indefinitely, and it's smooth and
silky to the hand. I created the handle with a substantial diameter,
partly to balance the blade weight, but more so to give comfortable
control. The balance of the cleaver is perfect, blade-to-handle,
with the fulcrum point exactly at the finger indent ring in the
front copper guard.
- For transport and protection from the razor keen blade, I
included a simple hand-tooled sheath, but a sheath
for a cleaver with a 4 1/2" wide blade is no simple affair! I made
it in 9-10 oz. thick leather shoulder, cleanly tooled and
hand-stitched with double row black polyester. The sheath has a
unique double flap retention method with a nickel plated steel snap,
and the heavy belt loop will allow hanging at a complimentary angle.
The entire sheath is dyed in burgundy and sealed for protection from
exposures and preservation.
- A bold and useful Professional grade Master Chef's knife
Thanks, D. H.!
Jay, the cleaver arrived late Friday and is exquisite.
I appreciate the descriptive plaque detailing some of the particulars of
the blade and handle
I’m delighted.
D. H.
Please click on thumbnail knife photos
