Sirona
"Sirona" Fine Custom Chef's Knife
- Size (Knife): Length overall: 13.2" (33.5 cm), Blade Length (at cutting edge): 8.5" (21.6 cm), Thickness: .131" (3.3 mm)
- Size (Stand with knife): 14.0" (35.6 cm) long, 5.1" (12.9 cm) wide, 8.8" (22.4 cm) tall
- Weight: Knife: 1 lb. (454 grams) Stand: 1 lb. 15 oz.(879 grams)
- Blade: 440C High Chromium Martensitic Stainless Tool Steel, Hardened and Tempered to Rockwell C57, mirror polished
- Fittings/Bolsters: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, mirror polished
- Handle: Polished Bronzite Hypersthene Gemstone
- Stand: American Black Walnut, Red Oak, South American Padauk Hardwood, Neoprene Feet
- Knife: The Sirona is named for a Celtic
Goddess, a healing deity. This Sirona is a derivation of an old
classic Sabatier chef's knife, but with some important and useful
distinctions. I designed this Sirona for a special client who wanted
a very fine chef's knife, a singular piece that would accomplish
much of his culinary cutting tasks with elegance and style. The
Sirona has a reasonable yet substantial blade, made of 440C high
chromium martensitic tool steel, for extremely high corrosion
resistance, good wear resistance, and high toughness. The blade is
deeply hollow ground and made in thin stock, for the necessary and
useful thinness at the cutting edge that will offer decades of
cutting efficiency in the blade while keeping the beauty and clean
appeal of fine, high chromium stainless tool steel. The grinds are
extremely well matched, side to side, and the curvature of the edge
will offer great rocking motion on the board. The spine is
substantial, yet lightweight for such a sizeable knife, and the
spine and tang are clean and smooth for easy cleanliness. The knife
is bolstered in zero-care 304 high nickel, high chromium austenitic
stainless steel for the greatest toughness and corrosion resistance
of any stainless steel. So tough is this steel, it is used for
stainless nuts, bolts, and fasteners. So corrosion resistant is it
that it is what the finest stainless cookware is made of. The front
bolster is sculpted with a nice geometry that allows a comfortable
pinch grip along the spine, and contoured and polished throughout.
The rear bolster is angled and with a great drop for the heel of the
palm, and a good quillon, makes the knife a pleasure to hold. The
bolsters are dovetailed and bed a pair of beautiful polished
Bronzite Hypersthene gemstone handle scales, which are metallic with
gray hematite and enstatite spangles in the light. This gem is a
magnesium iron silicate, and the special light play is called
schiller, due to sub-metallic sheen of iron bearing minerals.
The gemstone handle is hard, durable, and smoothly contoured and
polished for a wonderful feel. The balance point of the knife is
just in front of the forefinger placement, and the knife feels thin
and quick in the hand.
- Stand: My client requested a custom stand for
the knife, one that would suit the originality of the display and
design while accenting the gemstone handle. I hand-carved the
dynamic and flowing stand
in American Black Walnut with a spine of American Red Oak, and mounted the carved
wave of wood on a base of South American Padauk hardwood for
striking contrast. The woods are finely finished with a deep
penetrating oil stain, finished with many coats of smooth and glassy polyurethane
varnish that will be easy to keep clean. The base bottom has an engraved
artist tag and inset neoprene feet for stability and protection of
any surface the knife is displayed on.
- A classy, elegant, and useful work of original art for the chef
and his domain.
Thanks, A. D. !
Evening Jay,
I wanted to give you a proper testimonial now that I've had time to use Sirona at work for a day.
I couldn't wait to bring out Sirona at work, everyone noticed the shining mirror polish immediately
while I was getting ready to small dice about 150 tomatoes to keep the restaurant stocked for the day.
Sirona was well up to the task. The knife felt like an extension of my hand, and the extra weight
also feels good, knowing that I'm not using some flimsy piece of carbon steel that I'm so used to.
After seeing in person how good a knife could be, my first thought was that I can't wait to order
my next two! It was a pleasure to speak with you on the phone and I look forward to doing business
with you in the future.
--A.
Please click on thumbnail photos