Karol Karys 170mm Cleaver

A heavily textured Cleaver provided to our shop by Karol Karys. Karol is a blacksmith out of Kraków, Poland. He specializes in designing kitchen cutlery inspired by brutalism, a style of architecture characterized by minimalist constructions that showcase bare building materials and structural elements over decorative design. Think exposed concrete and steel. These knives are inspired by such designs.

The detail on this knife is extraordinary. Karol deeply textures the entire blade and handle to give an eroded appearance. This is most clearly depicted in the brass ferrule. The end of the handle as well has an almost torn and chopped appearance. It is stunning to think about the amount of effort that goes into all the detailing of this knife.

Even with all the texturing and eroding nature of the knife, it is as comfortable as you could hope. The spine and choil are spared the weathering and are instead nicely rounded for user comfort. These are very much still functional tools.

This cleaver uses Karols' heaviest texturing. The dents on the blade serve well into Karol's aesthetic and also functions similarly to an S grind, providing superb food release. The edge is kept thin, and the blade is well-balanced by the lengthy handle.