Description
The circle is one of the oldest symbols in human culture. It appears in the growth rings of a tree, the orbit of a planet, the rim of a ceramic vessel. It is also, Shehan Prull would note, what you get when you look closely at a fracture: the way a crack propagates outward from a point of stress, the way a stone dropped in still water sends rings to the edge. The circle contains the same invisible physics that governs how things break and how they hold together. That is what this knife is about.
For centuries, Japanese craftspeople have repaired broken ceramics and lacquerware not by hiding the damage but by filling it with precious metal, patching voids with materials from outside objects, making the history of a piece part of its beauty. Kintsugi does this in gold. Ginsugi in silver. Shehan takes the spirit of that practice into the forge, working in brass and tin rather than precious metals, combining overlapping circular elements in mild steel with the 52100 high-carbon steel core beneath. This knife is Circles 3.1, the first of its kind, and the first in a series whose subsequent works will be marked 3.14, and so on: an ongoing meditation on the circle, its geometry, and the many roles it plays in our lives.
Tall, symmetrical convex bevels slim to a very thin, hard, razor-sharp edge with only a touch of secondary bevel present. The rounded spine maintains strength and rigidity throughout, while the K-tip geometry at the front delivers a fine, pointed tip without sacrificing toughness. Finished to a matte gray patina, the mild steel, glowing tin, and shimmering brass create a surface that stops people mid-reach. Shehan’s years training alongside master bladesmiths in Sakai inform every decision, from steel selection to the last degree of the grind.
The handle is tamboti wood and ebony with fine silver bolster and brass takedown pin. One of the first in this collection to allow full disassembly using the included brass push-tool. A matching tamboti edge guard lined with cork, push-tool stored inside, completes the set.
Three knives. One collection. Each carrying the same lineage of technique and the same conviction that a tool can mean something beyond its function. Circles 3.1 is where it begins.
