Description
Jeramie “Jezz” Heywood’s newest work raises the bar again. Built for daily use and styled to command attention, the Spalted Myrtle Copper Gyuto delivers utility and balance to the cutting board in a blade that is, simply, one of a kind in every sense of the phrase. Copper runs through the steel in broad, organic formations, each one shaped by the forge rather than the designer, the whole surface reading as something discovered rather than planned.
Forged by hand at his studio in Australia’s south, Heywood jackets a homemade pattern-welded core of carbon damascus in 52100 and 80CrV2 alloys with still more metallic layers, only this time mixing ferrous and non-ferrous ingredients to head-turning effect. The resulting copper damascus-clad, damascus-edged blade is functional art in every regard. Etched and polished to bring out each material’s qualities in full, the symmetrical bevels are freehand ground with convexity, the tall profile slimming to an especially thin, razor-sharp edge. Along the spine, the various layers of steel and copper undulate, protrude, and disappear again through a full distal taper that delivers toughness from the 67mm heel to the low, pointed tip. Versatile enough to become any chef’s go-to, demanding enough to reward a skilled hand.
In the long, traditional faceted style Heywood is known for, a hidden tang handle in spalted myrtle wood tapers back to front, meeting a carved African blackwood bolster with heirloom fit. At the rear, a finial shaped from a reclaimed Datsun valve stem signals the handle’s internal construction. A handmade object with a story, and a tool built to outlast the kitchen it works in.
