Orca 7" Hand Forged Chef Knife, High Carbon Steel Blade, 12" Overall, Black Rosewood Handle, Serbian Style

The Orca is a hand forged chef knife for the person who cooks most nights and wants one blade that keeps up. A 7" high carbon steel blade on a 12" overall frame makes it quick in the hand and easy to steer around a crowded board. It is the size most home cooks grab without thinking about it, and the black rosewood handle gives it a warmth that a plastic grip never will.

At the Board

This is your everyday prep knife. Onions, peppers, garlic, herbs, a chicken breast, a pork loin for dinner. Seven inches is enough to push through a head of cabbage and short enough to mince shallots without the tip wandering off. It is not a bone knife, so keep it away from frozen food and joints, and never pry with it. If you want more reach for big roasts and melons, step up to the Ironclad 8.7" chef knife. For bone work, a cleaver is the right tool. You can compare every blade in this family in our chef knives collection.

A Gift That Gets Used

Give the Orca to someone who actually cooks. A couple setting up their first real kitchen, a dad who took over Sunday dinners, the friend who keeps borrowing your good knife. It works as a housewarming present, a birthday or Christmas, and the dark rosewood looks right the moment the box comes open. If you want something with a name on it, talk to us on the custom knife page. Custom knives take 2 to 3 weeks.

Every Xcutlery blade is high carbon steel, hand forged one at a time in the Serbian style: thick stock, a lot of hammer work, and the forge finish left on the flats.

The Orca starts as a bar of high carbon steel and gets its shape under the hammer, one blade at a time. We forge it in the Serbian style, so the smith works the flats by hand and leaves the marks where they land. On a smaller chef knife like this one the hammering is kept tighter so the blade stays nimble. The steel runs the full length of the handle, and steel pins lock the rosewood in place.

Why high carbon steel

It takes a very fine edge and comes back quickly on a whetstone. The price of that edge is a little care. This steel is not a rust resistant alloy, so water left on the blade will mark it. Wash it, dry it, wipe on a light coat of oil, and it will be cutting long after the cutting board has given up.

Patina

With use the steel darkens to a grey or blue patina. That is normal for high carbon steel and it helps protect the blade. Red rust is a different thing, and it comes from a knife left wet.

• 7" hand forged blade, 12" overall
• High carbon steel
• Full tang with steel pins
• Black rosewood handle
• Built for everyday prep, slicing, dicing and mincing

Specifications

• Blade: 7" hand forged
• Overall length: 12"
• Steel: High carbon steel
• Handle: Black rosewood
• Construction: Full tang with steel pins
• Best for: Everyday prep, slicing, dicing and mincing

• Orca 7" hand forged chef knife
• Lifetime warranty against defects in materials and craftsmanship

Each blade is forged by hand, so the forge texture, hammer marks and wood grain on yours will be its own.

Hand wash the Orca, dry it right away and wipe a light coat of food safe oil on the blade before it goes back in the drawer. No dishwasher, and no leaving it to soak in the sink.

Every time you use it

• Hand wash it right after use and dry it straight away
• Wipe on a light coat of food safe oil before it goes away
• Cut on wood or plastic boards
• Touch up the edge on a whetstone when it starts to drag

Keep it away from

• The dishwasher, and a sink full of water overnight
• Glass, stone or metal cutting surfaces
• Prying, twisting or throwing

The full routine is in our high carbon steel knife care guide, and the edge work is in how to sharpen a meat cleaver.

Every Xcutlery knife is covered for life against defects in materials and craftsmanship. If a handle works loose from the tang, a pin comes free, or there is a flaw in the steel or the build that came from us, we repair or replace it free of charge.

It does not cover normal wear such as a dull edge, damage from misuse, or rust from the dishwasher or soaking. Slight differences in forge texture, hammer marks and wood grain are part of a handmade knife, not defects.

To make a claim, email sales@xcutlery.com (Australia: sales@xcutlery.com.au) with your order number and photos. Separately, you have 30 days from delivery to return an unused knife. Engraved and custom knives cannot be returned for a change of mind. Full terms are on the warranty page.

Is a 7 inch chef knife big enough?
For most home kitchens, yes. It handles vegetables, boneless meat and herbs with ease. If you regularly break down large roasts or big squash, the 8.7" Ironclad gives you more length.

Can the Orca cut through bone?
No. It is a chef knife built for prep. Use a cleaver for bone and joints.

How do I stop a high carbon steel knife from rusting?
Keep it dry. Wash it by hand, dry it straight away and add a thin coat of food safe oil. Rust starts when the blade is left wet.

What if something is wrong with it?
Every knife carries a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and craftsmanship, and you can return it unused within 30 days.

This is the knife for a weeknight of onions, garlic and a chicken breast. Our guide to the everyday jobs a chef knife handles also covers the pinch grip and when to hand over to a cleaver.