Rarapa Damascus Petty Chef Knife

This heavy-duty petty chef knife unites the region's pioneering heritage with deep-time coastal relics in a compact, integral build forged by Benjamin.

The blade is hand-forged from layered 1084 and 15N20 Damascus carbon steel, with visible hammer strikes and intentional blackening left to honor the raw, handmade process. Those flowing, watery patterns—evoking the "rarapa" (glistening or shimmering) in Wairarapa's very name—deliver edge retention, toughness, and razor sharpness, ideal for precise prep and demanding kitchen tasks.

The handle draws from stabilised Wairarapa redwood sourced from historic late-1800s plantings around Masterton. These introduced giants, planted amid the pastoral boom and bush-clearing era as European settlers transformed dense forest into farmland, grew massive on the cleared land. Their warm, curly grain stands as a living testament to that time of change in the region.

The pommel cabochon is carved by Benjamin from ancient whalebone fossil collected along the wild Wairarapa coast—where millions-of-years-old remains erode from mudstone onto black-sand shores, exposed by tectonic uplift after prehistoric seas once covered the area. In Māori tradition, whales (tohorā) are revered as ancestors and kin, linking the piece to ancient moana guardianship.

Rarapa Damascus is a provenance-rich heirloom: Wairarapa settler redwood, geological-time whalebone fossil, and hand-forged Damascus steel—crafted for daily kitchen use while steeped in the region's shimmering waters legend, settler history, and timeless coastal past.

Comes with a sturdy tōtara farm fence post display stand, grounding the knife in enduring native whenua.

Perfect for the discerning chef who values story, craft, and authentic New Zealand roots.

Blade length: 155mm
Overall length: 270mm
Year: 2025
Artist: Benjamin Madden

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If you would like to purchase this piece but live outside of New Zealand or Australia, p lease directly to discuss your international shipping options. Thank you