In the first matched set by artist and designer Tristan Dare, carefully harvested pieces of the 4.565-billion-year-old Muonionalusta meteorite are combined with house-made patterned damascus steel and pure gold to form a pair of knives of unparalleled beauty. Each blade, one in a slicer profile with 215mm of edge perfect for carving and serving tableside, the other a nicely rounded and versatile utility profile with a 147mm cutting edge, are forged to shape by Tristan at his studio in Idaho. Just twenty years old, Tristan is one of a small handful of individuals in the world to have developed a proprietary technique to retain the incredible Widmanstatten pattern and its long, nickel-iron crystals during the forging and heat-treating process. This pattern, known as a Thomson structure, is associated with octahedrite iron meteorites like the Muonionalusta, and it is visible in various forms throughout the two blades where large, circular, and oval elements represent solid pieces of the ancient material. Tristan does not only incorporate the Muonionalusta in this way, he also uses the meteorite-derived iron as an ingredient in the carbon damascus steel he surrounds the larger pieces with, imbuing every inch of the blades with the story of the object's galactic past. Hold them, and there is no doubt these blades are crafted to be used should their owner require their assistance at the cutting board: the bevels are symmetrical, convex, and beautifully finished with hard, sharp edges, distal tapers along each spine, and wonderful balance in the hand. To complement the visual manifestation of the meteorite's older-than-Earth origins and the way its bright finish contrasts with the etched high-carbon alloys, Tristan employs another element thought to have originated far outside our own solar system: gold. Formed in the hearts of dying stars and sent hurtling toward Earth by stellar explosions, gold is layered atop the lower portion of the blade's bevels as well as throughout the handles, and stand, to create a striking appearance. Both knives feature 'floating' blade construction, the damascus blades attached in two locations using hidden pins to the arms of handles which Tristan has forged from iron, altogether forming head-turning tools which are both comfortable in the hand and inspiring in the eyes of anyone lucky enough to cross their paths. Finally, giving the pair a sculptural home in which they can live, whether within arm’s reach of the butcher block or on display behind glass, Tristan uses his artistic forging abilities to make a stand of iron and gold, inside which leather inserts gently cradle and protect each blade. A true piece of history in more ways than one. SLICER: Blade length: 215mm / 8.5”. Overall length: 322mm / 12.7”. Blade width at choil: 3.2mm. Blade width 1" from tip: 1.8mm. Blade height at heel: 41mm. Weight: 6.5oz / 184g. UTILITY: Blade length: 147mm / 5.8”. Overall length: 250mm / 9.8”. Blade width at choil: 3.0mm. Blade width 1" from tip: 1.9mm. Blade height at heel: 25mm. Weight: 4.5oz / 126g.
