The Primative Stainless Steel Knife brings the flint flake tool of prehistoric time into the present. This 8.7″ handleless knife is made of a single piece of stainless steel. The top has a ridge for gripping, and the shape tapers to the front and bottom to form a sharp edge for precise cutting. It comes with its own pebble-shaped stand. The Primative Stainless Steel Knife may look like a Stone-Age tool, but it’s a great gift for the modern cook. The normal price is $169.99, but it’s currently on sale at ThinkGeek for $89.99.
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Ok, I will stick my neck out on this one. It may not be as dumb as it looks. Sure, our ancestors didn’t attach a handle to their knife probably because it’s not easy to do, plus they don’t see the need for it, but they couldn’t get past the difficulty of attaching a handle to a lump of rock to consider if it is a good idea.
Fast forward a few thousand years, I often find myself in the kitchen holding a knife so close the the blade that often time my thumb and part of my index finger are on top of it. Now that I see this design with a comfortable area atop the blade, it gets me wondering if I actually would love to get myself one of these.
Sure, it’s not a knife for all occasions, as there is no such a thing. You would not use it to butter your toast as you would get butter and jam all over your hand. But as find yourself on a leisurely Sunday drive and stumble upon a road kill, this would come I handy I suspect. Between those two extreme scenarios, there are a lot of good uses for this knife.
One thing that stop me from ordering one is no knowing what kind of steel is is made of. Yes, it’s stainless, but there are about a dozen types out there. Some are better for your coffee mug.
Well, I got one for $69. Here is my first impression.
It is good so far. The blade is almost as thin as my Dexter cleaver that I have owned for the last 20 years, which is perfect for slicing. The surface is not as shiny as the image in the article, which is good imho because that make it not slippery.
I tested it by butchering a big pomelo (a large grapefruit). My pomelo was a bit old, so the inside rind is a bit dry and gave some resistance. slicing and filleting the skin worked really well. The knife is comfortable to handle the way I envisioned it to be. I often found myself holding a normal handled knife with my hand extend over half the blade, so having my hand on top of the blade feels pretty natural, and the top of this knife blade is certainly more comfortable to handle that that of a normal knife because it’s bigger and rounded.
My one big concern was how easy to pick it up when it lies on a flat surface, as I don’t like the idea of using a holder (dirty blade – meat – cleaning). It was easy to pick up without at handle.
The steel is x50 cr v15 which is German and fairly decent. I think this is a keeper.