New Spyderco Collection: Japanese Bladesmithing Mastery at Affordable Price

By Lorrie Baumann

Spyderco, a cutlery manufacturer based in Golden, Colorado, that has an avid following for its folding knives among military veterans, first responders and outdoorsmen, has launched a new partnership with Master Bladesmith Murray Carter to introduce its Murray Carter collection of culinary cutlery. Carter, a native Canadian, is the 17th-Generation Yoshimoto Bladesmith after completing a six-year apprenticeship under Sensei Yasuyuki Sakemoto and then an additional 12 years of experience as a village bladesmith in Japan.

While Spyderco is best known for its folding knives with the hole in the blade that allows them to be flicked open with just one hand – the company has also been making culinary cutlery for the past 30 years and was the first to introduce the santoku to the U.S. The partnership with Carter has resulted in a collection of knives that represents the values that Carter has put into the 25,000 custom hand-forged knives that he’s made over the years at a price that makes them reasonably accessible to both professional and aspirational home chefs, according to Frank Daily, Spyderco’s Director of Culinary Sales. “We want to take kitchen knives and chef’s cutlery to the next level,” he said. “Murray Carter hand-forges steel so it’s as thin and straight and sharp as he can get it. We want to take his core guiding principles and take that to a production knife…. We’re making blades that are thinner, straighter and sharper than our competition.”

In addition to the Murray Carter Collection, Spyderco is launching another line of kitchen utility knives that the company is making from American steel in its Golden, Colorado, facility, the Z-Cut line. “We’re kind of excited about that because it will be a USA-made product. It’s aimed at anyone who wants a knife for their kitchen,” Daily said. The Z-Cut knives are retail-priced at $20 each and feature offset handles on a knife whose overall length is 8.65 inches, with a blade that’s 4.32 inches long. The offset handles, made of polypropylene and offered in black, green, red and yellow, make it easier for the cook to grip the handle without rapping knuckles on the cutting board on the down stroke. There are three different edge configurations and two tip configurations – pointed and blunt. The blunt knives are offered either with plain edges or with serrated edges, while the pointed knives are offered with either plain edges or the SpyderEdge, a complex serration that adds extra sharpened surface area to the edge. “You cut into a steak and it gives you a nice clean, easy quick cut,” Daily said. “You could cut rope with it. You could even cut a tomato with it if you wanted to.”

Designed as the go-to knife for the home cook who wants one knife that can be grabbed when there’s a sandwich to be halved, mayonnaise to be spread or a piece of meat to be sliced into at the backyard grill, the Z-Cut knives also look good enough to use as an extra steak knife at the dining room table. Like the knives in the Murray Carter Collection, they’re razor-sharp right out of the box.
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The Murray Carter Collection of Japanese-styled knives are offered in two series. The Itamae series, aimed at professional chefs, is built with a durable G-10 burl octagonal handle highlighted with black G-10 ferrules paired with blades made from laminated steel consisting of an Aogami Super Blue core clad between layers of stainless steel. The outer stainless steel layers protect and support the ultra-hard carbon-steel core that sharpens to an edge that delivers unparalleled cutting performance.

The Wakiita series was designed for passionate home cooks as an expression of Carter’s refined designs with solid stainless steel blades precision ground from CTS BD1N steel, a high-carbon, nitrogen-enriched stainless steel that balances hardness and edge retention with corrosion resistance. The octagonal handles are made from solid black G-10, a high-pressure fiberglass laminate that’s becoming more common for the handles of premium knives because it’s durable, strong, moisture-resistant and can be textured to help the cook maintain a firm grip on the knife in a steamy kitchen. “They’re going to look as beautiful in 20 years as they do today,” Daily said. “You’re not going to get cracking. They’re not going to dry out on you. They’re not going to split. They’re not going to splinter.”

Both the Itamae and Wakiita series knives are offered in five shapes: Petty, Funayuki, Nakiri, Bunka Bocho and Gyuto. The Petty Knife, with an overall length of 8.84 inches is the classic petty knife shape that’s usually used for paring and trimming. The Funayuki, at 10.91 inches, is a knife shape popular with Japanese fishermen – the kind of knife that the cook might grab for disjointing a whole chicken or trimming extra fat off a steak. The 12.19-inch Nakiri is the traditional Japanese shape for cutting vegetables. The 12.62-inch Bunka Bocho is closely related to the Santoku, but its point is more acute – it’s a shape that’s similar to a European chef knife, but it’s more like a Santoku in that it’s sharp all the way back to the heel and there is no bolster. The 15.43-inch Gyotu is the “big knife” of each collection. The Japanese equivalent of the European chef knife, it’s a design that’s suitable for slicing, carving and chopping.

The knives in the Itamae series are MAP-priced at $235 for the Petty up to $400 for the Gyuto. For the Wakiita series, MAP prices range from $175 for the Petty to $320 for the Gyuto. “Cooking is a true passion, and investing in the performance of high-quality kitchen knives is one of the best ways to feed that passion,” Daily said. “Once you’ve experienced them, you’ll never go back.”