Massdrop x Apogee Vital 8-Inch Chef's Knife

Ask anybody who knows their way around a kitchen and they’ll tell you that a high-quality 8-inch chef’s knife can do anything and everything you need it to—and it’ll last a lifetime if cared for correctly. Fine-tuned with help from professional chefs, the Massdrop x Apogee Vital 8-inch chef's knife will be your go-to blade for anything from slicing veggies to chopping herbs to cutting a porterhouse steak. The heart of the concept is the tapered bolster, which is specifically designed to guide the hand into a pinch grip. In comparison to a standard handle grip, the pinch grip offers far more control, which is why it’s widely used by professional chefs and recommended for anyone who cooks. The knife features premium BD1N: a nitrogen-enriched stainless steel known for its edge retention and wear resistance. The handle, made from a hefty piece of G-10 (used in many folding knives), offers a comfy and secure grip, which you’ll need when your hands get wet in the kitchen.

Great for chopping, slicing, carving, rock chops, and even detail work, this European-style blade can do it all. Unlike most knives, the Vital features an ergonomically designed handle with a broad, tapered bolster, which meets the blade face in a totally smooth joint. In combination with the wide, arching top surface of the handle, the tapered bolster creates a large surface area for your index finger's first joint to rest on. This eliminates the hotspot found in other knives, making it comfortable no matter what size your hands are. When cutting with a proper pinch grip, you’ll have drastically improved horizontal control, which keeps your fingers safe and your cuts straight when cutting foods with round, slippery, or tough skins.

A high-carbon nitrogen-enriched stainless steel, BD1N outperforms other steels at the same price. An improvement over its predecessor, Carpenter CTS-BD1 steel, it’s capable of reaching a greater hardness (up to 63 HRC) and can be sharpened to a finer edge. Whereas most steels with 1 percent carbon are not stainless, and most steels with 17 percent chromium are too soft to hold their edge, the addition of nitrogen results in BD1N being capable of low-angle sharpening—which makes for a finer edge to slice through any type of food with ease. Of course, it still has all the properties you’d want in a kitchen knife, like resistance to corrosion, edge retention, and strength. But, if your knife does get dull, Apogee will sharpen it at no charge and send it back as part of their lifetime warranty.

Frequently used in high-end folding knives, G-10 is known for durability in extreme conditions. A fiberglass-based laminate, it’s made by compressing and baking layers of fiberglass that are soaked in resin. The result is a rugged heat- and water-resistant material that won't warp over time like wood or plastic. Made with a single piece of G-10, this knife features a smooth yet grippy handle that will hold up in hot, wet, and slippery conditions. Its six-sided shape is contoured for comfort, which you'll need when preparing food for a banquet or just a quick dinner.

Dennis Epstein, the driving force behind Apogee Culinary Designs, has been at the forefront of kitchen knife progress for almost 30 years. He introduced the revered Japanese brand Shun to the American market and launched the popular Sky and Rain series with legendary knifemaker Ken Onion. His latest innovation comes in the form of Apogee’s Dragon series, which features the first kitchen knives to use revolutionary BD1N steel, praised by knife makers for its combined hardness and edge retention.

We asked Dennis for a knife made from BD1N steel that would guide chefs into a comfortable pinch grip, and he delivered a fantastic prototype, pictured here. Based on feedback from professional chefs, we’ve improved the design by rounding the spine (to make it more comfortable), making the handle 3 millimeters thinner (easier to grip for any sized hands), extending the taper forward (for a better thumb rest), and extending the blade’s heel back (to keep the index finger on the bolster while maintaining full pinch on the blade).

• "This feels like a 200-dollar knife. I like that the tapered bolster guides your hand into a pinch grip. That guidance to a proper, professional grip is a helpful feature for anyone who wants to build their knife skills, and the shape prevents fatigue for anyone who spends a lot of time cooking. I'm glad Massdrop asked for my input on the prototype. I think we took a very good knife and made it great." -- Ryan Wilson: Executive Chef, LinkedIn San Francisco (Bon Appétit)
• “Not only am I a knifemaker, but I like to cook . . . a lot. Though Ferrum Forge makes almost exclusively folding knives, I own quite a few chef's knives of various styles and steels. (I might have a little bit of addiction to kitchen knives.) I've been using an Apogee Kitchen knife in BD1N for the past few months and have been immensely impressed with the performance of the blade at 58 RHc. I spend a significant amount of time investigating new steels and analyzing chemical compositions not only for Ferrum Forge Knives, but because I am utterly fascinated with metallurgy. BD1N's composition seemed interesting on first glance and I have long been a proponent of nitrogen stainless steels. I was certainly skeptical of some of the claims I was reading about BD1N's performance, but after having used it for month, nearly every day, I can say that it does outperform VG-10 in terms of edge longevity—and that it was one of the better stainless steels in use in kitchen knives at similar price points. My experience with BD1N at this point is likely going to result in Ferrum Forge Knife Works using BD1N in our knives.” -- Elliot Williamson: Founder, Ferrum Forge Knife Works
• “A quality 8-inch chef’s knife is the most important tool in any kitchen. I would recommend this knife for anyone who wants to learn how to hold a knife like chefs do in restaurants. This knife has a nice, thick handle that is easy to grip firmly, and also easy to keep clean. Safety is just as important at home as in a commercial kitchen, and holding a knife properly is key to preventing cutting accidents. The blade is razor-sharp out of the box, and from what I’ve seen so far it should stay that way for a long time between sharpening.” -- Victor Harvey: Chef, Barvale (Formerly Slanted Door, Comstock Saloon, The Battery)