Roselli UHC

nozh2002

nozh2002

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Roselli-UHC-002.jpg


I recently got Roselli Carpenter knife in our local Japan Woodworker store (in Alameda). I know about it for a while, but what I see it and had chance to hold it - something attract my Russian peasant genes and I bought one just for collection and for small projects:

Roselli-UHC-Carpenter-002.jpg


It has small blade, looking very simple - small blade like made by village smith, big wooden handle, which smell good, like something from apiary, have simmple leather sheath.

Roselli-UHC-Carpenter-003.jpg


It came almost dull to my taste - did not even shave my arm and I resharpen it right away. Turns out that it has most delicate edge I ever see. In all this years I learn to value blade craftsmanship by very edge thickness (secondary bevel?) and this one has thinnest I ever see! So it is pleasure to cut with it - pretty smooth. As well sharpening is easy and fast.

Roselli-UHC-Carpenter-004.jpg


Once I resharpen it - I decide to test it right away. Cut manila rope 200... Result really surprise me! I took 4th place which is excellent for $120 knife (it came after Dozier D2, CTS-XHP and Jody Muller 1095). I did not expect from this peasant knife to perform so well.

Roselli-UHC-Carpenter-005.jpg


So I run for the another one - because obviously price/performance is best of all. And you do not need to wait as for good custom. I choose Camping - which is 4" blade knife.

Roselli-UHC-Hunter-002.jpg


It also has this authentic Northern village (Viking/Slavic) look, while being very comfortable and utilitarian, I would say. With curvy blade obviously forged (as I learned all blades are hand forged). With high carbon look - UHC is ultra high carbon with 1.7%-2% of Carbon.

Roselli-UHC-Hunter-003.jpg


It was dull as well and as well has extremely thin edge which got to whittle hair in no time. Even I had to work on some little negative curve near handle.

Roselli-UHC-Hunter-004.jpg


I am not sure - is this handle design, some kind of traditional for generation ot it was Heimo Roselli invention. But it is very good to keep in hands and use for hard work - during my test I cut manila rope 200 time without resharpening and so at the end I usually have my palm skin being really irritated. This handle make less damage then any other.

Roselli-UHC-Hunter-005.jpg


Thanks, Vassili.
 
great pics & great info. thanks for letting us know.that little swell on bottom of 2nd knife must aid in reducing friction.also the metal on 2nd knife seems to have an interesting texture. any more on these knives would be appreciated.
 
If you like carbon steel and scandi blades, the Roselli UHC range are right up there - sheath issues aside. A very under-appreciated range from a brilliant knifemaker

I don't use my Carpenter but my kitchen goto is an Astrid chef knife that's been keeping me from buying a gyuto. That Astrid is such a joy to use that I am having a hard-time justifying a jap "cow sword"
 
I really like original leather sheath. They have plastic insert for very blade and holds knife pretty secure.

Roselli-UHC-Carpenter-001.jpg


Roselli-UHC-Hunter-001.jpg


Both knives have same carbides texture, I think Roselli etch it to be visible.

And I like this knives not only for authenticity, but mostly for high performance - they holds edge way better then many hi tech, hi price knives - right ahead of ZDP189, and all other modern steels used for knives currently. In terms of production - not custom knives, they are on second place after CTS-XHP Manix II. And very comfortable for a lot of hard work.

They are not stainless of course.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
Nice pics. I may have to stop by Japan Woodworker one of these days and check out these Rosellis myself.
 
I have the UHC Hunter and the UHC Bearclaw, and the "regular" Grandfather, Hunter, and Carpenter. Love them all. I like the sheaths in terms of simple design but the leather can be a little thin. I will be making a new one for my Hunter this weekend.

I think that Mr. Roselli and company give the final edge a cursory touch so that the owner can finish it up to their satisfaction. I too was a little taken aback with my first one (the Gradfather) in terms of sharpness. But then I gave it very like workout on a fine diamond rod and a long session of very light pressure stropping on green compound first and then plain leather and the edge is very amazing.

The UHCs have a very interesting grain to them...have not really seen anything like them. Even the grinds are not "white" but that very deep gray. Almost a fine grained damascus look of some sort...very nice and kind of unique...at least in my collection.

All the other, in turn got the same treatment...creating really the most micro of micro-bevels at a very acute angle.

Roselli is my current favorite maker even if they need (I believe by design) the final edge put on by the owner. Some may find this off-putting but I do not.

Conversely, I bought a couple of EESE (formerly Rat Cutlery) knives and they were, without a doubt, the sharpest out of the box knives I have ever owned with the possible exception of my $10 Mora Laminated #1 which may well be the sharpest knife in the history of cutlery...right out of the box. I am actually scared to use it.
 
My UHCs all have the dark handle. Haven't seen one with the blond birch or whatever...that's kind of nice.

Excellent photography too by the way.
 
nozh these blades remind me of some wootz patterns i've seen. very interesting grain structure. studying the interactive chart [gator] certainly doe'st indicate the xhp 440 to be such a steller performer. guess it's one of metallurgical dichotomies that seem to baffle us knifenuts. thanks for your continued efforts to share info.
 
Slavic? Errr... no. More like scandinavian, closer to earlier viking designs. Slavic connection, hmm, Rus were swedish vikings but they were not slavic.

The handles, especially the one on the hunter look like a smaller version of something you might find in a handle of a seax/scramasax. Designed to be simple and functional, tool like.

UHC is a sort of a derivative of wootz that Heimo Roselli came up with while researching historic wootz, its manufacturing and how to manufacture it today. He did also come up with a method of making steel and blades that recreate a surface pattern similar to ancient wootz damascus.

Don't know about its properties though, supposedly pretty close to the original.

http://www.roselli.fi/1/eng/products/damasti.html
 
manalainen have'nt seen you before but certainly welcome you to the forum. you seem to have considerable knowledge of metals & anthropological facts. thanks for the info, hope to hear more from yourself in the future. dennis
 
What is wrong with Slavic?

More then half of Europe happen to be populated by Slavyans - Russians, Ukrainians, Polishs, Checks, Slovacs, Serbs...

Most of European North as well - Scandinavia is actually small part of Europe North and pretty warm due to warm stream from Atlantic. But majority is populated by evenly by Russian as well as other more Mongolian like people.

So simple design with thick handle is common for North where you have to operate knife wearing fur gloves. I do not think this is Viking only invention, even they use this design as well. It is also easy to produce by any local smith.

Slavic reshape Europe quite a bit pushing away other tribes which then had to push away more civilized Europeans and so got into written history. Vikings were one of them. After Russian (Slavyans) kick them out from territory which became Russia they had to invade Europe and even goes to America.

Thanks, Vassili.
 
Hi, nothing wrong as such but I would not just attribute a design like that as slavic because that definition is somewhat too broad. Viking era would be more historically precise (and the design more like what can be expected to be characteristic of the designs of that culture/era). That is all.

It is true that the designs like that (which are strictly of the 'form follows function' school of thought) can be found pretty much anywhere in colder climates. Take the saami/lapp Leuku for example. They have big, broad handles that are easier to operate in extreme weather (also with gloves on).

Vassili, thanks for the review btw., it was pretty thorough with good pictures, I like that. :)

DennisStrickland, thanks for the welcome. I have been a lurker for a quite a while and occupied with other interests. I know some anthropology and metallurgy but prefer the latter because it is less open for interpretation and debate. ;)
 
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