Oblivion Blades 210mm Gyuto Review: Handmade Copper Damascus From Australia

Introduction

There are makers you buy from because a knife looks good, and there are makers you buy from because their reputation runs deeper than any single blade. Jez at Oblivion Blades in Australia falls firmly into the second category. He makes his own laminated steels, including a copper Damascus that other well-known knifemakers buy for their own work. That alone says something about where his skills sit in the handmade knife world.

I had wanted one of his blades for a long time. When a listing for this 210mm gyuto appeared at roughly half of the usual price, the temptation was impossible to ignore. What followed was a purchase with a plot twist, and a knife that turned out to be very different from what the listing suggested in one specific way. Here is the full picture for anyone considering a knife from this maker.

The Buying Story

The listing price was around half of what an Oblivion Blades knife normally goes for, and even another knifemaker chimed in saying it was the chance to buy. I hesitated for about an hour and a half to see whether it would sell, then committed.

Two practical lessons came out of the checkout process. First, if you order from the website from outside Australia, you need to add a separate international shipping product at checkout. Buying the knife alone will only ship within Australia. Second, messaging the maker about shipping turned out to reveal a website glitch that had reduced the price, and the corrected price appeared while we were corresponding.

The part that matters most for potential buyers: even after discovering the glitch, Jez honored the discounted price. That decision says a great deal about how he treats his customers, and the reaction from the knife community after the purchase confirmed that this reputation is widely shared.

Unboxing and Presentation

The knife arrived from Australia extremely well packaged. The box is held together by rigid, neat little sleeves that feel almost too stiff, to the point where removing the box takes some effort. That rigidity is a sign of how seriously the packaging is taken.

Included with the knife was what appears to be mineral oil, which makes sense given the carbon steel construction. Carbon steel cores need oil protection, and including it in the box is a thoughtful touch for first-time owners.

Blade, Steel, and Handle

The core steel is 52100, hardened to 63 HRC, clad in Jez’s own copper Damascus laminate. The laminate is genuinely beautiful, and it is easy to see why other knifemakers purchase his laminated steels for their own work.

The handle combines silky oak and ebony, with an octagonal profile. One clever detail: rather than placing a flat edge of the octagon at the top, Jez positions one of the pointed vertices at the top of the handle. Closing your hand around it, the top lands comfortably in the palm rather than pressing a flat ridge against it.

At the butt end there is what I believe is called a finial, an ornamental cap reminiscent of the tops of churches and basilicas. It appears to be made of carbon fiber, is extremely light, and has a slightly generic shape that nonetheless suits this knife. Note that this is not a takedown handle, even though the finial might make it look like one at a glance.

Fit, Finish, and Comfort in Hand

People often describe Oblivion Blades knives as having a wabi-sabi character, an appreciation of the imperfect. I have to disagree, and that is a compliment. Wabi-sabi is too often used to excuse poor spine finish, uneven choils, or off-center core steel. This knife shows none of that.

The fit and finish are genuinely good. The handle is well constructed with a clean glue-up of bolster and handle. The only flaw I could find is a slight separation in the steel near the top of the bolster, where the spine is not perfectly smooth. It is neither a deformation nor a crack, and it is the single blemish on an otherwise excellent execution.

In hand, the knife is light, nimble, and well balanced. For a large gyuto, it handles with surprising ease, and the shape with its generous belly height from heel to tip is a distinctive, appealing take on the pattern.

One Thing to Check: The Stated Length

The website lists this as a 21cm (210mm) gyuto. In practice, it measured noticeably smaller than that. Placed next to known 240mm gyutos, the difference was obvious even before measuring. If you are ordering based on the stated length, check the actual measurements with the maker before committing, especially for international orders where returns are complicated.

Performance and Edge

This is where the knife did not fully meet expectations. Out of the box, the edge was not as sharp as I had hoped. The knife has a 50/50 bevel with a convex grind, but the convexity feels narrow and is not particularly apparent in use. Combined with a laminate that leans a bit sticky, the knife showed noticeable food stick and underperformed on the tomato test. Firmer ingredients like celery went more smoothly.

The saving grace is that this is a carbon steel knife that responds well to a new edge. After reprofiling on my stones, the cutting performance, especially the toothiness on cherry tomatoes, improved significantly and I ended up much happier with the result. Be aware that the factory edge may not represent what this steel can do.

Buying Advice

Buy an Oblivion Blades knife for the craftsmanship, the self-made laminated steel, the handle ergonomics, and a maker who clearly stands behind his customers. Do not buy it expecting a perfect out-of-the-box edge, and do not take the listed length at face value without confirming measurements. If those caveats are acceptable, this is a distinctive handmade gyuto from a maker with a well-earned reputation, and owning a piece of his copper Damascus work is genuinely rewarding.

Conclusion

The story behind this knife ended up being as memorable as the blade itself: a pricing glitch, a maker who honored the deal anyway, and a community that clearly holds him in high regard. The knife itself delivers beautiful construction, excellent fit and finish, and a unique handle design, with the main trade-offs being the modest factory edge and a length that comes up short of the listing. For anyone who values handmade character and craftsmanship over out-of-the-box perfection, Oblivion Blades deserves a place on your shortlist.