The dingo has been the indigenous Australians’ best friend for over 4700 years and the Big Red Knives’ Dingo Knife can be your best friend in the kitchen too. As a large utility/chef’s knife our Dingo Knife can power through just about any task in the kitchen. Modeled after an unique and historically significant Aussie animal, this knife has a unique look and blade profile within the larger Big Red Knives Collection. Made with high-carbon Japanese hard steel and designed with a Kiritsuke tip (k-tip) to mimic the upwards prick of a dingo, this knife is an absolute ripper!
Use:
Whatcha cooking, good looking? The Dingo Utility/Chef’s Knife is a powerful all-rounder in the kitchen, a knife that is as useful as it is striking to look at. It can be a handy companion to the Big Red Knife or a standalone multi-purpose knife in itself. It is shorter than the Big Red Knife but with a blade length of 200mm (7.75”) it is still a large handsome beast! Its slightly curved blade profile enables it to be rocked back and forth on its cutting edge for rapid chopping. Utility is the key word here as this knife can be used for all cutting, chopping and slicing methods for meat, seafoods, vegetables, fruits and cheese. With its ergonomic handle you can use the ‘pinch grip’ and ‘handle in hand grip’ with ease. The blade is made with high-carbon steel ensuring the longevity of its sharpness so that you can perform cuts on tomatoes with surgical precision and style using the Big Red Knives’ Dingo Knife!
The Australia animal:
The dingo is an wild Aussie dog who number in the tens of thousands all across the mainland. They roam the grasslands and particularly like to live on the edge of forests. Like their useful domesticated peers, dingos were very useful to early Australian settlers who used wild/semi-wild dingos to locate water above and below ground. In a dry arid landscape like ours this skill was indispensable and there are many written records and photographs in museums revealing the dingo’s lifesaving water knowledge as recorded by early explorers. There are many freshwater landmarks across the continent named due to this fact such as the “Dingo Springs”, “Dingo Rock” and “Dingo Gap”. Dingos are highly territorial and opportunistic carnivores. Their diet usually compose of rabbits, kangaroos, wallabies and wombats. When native species are scarce however, they are known to hunt domestic animals and farm livestock, making them a headache for local farmers! Despite being technically allowed as pets in two states of Australia if reared from six weeks old or under (in New South Wales and Western Australia), the dingo remains essentially wild and most often refuses attempts at domestication, retaining their independent character and irreversible prey drive.
A powerhouse of an animal, a powerhouse of a knife. Like the canine’s sharp canines this knife was crafted with Japanese high-carbon hard steel honed to razor-sharpness, promising to slice through all the usual suspects with ease, meat, tomatoes and onions. Within the larger Big Red Knives Collection this knife in particular stands out with the upwards flick of the k-tip along the spine of the knife, imitating that of the pointed ears of the dingo as it stalks its prey. The Dingo Knife would make a stunning addition to your pack!
DINGO FACT: In Australia there is a Dingo Fence 5,614km (3,488 miles) long to keep dingos away from sheep and other livestock, it is one of the longest fences in the world. It runs all the way across South Australia, the North-West corner of New South Wales and across Southern Queensland!
Specs:
Collection: Big Red Knives
Manufacturer: Koi Knives
Made in Australia with Japanese Steel
Blade steel: VG-10 Japanese hard steel core with Stainless Steel cladding
Blade length: 200mm (7.75 inches)
Handle wood: All local but varies from wood of olive trees, Shiraz grapevines from McLaren Vale (wine region of South Australia) to specially sourced wood Australian deserts.
Handle length: 136mm
Maintenance:
After each use:
Simply wipe down in warm soapy water, dry and place on a knife rack away from humidity. Job done!
Long term maintenance:
Big Red Knives are made with a VG-10 Japanese steel core and therefore has a higher carbon content than the average Western kitchen knives. This lends the knives their particular long lasting sharpness, however they also like to be kept dry when not in use and should not be exposed extensively to heat, hot water or ambient high humidity. They should most definitely never be put into the dishwasher or other such nonsense. Each knife was made with love, so please take care of them for us!
Sharpening:
Knives made with a VG-10 Japanese steel core are harder at the edge, this means less honing is needed but should instead be professionally sharpened and ideally with a whetstone. Depending on frequency of use, the knife may need to be sharpened by a professional every 3-6 months for most people. We have an extensive list of sharpeners we can recommend in every state if you’d like to contact us.
Handle:
Similarly, the handle was crafted with resin and coated with a polish that also should not be soaked in hot water. Extended exposure to hot water may damage the polish on the handle that is the protective shield for the wood and resin. Over the years, if the handle starts to look a bit dull a small amount of furniture polish may be used to buff back the shine.