This beautiful handmade katana-style knife is an absolute masterclass in minimalism

Designed to fit into a hollow piece of square-shaped metal tubing, Koss Workshop’s ‘Square Tube Knife’ borders on sheer perfection, with every aspect of its design being minimal on detail yet maximal on expression.

Even though it’s styled like a katana, the Square Tube Knife isn’t as long as one. In fact, it measures 223mm when sheathed, or just less than 9 inches. The knife itself is crafted from W1-7 high carbon steel (you can see the entire fabricating process in the video above) and sits within aluminum tubing that’s been finished too to remove any sharp edges. The aluminum outer casing forms both the handle and the sheath of the knife, resulting in a two-part design that seamlessly becomes one singular monolithic form when closed. Whether you’re staring at the knife’s deceptively simple design or Koss’ meticulously documented video, you can’t help but appreciate the sheer beauty that is the Square Tube Knife.

We’ve been in awe of Koss Workshop’s custom knives for quite a while now. Earlier last year Koss introduced us to this absolutely stunning folding knife that used a unique never-before-seen folding mechanism with a two-part splitting handle. Along with selling his creations on his Etsy store, Koss has even amassed an audience of keen followers on his YouTube, where he periodically drops videos capturing his entire knife-making process. With the Square Tube Knife, the 8-minute video focuses mainly on how Koss builds the blade from a solid billet of W1-7 High Carbon Steel, and glues it into the off-the-shelf aluminum tubing.

The knife exists as just a single unit, and with a price tag of $840, it doesn’t come cheap either. It did, however, get sold immediately to a satisfied buyer just prior to Christmas.

Designer: Koss Workshop