Kevin the Big Red Kangaroo | The BBQ Chef's Knife

The Inspiration Two metres of red kangaroo, standing in a paddock at dusk, looking at you like you're the one who's out of place. The big red is the largest marsupial on earth and the largest land mammal in Australia — males can push two metres standing and ninety kilos, with forearms that suggest a misspent youth. It cruises the arid interior at twenty-five kilometres an hour and can hit seventy in a burst, and it does it on tendons that store and return energy like springs, which means the faster it goes the less each hop costs it. It's one of the most efficient forms of travel any animal has evolved. It lives where almost nothing else does, it doesn't hurry, and it doesn't need to prove anything. The Design Kevin is the workhorse. Every other knife on this page is a specialist called in for one job — this is the one already on the board when the coals go on and still there when the plates come out. The length gives you reach, so you can work across a full board without shuffling the meat towards you. The belly gives you a rocking motion for onions, herbs and the whole side of the meal that everyone forgets about until the fire's ready. There's enough weight through the blade to push through a pumpkin or portion a rested shoulder, and enough refinement at the tip to do the small work without swapping knives. If you only take one knife to the fire, take this one. The Specifications [To come]