Carolina Shuckers

My good friend Louis challenged me to make him a “fancy” Oyster shucker. I did a ton of research on the different regional variations of shuckers. Each evolved to most easily open that regions shellfish.

I sought a hybrid.

The dagger geometry of the blade, tested on a wide variety of Eastern, Western & Gulf Oysters provides the gentle, delicate tip needed for those tiny Long-Island gems and enough leverage and a firm enough grip to open the heartiest of PNW boulders

All of my shuckers feature a blade of Bohler N695 Stainless Steel.

Each piece is hand-profiled and hand-ground. No CNC mills or laser cutting tables (….though I’d love to have one) and heat-treated to provide for maximum durability. The blades are etched and stonewashed.

The handle design is where it’s at with a tool like this. Get it right and you have a tool that you can use tirelessly. The design goal here was to maximize the level of affordance of the handle providing for a wide variety of grips to suit a range of hands and shucking technique. The facets on the bolster are hand-filed and designed to provide gentle points of friction (think of the facets on a Japanese knife handle) to aid grip without “hot spots”.

Synthetic handle materials are chosen primarily for grip and durability. I absolutely love the UltreX™ material shown below. It’s warm,. grippy and super durable. The perfect material for a “working” shucker be it at a beachside oyster bar or at an event based raw-bar vendor table this stuff will get the job done and stay looking great.

My exotic wood handles are meant to be beautiful, bright, functional and most of all fun. Gathering with friends, a bottle of champagne and a few dozen gorgeous briny bivalves is a terrific way to spend a day. Add one of mine in some beautiful hardwoods with perhaps the colors of your alma mater or favorite team represented in the liners.

Prices vary depending on handle materials. Starting at $190.

Carolina Shuckers

Designs….