Accessories

Not every part of the northern table is a blade. This is where we keep the companions to the knife — starting with Balturmas, the traditional Yakut stroganina board. Stroganina is one of the great delicacies of the Far North: long, thin curls shaved from a whole frozen fish such as omul, muksun or nelma, eaten raw and still frozen, dipped in salt and pepper. The board is what makes it possible — hand-carved from solid wood and shaped to cradle a rock-hard frozen fish steady while you shave it, instead of letting it slide across the table.
It is the quiet, essential half of the ritual: on its own it does not cut, it holds. Paired with a sharp blade it comes into its own, which is why it belongs beside our Yakut knives, whose asymmetric single-fuller edge is built to shave clean, even curls from frozen fish. Each board is handmade in the Sakha Republic — wipe it clean, let it dry fully after use, and treat it now and then with a food-safe oil, and it will last for years.
New to the tradition? What a Yakut knife is explains why that single-bevel edge suits the job so well. Ice-born, fire-forged — and, here, hand-carved.