Unmarked 12" Cuisine Massive / Nogent Style Chef Old Wa Type Re-handle

Curious old French or possibly American cuisine massive (AKA Nogent style) chef knife re-handled with a Japanese style brass ferruled wood handle. 

This was likely re-handled long ago and may or may not have been referencing Japanese handles, it very much looks like an old Japanese wa handle that would have a brass ferrule, although this ferrule is a bit thicker and the wood is a light colored hardwood not Japanese magnolia or ho wood. 

The blade was a bit wavy and irregularly sharpened with large patches of pits, it has been thinned and re-ground on the face to bring it back to a good working geometry and take out the crooked edge. Handle has a small crack but seems very solid still.

You can't make a pickle back into a cucumber but this one was able to be greatly improved with re-grinding on the kaiten mizu toishi wheel. We opted to keep in some of the pits and grinder fugs on the side of the blade as well as the small dings and pits on the spine to preserve it's age and not try to hide it's ridden hard and put away wet workhorse past. 

12" cutting edge, 2 1/16" wide at heel 17 1/4" overall