Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

"Thuban"

• Size: Knife: Length overall: 7.8" (19.8 cm), Blade Length: 3.5" (8.9 cm), Thickness: .165" (4.2 mm)
• Weight: Knife: 6.0 oz. (170 grams) Sheath: 3.0 oz. (85 grams)
• Blade:1095 high carbon steel, pattern welded with 200 series, damascus, hardened and tempered to 59HRC,  polished, hot-blued
• Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, mirror polished, hand-engraved
• Handle: Shattuckite (with Malachite and Quartz) Gemstone
• Sheath: Hand-carved leather, hand-dyed
• Knife: Thuban is the name of a star in the constellation of Draco, and was the north pole star in ancient times. The knife design is a popular one, and I was pleased to make this knife with some unusual materials. The first is the blade, which is 1095 and nickel damascus, pattern welded in a simple and clean twist. I mirror polished the blade and hot blued it for a jet black glassy appearance and striking contrast. 1095 is a high carbon steel, and offers decent wear resistance while being one of the few steels that can be welded to nickel with good predictability. The blade is fully fileworked with graduated pattern around the fully tapered tang with a punctuated, simple pattern. I bolstered the knife with zero-care 304 stainless steel into which I engraved a small, delicate and interlocking blades of grass pattern, deeply center relieved for high contrast to match the blade. The knife is handled with a scarce gemstone with striking color. This is Shattuckite, a hydrated copper silicate which came from Ajo Arizona in the 1950s. It's named for the Shattuck mine and is rare in this matrix and form. It is the heavy black-blue to sky-blue color in this matrix, combined with malachite and quartz. It has good fibrous toughness, and in millions of more years, the blue oxidation product of secondary copper minerals (Shattuckite) will replace the green malachite... but of course, we will never see it. Examining the stone closely and you can imagine this happening. That's just a fascinating glimpse of geologic time that has captivated me for decades. The rock overall is tough and solid, with micro crystalline forms throughout. The handle is contoured, shaped, rounded and finished for a smooth and solid feel. The balance point is between the forefinger and the middle finger for a light-feeling blade.
• Sheath: I wanted to make a delicately accented sheath that echoed the character of the knife, so I hand-carved the 9-10 oz. leather shoulder and hand-dyed it in many progressive steps, to represent the dark Shattukite blues and malachite greens of the gemstone, standing apart from the black background by natural colored cuts in the leather. The sheath front, back, and belt loop are carved and dyed, and the sheath is hand-stitched with black nylon, sealed and finished.
• A truly unique knife, with rare gemstone material and striking contrast.

Thanks, L. B.!