Knife: Kineau is a beautiful small knife with a big
presence. The first thing you notice is the color. This is real
Malachite gemstone that has flowing bands of rich green, with
few seams, and is smoothly and brightly polished. Malachite, a
copper carbonate, has been loved for centuries because of its
intense green colors alone. This piece has complex aesthetic
banding and when you turn the knife in the light you can even
see a change in tone in the green, a bit of translucence and
chatoyancy (cat's eye effect). I used a book-matched pair of
gemstone scales on this knife, and it's easy to see the flow
banding when looking at the tang view. The Malachite is bedded
and dovetailed and mounted under the 304 high chromium, high
nickel austenitic stainless steel bolsters, which I engraved in
freehand leaf forms in a pattern that flows with the gemstone
banding. The brightly polished bolsters are zero care stainless
steel, secured permanently to the tang, and the front bolster
has a significant quillon to protect the hand. The blade is O-1
oil-hardening high carbon tungsten-vanadium tool steel, hollow
ground, mirror finished and hot blued for a mirrored black
passive oxide finish that inhibits corrosion. I've put a
razor-keen single bevel edge on the blade. The blade has
graceful lines, a slight trailing point, and smooth transition
between blade and handle at the sweeping, matched grind
termination. The filework is full and complete along the tapered
tang, a light clean pattern that accents the knife well.
Sheath: To match the character of the knife, I made a
sculpted hand-carved sheath of leather shoulder, inlaid with
Caiman skin, front and back. I used the side (between the belly
and the back) of the animal's skin for the frontispiece, where a
tight pattern of scales matches the punctuated stitching
pattern. The sheath is made of 9-10 oz. leather shoulder, dyed
black, hand-stitched with polyester sinew, lacquered and sealed.
Copyright 1996-2024 by The Jay Fisher Company. All rights reserved. Federal copyright law prohibits unauthorized reproduction by any means and imposes fines up to $25,000 for each violation.
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