"Nunki"
Please note that all photos on this page are at least a 2X enlargement!
- Size: Knife: Length overall: 5.75" (14.6 cm), Blade Length: 2.6" (6.6 cm), Thickness: .127" (3.2 mm)
- Weight: Knife: 13.5 oz. (383 grams) Sheath: 7.6 oz. (215 grams)
- Blade: 440C high chromium stainless steel, hardened and tempered to 59HRC, mirror polished
- Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, mirror polished
- Handle: Orbicular Jasper Gemstone
- Sheath: Hand-carved leather, inlaid with Alligator skin
- Knife: Nunki is the Assyrian or Babylonian
name for the star we now call Sigma Sagittarii, but I like the
ancient Nunki better! It's the second brightest star in the
constellation Sagittarius, but the name seems to fit well with this
pattern, the smallest fixed blade knife I make. This is a small but
tough knife; I made the blade in 440C high chromium stainless steel,
and I performed a very special small radius hollow grind with a 3"
diameter wheel, so the blade is extremely thin at the cutting edge
and very thick at the spine. This gives it some great spine
strength while having a razor keen cutting edge. I left the spine and tang clean and smooth, and bolstered
the handle with 304 high nickel, high chromium austenitic stainless
steel for zero care. I contoured, rounded, and polished the fittings
for a smooth and clean feel, and the bolsters are dovetailed to bed
a pair of small but eye-catching handle scales. The handle is agate:
a microcrystalline quartz that is very hard, tough, and durable, and
I'll even claim that it will outlast the blade! This is a white,
milky agate with inclusions of color in round orbs that vary in
color in butterscotch tan to black. The handle is highly polished
and smooth, and the little knife is comfortable in the palm of the
hand.
- Sheath: It's always hard to match a white stone
in the sheath, so I looked at the patterned appearance of the
agate and chose the pebbly texture of white Alligator skin to inlay
in the sheath. The bold skin also has a great contrast with the
smoothness of the handle, and the size of the package makes for a
unique character. I inlaid the Alligator in the front and back and
even in the belt loop, and the sheath is hand-stitched with
polyester sinew and sealed. The leather is 9-10 oz. shoulder, and
dyed a saddle tan.
- A small, beautiful knife.
Thanks, S. H.!
