Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

"Phact"

• Size: Knife: Length overall: 8.25" (21.0 cm), Blade Length: 4.1" (10.4 cm), Thickness: .126" (3.2 mm)
• Weight: Knife: 5.0 oz. (142 grams) Sheath: 3.5 oz. (99 grams)
• Blade: 440C high chromium stainless steel, hardened and tempered to 59HRC, mirror polished
• Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, mirror polished
• Handle: Fossil Coral Jasper Gemstone
• Sheath: Hand-carved Leather, inlaid with Lizard Skin
• Knife: The Phact is named for a bright star in the constellation of the Dove. The design is a great one, a simple, rather straight spined blade with an extremely slight dropped point for easy sheathing. The blade has a strong, yet narrow point for good working profile, and I left it thick enough for most chores a mid-sized knife can encounter. I made the blade in 440C high chromium stainless steel for very good wear resistance and high corrosion resistance, and polished it to a smooth mirror finish for low care. The blade is fully fileworked with and offset, alternating pattern of small spacing to reflect the tight repeating patterns in the handle. I bolstered the knife in zero-care 304 stainless steel, a tough, beautiful high nickel, high chromium austenitic stainless steel that will last indefinitely. The bolsters are dovetailed to bed and secure some very neat and unusual handle scales. The scales are gemstone, jasper to be specific, and they are fossilized from coral, coral that lived millions of years ago. This particular fossil comes from Indonesia, and has striking patterns of the coral bodies replaced by stone, with browns and butterscotch flows of rock in organic shapes and textures. They look somewhat like flowers, but on close examination, you can see the clear agate that separates the coral forms. A truly fascinating material, it's hard and tough, and takes a very high polish. It's always interesting to think of these stone fossil forms and what the earth must have been like when the coral was the remnants of living creatures, before the cells were replaced by rock leeched in with through millions of years. I've included many photos and enlargements below to examine this great fossil. The handle is smooth and solid, with a balance point at the middle finger in a forward grip, giving the blade a light and easy feel.
• Sheath: Matching and complimenting the sheath with the knife was a clear choice, I chose large panel inlays of Teju Lizard skin in a butterscotch brown to match both the darker color of the coral fossil and the repeating pattern of scales. The panels are inlaid with a curtain edge, rather than straight, to reflect the curved interlocking pattern of the fossil forms. The sheath is inlaid in front and back, with an additional inlay in the belt loop. The 9-10 oz. leather shoulder is dyed medium brown, and hand-stitched with brown polyester for durability, and the entire sheath is sealed for longevity. The knife sits with enough of the intriguing handle exposed to keep the notice of the curious.
• A striking form, with unusual fossil gemstone material.

Thanks, S. H.!