Knife: The Sanchez is a popular mid-sized
knife, designed with and named for the man who wanted a reasonable
working knife for the kitchen, for boning, medium-sized work, but
with enough point and cutting edge to be highly versatile without
being overly long or wide. I've made the Sanchez in a variety of
ways over the years, but this is probably the most striking piece.
It is a custom knife, made for a great client who requested and
supplied the gorgeous Lapis Lazuli gemstone that handles the knife.
This is Afghanistan Lapis, the rock of the ages, of historic and
biblical reference, one of the most beautiful gemstones on earth.
It's not a mineral, but actually a rock, a mixture of minerals
lazurite, hauynite, sodalite, noselite, with pyrite, calcite,
diopside, feldspar, and mica. Because it's a rock, it tends to dig
out and undercut (removing the softer components in the finish), so
it's difficult to achieve a bright, glassy polish on this rock,
taking many steps and careful process. The intense color of this
stone is entirely natural; it was not treated in any way, and I
carefully oriented each scale so that the densest region of pyrite
was against the tang, and the most intensely blue part of the stone
is at the forefront of display. The lapis is bordered by bright,
mirror polished bolsters of 304 austenitic stainless steel, with 18
percent chromium and 8 percent nickel, and the most carefree, tough,
and durable bolster material possible. The bolsters are contoured
and blend seamlessly with the handle scales, and all the handle
surfaces are rounded, smoothed and polished for a luscious grip and
feel. The blade is a full tang blade of a favorite steel requested
by my clients for its high durability, great wear resistance and
toughness, and extremely high corrosion resistance in the kitchen,
440C. This is not a typical 440C blade; I gave it my absolute best
heat treatment with a 40 hour long cryogenic soak for the maximum
creation of hard carbides throughout the structure, and the blade is
triple tempered with deep cryogenic thermal cycling at -325°F
staging in between tempers. This creates an extremely stable, highly
wear resistant, tough, and durable blade, the best this steel can
be. I polished the blade to a bright mirror finish, it's fully
fileworked with simple vine pattern completely around the fully
tapered tang, and set with a razor keen cutting edge. This knife
feels perfect in the hand; it's smooth and comfortable, and the
balance point is right at the front bolster to handle scale
junction.
Stand: My client requested a simple stand for this knife, and I
wanted to make one that would compliment the knife, elevating the
handle for display and access, without drawing attention from the
striking gemstone. The stand form I carved in a simple scroll shape
from Poplar hardwood, with
an outer frame of Courbaril. The poplar is a forgiving wood, which
creates a gentle place for the blade and cutting edge to rest, while
bringing a bright line contrast to the center axis of the carved
wood form. The Courbaril (also known as Jatoba, Copal, Algarrobo and
Guapinal) is an extremely dense and hard wood, and difficult to work
with. This is a wood that is used in striking tool handles, it's
tough and very resilient. I hand-sanded and finished the wood to a high luster, and
waxed it for a clear, clean, and natural finish. The wood scroll form is mounted
with stainless steel screws to a weighty and stable base of Black Galaxy Granite from
India, polished throughout, and set with neoprene feet for scratch
resistance on any surface it rests on.
A striking, beautiful custom made blend of stone, steel, and
wood for any kitchen or collection.
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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