Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

Sargon

• Size: Length overall: 12.875" (32.7 cm), Blade Length: 7.5" (19.1 cm), Thickness: .183" (4.7 mm)
• Weight: Knife: 15.5 oz. (439 grams) Sheath: 8.5 oz. (241 grams)
• Blade: CPM154CM Powder Metal Technology High Molybdenum Stainless Tool Steel, Hardened and Tempered to 59HRC
• Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, mirror finished, hand-engraved
• Handle: Fossilized Stromatolite Algae Gemstone
• Sheath: Hand-carved, Hand-dyed Leather Shoulder Inlaid with Frog Skin
• Knife: The Sargon is named for an ancient Assyrian king, and this bold and striking knife pattern is an evolution of my early "Prairie Falcon" design. The Prairie Falcon is a great design for collection, investment, and tactical combat use, so I enlarged the pattern, added some graceful transitions, and created a magnum version I named Sargon. The Sargon blade is made in CPM154CM, an particularly corrosion resistant stainless tool steel. This is an exotic, highly refined tool steel with what is perhaps the most beautiful finish possible on mirror polished blades, with no grain pattern whatever. This steel is a powder metal technology steel, formed as a powder and fused under tremendous heat to create a billet that as a high density of alloy elements that have a very even distribution, yielding one of the finest ultra-modern tool steel blades. I hardened and tempered the knife to 59 Rockwell for a very durable and wear-resistant hardness, with the additional extreme toughness that this particular steel offers. The blade had to keep the feather-like profile and gently curved edge of the smaller Falcon, and I added a two-thirds length top swage to reduce point profile without sacrificing strength for the devastating sharp tip. The blade grind is well-matched and radiused at the terminations, with even lead-offs and a very crisp set of lines. I completely fileworked the knife around the fully tapered tang with a punctuated vine pattern and the deep choil doubles as a terminal area for a nice bit of recurve at the cutting edge, enhancing the elegant shape. The knife is bolstered with high nickel, high chromium 304 austenitic stainless steel, mirror polished, and hand-engraved with a curvaceous interlocking pattern that is reflected in the curves of the knife shape and the inlays and carving in the sheath. This same pattern is artistically reflective of the microbial algae that formed the fossil handle millions of years ago (read below). The Sargon has three sets of bolsters, one central bolster reinforcing the forefinger groove with deep quillons all around. The rear of the handle has a nice set of curves and belly and with the well-placed thumb rise, the knife feels molded to the hand. The bolsters are dovetailed and bed and lock two pairs of striking handle scales in a very hard gemstone of jasper and hematite.
  This stone is Fossilized Stromatolite Algae. These are intensely old fossils (over 570 million years old to 4500 million years old!) and are, truly, some of the oldest fossils on earth dating back to Precambrian times. We know little about this time, even though it's believed that the Precambrian accounts for 88 percent of the earth's time! We do know that the oceans were filled with blue-green algae for hundreds of millions of years, and these algae lived in a sea that had a very high content of iron. The iron became the coloring agent for this fossil and contributes to the natural intense red color as well as the hematite that runs through the fossil, as hematite is actually iron oxide. Over millions of years, the minerals replaced the fossil forms of the algae (called stromatoliths) to give us this beautiful and striking gemstone. The patterns, banding, curves, clear agate areas, and metallic hematite in this stone are all fascinating to examine both with the naked eye and under magnification. The stone is very hard, tough, and durable, and will surely last millions of years more! On the Sargon, the handle feels smooth, glassy, and dense: luxurious in the hand. The balance point of the knife is exactly at the forefinger groove and the knife locks solidly and comfortably into the grip.
• Sheath: The curves of the gemstone patterns, lines in the knife profile, and pattern of the engraving are echoed in the dramatic sheath. The sheath is a large and significant stunning piece of work, fully and intricately hand-carved, hand-tooled, and hand-dyed front, back, and on the belt loop. The red of the sheath matches the brightest parts of the gemstone handle, and the black in the sheath reflects the hematite in the stone. I inlaid 16 pieces of black Frog Skin in the front and back, hand-stitched the sheath with black nylon with double row stitching on the belt loop for durability, and sealed the sheath with a glossy hand-buffed finish for longevity. The sheath is deep and thick, protecting the knife and wearer, with a high back and low front that allows a glimpse of the beautiful and prominent bolsters and handle.
• This is a stunning knife, one that took a lot of detailed creative effort, and an object of unique beauty, blending the ancient with the modern.

Thanks, G. L.!