Talitha
"Talitha"
- Size: Knife: Length overall: 8.6" (21.8 cm), Blade Length: 4.25" (10.8 cm), Thickness: .120" (3.1 mm)
- Weight: Knife: 5.0 oz. (142 grams) Sheath: 3.5 oz. (99 grams)
- Blade: 440C high chromium stainless steel, hardened and tempered to 58HRC, mirror polished
- Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, mirror polished, hand-engraved
- Handle: Fossil Cretaceous Algae Jasper Gemstone
- Sheath: Hand-carved, hand-dyed leather shoulder
- Knife: The Talitha is named for the star that
makes up the front paw in the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great
Bear. The knife has a slight trailing point blade, where the thin
and incredibly sharp point trails just a bit higher than the spine,
having a fine scalpel-like quality and super acute point. I deeply
hollow ground the blade, made it of 440C high chromium martensitic
stainless steel, chosen for its bright bluish chromium beauty and
incredible corrosion resistance with high wear resistance. It's easy
to see why this is my most popular blade steel, and I polished
it to a bright mirror polish. The blade has a good
length of spine to support it, and the hollow grind leaves an
extremely thin point for delicate and accurate work. I fully
fileworked the blade completely around the tapered tang with a vine
pattern and terminated the grind with a graceful choil. I bolstered
the knife with zero-care 304 high nickel, high chromium austenitic
stainless steel, the same stainless used in stainless nuts, bolts,
and fasteners. Into the bolsters, I engraved an overlaid leaf
pattern with cross-hatch shading for a bold and distinctive pattern.
The bolsters are dovetailed and bed a pair of Fossil Cretaceous
Algae Jasper gemstone handle scales. This fossil comes from 145
million to 65 million years ago, the time of the great age of the
dinosaurs before the great extinction event. It's fascinating to
wonder in what circumstance this algae was growing before it was
covered over and replaced by quartz rock, one cell at a time. This
is a very hard fossil, jasper, and has taken a bright, hard finish
with fascinating patterns reflecting the once-living mass. There are
bits of white and transparent agate in the matrix, and the tan-brown
overall appearance is handsome and rich. The blade feels very light,
with the balance point at the middle finger in forward grip, and the knife feels
cool and solid in the hand.
- Sheath: For the sheath, I wanted to continue
the overlapping leaf pattern I did on the bolster engraving, so I
carved this into the sheath front, back, and belt loop. I then dyed
the leather by hand in successive color overlays to get the color
tone and density I wanted, and dyed the rest of the sheath body
black. The leather is heavy 9-10 oz. shoulder, and I stitched it
together with heavy black polyester, then sealed the entire sheath
for longevity. The knife sits deep enough into the sheath to protect
the blade and wearer, but leaves a nice bit of the handle exposed
and displayed.
- A very sleek, graceful, and handsome knife and sheath for use or collection.
Thanks, D. H.!
Jay, the knife came in yesterday after I had left for the day and was waiting for me this morning.
It is beautiful to the eye and to the touch and much lighter than I expected. The gemstone is riveting
in appearance and the mirror finish is my favorite. I don’t know how many other inquiries you’ve had
but I am certainly glad that I acted quickly. Great work as usual as well as perfect service.
Merry Christmas.
--D.
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