Tarazed
"Tarazed" Custom Knife
- Size: Length overall: 8.13" (20.6 cm), Blade Length: 3.75" (9.6 cm), Thickness: .122" (3.1 mm)
- Weight: Knife: 5.3 oz. (150 grams) Sheath: 5.0 oz. (142 grams)
- Blade: Stainless pattern welded damascus in 19C27, 302, and D2, Cryogenically Treated, Hardened and Tempered to 57 HRC
- Bolsters, Fittings: Mokume Gane in copper, brass, and nickel silver
- Handle: Pilbara Picasso Jasper Gemstone, Australia
- Sheath: Hand-carved leather shoulder inlaid with Ostrich leg skin
- Knife: Tarazed is named for a star in the
constellation Aquila. It also means the beam of a balance scale.
This is a great drop point knife, and it's custom made for a great
client who requested specific materials. My client wanted a
stainless steel twist pattern damascus blade, and I made this one of
stock of pattern welded 19C27 hypereutectoid stainless steel, 302
austenitic stainless steel, with a core of D2 high alloy extremely
high carbon die steel. This is perhaps the best stainless damascus
stock made. The knife is accurately hollow ground, with full, light
filework, and I performed a deep cryogenic process in the heat
treatment, with a 40 hour cryogenic aging at -325°F and triple
tempering with deep cryogenic thermal cycling between tempers. This
results in the very best condition this steel can be, and it's hard,
tough, and wear resistant. It's etched to bring out the pattern and
bolstered with mokume gane bolsters. These are diffusion welded
layers of copper, brass, and nickel silver, attached with pinned and
peened nickel silver pins. They are also etched to bring out the
pattern of the layers. When etching the bolsters, a copper wash
plating forms on the spine of the knife, adding some corrosion
resistance to the D2 and blending the handle, spine, and bolster
colors. The bolsters are contoured, rounded and
dovetailed to bed a pair of striking Pilbara Picasso Jasper gemstone
handle scales. This is a very hard, tough, and beautiful gemstone
from Australia, and I polished the scales to a high glassy luster.
This stone is so durable it will clearly outlast the entire knife!
The striking patterns of the jasper and the forged metals work well
together for that certain look my client wanted, a unique
combination of striking texture and beauty.
- Sheath: The sheath needed to match the knife,
so I matched the colors of warm orange-brown and black of the
gemstone with dyed 9-10 oz. leather shoulder, hand-carved and inlaid
with full panels of black glazed Ostrich leg skin in the front,
back, and the belt loop. I hand-stitched the sheath with brown
polyester, and sealed it with acrylic for durability.
- A distinctive multi-patterned custom piece of unique materials
and bold combination.
Thanks, C. B.!
Mr. Fisher,
All I can say is WOW!
Calling your work beautiful doesn't seem to do it justice. I've caught myself going back to the picture link over and over again.
The Jasper you used is remarkable, and the other finishing touches compliments the entire knife as a whole. I can only imagine how
good it looks in person, and will probably look even better in my hand. Thank you very much for taking the time to create this knife
for me.
Again, awesome work from a talented artist!!
Best Regards,
C.
Later:
It's a gorgeous knife. Looks even better in my hand. The Jasper really stands out.
Please click on thumbnail knife photos