"Thuban"
Please note that all of the photographs of this knife are at least a 2 power enlargement!
- Size: Knife: Length overall: 7.8" (19.8 cm), Blade Length:
3.5" (8.9 cm), Thickness: .165" (4.2 mm)
- Weight: Knife: 6.0 oz. (170 grams) Sheath: 3.0 oz. (85 grams)
- Blade:1095 high carbon steel, pattern welded
with 200 series, damascus, hardened and tempered to 59HRC, polished, hot-blued
- Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, mirror polished, hand-engraved
- Handle: Shattuckite (with Malachite and Quartz) Gemstone
- Sheath: Hand-carved leather, hand-dyed
- Knife: Thuban is the name of a star in the
constellation of Draco, and was the north pole star in ancient
times. The knife design is a popular one, and I was pleased to make
this knife with some unusual materials. The first is the blade,
which is 1095 and nickel damascus, pattern welded in a simple and
clean twist. I mirror polished the blade and hot blued it for a jet
black glassy appearance and striking contrast. 1095 is a high carbon
steel, and offers decent wear resistance while being one of the few
steels that can be welded to nickel with good predictability. The
blade is fully fileworked with graduated pattern around the fully
tapered tang with a punctuated, simple pattern. I bolstered the
knife with zero-care 304 stainless steel into which I engraved a
small, delicate and interlocking blades of grass pattern,
deeply center relieved for high contrast to match the blade. The
knife is handled with a scarce gemstone with striking
color. This is Shattuckite, a hydrated copper silicate which came
from Ajo Arizona in the 1950s. It's named for the Shattuck mine and
is rare in this matrix and form. It is the heavy black-blue to sky-blue color in this
matrix, combined with malachite and quartz. It has good fibrous
toughness, and in millions of more years, the blue oxidation product
of secondary copper minerals (Shattuckite) will replace the green
malachite... but of course, we will never see it. Examining the stone closely
and you can imagine this happening. That's just a fascinating
glimpse of geologic time that has captivated me for decades. The
rock overall is tough and solid, with micro crystalline forms
throughout. The handle is contoured, shaped, rounded and finished
for a smooth and solid feel. The balance point is between the
forefinger and the middle finger for a light-feeling blade.
- Sheath: I wanted to make a delicately accented sheath that
echoed the character of the knife, so I hand-carved the 9-10 oz.
leather shoulder and hand-dyed it in many progressive steps, to
represent the dark Shattukite blues and malachite greens of the
gemstone, standing apart from the black background by natural
colored cuts in the leather. The sheath front, back, and belt loop are carved and dyed,
and the sheath is hand-stitched with black nylon, sealed and
finished.
- A truly unique knife, with rare gemstone material and striking
contrast.
Thanks, L. B.!
