Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

Ultimate "Arctica" Tactical Combat, CSAR, Survival Knife

• Size: Length overall: 12.75" (32.4 cm), Blade Length: 7.0" (17.8 cm), Thickness: .256" (6.5 mm)
• Weight: Knife: 1 lb., 4.0 oz. (567 grams), Sheath (with extender, accessory package, HULA, LIMA, and Maglite): 1 lb., 2.0 oz. (510 grams)
• Blade: CPM154CM High Molybdenum Martensitic Stainless Powder Metal Technology Tool Steel, Hardened and Tempered to Rockwell C60, Cryogenically treated
• Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, mirror polished
• Handle: Cloud Jasper gemstone, polished
• Sheath: Locking, Black Kydex, Anodized Aluminum, Darkened Stainless Steel
• Ultimate Belt Loop Extender: Polypropylene and Polyester belt loop extender with Fine DMT diamond pad sharpener, stainless steel snap
• LIMA: (Lamp Independent Mount Assembly) Polypropylene stitched with high strength polyester, 304 stainless steel fittings and hardware with Maglite LED Solitaire and stainless retainer
• Belt plates, loops: 5052 H32 high strength aluminum alloy, anodized black, 304 stainless steel darkened hardware
• Knife: What might it be like to have the ultimate premium knife in finish and materials, built in one of my most popular and desirable tactical and rescue platforms? My Arctica design is named for rigid and unyielding ice breaker-styled geometries of ships that clear the arctic shipping lanes, and also named for an ancient continent formed early in the earth's age in what is now the Canadian and Siberian shields. This is a crossover piece, a super tough and durable tactical knife with a premium, high finish in ultimate materials that are beautiful, the pinnacle of this style in a highly sophisticated form. The Arctica is one of my toughest, most durable knives and most asked for knives I make for combat, rescue, emergency response, hazardous disaster response, and survival, and one of my most popular knives with Pararescue, Special Forces and even counterterrorism use. Arctica pattern knives I've made have found a home in rescues, survival, and even in breaching, a highly demanding application for any knife. I built this Arctica with an extremely wear-resistant and tough stainless powder metal technology tool and die steel, CPM154CM blade. This is a tremendously strong and useful crisis-curing knife and accessory package with a blade steel that has impeccable performance characteristics. This particular knife blade got my very best treatment, with an accurate and detailed heat treat with deep cryogenic processing and aging at -325°F for over 40 hours for the maximum creation of fine carbide structure and martensite development. This means the knife blade is as wear resistant as it can possibly be, several times more wear resistant than conventional heat treating allows. Additionally, I used deep cryogenic thermal cycling between three tempering cycles for the maximum thermal conditioning and high toughness. I then mirror-polished the blade for the ultimate in beauty and maximum corrosion resistance. This is a fantastic blade. The deep hollow grind and the two-third's length top swage create an aggressive cutting edge and thin yet stout point. The 2 inches of of my "Canine" rip-tooth serrations add to this serious working blade, and the thick, strong spine is well-balanced by the fully tapered tang in the handle. I made this knife with spine only filework, and I cut my "Rocking Bell" style that is bold and distinctive, while the underside of the tang is smooth and polished. The handle is bolstered with zero-care 304 high nickel, high chromium austenitic stainless steel, which is extremely tough and will retain the same finish for many decades, with no chance of corrosion. This is also known as 18-8 stainless steel, the same steel used in stainless steel nuts, bolts, and fasteners. All of the surfaces are contoured, radiused, and smoothly polished, and the dovetailed bolsters lock a pair of beautiful gemstone handle scales to the tang. The gemstone is Cloud Jasper from New Mexico, from my part of this world. This is a light grey-green jasper with clouds of density in color, like an impending storm. There are small bits of micaceous hematite showing under magnification, and iron oxide inclusions, and the stone is a true jasper, a cryptocrystalline quartz, extremely hard and tough. This is a gemstone that can only be scratched by super-hard metals (like tungsten carbide) so will maintain its smoothness and polish indefinitely. It's clear that the stone will simply outlast the entire knife, and many generations of future owners! I polished the gemstone to a very high, glassy vitreous luster, and it feels wonderful and smooth in the hand. The rear bolster of the knife has a large, chamfered through-tang lanyard hole for extra security if needed, and the bolsters are secured with three (front) and four (rear) zero-clearance peened pins, blended to the surface for near zero visibility. The knife feels strong, meaty, and smooth in the hand, and the balance point is at the location of the forefinger in forward grip. I wish I could convey with simple words how wonderful this knife feels in the hand: smooth and strong, elegant and tough, all at once.
• Leather Sheath: Since this is a dual purpose knife, both art and utility, both working and collection, I included a special leather sheath made just to match the style. I reflected on the forms of color and pattern in the gemstone and knew that Frog skin would be the best compliment to this feature set. I hand-carved thick leather shoulder, and created 20 (yes, I wrote 20!) inlay pockets on the sheath front, back and in the double belt loop. I chose a natural gray frog skin, and shaped the inlays like the cloud jasper or lily pond forms that seemed natural to this design. The sheath is deep and thick, of hardened leather, dyed black, and hand-stitched with black polyester with double row stitching on the double position belt loop for strength. It's sealed with acrylic for longevity.
• Locking Sheath: This sheath is a professional assembly, and frankly, the best tactical sheath and accessory package made in the world. It's also an example of my commitment to making the finest combat tactical, and rescue knives and sheaths on the planet. It starts with double thickness (.125") black kydex (methyl acrylate and polyvinylchloride), hot-formed over an anodized aluminum welt frame of 5052 high strength corrosion resistant aluminum alloy in H32 hardness. The body and welts are secured with slotted 304 darkened stainless steel Chicago screws for the ultimate in durability with no care and the ultimate in corrosion resistance and toughness. The sheath is one of my long-proven positively locking waterproof models, with an all-stainless steel locking mechanism and components for the ultimate in reliability and trustworthiness. Even the machine screws are stainless steel. The sheath can be worn in any position, even upside down when worn with the die-formed high alloy aluminum belt loops. I included two sets of loops (also called "footman's loops") for thicker or thinner belts. The belt loops can be located in multiple positions along the welt frame and are reversible for a variety of wear options. This spacing also allows the array of my sheath accessories to mate with and locate in multiple positions along the welts, and allows the knife to be mounted to virtually any gear in any position! I also included flat clamping straps for securing to gear without movement or slippage. All of the components to the sheath and all accessories are black. For the aluminum, I anodized the surface which creates a near-ceramic hard surface that accepts and permanently holds colorfast dye, increases corrosion resistance and wear resistance, for the best this high-strength aluminum can be. All of the stainless steel is darkened to nearly black, it's flat and non-reflective with a permanent oxide surface.
• Accessories: This knife and sheath is made complete with a great accessory package:
  • Ultimate Belt Loop Extender (UBLX): I included my Ultimate survival, CSAR sheath belt loop extension with outstanding and critical features and devices. The polypropylene and polyester accessory is waterproof, durable, and extremely stout, and lowers the locking knife sheath to be worn in a more traditional belt position with the knife handle at the hip. The extension is mounted with counter-bored and dressed blackened 304 stainless steel straps and stainless steel socket head cap screws attached to the existing stainless Chicago screws, and the assembly is stiffened by multiple zigzag polyester stitching to prevent the extension from folding, bending, or collapsing when the knife is extracted from the sheath. The belt loop is 2.75 inches wide for standard and large tactical belts, and has a top placement elastic bungee shock cord with snap retention to prevent the knife handle from flopping around during active movements. Even the dot snap assembly is all stainless steel for no corrosion worries, ever. The shock cord is not for retention of the knife; this is done with the stainless steel sheath lock; it just stops the handle from flopping around during very active moments (running, climbing, crawling). At the lower back of the extension I've included a custom fit pocket for a DMT (Diamond Machining Technology) Mini-Sharp diamond-nickel abrasive hone, to bring up the cutting edge in the field with ease, even on this high alloy wear resistant blade. These are great tools that can re-sharpen or just touch up even the hardest tool steel edges, as they are surface-bonded with diamond abrasives. The pocket for this tool is situated at the sheath back and against the body, so the sharpener can not be removed unless the sheath is off the body and the industrial strength Velcro closure is open. Read more about the UBLX at this link.
  • LIMA Emergency Lamp Backup: An important lesson I learned from my counterterrorism unit clients is the addition of the emergency backup lamp, because any electrical device can fail, and a backup can save your life. So I included my LIMA (Lamp Independent Mount Assembly) on this sheath. This is a special socket in thick and wide polypropylene stitched with polyester for durability and rot resistance, and it accommodates a LED Maglite Solitaire. This little light puts out! At 37 lumens for over an hour and a half, it can reach out 180 feet and give you enough light to get to safety, should your HULA fail, or you decide to go lightweight without it. The LIMA is secured with a 304 stainless steel strap and screws and mounts anywhere along the sheath welts where I have the critical 2.5" spacing. The retaining strap rings are also 304 stainless, and the 3/16" shock cord is easily replaceable if needed. The Solitaire lamp also mounts in the belt loop extender as shown.
  • HULA and Maglite Mag-Tac Flashlight: Included in this professional assembly is my HULA, the Holder, Universal, Lamp, Articulating (HULA), and my answer to a call for not just a backup lamp, but an actual main or key professional grade tactical lamp and mount assembly. The lamp I included is the Maglite Mag-Tac, one of the brightest, most sophisticated flashlights made today, with 3 modes of operation. The lamp is a powerhouse, with ultra bright LED technology that is dependable and tough. The only thing the lamp needs is a reliable, adjustable, dependable and corrosion-proof way to mount, use, and carry it on the sheath, so I designed the HULA. This special holder will hold any flashlight that is 1" by 4.75" and also accommodates the Maglite XL series flashlights that are performers in their own right. The holder lamp frame is made of welded 5052H32 high strength corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy, for the highest durability and corrosion resistance combined with low weight This aluminum is suitable for marine (salt water) environments, and to add to the already superior material, I've completely anodized the aluminum with a 1 mil thick surface, dyed permanently black. This is a near-ceramic hard surface that improves wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and adds tremendously to the longevity and durability of the metal. This same process is used in Maglite's aluminum-bodied flashlights. The lamp is held in custom-fitted socket with a retaining cap that is held in a T-slot lock by the elastic tension of replaceable shock cord straps. The T-slot lock can be negotiated even in the dark due to it's simple and clever design and construction. The lamp can be turned on and operated within the holder, and can even change selected modes while still in the retention of the holder. One of the best features of this assembly is my exclusive ball joint and pinch mechanism. This is a very old mechanism, dating back to 200BC, where a ball sits in a dedicated socket, and is held there by the tension of a screw. The ball joint frame, ball, tangs, screw and mounting hardware are all welded 304 high nickel, high chromium stainless steel which is bead blasted and darkened with a permanent oxide finish for glare reduction. This is a very tough assembly that will probably outlast the knife owner. What it offers is an articulating adjustment, aiming and positioning of the lamp, while still mounted on the knife sheath, wherever the knife sheath is mounted on the body. In the traditional belt line position, the lamp can be aimed at the ground in front of the wearer (great for hiking or movement), or aimed at any object or person in front of the wearer, while freeing the hands for a weapon, tool, or carry. Having the HULA also eliminates the need for a headlamp, a device that has its own limitations (detailed at the link below). This HULA development has been highly popular with search and rescue and disaster response teams, as well as my counterterrorism knife users. If the wearer needs the light in his hand, he simply pulls up on the T-slot locking cap, pulls the lamp from the socket, and replaces the cap so it won't bounce around. I've done my research, and created simply the finest and simplest flashlight accessory made in the world today, custom made to mount to my locking sheaths, the best locking sheaths made in the world today. One more important point: the bolt pattern and arrangement on this particular knife sheath allows the HULA to be bolted to 8 positions and 16 orientations along the welts of the sheath. Talk about flexibility! There are much more to these accessories; learn about these critical accessories on a special page on my site at this link. Mounting, care, and use instructions are posted there.
  • Horizontal Belt Loop Plates (for horizontal belt or webbing wear), in black anodized 5052H32 aluminum alloy
  • Flat mounting straps (for rigid clamping to webbing, belts, or gear in vertical or horizontal orientation) in black anodized 5052H32 aluminum alloy
  • Sternum Harness Plus (for wearing the knife diagonally, handle down, across the sternum, with full torso reinforcement straps)
  • Lanyards (Adjustable 550 cord and SCUBA rated)
  • All necessary stainless steel hardware, fittings, fasteners, and tools for mounting, moving, and adjusting, all exposed screws and fittings are oxide blackened for flat, non-reflectivity
  • Replacement shock cords for HULA and LIMA
  • Containers: Tin-steel storage container for loops, LIMA, and Tools, can for screws and hardware, heavy stitched embroidered canvas drawstring bag
  • Archival and Instructions: Detailed Bio, Care Sheet, materials sheet with instructional video links, instructions for sharpener, Maglite MagTac and Solitaire, Archival co-extruded acrylic information plate
• A professional, beautiful, top of the line, brutally strong and ultimate wear-resistant and tough king of a knife, a combat, rescue, and tactical counterterrorism knife , sheath, and accessory package that is simply the best made. This knife defines robust, with high corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and toughness. This is a knife that will perform flawlessly for generations. It was great to make this Arctica in high finish, with polished gemstone and premium materials and to know that it will outlast many generations to come.

Thanks, K. S.!