Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

"Conodont" Fine Handmade Custom Knife

• Size: Length overall: 12.6" (32 cm), Blade Length: 7.5" (19.1 cm), Thickness: .194" (4.9 mm)
• Weight: Knife: 12.9 oz. (366 grams) Sheath: 8.5 oz. (241 grams)
• Blade: 440C High Chromium Martensitic Stainless Steel, Hardened and Tempered with T3 Cryogenic Process to Rockwell HRC 59, Mirror Polished
• Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, Mirror polished
• Handle: Green Moss Agate Gemstone (India)
• Sheath: Hand-carved, hand-dyed Leather Shoulder, Inlaid with Green Rayskin
• Knife: The "Conodont" is a special knife, custom made for a great client. The name comes from a group of needle-toothed ancient creatures, proclaimed to have the sharpest teeth of any living thing on the planet ever in history! The Conodont knife is a reflection of this, with an elegant, extremely pointed and aggressive tooth-shaped blade. Thankfully, Conodonts are extinct and when they lived, they barely reached an inch in length. The world would be different if they had this blade for their teeth in size or material! It was an honor to work out this design with my client's input and direction.
  • The steel I chose for my client's knife is 440C, my most asked-for steel for a reason. It's very tough, highly wear resistant and excels in corrosion resistance, for the lowest care needed of just about any knife steel. I used my proprietary T3 deep cryogenic process in heat treating this blade; it's a highly detailed, extremely sophisticated process that takes 33 individual steps and takes over a week. The result of this is an incredibly wear-resistant blade that has extremely high carbide development, fine grain, and high toughness. Asperity is reduced; the microstructure development is superior to any other typical handmade knife, and far above any factory or manufactured knife. This is, simply put, 440C at its very finest advanced condition. My client asked for a minimalist filework, one that was not too aggressive, so I applied a gentle wavy pattern to just the blade spine.
  • I bolstered the knife with zero-care 304 high chromium, high nickel stainless steel bolsters, which are contoured, rounded and finished for a comfortable feel. The bolsters are secured with zero-clearance peened pins and dovetailed to bed the handle scales. The rounding and finished shape of the bolster is based on some of my other knife designs, with extreme curves and shapes that beg for the hand to be locked to the handle. The front bolster covers the quillon for protection and comfort; the rear bolster is weighty and strong with a great rear quillon that locks the hand to the handle.
  • The handle scales are a bold green color, by my client's request, in Indian Green Moss Agate gemstone. This is an extremely tough, hard, and durable stone, harder than jade, and difficult to shape bring to a glassy polish. This agate is a cryptocrystalline quartz, with clear and translucent areas, bold greens, tiny mossy leaves and white patches with waves, banding and transitions. This fascinating stone can be examined under magnification and it even becomes more interesting. While it is not an actual fossil of moss, one can't help but wonder how millions of years of geologic activity produces such beauty. The agate is very tough and durable, is absolutely impermeable, and will outlast the knife and all of its owners!
  • The knife feels extremely comfortable in the hand, the contoured shape locks the grip, and the blade is aggressive and keen. Since there is no filework in the handle, the grip is smooth and clean.
• Sheath: I wanted a sheath truly complimentary to the knife, so I constructed this one in 9-10 oz. heavy leather shoulder, hand-carved and hand-dyed in a graduated tonality of browns and tans. I carved 14 inlays in the front and back of the knife, and even in the belt loop. I inlaid Green Rayskin, a super tough and durable material of interlocking bone. The sheath is stitched together with black nylon, and lacquered and sealed.
• A super sharp knife in all ways, a pleasure to make in premium materials and finish.

Thanks, J. M.!