Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

"Golden Eagle" Fine Handmade Custom Knife

• Size: Knife: Length overall: 11.3" (28.7 cm), Blade Length: 6.25" (15.9 cm), Thickness: .271" (6.9 mm)
  Stand with knife and sheath: Height: 15.5" (40 cm), Width: 9" (23 cm), Depth: 9" (23 cm)
• Weight: Knife: 16.0 oz. (454 grams), Sheath: 8.5 oz. (241 grams), Stand: 2 lbs., 8.0 oz. (1.134 kg.)
• Blade: CPM154CM High Molybdenum Powder Metal Technology Martensitic Stainless Steel, Cryogenically Treated, Hardened and Triple Tempered to Rockwell HRC60, Mirror Polished
• Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, Hand-engraved
• Handle: Australian Tiger Iron Gemstone (Australia)
• Sheath: Hand-carved, Hand-dyed Leather Shoulder inlaid with black glazed Caiman skin
• Knife: The Golden Eagle is a favorite design of mine, and this custom knife was a great pleasure to make for my client. He had a lot of input on the knife: the design, the steel, the handle material, sheath inlay, and stand type, and it all came together in a magnificent way and striking work of edged art. The blade is CPM154CM, a powder metal technology tool steel, a high carbon, hypereutectoid martensitic stainless steel high in molybdenum. The powder metal process produces a steel with incredibly uniform alloy element distribution, and the high percentage of chromium and molybdenum insure that the knife is highly corrosion resistant, wear resistant, and tough. This steel deserves my premium heat treatment, so I performed a 60 hour deep cryogenic aging at -325°F for full martensitic conversion and maximum nucleation and creation of fine eta carbides. I followed this with triple tempering with deep cryogenic soaks in between for intense thermal cycling, creating a blade that is several times more wear resistant, much tougher, and more stable than conventional or even sub-zero treatment can produce. Simply put, this steel is in the absolute best tool steel condition it can be. The blade is accurately hollow ground, matched side to side, and I made it with a very thick spine for tremendous strength. The mirror polish is flawless, and the full vine filework extends completely through the tapered tang and inside the front finger groove. I bolstered the knife in zero-care high nickel, high chromium 304 austenitic stainless steel, the best stainless for this application. 304 is so corrosion resistant, there is no chance of rusting, pitting, staining, or discoloration on this material, ever! It's so tough that it's used in nearly all stainless steel nuts, bolts, machine screws and fasters (18-8 stainless steel). I hand-engraved a linear leaf and tendril pattern on the bolsters to accentuate the straight lines of the knife axis and the pattern of the gemstone handle. The bolsters are dovetailed, permanently secured to the tang with zero clearance peened pins, and rounded, contoured, and polished for comfort. The handle scales are Australian Tiger Iron, a favorite gemstone, which is tremendously tough and durable, and will completely outlast the rest of the knife. Australian Tiger Iron is hematite, quartz, jasper, and tiger eye, with chatoyant light play (the cat's eye effect) when the stone is viewed from changing angles. A fixed photograph can't reproduce this effect, but you can get an idea from the photo set below. I chose the cuts of the stone and oriented the scales so that the abundant streaks of the gem emphasize the straight profile of the blade-to-handle linear relationship. There are hints and flows of the deep rust-red jasper in bright sunlight, and the gray, metallic sheen of the hematite in the stone can be seen in the photos. The handle scales are solid, strong, polished, and comfortable, and the knife balances exactly at the forefinger placement in the front handle groove. The knife feels and is incredibly strong and substantial, with significant weight and mass deserving of its purpose, inspiration, and use.
• Sheath: For the sheath, my client requested Caiman skin, so I procured the finest finished black glazed Caiman skin I could find. I chose black to blend with the dark, metallic hematite in the gemstone handle. I hand-carved and hand-dyed the 9-10 oz. leather shoulder sheath body, welts, front, back, and belt loop, and stitched the sheath with black polyester for durability. I hand-dyed the leather with a fading graduated color scheme, using the bits of dark red jasper and the black hematite in the handle as a color match to fade from the inlay pockets to the edge of the sheath. The inlays are shaped exactly like the linear and lobed leaf pattern of the bolster engraving, and the sheath is fully lacquered and sealed for beauty and endurance. The sheath alone is a work of art, and I'm very happy with the way it all came together.
• Stand: My client requested a burl stand, and I was lucky enough to have a unique and weathered Ponderosa Pine burl piece for the project. The burl is curved, eroded, and distinctive, and I oriented it in a way that allows numerous positions and angles of display. The knife can be displayed with the sheath, nested in the curved wing of the burl, or the knife can be displayed by itself; even the sheath alone in the burl is imaginative and bold. See the photo set below for some of the display options and orientations. I mounted the burl to a base of antiqued red oak with stainless steel screws, and inset neoprene feet to protect any surface the piece rests upon. It's fully lacquered to bring out the rich and bold pattern and texture with a permanent sealed surface throughout. I even included an engraved artist plate in black lacquered brass screwed to the underside of the base.
• This is a rich, strong, masculine piece of visual art; more so, it is an incredibly tough, durable, and reliable knife and sheath made with premium materials in the best treatment possible: an honor to make! Check out the extensive photo set I made below to see all the detail.

Thanks, R. P.!