Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

"Kita" Fine Handmade Knife

• Size: Length overall: 8.0" (20.3 cm), Blade Length: 4.0" (10.2 cm), Thickness: .173" (4.4 mm)
• Weight: Knife: 5.7 oz. (162 grams) Sheath: 4.1 oz. (116 grams)
• Blade: 440C High Chromium Martensitic Stainless Steel, Hardened and Tempered with Cryogenic Process to Rockwell HRC 60.5, Mirror Polished
• Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, Mirror polished
• Handle: Ocean Jasper Gemstone (Madagascar)
• Sheath: Hand-carved, hand-dyed Leather Shoulder
• Knife: The "Kita" is a small tanto design, named for the Japanese word for north. This is a palm-handled knife; the short, rounded contoured handle fits in the palm of the hand, which makes the knife compact and tough. Even though the blade is about 4" overall, it's deeply hollow ground creating a thin, keen cutting edge with high durability while having the support of a very strong spine. The spine incorporates a substantial thumb rise for applying force and control of the tough blade. I added a small, graceful filework throughout, and the tang is fully tapered for balance.
  • The steel I chose for this 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 a special cryogenic process in heat treating this blade; the result of this is an extremely wear-resistant blade that has very high carbide development, fine grain, and high toughness with reduced asperity (surface roughness). This results in a very tough, highly wear-resistant, corrosion resistant blade that will simply last for generations of use.
  • 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 handle scales are an unusual gemstone from Madagascar. This is Ocean Jasper, with bubbly orbicular quartzite elements in a medium-to-dark olive green matrix. The stone is unique in color and pattern, with hard white-to-pink diffuse-edged round forms that seem to be out of focus and blurry-edged. This olive-to-sea green jasper with ghostly floating orbs is a strange and unique appearance that was created by millions of years of geological activity that is fascinating to experience, and one of the reasons I love gemstone. I've carefully stabilized a few tiny voids with jeweler's sealant methods, so the stone is strong, solid, and impermeable. It's brightly and smoothly finished, and comfortable to hold.
  • The balance of the knife is right at the forefinger placement, and the handle seems to meld into the palm. It's a compact, yet seriously durable knife.
• Sheath: Making a complimentary sheath for this knife was a challenge. I hand-carved a paisley, splashing design in 9-10 oz. leather shoulder, and tooled it to reflect the "bubbles" of the Ocean Jasper color. I carefully hand-dyed the leather, with graduations of density, highlighted the tooling, and sealed it with lacquer for longevity. The sheath is deep and stout, and stitched with heavy nylon thread.
• A unique and bold small tanto knife with distinctive character and exotic gemstone handle.

Thanks, E. M.!