Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

"Mariner" Fine Custom Handmade Knife
with "Seahawk" Marlinspike

• Size: Knife: Length overall: 10.1" (25.7 cm), Blade Length: 5.25" (13.3 cm), Thickness: .209" (5.3 mm)
• Size: Marlinspike: Length overall: 6.75" (17.2 cm), Width: 1.0" (2.5 cm), Thickness: .276" (7.0 mm)
• Weight: Knife: 10.4 oz. (295 grams), Sheath: 9.7 oz. (275 grams), Marlinspike: 2.8 oz. (79 grams)
• Blade: Knife and Marlinspike: Mirror Polished 440C High Chromium Stainless Steel, Hardened and Tempered, T3 Cryogenically Processed: Knife: Rockwell HRC 59.5, Marlinspike: HRC 58
• Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel
• Handle: Stone Canyon Jasper Gemstone (California, USA)
• Sheath: Hand-carved Leather Shoulder inlaid with Shark Skin, stitched with nylon
• Knife: This is a fantastic custom knife, made for a great client, and it was an honor to make this very special sailor's knife for him. The style is my "Mariner" a dedicated knife for the sailor and usable for nearly every heavy cutting chore. Along with the knife is my "Seahawk" marlinspike, necessary for rope, line, and rigging. Both of these tools are fine instruments, and I gave them my top treatment. The steel chosen for this project is 440C but not just any 440C; it has my premium heat treatment and processing: T3. This process yields an astounding blade and tool in incredible condition through advanced processing protocols. How advanced is this treatment? It's a multi-stage cryogenic treatment, involving temperatures ranging in over 1950°F (1066°C) to -320°F (-196°C). The process is an evolution of my advanced heat treating processes, and consists of 33 dedicated and specific steps and takes 172 hours. This means that just to heat treat this high alloy steel takes over a week! The reason for this is scientific and critical, but yields the most stable, most wear-resistant, most durable and long-lived structure of this steel, profuse with fine multi-element carbides and a uniform and unbelievably robust structure. This is a testament to my determination to make the very best knives, steels, tools, instruments, treatments and kits in the modern world. I know of no one else who has advanced the treatment to this level; it's unheard of in the metals field.
  The Mariner is a working, dedicated knife style, and the noticeable profile is a clipped point. The clipped point or clip point is common in seafaring knives, because it offers a less acute point profile and the clip (angle at the top of the point to the spine) creates a tougher point shape with a less acute angle, yet a flat surface to get underneath objects to cut them (with the edge upwards). The straight spine is all business, and the spine is thick and strong to support the matched and accurate hollow grinds. The blade has over three and a half inches (8.9 cm) of razor-keen cutting edge, with over one and a half inches ((3.8 cm) of extremely sharp and aggressive Vampire rip-tooth serrations for the toughest cutting chores through textile, wood, and even bone. The knife has full filework, I hand-cut a profuse geometric pattern throughout the fully tapered tang for increased grip security and handmade distinction. The knife is bolstered with my zero-care 304 high nickel, high chromium austenitic stainless steel bolsters, the same stainless steel used on nuts, bolts, and fasteners. In the rear bolster I've included an absolutely huge chamfered lanyard hole, through the tang with an through-diameter of 3/8" (9.5 mm). This is important because this knife will invariably be used over water, and the lanyard is incredibly important. The larger hole makes it easy to string many types and styles of personal lanyard quickly and easily. The bolsters are rounded, contoured, polished and finished for smooth comfort and durability. They bed a pair of gemstone handle scales, in extremely tough and hard Stone Canyon Jasper. This is a rich, dark, and bold gemstone, like a boiling volcanic cauldron, in oranges, deep reds, and metallic black. This gem comes from California, but hasn't been actively mined for over 20 years, and this is old and rare stock. The stone is everlasting, outlasting the knife, and perhaps humanity itself, since the only thing that will cut this hard mineral is silicone carbide or diamond. The knife feels cool and solid in the hand, with the balance point at the location of the forefinger.
• Marlinspike: This kit includes my "Seahawk" marlinspike, a useful accessory, tool, and instrument for the rigger. This Seahawk was treated just like my Mariner, with steel in top condition, a bit tougher than the blade and not expected to need the higher wear resistance of the knife blade. The marlinspike is used to work with knots, line, rope, and rigging, and if you've ever used one you know how important it is to be of a workable size to grip (this one is over six inches long) to apply force and control to the point. The point is never sharp so textiles and line is not damaged, and the device is tapered not only in profile, but in thickness. The Seahawk also has a shackle breaker slot I've milled into the tool. This is a tapered, milled slot that allows the shackle pin head to be inserted in the slot, to "break" a tight pin screwed into the lugs in the jaw. This offers a bit of help and mechanical advantage for stubborn shackles. Like the Mariner knife, it has an absolutely huge lanyard hole for easy stringing of lanyards, critical when working over water.
• Sheath: This kit needed a very special sheath for both instruments. I created it in heavy 9-10 oz. leather shoulder, hand-carved the sheath, and inlaid it with cocoa brown shark skin. The sheath has the marlinspike sheath mounted to the face of the knife sheath, in a "piggyback" style. There is a tight tension fit for both the knife and the spike, with just the lanyard hole accessible for protection of the tools and the wearer and security of the lanyards. The belt loop is double-row stitched with nylon for strength, and is tall enough to allow the lanyards to loop and secure the tools when working elevated over water. Though leather has to be kept from immersion on the water, I've sealed this sheath with a heavy, thick acrylic to help protect it from exposures.
• Lanyards: I've included several lanyards with the kit. Lanyards are critical accessories when working with tools in elevated positions or over water. A dropped knife or tool, a slip or missed grip does not mean the loss of a knife. Typically, the knife owner has his own personalized lanyard arrangement depending on his particular needs and experience. In the photos below, I've illustrated a typical lanyard attachment arrangement. The lanyards shown are my sliding noose type lanyard in typical 550 Nylon Kernmantle Rope (Paracord). They are fairly long, so that the tools can be used while the sheath is attached to the belt. They are secured with "lark's head" (or "cow hitch")-type hitches on the knife and marlinspike, and also hitched with lark's heads on the belt loop. There is plenty of room on the sheath belt loop for a wide, thick belt while the lanyards are secured.
• A beautiful, classic, critical kit that was a treat to make for a great client!

Thanks, A. A.!