Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

"Sanchez" Fine Handmade Custom Chef's Knife

• Size:
  • Knife with Stand: Height: 10.75" (27.3 cm), Length: 7.1" (18.0 cm), Width: 2.9" (7.4 cm)
  • Knife: Length overall: 10.0" (40.3 cm), Blade Length: 5.7" (28.5 cm), Thickness: .118" (2.4 mm)
• Weight:
  • Knife: 5.5 oz. (156 grams)
  • Stand: 2 lbs., 5.4 oz. (1060 grams)
• Blade: 440C High Chromium Martensitic Stainless Steel, Hardened and Tempered with T3 Cryogenic Process to Rockwell HRC 57.5, Mirror Polished
• Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, Mirror polished
• Handle: Sodalite Gemstone (Brazil)
• Stand: American Black Cherry Hardwood, American Poplar, Sodalite Gemstone, Delicatus Gold Granite, Neoprene, Stainless Steel Screws
• Knife: The "Sanchez" is a great knife, named for the gentleman who worked with me to create the original design. The idea behind the Sanchez is a knife that is large enough to do most kitchen cutting chores, yet is small enough to bridge the expanse between a heavy, long-bladed traditional chef's knife and a smaller, lighter, and more pointed design seen on boning, fillet, and even paring knives. This is, then, a medium-sized knife designed for the kitchen, tough and wear resistant, highly corrosion resistant, stiff-bladed and comfortable to use, in a beautiful everlasting gemstone handle and stand that will grace any environment. My client who ordered this fine handmade custom knife requested it with a blue handle, and the touch of white sets off the striking color combination for the knife.
  • The steel chosen for my client's Sanchez 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. It's also one of the very best steels for chef's and kitchen use, since it meets all Food Contact Safety guidelines. I applied 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. I tempered this steel to be stable and stiff, for little to no flexing, with a substantial spine for support. The hollow grinds are well-matched and accurate, and create a scalpel-sharp single bevel cutting edge. The blade has a fully tapered tang, with a light version of my "Royale" filework completely throughout the blade and tang for handmade artistic distinction.
  • I bolstered the knife with zero-care 304 high chromium, high nickel stainless steel bolsters, and they 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. This is a true, no-care bolster material; 304 is also known as 18-8 stainless, and the standard for all Food Safe Contact materials, as well as the toughest stainless steel nuts, bolts, and fasteners. The bolsters are brightly mirror polished and easy to maintain.
  • The handle scales are a medium-to-deep blue Sodalite gemstone, acquired from Brazil. Sodalite is a fascinating jewelry stone, but in large pieces like a knife handle, much more of the gem can be detailed and experienced. Along with the blues are some deep, rich beds of feldspars, creating labradoressence, the fascinating light play that displays an almost transparent, silvery sheen when rotated in the light. This effect only exists on a few types of stone. The areas that appear black or shadowy in the photos exhibit this effect. The stone also has a few white areas of calcite and the entire gemstone handle is smoothed, polished, and even, and is tightly fitted and comfortable to hold.
  • The knife feels very lightweight and easy to use in the hand, the blade is long enough to reach most kitchen chores, and yet robust and keen, feeling more like a specialized instrument than a working tool.
• Stand: As with all my work, it was necessary to create and offer a distinctive and useful stand for this knife that begs to occupy a special place on a counter or table in a fine kitchen. I sculpted one of my unique "Splash" designs, created to be warm, tough, and extremely stable. I chose the American hardwood Black Cherry for the sides and supports, arranged upon a central slip spacer of Poplar. Cherry is a prized hardwood, one of the very best woods, chosen for the finest uses in cabinetry, carving, and furnishings. The poplar offers a relatively soft and non-abrasive bed for the knife blade and cutting edge, and both woods are sealed with Danish oils and waxed to maintain their natural color and soft appeal. On the sides of the stand, I carefully created deep inlay pockets for four large "splash" shaped panels of finished, polished Sodalite gemstone to compliment the knife handle. The curves in the handle are reflected in the shapes of the sculpted stand, cutouts, and inlays. The sodalite is raised and domed above the hardwood for an excellent, gentle, and curved effect. The cutout is carved in the stand to display a bit of the blade spine in a "window" of hardwood. The stand elevates the handle at a good angle for easy access. The hardwood is attached to the base with stainless steel screws. The base I cut and polished from Delicatus Golden Granite, a tough, thick, and heavy cut of granite that keeps the stand extremely stable. The browns in the granite reflect the Cherry hardwood, and the blacks work well with the black areas of the Sodalite, bringing it all together. I made solid neoprene feet set into the granite base, so that the stand won't scratch any surface it contacts, and it keeps the stand elevated to prevent moisture from accumulating underneath. See the photos below; the stand alone is a sculptural work of independent art, and nobody else on earth is making anything like it! This is another reason I love this art.
• This is a beautiful, unique, striking, and useful custom knife that was an absolute pleasure to make for my client's needs.

Thanks, L. D.!