Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

"Xanthid" (Reef) Custom Professional Tactical Dive Knife

• Size: Length overall: 13.0" (33.0 cm), Blade Length: 7.0" (17.8 cm), Thickness: 0.205" (5.2 mm)
• Weight: Knife: 7.1 oz. (201 grams) Sheath: 11.1 oz. (315 grams)
• Blade: 440C high chromium martensitic stainless steel blade, T3 deep cryogenically treated with triple tempering to 58 HRC, mirror polished
• Sheath: Locking-tab-wedge hybrid tension in kydex, anodized 5052H32 aluminum, blackened and passivated 304 stainless steel, anodized 6AL4V titanium
• DCAM: Dive Calf Accessory Mount in SCUBA rated 6.7 mm neoprene foam rubber, nylon, polyester, polypropylene, acetyl
• DBAM: Dive Belt Accessory Mount in SCUBA rated 6.7 mm neoprene foam rubber, nylon, polyester, polypropylene, acetyl, with two belts
• Hardware, Fasteners: 304 stainless steel, blackened and passivated, 6AL4V anodized titanium
• Duffle: 1000 Denier Cordura Ballistic Nylon, polypropylene, polyester, nylon, blued steel, embroidered tags
• Knife: Made for a great client to his specifications, this is my Xanthid tactical dive knife, the same knife I've made for counterterrorism response professionals. "Xanthid" is the family of crustaceans composing the most toxic and deadly crabs in the sea. Atypically, this pattern is also known in my pattern inventory as "Reef." This is a true professional grade custom tactical and working dive knife, made completely for wear in the salty marine environments encountered in the ocean. It is an ultimate dive knife, built for long lasting durability, extremely secure wear, light weight, and serious use. The knife is upgraded somewhat from previous models, with some important distinctions.
  • The steel I chose for this knife is 440C high chromium martensitic stainless steel, my most requested steel for a reason. When properly treated, it's a dependable, reliable workhorse of extremely high corrosion resistance, good toughness and high wear resistance. The extremely high chromium of 440C along with the high carbon and moderate molybdenum results in profuse chromium carbides, increasing corrosion resistance as well as wear resistance. To bring this steel to its zenith, 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 long. The result of this is an incredibly wear-resistant blade that has extremely high carbide development, fine grain, and extremely high corrosion resistance. 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.
  • The knife feels feels much more substantial than it looks in a photograph. I've milled and polished the entire handle so that corrosion can't start and the knife is easily cleaned with just a rinse in clear water. The large handle has plenty of curvature to grip and the rear finger ring accommodates the hand in either forward or reversed grip style. The ring and the central handle millwork can both accommodate a lanyard, and when the lanyard is hitched in the central position, the lanyard won't get in the way of the finger ring for use. The large front quillon stops the hand from moving forward on the blade, and the thumb rise protects the thumb from the serrations. The serrations are my incredibly sharp hammerhead serrations; they will rip through just about anything short of metals. I've put plenty of length, about 5.5" (14 cm) of them on the blade, and the central thick spine of the double-edged knife supports them well. The first 1.5" (3.8 cm) of the blade tip on the serration side is razor keen for easy piercing. The main cutting edge is keen beyond belief. I can make it this way because of several properties. First, the sophisticated treatment of this steel produces an superior microstructure, capable of extremely small grain size, leading to great strength. I've tempered the steel to 58 HRC, so the blade has substantial toughness and resistance to fracture. The hollow ground edge is very thin, and in the recurve, it's stunningly sharp. This is because the geometry of a hollow grind and a recurve both together creates the very thinnest, and then sharpest cutting edge possible. The thickness behind the cutting edge at the recurve is only 0.015" thick, that's less than the thickness of four sheets of notebook paper! Though the steel behind the edge is twice as thick at the belly of the blade, I made the recurve this way so the knife will always have the capability to slice cordage, line, and rope at the recurve, while the point and belly are expected to do heavier work, like piercing and ripping. The heaviest work can be done by flipping the knife over and using the aggressive serrations. The balance point of the knife is exactly at the ricasso, and it feels quite large in the hand.
• Sheath: The sheath is an advanced evolution of my hybrid tension-locking sheath, a positively locking, wedge-opening model.
  • Materials: It's built on a frame of 5052 H32 corrosion-resistant high strength aluminum alloy welts. The individual welts are then anodized for a full mil of thickness, twice the thickness of typical anodizing. The anodizing creates a built-up near-ceramic hard surface on the aluminum, and it's entirely corrosion-resistant and non-conductive. It's permanently dyed (in black) and sealed with a solution that inhibits ultraviolet degradation of the dye and anodized surface. In fact, all of the aluminum components in this assembly are the same alloy and are treated this way; this is the most advanced condition for marine use. The sheath front and back are double-thickness kydex, twice the thickness of typical knife sheaths, and the sheath is bonded with waterproof marine-grade cement and secured with darkened and passivated 304 stainless steel Chicago screws.
  • Layout: As with all of my sheaths, they are built on a 2.5" center hole pattern, so the components can be moved around an mounted in various positions on the sheath. As with all of my tactical sheaths, this one is completely reversible for as many wear options as possible. Most of my accessories can be used on this sheath, including any new ones I develop.
    • Horizontal Belt Loop Plates for horizontal belt or webbing wear, welded for ultimate strength and light weight, reversible, and in black anodized aluminum.
    • Flat mounting straps for rigid clamping to webbing, belts, or gear in vertical or horizontal orientation in black anodized aluminum.
    • Low profile belt loops (footman's loops): for tactical webbing belts with maximum .190" thickness and 1.5" width in black anodized aluminum
    • High profile belt loops (footman's loops): for tactical webbing belts with maximum .250" thickness and 1.5" width in black anodized aluminum
    • High profile wide belt loops (footman's loops): for tactical webbing belts with maximum ..250" thickness and 1.75" width in black anodized aluminum
    • Lanyard: SCUBA rated, not shown in photos
    • All necessary stainless steel hardware, fittings, fasteners and tools for mounting, moving, and adjusting
  • Locking-Tab-Wedge (LTW): An advanced feature of this knife sheath is designed for dive use: the security and retention mechanism. I've used my standard hybrid tension lock, so the knife can be retained with the pressure of an anodized 6AL4V titanium dog-leg spring, and I've included a pair of those so the user can choose which strength to apply. Normally, in an emergency, the ball and spring can be deflected with a hard tug, and I wanted to leave that choice to my client if he wished for a standard setup. However, in the ocean, it's more important to have a more secure, even locking retention method, and to not have to struggle or use two hands to re-sheath the knife. This sheath includes my locking-wedge-tab. These three words are the best to describe the LTW mechanism. When sheathed, the small tab can be rotated over the top of the titanium spring, preventing it from moving away from the knife axis, effectively locking the knife in the sheath. When the user needs the knife, he simply pulls the tab toward his hand with his thumb, and the locking flat of the tab rotates off the spring, and the wedge lifts the titanium spring and ball away from the knife, clearing the blade, the serrations, and leaving the entire mouth of the sheath open. Then, the knife is unsheathed. It takes much more effort to describe it than to use it; the motion is natural with the thumb. You wrap your hand around the handle, pull-flip the locking-tab-wedge, and extract the knife. Reinsertion is just as simple; you slip the knife in the sheath (as the ball and is completely out of the way) and then use the thumb to push-swivel the tab forward, closing the ball on the thumb rise, and locking the knife in the sheath. Because I've built these sheaths to be completely reversible, I've included two locking-tab-wedges, one for each side. If my client wants to forego the locking-tab-wedge entirely, he simply replaces the post mounted to the rotating tab with a standard Chicago screw post, and he then has the typical hybrid tension-lock. Improving this design is representative to my commitment to excellence in service to the people who purchase and depend on these knives, and it's an honor to design these for the hardest of environments and use.
• Knife/Sheath wear options: A knife is worn, not carried, so this is critical for a tactical dive knife. In addition to typical wear positions (on a belt, on PALS webbing, body armor, or gear and equipment bags, packs, and frames), this knife has some very specialized wear gear:
  • DCAM (Dive Calf Accessory Mount): This is my calf-mounted assembly, one that is worn comfortably against the bare skin underwater, can stay put while active, yet keep the razor sharp edge and deadly point of the Xanthid immediately accessible. It is constructed entirely of waterproof dive-rated materials, and is secure as it can possibly be, wrapping around the calf with three strap mounts of wide, strong webbing. The base is soft, thick 6.7 mm neoprene foam with textured body-contact rubber on the inside, and tightly woven nylon on the outside. This is very heavy wetsuit material, and the mounts for the straps and webbing are backed with soft Velcro® loop stitch pads to back up the stitches. The webbing is secured with bonded polyester waterproof thread, size V-138 for extreme durability. The outside of the wrap is sealed and bonded with nylon wetsuit material, stitched with flexible nylon. The sheath tail pocket and anti-flop shock cord are double thickness elastic nylon; the tail pocket is three inches deep, and the anti-flop shock strap is .75" wide. The sheath body clamps rigidly under the center web, and is trapped between the webbing and the wrap, so is extremely secure. The buckles are all 1.5" cam lock Acetyl plastic and are infinitely adjustable yet can be quickly released in an emergency. This is a very comfortable rig, and will be a favorite wear accessory in the future. Photos below are of "Synan," but the rig is the same. My model is my Grandson, USMC Malachi Beauchamp.

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  • DBAM (Dive Belt Accessory Mount): Also included is accessory that allows the knife to be worn in the middle of the back or the front, with horizontal orientation. This is the DBAM, Dive Belt Accessory Mount, which I made of 2" wide polypropylene webbing with Acetyl buckle, the same material as the Sternum Harness for my counterterrorism knife sheaths. The belt accommodates the width of the span between the flat clamp straps when worn horizontally, so the sheath clamps rigidly to the belt. The custom pad is made of the same 6.7 mm wetsuit foam neoprene as the DCAM, edge stitched and sealed, and held in place with two 3" wide double thickness elastic nylon straps. The pad stays in place, protecting the body from the sheath, and it's a comfortable, secure rig in or out of the water. I've also included an extra-length belt for a variety of wear sizes. Photos below are of "Synan," but the rig is the same. The model is my Grandson, USMC Malachi Beauchamp.

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  • Standard Wear Options: the kit includes all of my basic standard wear mounts; belt loops, flat clamping straps, horizontal belt loop plates, and all necessary hardware, screws, fittings and tools.
• Containers, Instructions, Archival: included are tin plated steel containers for the fasteners and hardware, and the instructions for the rig including a checklist for the kit. Included is an engraved co-extruded acrylic archival plate.
• Duffle: One thing I found out over the years was a need to store these components that was as tough and durable as what they contained. This is why I make the duffles, in my studio, by hand. I make them in 1000 Denier Cordura ballistic nylon, which is coated on the inside with polyurethane for moisture resistance. This is some very tough stuff, and I triple-stitch the seams, all in heavy polyester thread. I've included steel D-rings at the zipper stops on the ends for several reasons: to mount accessory straps or carry options, to clip accessories, and to oppose the zipper when pulling open. Otherwise, you have to pinch the material to open the zippers with one hand and pull the zipper pull with the other. I've used double zipper pulls, for quick and easy access, and stitched on 2" wide webbing straps in polypropylene, permanently mounted in position on the duffle body, and they are reinforced and heavily stitched on the inside of the duffle, as well as the handle areas. The design of the duffle is a box-end, so that the duffle stores neatly. It has my (rather handsome) patch signifying "Quality Without Compromise" and my maker's mark. Opposing that is a hook and loop stitched tag mount, with a removable embroidered identifier of the knife pattern. This is important when clients have more than one knife. These duffles are so great, I have clients buying them alone without a knife, for their friends and other stowed gear!
• This is a great dive knife kit, ready to take to the water, and it was an honor to make it!

Thanks, P. K.!