Damascus Folding Knife with Black Buffalo Horn Handle

This is a traditional folding knife in hand forged Damascus, a 3.5 inch drop point blade that folds into a 4.75 inch handle and stands 8.25 inches open. You catch the nail nick with a thumbnail, swing the blade out until the lock back drops in, and press the spine to close. It suits a buyer who wants brass bolsters and black horn, not a plain folder.

Specification

The blade

The blade is Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core and etched so the light and dark bands show. The pattern is raindrop, soft rings down the whole length, with the bevel polished mirror bright. The shape is a drop point at 3.5 inches, the spine curving down to the tip for a strong point. Damascus comes back on a stone quickly, darkens with use, and rusts if put away wet.

How it opens and closes

A nail nick is cut into the flat of the blade near the spine. You catch it with a thumbnail and swing the blade out, two hands, with no thumb stud and no clip. It is a lock back. A steel bar runs down the spine of the handle and drops into a notch in the back of the blade as it comes fully open. Press the cut out on the spine to lift the bar clear and fold the blade in.

The handle

The scales are black water buffalo horn, polished to a deep even black with faint gray streaking through it. Horn is natural, so the streaking sits differently in every pair and no two handles read alike. Polished brass bolsters cap both ends, finishing the handle against the horn and holding the two brass pins that run through the scales.

What it is for

This is an ordinary pocket knife for ordinary cutting. It opens boxes and mail, cuts twine and packing tape, trims a loose thread, takes the skin off an apple, and handles light whittling around a yard or a workshop. It goes through a taped seam in one pull and still sits easy in a pocket. It is not a prying tool.

The leather pouch

Every piece ships in a hand tooled leather slip pouch, a flat sleeve the closed knife drops into. The leather is vegetable tanned. A snap strap closes over the mouth, and cream thread runs in hand stitching down both sides. The face is hand tooled with a carved paisley pattern set inside a carved border, cut by hand.

Who it suits

People buy this one for the pattern welded steel and the horn in a knife they will actually use, and it gives well.

• Buyers who want Damascus at a working size
• People who like a two hand folder with no clip
• Collectors of natural handle materials
• Anyone buying a gift for a father or brother

What comes in the box

• The Damascus folding knife
• The leather slip pouch
• A care card
• Engraving quote

Every piece is different

Each blade is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small and no two finish alike. The raindrop pattern never repeats and the streaking in the horn changes from one pair of scales to the next.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry after use and never put it away wet. There is carbon steel under the pattern, so it darkens with use, and that gray patina protects the surface. A drop of light oil in the pivot keeps the action smooth. Never a dishwasher. Sharpen on a stone following the existing bevel. More in our knife care page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece and you add it on this page. Around 30 characters fits on the blade or a bolster. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

What is a lock back? A steel bar in the spine drops into a notch in the blade when it opens. Press the cut out on the spine to close it.

What is a nail nick? The small crescent cut in the blade that you catch with a thumbnail to open it.

Can it be opened with one hand? No. There is a nail nick and no thumb stud, so it takes two hands.

Is it a spring assisted or automatic knife? No. It opens by hand.

Will Damascus rust? It can. Dry it after use and oil it lightly.

Is it legal to carry? Knife carry laws differ by state, city and country, so check the rules where you live before you carry it. We cannot advise on that.

For the same steel in wood see the Damascus folding pocket knife in rosewood, or the lock back folding knife in Damascus and stag antler. More sits in Damascus steel, folding knives and gifts for him.