Damascus Folding Knife with Camel Bone and Turquoise Handle

The blade turns on one pin at the front of the handle and folds away after use. This one is a 3.25 inch clip point in hand forged Damascus, 4.25 inches closed and 7.5 inches open. It opens on a nail nick and holds open on a lock back. Camel bone scales with a turquoise line sit between brass bolsters. It ships in a tooled leather pouch.

Specification

The blade

The steel is Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core and etched so the layers separate. The pattern is raindrop, rings down the blade, and no two fall alike. The bevel is polished mirror bright. The shape is a clip point, the spine cut away in a sweep so the tip sits low. Carbon sits underneath, so the blade darkens with use and rusts if put away wet.

How it opens and closes

It has no stud and no clip, so it opens with two hands. The nail nick is the small crescent cut in the flat of the blade near the spine, which a thumbnail catches to swing it out. The lock is a lock back. A steel bar runs down the spine and drops into a notch in the blade once it is open. Press the cut out on the spine to lift the bar clear and guide the blade back in.

The handle

The scales are camel bone, polished creamy white with the fine natural veining showing. A line of crushed turquoise is inlaid down the middle of each scale and sanded flush. Polished brass bolsters cap both ends and hold the pins. Brass softens in color as it is handled, and the veining and the turquoise differ from knife to knife.

What it is for

This is an everyday knife for ordinary cutting. It opens boxes and mail, cuts twine and tape, trims a loose thread, peels an apple and does light work around a yard or workshop. The low tip starts a cut in a taped seam. It is a slim folder, so heavy prying goes to a bigger knife.

The leather pouch

The pouch is a flat leather sleeve the closed knife drops into. The leather is vegetable tanned and cut to this knife at 4.25 inches closed, so it sits snug. A snap strap closes the mouth and cream thread runs down both sides by hand. The face is hand tooled with a carved acanthus scroll inside a beaded border, and the cut varies on each one.

Who it suits

Buyers pick this one for the pattern in the steel and the color in the handle. It reads as a dress knife more than a work knife and often goes as a gift.

• Buyers who want a Damascus blade
• People who like a traditional folder
• Buyers looking for a gift

What comes in the box

• The Damascus folding knife
• The tooled leather slip pouch
• A care card

Every piece is different

Each knife is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small. The raindrop pattern, the bone veining and the pouch tooling all shift from the photographs. Yours will be its own piece.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry after use and never put it away wet. Damascus has carbon under the pattern, so it darkens with use, and that gray patina is normal and protects it. Put a drop of light oil into the pivot now and then, and a coat on the blade before it goes away. 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, added on this page. Around 30 characters fits on the blade or a bolster, so a name or date fits. 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 to close it.

What is a nail nick? The small crescent cut in the flat of the blade that a thumbnail catches to open it.

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

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.

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

Will it look like the photo? Not exactly. The steel pattern and the bone veining differ on every knife.

For the same steel in wood try the Damascus folding pocket knife in rosewood, and for a darker handle the Damascus folding knife in buffalo horn. More is in folding knives, Damascus steel and bone handle knives.