Damascus Folding Pocket Knife with Rosewood Handle and Tooled Leather Pouch

This is a traditional folding pocket knife in Damascus steel, opened with two hands. You catch the nail nick with a thumbnail and swing the blade out, and a lock back holds it open until you press the cut out in the spine. It is 3.5 inches of blade, 4.5 inches closed and 8 inches open, and it suits anyone wanting an older pattern in a pocket.

Specification

The blade

The steel is Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core and etched so the light and dark layer lines show. The bevel is taken up mirror bright. It is a drop point at 3.5 inches, the spine curving down so the tip sits low and the belly stays long. Carbon sits underneath, and that is the trade. It comes back keen on a stone, darkens with use and rusts if put away wet.

How it opens and closes

It opens with two hands. The blade turns on one pin at the front of the handle, and the crescent nail nick near the spine is where a thumbnail catches. The lock is a lock back. A steel bar down the spine drops into a notch in the blade as it swings out, so the blade stays put. Press the cut out partway along the spine to lift the bar, then fold the blade home.

The handle

The scales are rosewood in a deep red brown, oiled rather than lacquered, so the grain reads under your fingers. Rosewood is dense and oily by nature, long used as a handle wood. Polished brass bolsters cap both ends and hold the pins. Two brass pins run through, and the brass dulls to a softer gold.

What it is for

This is a pocket knife for the small cutting of a day. It opens boxes and mail, takes twine and packing tape, trims a loose thread and cuts an apple at lunch. The low point suits whittling. It is not for prying or heavy chopping, so leave that to a fixed blade.

The leather pouch

The knife ships in a leather slip pouch, a flat sleeve the closed knife drops into. The leather is vegetable tanned and cut to this knife, so it sits without slop. A snap strap closes over the mouth and cream hand stitching runs down both sides. The face is hand tooled with a carved rope border around a plain smooth center field.

Who it suits

This one goes to people who want some age in the pattern and a blade that shows.

• Anyone wanting a traditional daily pocket knife
• Buyers who prefer a lock back to a slip joint
• Collectors of pattern welded blades
• Gift buyers wanting something made by hand

What comes in the box

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

Every piece is different

Every blade is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small and no two are alike. No two Damascus patterns repeat and the rosewood grain varies from the photographs.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry after use and never put it away wet. Damascus darkens with use and that gray patina protects the steel. A drop of light oil in the pivot keeps the action smooth, and oil the blade before it is put away. Never a dishwasher. Sharpen on a stone following the bevel. More in our knife care and sharpening 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. 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 down the spine drops into a notch in the blade when it opens. Press the cut out in the spine to close it.

What is a nail nick? It is the small crescent cut in the flat of the blade near the spine. You catch it with a thumbnail to open it.

Can it be opened with one hand? No. There is no thumb stud, so the nail nick needs a thumbnail and your other hand.

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.

Is it a spring assisted or automatic knife? No. It opens by hand and no spring pushes the blade out.

Will this steel rust? It can if left wet, since carbon steel sits under the pattern. Dry it after use and oil it lightly.

For the same steel with a brighter handle see the Damascus folding knife in camel bone and turquoise, or the sodbuster folding knife in walnut for a farm pattern. More is in Damascus steel, folding knives and rosewood handle knives.