Damascus Lock Back Folding Knife, Rosewood and Brass

Closed in a pocket, the very first thing you notice is the ridge along the back. That is the lock bar, sitting flush in the rosewood, running to a spot at the tail where your thumb presses. The blade is 3.25 inches of Damascus over a high carbon core. How this knife shuts is decided by where that bar ends.

Specification

The blade

Twist pattern is made by heating the billet, winding it like a rope and forging it flat again, so the layers come up as spirals when the acid goes on. Underneath is a high carbon core and that is the part doing the cutting. The blade is a clip point. The spine is cut back in a long shallow curve so the tip drops into line with your finger, where most pocket work happens. Carbon under an etch still darkens, and it still spots if you put it away wet.

The lock and the opening

A lock back has a bar running down the spine, pivoted near the middle under a small spring. Swing the blade open and the front of that bar drops into a notch cut in the tang. To close it you press the exposed end of the bar at the rear of the handle. That lifts the front out. The release sits back there and not under your palm, so your grip is nowhere near it. Opening is a crescent nail nick.

The handle

Rosewood is dense and oily, and it takes a polish that comes out of the wood rather than off a coat on top. Colour runs from red brown to near purple with darker streaks. Brass bolsters sit at both ends, adding weight where the pivot is and covering the ends of the scales. Brass pins hold everything else together. Closed the knife is 4.5 inches, a fair lump in a trouser pocket and better in a coat or a bag.

The leather pouch

Vegetable tanned leather, hand stitched, with the basket weave stamped into the hide while it was damp. It is a flat sleeve, open at one end, and the knife goes in folded. Nothing holds it shut and nothing hangs off a belt. Call it a pouch, because a sheath it is not. On a knife with a bar down the spine it keeps grit out of the slot at the back.

Who it suits

For a buyer who wants a lock he can find.

• Anyone wanting the release clear of a grip
• Buyers who prefer a spine lock
• People who like brass against dark wood
• Owners who want pattern without a modern frame

What comes in the box

• The rosewood lock back folder
• Its stamped leather slip pouch
• A short care card
• Free sharpening, always

Every piece is different

A twist pattern lands where the bar was wound, so the spirals sit differently on every blade. Rosewood is cut from a log, so one handle comes out red and the next almost brown. Brass dulls at a rate that depends on your hands. The photograph shows the model, not your knife.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry when you finish and leave a film of oil on the steel. Water sitting in the slot the lock bar moves in is the thing to watch, so rinse the joint, shake it out, dry it, then oil the pivot. Rosewood takes a little oil once a year if it looks dry. Stone then strop when the edge stops biting. Our care and sharpening page has the detail.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving costs 20 dollars per blade, chosen here. About 30 characters go on, a name and a year. A twist pattern moves under text, so we place the line where the etch is calmest and send a proof image. Approve it and the build takes another 3 to 5 business days. Free from 10 blades up. The engraving page explains it.

Questions buyers ask

Where do I press to close it? At the back of the handle, on the end of the bar.

Why is the release at the rear? Your hand grips the middle, so nothing you hold touches it.

What holds the blade open? The front of the bar drops into a notch in the tang.

Will it rust? It can. The core is carbon steel, so dry it and oil it.

Is it fine to carry? Laws differ by state, city and country, so check your local rules, and we cannot advise on that.

When does it arrive? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

The same lock under a ridged handle is the Damascus folder in ram horn. To push a liner across instead, take the camel bone liner lock. Both live in folding knives, older shapes in pocket knives, daily ones in everyday carry knives.