Damascus Skinner Knife, Black Ebony Handle with Brass Bolster

A skinner is mostly belly. This one runs a wide curve up to a rounded tip, and that curve keeps the edge cutting through a long pull instead of sliding off it. The blade is 3.5 inches of Damascus over a high carbon core. The handle is black ebony, and between wood and steel sits a block of brass, the bolster, which does more than look expensive.

Specification

The blade

The billet is drawn out until the layers run in straight bars across the flat, which is the ladder pattern, and the etch brings it up. What cuts is the high carbon core under the pattern, not the pattern itself. At 3.5 inches it is short, and short blades with a deep belly turn tighter than long ones. The bevel is taken wide so the sweep stays thin and keeps its bite through the stroke. Carbon steel dulls to grey over a season, and it will freckle with rust if stored wet.

The handle

Ebony is close grained, almost black, and heavy for its size. The bolster is a solid piece of brass fitted where the tang leaves the blade. It shifts weight back into your palm, so a short heavy blade stops wanting to tip forward, and it puts a smooth shoulder under your forefinger instead of a wood corner. The tang runs full length, three brass pins hold the scales, and there is a lanyard hole. At 4.5 inches a wet hand still has somewhere to go.

The leather sheath

Vegetable tanned leather again, stamped in basket weave, wet formed round this blade so the shorter pattern sits deep and the handle stands proud enough to grab. There is a welt along the stitch line, which keeps the thread out of the way of the edge and stops the sheath cutting itself open over a few years. All the stitching is done by hand. It hangs from a plain belt loop.

Who it suits

The bolster is why people pick this over the plain scaled ones. It adds weight at the right end and it looks like somebody made a decision.

• Buyers who want a short blade that balances back in the hand
• Anyone who likes dark wood against yellow brass
• People buying a gift that must look like one
• Owners who want a finished front end, not bare scales

What comes in the box

• The skinner, sharpened
• The basket weave belt sheath
• A care card
• Engraving details

Every piece is different

Ebony varies from dead black to black with a brown cast, and the odd board has a pale streak we leave alone. The ladder bars fall at their own spacing because the layers move as the billet is drawn. Brass is filed flush to the wood on every one, so the joint follows that handle.

Looking after it

The steel gets wiped dry and oiled, same as any carbon blade. Ebony is oily enough to need almost nothing, though a rag with a drop of oil once a year keeps it dark. Brass goes dull with handling. Polish it or leave it, since a soft yellow bolster looks older than it is. Edge on a stone, then a strop. Sharpening is free for life. Full details on the knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

We laser a name onto the flat for 20 dollars per blade, added on this page. About 30 characters fits. You get a proof image by email and the machine does not run until you reply. Engraved orders take another 3 to 5 business days. Buy 10 or more and the engraving comes free. The engraving page has the rest.

Questions buyers ask

What does a bolster actually do? It adds weight behind the blade, so the balance point sits closer to your hand, and it gives your forefinger a rounded brass shoulder.

Why is there no bolster on your other knives? Because it is not always wanted. It costs work and adds weight, and on a longer blade plenty would rather keep things light.

Is this real Damascus? Yes. Layers of steel welded together in the fire, drawn out, then etched so the ladder shows.

Does it need much looking after? Wipe and oil the blade, that is most of it. Rust turns up on blades put away damp.

How long does shipping take? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

Will the brass scratch? It will mark, like all brass. The marks blend in after a while.

The same steel on warmer wood is the Damascus skinner on desert ironwood, and for a handle that shrugs off weather there is the Damascus skinner on black micarta. More of the shape sits in skinner knives, the pattern welded ones in Damascus steel, and the full list is every knife we make.