Dress Folding Knife, Mirror Polished 1095 with Ebony and Brass Handle

A dress folder is the slim pattern for a pocket where a heavier knife sits wrong. This one is a 3 inch plain drop point blade in hand forged 1095 high carbon steel, 4 inches closed and 7 inches open. You catch the nail nick with a thumbnail and draw the blade out. It is a slip joint, so a back spring holds it open and shut, and brass bolsters cap black ebony scales.

Specification

The blade

The steel is 1095 high carbon, ground to a plain drop point. The polish sets it apart, running across the whole flat, not only the bevel, so the face comes up clean and reflective. That is a long stretch of hand work, with a trade. A mirror face shows every fingerprint and picks up fine scratches in use. The 1095 under it takes a keen edge and comes back on a stone quickly, and it rusts if put away wet.

How it opens and closes

There is no lock. It is a slip joint, and a flat back spring inside the handle presses on the back of the blade. That spring holds the blade open once it has swung out, and it holds it shut when folded. You open it with a thumbnail in the nail nick, the small crescent cut near the spine. To close it, push the blade back against the spring.

The handle

The scales are ebony, jet black and close grained, with almost no figure. It is dense and it warms in the hand quickly. Two brass pins run through into the liners, and a heavy brass bolster sits at each end, polished to match the blade and holding the pins. Brass dulls to a soft gold over the years.

What it is for

It is a knife for ordinary cutting: boxes and mail, twine and tape, a loose thread, an apple at a desk, small jobs in a yard or a workshop. The 3 inch blade is long enough for that and short enough to carry easily. It does not suit prying.

The leather pouch

It ships in a hand tooled leather slip pouch, a flat sleeve the closed knife drops into. The leather is vegetable tanned, cut to the closed size so it sits without slop, with a snap strap over the mouth. Cream thread runs down both sides by hand, and the face is hand carved with a thistle pattern inside a stamped border.

Who it suits

This is the gift piece of the batch, bought when a knife should look like it was given rather than picked up.

• Anyone buying for a father or a groomsman
• Buyers who want a slim pocket folder
• Collectors of slip joint patterns
• People happy to keep a polished blade wiped

What comes in the box

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

Every piece is different

Every blade is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small and no two are alike. The polish, the ebony grain and the carving vary from the photographs.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry after use and never put it away wet. A mirror face shows marks, so wipe the flat with a soft cloth. Carbon steel darkens with use, and that gray patina is normal and protects the steel. Oil the pivot when the action feels dry. Never a dishwasher. More on 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 slip joint? It is a folding knife with no lock. A back spring holds the blade open and holds it shut.

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

What are bolsters? They are the metal caps at the ends of the handle. On this knife they are polished brass.

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, with a thumbnail in the nail nick.

Does it come with a pocket clip? No. It ships with a leather slip pouch instead.

For another slim pattern see the gentleman's folding knife in burl wood, and in pattern welded steel the Damascus folding knife in buffalo horn. More sits in gifts for him, folding knives and high carbon 1095.