Hand Forged Slip Joint Folding Knife, Olive Wood Handle

It rides low in a jeans pocket and you stop noticing it by the second day. Closed, it is olive wood between two brass ends, light under a set of keys. Open, it gives you 3 inches of 1095 high carbon steel. What owners talk about later is the half stop, where the blade pauses halfway on its way shut.

Specification

The blade

1095 is plain high carbon steel and it takes an edge without an argument. The spine keeps the dark skin the fire left on it, the bevel is taken up bright, and the blade reads as two tones from the side. The shape is a drop point, the spine falling in a slow curve so the tip finishes low and stays where your hand aims it. Three inches has belly enough for an apple and stays out of the way. It greys as it works and spots if it goes away wet.

The lock and the opening

There is no lock here and we will not pretend otherwise. A flat spring runs along the back, pressing on the tang, holding the blade open and holding it shut, and it gives when you push it. The half stop is a second seat cut at the midpoint. Closing, the blade stops upright while you move your fingers clear, then you push the rest of the way on the spine. Opening is a crescent nail nick a thumbnail finds without looking.

The handle

Olive wood is hard and oily by nature, gold running into brown with dark veining where the tree grew around itself. Brass bolsters cap both ends. They put weight up front and take knocks that would land on the wood. Brass pins hold the scales, and a brass lanyard bail sits at the tail for a cord. Closed length is 4.25 inches, small enough to forget until you want it, and the brass goes a warm dull colour over the first year.

The leather pouch

The pouch is vegetable tanned leather, stitched by hand, with a basket weave stamped into damp hide. It is a flat sleeve, closed along two sides and open at one end, and the folded knife drops in. That is the whole job. No flap, no stud, nothing for a belt, so it is a pouch and not a sheath. Owners use it to keep the knife off the coins in a bag.

Who it suits

For anybody who shuts a knife one handed.

• Anyone who has closed a blade on a finger
• People teaching a young relative to fold one
• Buyers who like an old back spring
• Owners who want brass and wood, not grey steel

What comes in the box

• The olive wood folder
• The stamped basket weave slip pouch
• A care card
• Free sharpening for life

Every piece is different

Olive grows slowly and twists as it goes, so one handle is pale honey and the next nearly black through the middle. The forged line falls where the hammer and the fire left it. Brass darkens at its own speed. Yours matches the photograph in shape and goes its own way on colour.

Looking after it

Grit in the joint rinses out under a tap. Shake the water off, dry it, then put one drop of oil on the pivot and swing the blade to carry it in. Wipe the steel after fruit or anything salty, because 1095 marks fast. Once the blade has gone an even grey, leave it be. A stone then a strop brings the edge back. More on our care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade, ticked on this page. Around 30 characters fits, so a name, or a name and a year. There is clear flat above the nail nick for it. A proof image comes first and nothing runs until you approve it, which adds 3 to 5 business days. Ten blades or more and the charge comes off. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

What is a half stop for? It parks the blade upright halfway, clear of your fingers.

Is that a lock? No. It is a pause, nothing more.

Does the blade lock open? No. A back spring holds it open and shut.

Will it rust? It can. Dry the steel and oil the pivot.

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

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

The same spring in a rounder shape is the canoe pocket knife on camel bone. For more blade and no bolsters, look at the sodbuster in black ebony. Every folder sits in folding knives, older patterns under pocket knives, daily carriers in everyday carry knives.