One of a Kind Damascus Fillet Knife, Mother of Pearl and Ebony

There is one of these and nothing behind it on the rack. The photograph is this knife rather than a sample of the model, so when it sells the page comes down. The blade is 8 inches of Damascus over a high carbon core, narrow and thin. The handle is mother of pearl let into dark ebony, with brass wire laid in the joint so the line between them is deliberate rather than a gap.

Specification

The blade

Damascus over a high carbon core, twist pattern, made by heating the billet, winding it and flattening it back down so the layers come up as spirals under the etch. The etch runs to the edge with no bare bevel left. The pattern is decoration. The carbon core beneath it takes the edge, and on a blade this narrow that edge is what the whole knife is about. Eight inches of thin steel follows a rib line and comes back for another pass. Carbon darkens with use and spots if it is put away wet.

The handle

The inlay is the slow part. A recess is cut into the ebony to fit one piece of shell exactly, since shell will not bend into a gap and ebony will not fill one. The shell is seated, then fine brass wire is laid into the joint around it so the line reads as a line instead of a seam. Everything is sanded flush together and brass pins hold the scales. The shell caught the light the way it did in that piece, and the next never sits the same.

The leather sheath

Vegetable tanned leather, cut to this blade's own outline rather than a size that roughly fits, which matters on a narrow blade that rattles in anything wider than itself. The face is carved by hand, cut in with a swivel knife and shaped with punches, acanthus scroll along its length. That is several times the work of stamping. A welt sits in the seam so the stitching stays clear of the steel, and it is stitched by hand.

Who it suits

This is for the buyer who looks closely at where two materials meet and wants the piece in the picture.

• Anyone who reads a handle before a blade
• Collectors who want no twin of it anywhere
• Buyers who like shell and dark wood together
• People who will keep a thin blade dry

What comes in the box

• This exact knife, sharpened by hand
• The hand carved acanthus scroll sheath
• A care card
• Free sharpening for life

There is only one of these

The photograph is the piece. When somebody buys it the listing comes down and nothing takes its place. That recess was cut to fit one piece of shell and no other, and the brass wire was bent around that shape by hand. The twist landed where the billet moved and the carving was cut once. None of it is repeated.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry the moment you finish and put a thin film of oil on it. The etch stays readable under a patina, so darkening is no fault. Shell and ebony both want an occasional rub of oil and neither likes dry heat, so keep it off a radiator. Do not leave it in the sheath for months, since leather holds damp against steel. More is on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade. Around 30 characters fits, a name and a date rather than a sentence. A proof image comes before the laser runs and it adds 3 to 5 business days. On a one off we will talk it through and agree the placement first, since nothing here can be redone. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Will it rust? It can. There is carbon steel under the pattern, so dry it and oil it.

Is this the knife in the photograph? Yes. That is this piece on the bench, and no second exists.

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

What is the brass wire for? It fills the joint, so the edge of the shell reads as a drawn line.

Will the shell lift out? No. It sits in a recess cut to its shape, bedded and sanded flush.

Could you inlay the same shape again? No. Shell varies and every recess is cut to the piece going into it.

For the same care over a bigger handle, look at the Damascus chef knife in buffalo horn and brass, and for ebony on its own there is the Damascus dagger with the fluted ebony grip. The rest sit in custom builds, pattern welded blades under Damascus steel, and every knife we make together.