One of a Kind Damascus Hunting Knife, Blue Resin Burl Handle

There is one of these. The knife in the photograph is the knife that ships, not a sample of a model we run again, so when it sells the page comes down. The blade is 4 inches of Damascus over a high carbon core and the handle is stabilised maple burl set in deep blue resin. The two pins holding it together took longer than anything else here.

Specification

The blade

Damascus, with a high carbon core underneath. The layers are forged together and twisted, then the ground blade goes in acid so the twist lifts and shows. The etch carries to the edge with no bare bevel left bright. The honest part is that the pattern is decoration. The carbon core under it takes an edge and holds one. Four inches is a hunting length, short enough that the tip stays under your hand for close work. Carbon steel darkens as it is used, and it spots if you leave it wet.

The handle

Stabilised maple burl, soaked in resin under vacuum so it will not move with damp or shrink off the pins, then set in deep blue. Burl is the knotted, swirling grain from a growth on the tree, which is why no two blocks match. The fittings are mosaic pins with a small flower showing in the ends. That pin is built from smaller rods bundled and fused into one, so the flower runs the whole way through and reads the same on both sides. I cut two slices off one rod and faced them flush. Those flowers landed where they landed.

The leather sheath

Vegetable tanned leather, cut to this blade's own outline so the knife sits without rattling. The face is carved, not stamped. A rose with scrollwork off it, cut into damp hide with a swivel knife and then shaped with punches, which takes several times as long as pressing a basket weave in with a mallet. A welt in the seam keeps the thread clear of the edge, and the stitching is done by hand.

Who it suits

Most people who stop this long are looking at the pin ends first.

• Anyone who reads the small details first
• Buyers who want the piece nobody else owns
• Hunters carrying something made once
• People who own a plain working knife already

What comes in the box

• The 4 inch Damascus hunting knife shown
• The hand carved rose and scroll belt sheath
• A care card
• An engraving proof if you order one

There is only one of these

The photograph is this knife. Not one like it, this one. The twist landed where it landed, the burl came out of a block that is now used up, and the flowers in the pins sit where the rod put them. The carving on the sheath was cut freehand. When somebody buys it the page comes down, and none of it gets repeated.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry and leave a film of oil on it before it goes away. Do not keep it in the sheath for months, because leather holds damp against steel and that is where pitting starts. The resin wants nothing but a wipe, and the carved face takes conditioner once a year so the cuts stay open. Sharpen on a stone and strop it. More on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade and you add it on this page. Around 30 characters fits, so a name and a date. A proof comes back before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. On a one off piece we talk it through first, because there is no second blade to practise on. The engraving page has the rest.

Questions buyers ask

Is this the actual knife in the photograph? Yes. There is one and no second one behind it.

How is a mosaic pin made? Small rods are bundled and fused into one rod. Slice it and the flower is there.

Will the flower wear off the pin? No. It runs through rather than sitting on the surface, so both faces show the same thing.

Will it rust? It can. There is carbon steel under the pattern. Dry it and oil it, and never put it away damp.

Does the blue resin move? The wood inside was stabilised under vacuum, so it does not swell or shrink off the pins.

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

The same idea in bare wood is the Damascus hunting knife in desert ironwood burl, and much bigger is the Bowie with a stag and turquoise handle. Single pieces sit in custom builds, etched blades under Damascus steel, and this length with the hunting knives.