Knife: The "Kita" is a small tanto design,
named for the Japanese word for north. This is a palm-handled
knife; the short, rounded contoured handle fits in the palm of
the hand, which
makes the knife compact and tough. Even though the blade is about 4"
overall, it's deeply hollow ground creating a thin, keen cutting
edge with high durability while having the support of a very strong spine. The spine incorporates
a substantial thumb rise for applying force and control of the tough
blade. I added a small, graceful filework throughout, and the tang is
fully tapered for balance.
The steel I chose for this knife is 440C, my most asked-for
steel for a reason. It's very tough, highly wear resistant and
excels in corrosion resistance, for the lowest care needed of
just about any knife steel. I used a special
cryogenic process in heat treating this blade; the
result of this is an extremely wear-resistant blade that has
very high carbide
development, fine grain, and high toughness with reduced
asperity (surface roughness). This results in a very tough,
highly wear-resistant, corrosion resistant blade that will
simply last for generations of use.
I bolstered the knife with zero-care 304 high chromium, high
nickel stainless steel bolsters, which are contoured, rounded and
finished for a comfortable feel. The bolsters are secured with
zero-clearance peened pins and dovetailed to bed the
handle scales.
The handle scales are an unusual gemstone from Madagascar.
This is Ocean Jasper, with bubbly orbicular quartzite elements in a
medium-to-dark olive green matrix. The stone is unique in color
and pattern, with hard white-to-pink diffuse-edged round
forms that seem
to be out of focus and blurry-edged. This olive-to-sea
green jasper with ghostly floating orbs is a strange and unique
appearance that was created by millions of years of geological
activity that is fascinating to experience, and one of the reasons
I love gemstone. I've carefully stabilized a few tiny voids with
jeweler's sealant methods, so the stone is strong, solid, and
impermeable. It's brightly and smoothly finished, and
comfortable to hold.
The balance of the knife is right at the forefinger
placement, and the handle seems to meld into the palm. It's a
compact, yet seriously durable knife.
Sheath: Making a complimentary sheath for this
knife was a challenge. I hand-carved a paisley, splashing design in
9-10 oz. leather shoulder, and tooled it to reflect the "bubbles" of
the Ocean Jasper color. I carefully hand-dyed the leather, with
graduations of density,
highlighted the tooling, and sealed it with lacquer for longevity.
The sheath is deep and stout, and stitched with heavy nylon thread.
A unique and bold small tanto knife with distinctive character
and exotic gemstone handle.
Copyright 1996-2024 by The Jay Fisher Company. All rights reserved. Federal copyright law prohibits unauthorized reproduction by any means and imposes fines up to $25,000 for each violation.
Learn more.
