Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

New to the website? Start Here
"Andromeda" obverse side view in T3 deep cryogenically treated CPM 154CM powder metal technology high molybdenum stainless steel blade, 304 stainless steel bolsters, K2 Azurite Granite gemstone handle, hand-carved leather sheath inlaid with blue rayskin
"Andromeda"

Lacerta

"Lacerta" obverse side view (with reflector above), in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin
"Lacerta" Fine Handmade Knife
  • Size: Length overall: 7.0" (17.8 cm), Blade Length: 3.5" (8.9 cm), Thickness: .158" (4.0 mm)
  • Weight: Knife: 5.0 oz. (142 grams) Sheath: 3.1 oz. (88 grams)
  • Blade: O1 high carbon tungsten-vanadium tool steel, deep cryogenically treated, triple tempered, mirror finished, hot blued. Hardness: 58.5 HRC
  • Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, Mirror polished
  • Handle: Eudialite Gemstone (Russia)
  • Sheath: Hand-carved, hand-dyed Leather Shoulder Inlaid with burgundy Ostrich leg skin
  • Knife: The Lacerta is an extremely tough and durable small knife. It's straight and forward, and its name comes from the constellation Lacerta (the lizard) which is also rather straight and forward! If you use your imagination, you might visualize the lizard's small head at the drop in the butt of the handle at the rear bolster...
    The design is a great one, recognizable as a working utility knife, a small game knife, or even a table or steak knife for the ability to use it with fine control. Of course, many of my knives are suitable for collection, but they are serious working tools! 
    • The steel I chose for the knife is O1. O1 is an actual tool steel. It's not just an improvement on standard carbon steels, it is a workhorse of the steel tool trade, a fine steel, actually classified as a cold work tool steel. It's used for die-forming other steels, to make taps, cutters, broaches, and shears, a steel that has a proven reputation of performance. While O1 steels vary, this is a premium O1 steel, with substantial amounts of tungsten and vanadium, forming wear-resistant complex carbides. Add to that my deep cryogenic processing of this steel at -320°F and triple tempering cycles, and this steel has a significant transformational performance curve, with several times the wear resistance of conventionally processed O1. I've mirror polished the hollow ground blade and performed my hot bluing of the surface, creating a corrosion inhibiting surface with the appearance of black mirrored glass. The tang is fully tapered for balance and I've left the spine and tang smooth and even for easy cleaning.
    • Note about the photos and the finish: Since this knife is hot blued, I took two sets of photos showing the blade (the obverse and reverse sides). One set of photos has a photographic light reflector above the knife, so you can see the hollow grind and the grind lines. Those are the photos that show the bolsters in lighter gray or white. The other set is done without a light reflector above, and in those photos, the bolsters are black or subdued. In those photos, you can get an idea of the actual black, glassy, slick surface appearance of the hot blued blade. You can also tell which is which by the alternate text shown when your cursor hovers over the photo. Hot blued mirror finishes on knife blades are the most difficult to photograph well, so this is the best way to demonstrate their appearance in varying light conditions.
    • I bolstered the knife with zero-care 304 high chromium, high nickel stainless steel bolsters, which are contoured and polished for a comfortable, smooth feel. The bolsters are secured with zero-clearance peened pins and dovetailed to bed the handle scales. The front bolsters are wide and flat, feeling very smooth in the hand, with a smooth and lightweight grip. The rear bolsters incorporate a substantial quillon that that helps lock the handle into the hand between the ring finger and small finger. The handle shape is known as a "three-fingered" handle for lighter-weight smaller knives.
    • The handle scales are a beautiful and somewhat rare Eudialite gemstone from the Kola Peninsula in Russia. This is a cyclosilicate mineral, with violet-red hexagonal crystals throughout, all oriented in different directions. The eudialite is in association with microcline, nepheline, aegirine, lamprophyllite, lorenzenite, murmanite, and other minerals. This beautiful stone is considered a collector's stone. It's a minor ore of zirconium and contains significant amounts of rare earth elements.
    • The knife feels lightweight and work-worthy in the hand, begging to be used. The blade is straight and clean; the point is fine and the edge keen and even.
  • Sheath: Making a sheath to match the knife, I carved inlay pockets in the front, back and belt loops to mimic the crystalline shapes of the gemstone. I inlaid these with burgundy ostrich leg skin, which also has patterns that mimic the eudialite crystals in the handle. The sheath is dyed with a russet-gray-green dye to match the minerals in the stone, stitched with chestnut-colored nylon and sealed with lacquer for longevity and resistance to the elements.
  • A unique and beautifully elegant knife with a striking gemstone crystal handle.

Thanks, A. S.!


Please click on thumbnail knife photos
"Lacerta" obverse side view (with reflector above), in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin "Lacerta" obverse side view (without  reflector above), in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin "Lacerta" reverse side view (without reflector above), in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin "Lacerta" reverse side view (with reflector above), in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin "Lacerta" spine view in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin "Lacerta" inside handle tang view (with reflector above), in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin "Lacerta" 6.8 power magnification, obverse side view in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin "Lacerta" 6.8 power magnification, reverse side view in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin "Lacerta" sheathed view in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin "Lacerta" reverse side view in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin "Lacerta", obverse side view in deep cryogenically treated O1 tungsten-vanadium tool steel blade, hot blued, 304 stainless steel bolsters, Eudialite gemstone handle, sheath of hand-carved leather inlaid with Ostrich leg skin

To Featured Knife Pages


XHTML 1.0 Validated, Compliant, Link Checked, and CSS Level 2.1 Validated through W3C, the World Wide Web Consortium
Main Purchase Tactical Specific Types Technical More
Home Page Where's My Knife, Jay? Current Tactical Knives for Sale The Awe of the Blade Knife Patterns My Photography
Website Overview Current Knives for Sale Tactical, Combat Knife Portal Museum Pieces Knife Pattern Alphabetic List Photographic Services
My Mission My Knife Prices All Tactical, Combat Knives Investment, Collector's Knives Copyright and Knives Photographic Images
The Finest Knives and You How To Order Counterterrorism Knives Daggers Knife Anatomy  
Featured Knives: Page One Purchase Finished Knives  Professional, Military Commemoratives Swords Custom Knives  
Featured Knives: Page Two Order Custom Knives USAF Pararescue Knives Folding Knives Modern Knifemaking Technology My Writing
Featured Knives: Page Three Knife Sales Policy USAF Pararescue "PJ- Light" Chef's Knives Factory vs. Handmade Knives First Novel
Featured Knives: Older/Early Bank Transfers  27th Air Force Special Operations  Food Safety, Kitchen, Chef's Knives Six Distinctions of Fine Knives Second Novel
Email Jay Fisher Custom Knife Design Fee Khukris: Combat, Survival, Art Hunting Knives Knife Styles Knife Book
Contact, Locate Jay Fisher Delivery Times Serrations Working Knives Jay's Internet Stats  
FAQs My Shipping Method Grip Styles, Hand Sizing Khukris The 3000th Term Videos
Current, Recent Works, Events Business of Knifemaking Concealed Carry and Knives Skeletonized Knives Best Knife Information and Learning About Knives  
Client's News and Info   Military Knife Care Serrations Cities of the Knife Links
Who Is Jay Fisher?   The Best Combat Locking Sheath Knife Sheaths Knife Maker's Marks  
Testimonials, Letters and Emails     Knife Stands and Cases How to Care for Custom Knives Site Table of Contents
Top 22 Reasons to Buy   Tactical Knife Sheath Accessories Handles, Bolsters, Guards Knife Making Instruction  
My Knifemaking History   Loops, Plates, Straps Knife Handles: Gemstone Larger Monitors and Knife Photos  
What I Do And Don't Do    Belt Loop Extenders-UBLX, EXBLX Gemstone Alphabetic List New Materials  
CD ROM Archive   Independent Lamp Accessory-LIMA Knife Handles: Woods Knife Shop/Studio, Page 1  
Publications, Publicity   Universal Main Lamp Holder-HULA Knife Handles: Horn, Bone, Ivory Knife Shop/Studio, Page 2  
My Curriculum Vitae   Sternum Harness Knife Handles: Manmade Materials    
Funny Letters and Emails, Pg. 1 Blades and Steels Sharpeners, Lanyards Knife Embellishment     
Funny Letters and Emails, Pg. 2 Blades Bags, Cases, Duffles, Gear    
Funny Letters and Emails, Pg. 3 Knife Blade Testing Modular Sheath Systems  
Funny Letters and Emails, Pg. 4 440C: A Love/Hate Affair PSD Principle Security Detail Sheaths      
Funny Letters and Emails, Pg. 5 ATS-34: Chrome/Moly Tough
Funny Letters and Emails, Pg. 6 D2: Wear Resistance King        
The Curious Case of the "Sandia" O1: Oil Hardened Blued Beauty        
The Sword, the Veil, the Legend Elasticity, Stiffness, Stress,
and Strain in Knife Blades
   
Professional Knife Consultant Heat Treating and
Cryogenic Processing of
Knife Blade Steels