Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

Purchase:

Status: Available. Contact me at jayfisher@jayfisher.com to purchase this professional knife kit

Price: $2,895.00

Included:

The Knife

• Size: Greatest length overall max: 8.6" (21.8 cm), Greatest width max at handle: 4.75" (12.1 cm), Blade Length at cutting edge: 5.5" (14 cm), Thickness: 0.264" (6.7 mm)
• Weight: 11.7 oz. (332 grams)
• Blade: 440C High Chromium Martensitic Stainless Tool Steel, Hardened and Tempered, T4 Specialty Cryogenically treated to Rockwell C59, proprietary surface oxide treatment "Ghost Slate."
• Type/Purpose/Origin: In a unique design, the combination of a double-edged karambit sickle-type blade and a push-punch dagger handle come together for a serious defensive and tactical knife, with keen cutting potential and serious presence. The knife is named "Chela" which is the claw-bone of a crustacean or arachnid, resembling the shape of the tool. The karambit has its history in ancient harvesting, and has developed into a common knife profile and design. This is one of the more aggressive patterns, with double edges on the blade. 
• Blade Steel Alloy: The Chela blade is a well-proven standard, the hypereutectoid, high alloy martensitic stainless tool steel, 440C. This is my most requested steel for a reason. When properly treated, it's a dependable, reliable workhorse of extremely high corrosion resistance, good toughness and high wear resistance. The extremely high chromium of 440C along with the high carbon and moderate molybdenum results in profuse chromium carbides, increasing corrosion resistance as well as wear resistance. There is a reason that 440C is the steel that all other stainless tool steels are compared to. This steel is suitable for marine saltwater use.
• Heat Treatment: To bring this steel to its zenith, I used my proprietary T4 deep cryogenic process in heat treating this blade; it's a highly detailed, extremely sophisticated process that takes 36 individual steps and takes over a week long. The result of this is an incredibly wear-resistant blade that has extremely high carbide development, fine grain, and extremely high toughness. Asperity is reduced; the microstructure development is superior to any other typical handmade knife, and far above any factory or manufactured knife. This is, simply put, 440C martensitic stainless steel at its very finest advanced condition. The result is a very tough, hard, wear-resistant stainless steel. This is a testament to my determination to make the very best knives, steels, treatments and kits in the modern world. I know of no one else who has advanced the treatment to this level; it's unheard of in the metals and knifemaking field. This is, simply put, 440C at its very finest advanced condition. More about the heat treating designation.
• Blade Design and Geometry: The first striking thing about this blade is that it's double edged. The exterior convex edge has an abrupt hollow grind that I accomplished with a 3" diameter wheel, a very difficult grind to do well. This leaves plenty of thickness in the central spine to support the aggressive, slender tip, and gives good mass to the blade overall, stiffening the cross-section of the blade. The concave grind is a taper grind, smooth and even and sweeping about a radical curve of approximately 150 degrees. Though hard to define, this creates a total edge length of about 6". Combine this with the convex edge, and this small blade has over 10" of combined cutting edge! The blade base has very large quillons to protect the hand from the edges, giving more stiffness and control with a rounded, contoured surface that is not abrasive to the hand.
• Blade Finish: The blade is finished in my flat, dark "Shadow" line of counterterrorism, rescue, and tactical knife finishes. Answering the request for completely subdued and non-reflective surfaces, I developed the Shadow Line with my Ghost Slate finish. This means darkening in a permanent fashion the stainless steel of the knife, to color-compliment the sheaths. Read more about my Shadow Line and Ghost Slate finish on my Counterterrorism Knives page at this bookmark.
• Bolsters: I bolstered the knife in my zero-care 304 austenitic stainless steel standard, for the most reliable, tough, and durable material. This is the same steel that stainless and marine-grade fasteners are made of; it's completely care-free. The bolsters are dovetailed to support the handle material and offer a thicker grip for the hand. They are attached with multiple zero-clearance peened pins for permanence.
• Handle: The handle I chose for this knife is tortoiseshell-pattern black and red G10 fiberglass/epoxy composite. It's doublet-mounted with black and gray Micarta® phenolic for contrast along the knife tang. These are very tough materials, and should last indefinitely with little care. The finish is media-blasted for grip improvement, and the handle scales are secured with four stainless steel pins. The handle scales and bolsters are contoured together for comfort and grip security. The spine of the knife is at full thickness in the handle, which has been internally milled for weight reduction, and is fully fileworked with a bold pattern for handmade distinction. The handle has a "talon," a feature proven to be useful in my other tactical, combat, and counterterrorism knives, for breaching, glass breaking, and defense in hammer grip style.
• Balance and Feel: For a knife of this design, balance is hard to define, but the weight balance is right at the "bridge" where the fingers are closest in standard grip style. But what is standard in such an unusual design? With the forefinger at the convex edge side, the talon on the knife handle is at the butt of the hand, making for a good hammer-fist grip that is solid and secure; the thumb lays atop the opposite bolster which offers good width to apply pressure and stability. This seems logical for a punching motion. In reverse grip, the thumb lays atop the talon and the bridge of the handle-to-blade junction is between the long finger and the ring finger, more central in the hand. In this grip a sweeping, scooping motion employs the radical inside curve of the cutting edge. Since there will be many more grip styles in this unusual blade, the owner will surely have his favorites.
• This is an advanced blade with applications of a defensive weapon in close quarters combat, or a tool that could not easily be defeated or guarded against, since it's basically all edges and an invasive point. It's also great for harvesting rice and grain, which is the original purpose of the karambit blade, historically.

Included:

The Sheaths

The Post Lock Leather Sheath

• Weight: 7.0 oz. (198 grams)
• Materials: 9-10 oz. Leather Shoulder, Nylon high strength thread, stainless steel Chicago screws, stainless steel dot snaps
• Description: I've created an advanced leather sheath for this knife, based on client feedback and necessity of safety and strength for daily carry. My clients may typically wear a leather sheath for daily carry, so I wanted to create a leather sheath that was as close to indestructible as leather can be. I started with the thickness; this is thick shoulder, about 0.2" (5 mm) thick, as heavy as leather armor, and the heaviest leather straps for rigging, and twice as thick as the leather on a saddle. I hand-stamped/tooled the sheath in a tri-weave  basketweave design, and dyed it black. The first thing you'll notice about the sheath is the front, covering the knife blade but displaying the handle almost completely. The high back protects the wearer from the persuader point. On the sheath front are two "D" shaped tab stitched points; these are the locations of the two D-shaped "post" retention points that engage specific locations on the knife handle. These posts have stainless steel (corrosion-proof and very strong) dot snaps that snap to the inside sheath back. When the knife is in the sheath, these dot snaps are engaged, making two audible and tactile "snaps" that assure the wearer that the knife is secured. When snapped, it's impossible for the knife to be removed, to fall, to vibrate out, or to even be forced from the sheath. This makes this design a positively-locking leather sheath that can't be forced, even in the most violent and active situations. When the wearer wants to remove the knife, he pushes his fingertips into the handle, unsnapping and folding the front face of the sheath outward, unsnapping the posts, moving them out of engagement points on the knife handle. Because the front of the sheath folds, it's made of extra-thick leather and it's reinforced at that critical point with two 304 stainless steel Chicago screws, which go completely through the sheath front, welts, and sheath back. This way, no stress is on the stitching at this point. What about the stitching? The belt loop I secured with heavy stitching of nylon, for great strength and durability. The belt loop will accommodate a 2.5" (6.3 cm) wide belt in a more typical vertical arrangement. On the welts, back, and front, I stitched the sheath with double-row stitches, for extreme strength, stiffening, and durability. The sheath is rounded, contoured, smoothed, and sealed with lacquer for longevity.
• Casual and PSD wear: Clearly, most of my tactical and combat gear cannot be mistaken for utility wear. Heavy, solid kydex sheaths can be bulky and weighty to wear in the casual sense, nor are they meant to be. The Chela sheath is different. Because it's hand-tooled leather, more common daily and casual wear is possible, traditionally on the belt. This makes the knife a good choice for PSD (Principal Security Detail, or Security Detail) work.
• Simply put: This is the most secure, durable, and well-constructed leather sheath possible.

Get more details about this post-locking leather sheath at this link

The Standard Sheath 

• Weight: 7.5 oz. (213 grams)
• Materials: 9-10 oz. Leather Shoulder, Stainless Steel Fasteners, Nylon Thread
• Description: I wanted to include a more traditional sheath, with an easier unsheathing ability, so I made one in heavy leather shoulder, as the above sheath, with a basketweave tooling pattern. I dyed it in oxblood red to compliment the G10 handle, and stitched it with heavy nylon thread. Note that this sheath is a semi-horizontal sheath, so the knife is held in a somewhat horizontal position (as much as can be described, since the knife has such a curved and radically-shaped blade. The triple-row stitching in the belt loop will accommodate a 1.5" (3.8 cm) wide belt. This is an unusual sheath, and care must be taken in using it, since it has NO retention method. If worn with the knife point facing down, the knife can easily "roll" out of the sheath, but with the knife point up, the knife has to be "lifted" out of the sheath. It will make more sense when the owner uses it. This sheath then allows the fastest unsheathing possible, simply "rolling" the knife out of the slip.
  In any case, I thought it would be important to have both sheaths for a variety of wear options for this unusual blade. The sheath is rounded, contoured, smoothed, and sealed with lacquer for longevity.
• Simply put: This is a horizontal sheath with a fast, smooth, and easy unsheathing, with a traditional fit and no retention hassle.

Included:

Storage

• Envelope Bag: 1000 denier Cordura® ballistic black nylon, waterproof polyurethane coated, inside layered in heavy polyester felt. Stainless steel dot snaps, embroidered patch, removable embroidered name patch with hook and loop

Get the details about the bag at this link

Purchase:

Status: Available. Contact me at jayfisher@jayfisher.com to purchase this professional knife kit

Price: $2,895.00