Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

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"Ari B'Lilah" counterterrorism, tactical, combat knife, obverse side view in T4 cryogenically treated 440C high chromium martensitic stainless steel blade, 304 stainless steel bolsters, red/black  G10 handle, hybrid tension tab locking sheath in kydex, anodized aluminum, anodized titanium, black oxide stainless steel
"Ari B'Lilah"

For Sale

"Drepan" Karambit Knife

"Drepan" tactical karambit knife, obverse side view in T4 cryogenically treated 440C high chromium martensitic stainless steel blade, 304 stainles steel bolsters, orange/black G10 fiberglass epoxy composite laminate, sheath in leather shoulder, hand-tooled, nylon stitching, stainless steel reinforcement
"Drepan" tactical karambit knife with heavy 9-10 oz. leather sheath and 1000 denier felt-lined Cordura ballistic nylon bag with embroidery, removable patch, hook and loop with stainless steel dot snaps
NOTICE!
I've made a new layout for the tactical knife descriptions, seen on this page. I've separated the components, briefly describing them in individual boxes. In those boxes are links to dedicated pages describing everything about the part, component, or accessory. The pages are substantial, and offer the history, operation, materials, use, mounting, and care of each accessory.
"Drepan" Tactical, Defense, Karambit (Shadow Line)
With Heavy Leather Tension Sheath

 

A truly unique design, combining the sure grip of a finger ring push-punch dagger and a blade of a double-edged karambit and a durable sheath with storage

Purchase:

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

Price: $2,895.00

More photos of this custom Drepan below!

Included:

The Knife

  • Size: Greatest length overall max: 8.7" (22.1 cm), Greatest length at handle: 5.0" (12.7 cm), Blade Length at outside (convex) cutting edge: 5.25" (13.3 cm), Blade Length at inside (concave) cutting edge: 6" (15.24 cm), Thickness: 0.275" (7.0 mm)
  • Weight: 12.9 oz. (366 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 finger ring, push-punch dagger handle come together for a serious defensive and tactical knife, with keen cutting potential and serious presence. The knife is named "Drepan" which is the Old English word meaning to strike down or to kill. The karambit blade design 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 Drepan 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 cutting 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 a very large quillon to protect the hand from the edge, 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 orange and black patterned G10 fiberglass/epoxy laminate composite. This is extremely tough material, and should last indefinitely with little care. The finish is media-blasted for grip improvement, and the handle scales are secured with two 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 sunrise 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. One of the most unusual aspects of this knife is the oval finger ring incorporated into the design.
  • 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 between the finger ring and the middle finger position. But what is standard in such an unusual design? With the forefinger (index finger) through the ring, 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 the outside of the finger ring 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 little finger is in the ring, and the handle is swallowed or nested deeply in the palm. 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.
More photos of this custom Drepan below!

Included:

The Sheath

The Standard Sheath
  • Weight: 6.3 oz. (179 grams)
  • Materials: 9-10 oz. Leather Shoulder, Stainless Steel Fasteners, Nylon Thread
  • Description: A traditional sheath with an easy unsheathing ability, I made this one in heavy leather shoulder, with a tri-weave basketweave tooling pattern. I dyed it in traditional black and stitched it with heavy nylon thread. Note that this sheath accommodates only a narrow belt, approximately 1", so the knife can be oriented in a mostly vertical position (as much as can be described, since the knife has such a curved and radically-shaped blade. Again, the triple-row stitching in the belt loop will accommodate a 1" (2.5 cm) wide belt. This is an unusual sheath, and care must be taken in using it, since it has NO retention method. Due to the curvature of the blade, the knife must be "rolled" 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 up out of the slip. The sheath is rounded, contoured, smoothed, and sealed with lacquer for longevity, double row stitched at the welts and reinforced at the critical mouth points with stainless steel fasteners.
  • Simply put: This is a vertical sheath with a fast, smooth, and easy unsheathing, with a traditional fit and no retention hassle.
More photos of this custom Drepan below!

Included:

Storage

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



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