Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

"Steak Knives" Fine Handmade Custom Knife Pair

• Size:
  • Case: 9.5" (24.1 cm) x 5.5" (14 cm) x 1" (2.5 cm)
  • Trailing Point Knife: Length overall: 8" (20.3 cm), Blade Length: 3.9" (10 cm), Thickness: .116" (3 mm)
  • Drop Point Knife: Length overall: 8.13" (20.6 mm), Blade Length: 3.9" (10 cm), Thickness: .116" (3 mm)
• Weight:
  • Case with Knives: 30 oz. (850 grams)
  • Trailing Point Knife: 4.8 oz. (136 grams)
  • Drop Point Knife: 5.1 oz. (145 grams)
• Blades: 440C High Chromium Martensitic Stainless Steel, Hardened and Tempered with T3 Cryogenic Process to Rockwell HRC 57 (trailing point) and 57.5 (drop point), Mirror Polished
• Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, Mirror polished
• Handle: Fossil Coral Agate Gemstone (Indonesia)
• Book Case Sheath: Engraved Leather Shoulder, Bison (American Buffalo) Skin
• Knives: The pair of knives are complimentary, two versions of what, historically, were called "table knives," but in our modern language and culture, they are called "steak knives." In the past, smaller, sharp knives were a necessary utensil at any table, and every diner would bring their own sharp knife and little else. They would consume the entire meal with their knife and their bare hands, and it was called a "table" knife. 400 years ago, Cardinal Richelieu, a French clergyman, became annoyed with diners then using their pointed blades to pick their teeth. In order to stop this habit, he ordered that knives used at the table be rounded at the point, thus the birth of the "butter knife."  About the same time, King Louis XIV ordered that all pointed knives be illegal, no doubt fearing for his own safety. Knives at meals remained this way for centuries.
  Then, after WWII, a machinist in Maryland (Paul Culver) was asked to make a set of six "steak knives" as a gift for a businessman. He made these from modified letter openers and the steak knife was born. While early steak knives were made of softer, duller steels, and often have serrated edges (because they were not made of advanced high alloy tool steels), a modern steak knife can be an elegant, useful, and sophisticated way to accomplish the task of cutting food while dining.
  This set was made together, yet features knives that are distinctly different. One knife is a "trailing point" blade shape, where the point of the knife trails higher than the spine. This makes for a more angular, finer point for accurate and tight cutting. The other knife has a "drop" or "dropped" point, where the point of the knife drops lower than the spine. This makes for a tougher, stronger blade point for heavier pressure. The handles are also differently shaped: the trailing point has a forefinger groove that encourages fine control, and the dropped point has a forefinger quillon and handle belly that assures a stable grip. Each knife has a distinctive, lightweight, yet solid feel; they are surprisingly different and unique in use.
  • The steel I chose for these knives 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 my proprietary T3 deep cryogenic process in heat treating this blade; it's a highly detailed, extremely sophisticated process that takes 33 individual steps and takes over a week. The result of this is an incredibly wear-resistant blade that has extremely high carbide development, fine grain, and 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 at its very finest advanced condition. Additionally, 440C is one of the absolute best knife steels for cutlery use, particularly with my T3 treatment, and meets all Food Contact Safety requirements. The blades are smoothed and even, with no filework for easy cleaning and hygienic use.
  • I bolstered the knives 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 rounding and finished shape of the bolsters and faces make the knives comfortable to grip and easy to clean. Of course, polished 304 stainless steel is entirely food safe, very tough, corrosion free, and requires no care apart from washing.
  • The handle scales are very special on these knives. Both are Fossil Coral Agate gemstone from Indonesia. This is an extremely hard agate, one of the hardest rocks I've worked with. It's incredibly durable, solid and dense, and the gemstone will completely outlast the knife and every owner, lasting perhaps another several million years! Some fossil corals are soft, with calcite bases, but this is not one of them. This is actually mined in the mountains of Indonesia. Indonesia is in the "Ring of Fire," an active volcanic area at the border of tectonic plates of the earth's crust. Ancient coral reefs from the Miocene (20 million years ago) were uplifted, buried, and exposed to infiltration of minerals, resulting in replacement of the original coral with silicon, iron, manganese, and other minerals. This happened while preserving the delicate and beautiful coral pattern. The result is an extremely hard cryptocrystalline quartz (silicon dioxide or agate) that takes a beautiful, hard, and permanent polish. Please examine the macro photos and enlargements below to see the character of this stone.
  • The knives feel extremely comfortable in the hand, with solid handles and lightweight blades. Using them will seem more like a scalpel than a blocky, springy, serrated common steak knife, and they are smooth and clean.
• Case: I wanted a special case, instead of simple individual sheaths, since these are truly a complimentary pair. I arranged a layered, stacked set of panels of heavy leather 9-10 oz. thick shoulder, and cut pockets for the knives and stitched the stack into a solid "block" of leather. I cut and shaped finger cutouts in the pockets to allow easy removal of the knives from the case. The case needed a durable and beautiful cover, so I selected American Buffalo (Bison) skin, an extremely robust and thick leather. The cover is secured with stainless steel dot snaps that will last indefinitely and never corrode. Inside the cover, I've engraved the entire chapter of Romans 13, from the New American Standard Bible (1995). The edges of the book are smoothed and sealed, the entire case is stitched with heavy nylon thread, dyed with a medium brown dye to match the Bison skin, and protected with a durable and warm wax finish.
• A beautiful pair of knives, inspired by the Bible and the Maker himself!

Thanks, S. H.!