Andromeda
"Andromeda" Fine Handmade Knife
- Size: Length overall: 9.2" (23.4 cm), Blade Length: 4.9" (12.5 cm), Thickness: .120" (3.1 mm)
- Weight: Knife: 6.6 oz. (187 grams) Sheath: 5.0 oz. (142 grams)
- Blade: CPM154CM High Chromium, Molybdenum Powder Metal Martensitic Stainless Steel, Deep Cryogenic T3 Process, Triple Tempered to Rockwell HRC 59.5, Mirror Polished
- Bolsters, Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, Mirror polished
- Handle: Purple Turkish Jade gemstone (Turkey)
- Sheath: Hand-carved, hand-dyed Leather Shoulder
- Knife: My Andromeda design is a definite
crossover. The knife pattern is one that is comfortable for utility
and cooking, for chefs and hunters, or for collection or investment.
This is not a simple knife to classify, as the design has so many
uses and applications. It would be welcome in the hands of a chef,
or happy to work with fine trimming and caping of game, or at home in a collection. It's named
for the Andromeda galaxy, our nearest galaxy to the milky way.
- The steel I chose for his knife is
Food Contact Safe CPM154CM, a powder metal technology tool steel, a high
technology steel known for extremely even distribution of
alloy elements and a uniform microstructure. It's a high
molybdenum stainless steel, and the molybdenum aids in
forming nucleation sites for complex carbide development.
The moly also increases the toughness dramatically,
resulting in a blade that's extremely durable. This allows
me to temper the steel at a higher overall hardness, for
great wear resistance as well. The high chromium and high
carbon results in profuse chromium carbides, increasing
corrosion resistance as well as wear resistance. To bring
this steel to its zenith, 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 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, CPM154CM at its very finest
advanced condition. The grind is wide and uniform, with
well-curved grind terminations and a bright, beautiful
mirror polish. The blade is smooth and uniform for easy
cleaning, the tang
is fully tapered for balance, and the single bevel cutting
edge is razor-keen. The tip is thin yet stout, at about
.017" thickness behind the relief. You can only do this with
an advanced powder metal technology steel.
- 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 front bolsters are sealed and rounded at the faces, the rear bolsters
are wide and support the rear quillon that locks the handle
into the hand.
- The handle scales are Purple Turkish
Jade, a great find and a tough, beautiful gemstone. It comes
from one place in the world, the Bursa region of Turkey,
where it has only been largely available since the 1980s.
It's not a solid through-and-through jade, containing other
minerals and about 60% jadite. These other minerals are quartz, orthoclase, epidote, chloritoid, and phlogopite. The
lavender-purple
color is a rare find, and the color varies with bands,
streams, and dots within the stone with bits of orang-tans
and darker and lighter areas of lavender. This stone takes a
satiny finish, and is absolutely durable and extremely
tough, a unique, eternal gem.
- The knife feels light and smooth in the
hand, the design is ready to work in the kitchen or field,
the blade is very stiff and strong while being thin and
razor-keen. This knife is
Food Contact
Safe.
- Sheath: To make a sheath to match the gemstone
was a challenge; there aren't many purple or lavender colors
available, so I had to make my own. I hand-carved a unique design in
the sheath front, back, and belt loop, and hand-tooled and hand-dyed
the background. Through successive layering, I developed a deep
purple shade in the background with the foreground complimenting the
gemstone without being overbearing. I sealed it with a triple-coat
of lacquer for longevity and resistance to the elements, and it's
stitched with black polyester for durability. I'm very happy with
the result; the sheath is deep, protective and complimentary.
- A striking and elegant knife and sheath in premium materials and treatment!
Thanks, R. N.!
This knife is just exactly the size of my all time favorite knife. It's about 100 times better, but it is perfect.
Thank you so very much for selling me these knives. I am somewhat at a loss for words to describe these. Perfection made real, in my hand. Wow.
I used the purple jade Andromeda to chop some bell peppers, apples, an onion that hadn't yet escaped or gone
iffy, some meat products I have, mostly for my dog, but she lets me have some of them if I'm good. Didn't have any
celery or potatoes to try. Potatoes seem to have a grudge against me, for something I did wrong, or maybe they just
don't like my looks. Found some carrots, they went zipity-lick and done.
The Andromeda size and shape is a better version of my 'standard' knife. I usually do the majority of cutting with knives
with the same basic length and grip size. I spent several years using knives of various lengths and shapes, and at the end
of it I was pretty settled on the 5" blade general use length, and not especially worried about the heel length. The
Andromeda heel is just about right.
Cheers,
R. N.
Please click on thumbnail knife photos