For Sale
"Drepan" Karambit Knife
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
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.
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.
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
Purchase:
Status: Available. Contact me at
jayfisher@jayfisher.com to purchase this
professional knife kit
Price: $2,895.00