Knife: Grus is the Latin word for Crane,
and this pattern is named for the constellation
of the Crane in the southern sky. This is a high quality, tough, and
durable drop point design of knife, with a stout and sharp hollow
ground blade and a sensible and comfortable three-finger handle that
feels like it belongs in the hand. I made the blade in 440C high
chromium martensitic tool steel, which is hard, extremely tough and
wear resistant, and extremely corrosion resistant: the most
corrosion resistant of all the stainless blade steels. The blade is
deeply hollow ground with crisp, clean, and very well matched
grinds, sweeping grind terminations for great strength, and a good
deal of spine to support the nice curved belly of the blade. The knife has
a clean choil to terminate the single bevel cutting edge, which is
razor-keen and easy to maintain due to the thin blade edge and
hollow grind. The drop point is easy to sheathe, with a geometry that
does not protrude, snag, or hang on the sheath welts or sides; this
is a great advantage in a drop point style. The thick and strong
spine is fully fileworked completely around the tang with a punchy
vine variant pattern, and the butt of the tang has a milled
lanyard slot outside the polished rear bolster for security. The
bolsters are high nickel, high chromium 304 austenitic stainless
steel for zero-care, and I designed some unique artwork for the
hand-engraved bolster faces. The pattern is reminiscent of tusks,
bone-needles, or spider fangs, a deeply engraved and shaded overlaying
pattern that I enjoyed cutting into this bolster set. The bolsters
are dovetailed and bed a pair of striking and rare handle scales.
The material is Spiderweb Jasper, an unusual find: a hard
cryptocrystalline quartz that takes and holds a high polish with
beautiful visual contrast.
I've seen a lot of jasper called spiderweb, but most of it is
Rhyolite, a volcanic rock, and not a true jasper. This is a true jasper,
extremely hard and durable, with red threads webbed through all of
the black matrix, with some dots and inclusions of other colors, like the red
web of a spider or the thready filaments of a starry nebula. It is
very difficult to find enough of this gem for a knife handle; most
pieces of rough are very small. I even book-matched the handle
scales. This means this is a rare knife,
with uncommon handle material that I'm unlikely to see again. The
handle is contoured, smoothed, and very comfortable nestled in the
first three fingers of the hand. The knife feels very stout for its
modest size.
Sheath: The sheath for this Grus is clean and
simple, in hand-carved and polished finished 9-10 oz. leather
shoulder. The design reflects some of the curves of the knife, a
drip and fang influence, and the thick, strong leather is dyed dark
brown, lacquered and sealed. It's hand-stitched with black nylon
with a belt loop that will accommodate a 1.5 to 1.75 inch belt. The
sheath is deep and protective, with enough of the handle exposed for
an easy unsheathing.
A stout, tough knife, with a unique and rare character, suitable for collection, investment, or use .
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