Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives
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"Vindicator" with Lapis Lazuli Gemstone handle
Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives |
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New to the website? Start Here |
"Vindicator" with Lapis Lazuli Gemstone handle |
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Beyond simple tools: fine instruments and professional works of art.
A proven chef's knife design is one that could help the chef accomplish a multitude of tasks, one that is solid, comfortable to hold, and extremely durable. Beyond being a tool, the very best chef's knives in the world are strikingly, beautifully unique. They are pieces of functional art in the kitchen space, the center of attention and admiration. This is Sirona.
My Sirona design is a proven model; it's even used by professional restaurant chefs. The reason for its popularity is first and foremost functional. The blade is substantial, large enough for nearly every cutting task, with just enough curvature of the blade for excellent work on the board. This Sirona has a very stiff, very stout character, it's hollow ground but with enough thick spine to be incredibly tough and strong. It will not bend or flex, ever, yet the cutting edge is tremendously thin and sharp.
This is not a knife for the timid; it's a substantial piece of steel in the hand. It feels large, solid, and incredibly strong. For the chef that appreciates durability with mass, a solid character with an incredibly robust and true cutting edge: this is the pinnacle of the tool form. True to function, the blade design has a large heel, protecting the hand from the blade edge. For use on the board, I've incorporated an extended front bolster so a comfortable pinch grip on the spine can be employed with security. The curved face of the front bolster is clean and smooth, and the bolsters are sealed with Food Contact Safe sealant to meet all FCS standards and requirements. Read more on Food Contact Safety here.
The tool steel I chose for this Sirona is an advanced powder metal technology tool steel, CPM154CM. The process to make this steel results in 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 incredibly durable. This allows me to temper the steel at a higher overall hardness, for great wear resistance as well, and I set the temper at 63C Rockwell. 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 deep and even, with well-curved grind terminations and a bright, beautiful mirror polish.
This Sirona has full, geometric filework for the chef that appreciates the additional traction that wouldn't be available on a smooth blade. The filework cuts are large and easy to brush-clean, and add distinctive handmade style along with increased security of grip. This is particularly helpful when using a pinch-grip and applying pressure to the blade along the spine. The wide area of the thumb rest (or thumb ramp) also aids in employing force to the blade for heavy cutting jobs. The bolsters are dovetailed and bed the solid, lustrous handle scales along the fully tapered tang.
The entire knife handle area is rounded, smoothed, contoured, and polished inside and out. The bolsters are secured to the tapered tang with zero-clearance pins, the same solid arrangement that I use to build the most durable counterterrorism knives made in the world. The fit is solid and flawless.
The bolsters are made of 304 stainless steel, the same high chromium, high nickel stainless steel used in stainless nuts, bolts, and fasteners, and the same Food Contact Safe stainless steel used in all approved restaurant-grade counters, equipment, and facilities. This is a steel that will not rust, corrode, or darken, ever, and it's incredibly durable and long lasting. The bolsters are polished and smooth, and sculpted to fit the application of pressure by the hand, giving a wide, secure bearing surface. They reinforce the critical areas of the blade without interfering with the deep hollow grind.
It's hard to describe how incredibly comfortable this handle is. The narrow neck at the front bolster gives solid control, the weighty rear bolster and curvature balances the strong blade. This is a knife that is hard to put down, and feels like it is molded to the hand. This is why it's been popular with restaurant chefs.
The handle scales are a very special material, one that is everlasting. This is Geodic Agate, from my home state of New Mexico. Agates are cryptocrystalline quartz, extremely hard and incredibly durable. This is a particularly beautiful agate, with clear areas that let light penetrate, cloudy beige orbs and figures, like a distant galaxy in an inky black sky.
In this 3.2 power enlargement, we can wonder at what happened in the many millions of years to create this beautiful gemstone. A pocket, a bubble likely from a volcanic event, was slowly filled by microscopic particles of quartz carried in by infiltrating water, and coalescing into small chambers filled within the geode. This took many millions of years. These chambers became the orbs you see in the gemstone, completely solid.
This is a very hard agate, over 7 on the MOHS scale, and will absolutely outlast the knife in every way. Think of the oldest remains of man's work, early stone knives, and you'll realize that this gemstone will still look like it does today 100,000 years from now. I've polished it to a smooth, vitreous polish to reveal the intensity and detail within.
The very best chef's knives aren't just a blade and handle; they are the complete display and stand. If you're familiar with my work, you know my tenacious determination that a knife is simply incomplete without a commensurate stand, sheath, or case.
This Sirona deserved a fitted, dedicated, sculpted stand that echoed the curves, materials, and form of the knife, while encouraging the function. No one else in the world makes complete functional knife sculptures like you see here; this is my absolute passion and I'm privileged to do so. This is entirely because of my patrons and clients; it is through their eyes I do my very best, and I'm honored.
The knife rests in a hand-sculpted, hand-finished carved wooden form made of hard maple. Hard Maple (or Rock Maple), Acer saccharum, is one of the hardest woods in our American hardwood forests, used to make bowling pins, bowling alley lanes, butcher blocks, and pool cue shafts. I wanted a very specific look for the piece, so I painstakingly ebonized the maple with successive dies, oils, waxes, and sealants in a classic antiquing process, to give a black, smooth, waxy satin finish to the piece.
At the handle end of the ebonized hard maple stand is another beautiful agate cabochon, set in another 304 stainless steel bezel. 304 will not tarnish, discolor, or change, ever in the kitchen environment; it is a zero-care material. The agate was carefully selected for the pattern I wanted to display in the cabochons.
The curvilinear lines of the ebonized maple create an interesting form which is a sculpture in itself. The maple is solidly mounted to the base with stainless steel screws passing through the elegant Blanco Perla Granite originating in Valdemanco, in the Sierra de la Cabrera, north of Madrid, Spain. This is a Paleozoic granite, at least 250 million years old. The white plagioclase feldspar, beige orthoclase, and black biotite of the granite are reflected in the colors and tones of the agate gemstone handle and stand cabochons. The shape of the heavy, stable base is a slightly tapered rectangle, and I lightly domed and rounded the base edges, polishing the granite throughout. The granite base has neoprene feet so that the granite does not contact the counter, helping the piece stay dry while protecting any surface it sits on.
In earlier works, I signed my name to the granite bases, since they are independent sculptures and unique. In this knife, I decided I would identify the knife and materials with an inset legend plate that would last the life of the piece. I carved a depression into the base bottom, and inset an engraved and sealed black lacquered brass legend plate describing the materials used in the piece. This way, the information would always accompany the work, independent of the paperwork or documentation. I mounted 3/8" diameter neoprene feet that are inlaid in the granite base, keeping it stable and scratch-free, no matter the surface they occupy. This is a thick, heavy piece of solid granite, giving great stability and mass to the piece as well as timeless beauty. The neutral tone of the work overall will grace any kitchen or dining environment.
This is one of the finest knives ever made.
Thanks, R. N.!
OMG. This is maybe the best knife I have ever touched in my life. Balance seems great, and I really want to go find the chopping board and start getting familiar with it. It's stunningly gorgeous. The pictures you took are excellent, but they can't convey the unified sense impressions that come from holding it in the hand, feeling the weight, amazed by the perfect combination of handles and steel polished so bright and perfect it must be a dream.
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.
And later:
I did a little practice chopping with the Sirona. That is one very precise, authoritative knife. I never had a well balanced chef's knife before, and I can tell it will take some time to get back to the feel of chopping where the knife is not the focus of my attention, but is spent on the details of the cutting of whatever.
It looks fantastic on my counter. I have a green synthetic granite counter top, Silestone, and they go very well together. I am happy that I had the opportunity to buy such great knives from you.
And later:
Last night I moved the Sirona, on the base, to my office side table. I had study and paper work to do. Every few minutes or so, I took a look at the Sirona and base. You seem to have more artistic talent than the average bear. Beautiful and useful. Someday I'll maybe consider moving it back to the kitchen. I spend the larger part of my days in the office, and it is where nearly all of the artwork and sculptures I have acquired over the years live.
Cheers,
--R.
