Jay Fisher - Fine Custom Knives

"Daqar" Fine Handmade Custom Dagger

• Size: Knife: Length overall: 13.25" (33.6 cm), Blade Length: 7.6" (19.3 cm), Thickness: 0.262" (6.7 mm)
• Weight: Knife: 16.8 oz. (476 grams), Sheath: 6.6 oz. (187 grams)
• Blade: CPM154CM High Molybdenum Powder Metal Technology Martensitic Stainless Steel, T4 Deep Cryogenically Treated, Hardened and Tempered to Rockwell HRC60, Mirror Polished, Hand-Engraved
• Fittings: 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel, Mirror Polished, Hand-Engraved
• Handle: Nephrite Jade Gemstone (Wyoming)
• Sheath: Hand-carved Leather Shoulder inlaid with American Bison Skin
• Custom: This is a great custom knife, made for a special client. He wanted my take on my Daqar design, in his own unique style with full engraving and a dark and rich jade handle. The actual form of this style dagger originates in the bronze age, as early as the Early Dynastic period (2900 B.C.). Daggers are very, very old. Daggers were made 50,000 years ago in the Stone Age, with full, double-edged blades and solid handles, a wonderful form. It was an honor to make this Daqar with full, detailed hand-engraved embellishment.
• Knife: Daqar is the Greek-Hebrew word that means "to pierce through." Daqar is used 11 times in the Bible; it's a very old word and appropriate to the form. My client and I wanted an incredibly clean, sleek, and strong form, focused on the elegance and function of the history of the dagger, in the most advanced form, materials, and treatment with fine detailed embellishment.
  • Blade: The steel for this project is CPM154CM high alloy, hypereutectoid stainless tool steel. This is a powder metal technology tool steel, with very high carbon, chromium, and molybdenum content. When properly treated, this steel forms an extremely tough blade, resistant to fracture, while being extremely wear resistant and highly corrosion resistant. This is due to iron carbides, chromium carbides, and molybdenum carbides that are formed and improved when the steel is deeply cryogenically processed. I heat treated this blade with an incredible and detailed process, with quenching to -325°F and a 63 hour cryogenic soak for full martensitic transformation and carbide development. With quadruple tempering and deep cryogenic cycling between tempers, the entire process to heat treat the steel took 15 steps and 112 hours. This sophisticated process is what is necessary to bring out the very best of this steel's properties. These properties could not be superior without an excellent geometry. I hollow ground the blade with a 3" radius wheel so the edge would be extremely thin and sharp while retaining the thick, strong, and supportive spine of the blade The ricasso is thick and solid, supporting forces applied through the guard and handle. The ricasso and flat of the blade I hand-engraved with an elegant floral pattern. All engraving of the blade must take place before heat treating, because after treatment, the blade is so hard that it can't be cut. So the engraving is a testament to my treatment, as less than one-thousandth of an inch of the surface can be removed after treatment to bring the blade to mirror polish without destroying the fine engraving. The geometry brings the blade to a needle-like point, yet with great strength and toughness. I mirror-polished the rest of the blade completely for the highest corrosion resistance, durability, and beauty.
  • Fittings: I wanted an original and unique guard and pommel pattern for the handle of this Daqar. These fittings I milled and ground from thick, strong 304 high chromium, high nickel austenitic stainless steel, for zero care ever; it's the same stainless steel used on stainless nuts, bolts, and fasteners. Being very tough, it takes a beautiful polish, and I designed a guard with some full, bold faces for the engraving field. I fully engraved these, matching the blade engraving, and the guard is fitted, pressed, and soldered and sealed in place for permanence. The pommel is a small pommel, with nice complimentary engraving, and the shape of the pommel and handle is similar to the bayonet style, called a "plug" bayonet, historically used to plug into the barrel of the rifle in hand-to-hand close quarters combat. The style is light and forms well into the hand, without excess weight in the pommel that could leave the knife out of balance, or dig into the palm. The hidden tang consists of a fully welded and post-weld-treated stainless steel 5/16" threaded shaft, to which the pommel is threaded fully upon, tightly secured and sealed with jeweler's quality epoxide thermosets.
  • Handle: My client requested a dark and bold piece of Nephrite Jade gemstone from Wyoming. This is a beautiful and extremely tough gemstone, and will clearly outlast the blade, and everyone who will ever touch it! Why do I say this? There is nothing that can scratch or cut this wonderful gem but diamond, cermet, or silicon carbide abrasives, and nephrite is simply the toughest (most resistant to breakage) gemstone I ever use. This is incredibly durable, and strikingly beautiful. The jade has dark and rich green color and just a few hints of some lighter areas for visual interest. It's blended seamlessly to the stainless steel guard and pommel, supported by the large threaded tang running down through the center. As you can imagine, drilling this chunk of solid jade was, well... time consuming and difficult, using all diamond tools.
  • Feel: This dagger feels imposing and smooth, light and substantial at the same time. The gentle curve of the handle is wonderful in the hand; it's hard to put it down. The wide, thick and supportive guard protects the hand in a traditional style, and the pommel is gentle and unnoticed in the palm. Weighing at one pound, this solid knife has a perfect balance at the location of the forefinger, just in front of the seam between the jade and the guard. The thickness of the blade at the ricasso reveals the great strength of the blade.
• Sheath: My client hinted that it would be nice to reflect a complimentary design of another knife that I made in his collection, so I listened, and made this beautiful sheath in heavy 9-10 oz. leather shoulder, carefully inlaid with American Bison skin. The sheath is tough and thick, yet displays the engraving in the fittings and the handle while protecting the cutting edges. The inlays are full panels in the front and back and also in the belt loop. I stitched the sheath with heavy nylon brown thread, dyed the leather a medium brown, and sealed it with saddle lacquer for durability and longevity.
• It was a great honor to make this knife, with full embellishment and elegant design. So many knives I'd like to keep, this is at the top of the list, and I'm so happy my client can enjoy it in his collection!

Thanks, J. N.!