Description
White mother-of-pearl scales, a copper bolster that will not stay pink, and three and a half inches of raindrop-patterned drop point folding between them.
| Blade length | 3.5 inches |
| Handle length | 4 inches |
| Steel | 1095 + 15N20 Damascus |
| Hardness | 58–60 HRC, oil tempered |
| Handle | Sea Shell Copper Bolster |
| Included | Hand-stitched leather sheath |
Carried by: people who want a gentleman’s folder rather than a tool. It opens on a thumb stud, sits flat in a jacket pocket, and looks like something you were given rather than something you bought at a counter.
Care: the copper is the part that will surprise you. It arrives pink and it goes brown within a couple of months of pocket carry, faster if your hands run acidic. A jeweler’s cloth brings it back to bright in under a minute if that matters to you, and doing nothing is an equally valid choice. The pearl needs a damp cloth and nothing else — no solvent, no ultrasonic cleaner. Dry the blade before it folds away, so nothing is trapped between blade and liner, and leave the sheath empty when the knife is not being carried.
Pearl is beautiful and it is brittle
Mother-of-pearl is cut from shell, ground thin, and bedded onto the liner rather than used as a thick scale, because thick pearl cracks. It is the hardest material we work with to shape and the easiest to ruin: too much pressure on the belt sander and the piece is gone. The fit at the bolster line is where you can judge whether it was done well. Ours sits flush, which is the only outcome we accept off the bench.
What a copper bolster contributes
Copper is soft. On a knife that means it absorbs a knock rather than transmitting it to the pearl behind it, which is a real advantage on a handle material this delicate. It also patinas faster and more warmly than brass, so the knife will look older than it is within a season. That is either the appeal or the problem, depending on the owner.
Three and a half inches is more folder than most people carry
Open, this is a substantial knife in the hand, and closed it has real presence in a pocket. There is a lanyard hole through the butt and no pocket clip on this pattern, so it carries loose or on a cord. Check your local blade length rule before you carry it daily. For the same shell-and-metal idea on a rosewood frame, see the Royal Pearl folder.
Questions we get about this folder
Will the copper mark my pocket? Only if it is stored damp against fabric for long stretches. Wipe it dry and it will not.
Does it have a pocket clip? No. There is a lanyard hole through the butt instead. Our guide to storing knives covers keeping a folder like this between carries.
How is the blade pattern made? Two steels are forge-welded, drawn out, folded and welded again, then etched so the layers separate visually. Our guide on how Damascus is forged walks through it.
Model: BMK-891
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