Description
Turquoise resin scales with black matrix veining, a twist Damascus blade, and a Damascus bolster to match.
| Overall length | 7.5 inches |
| Blade length | 3.5 inches |
| Handle length | 4 inches |
| Steel | 1095 + 15N20 Damascus |
| Hardness | 58–60 HRC, oil tempered |
| Handle | Turquoise Resin Handle | Damascus Bolster |
| Included | Hand-stitched leather sheath |
Where it earns a place: a pocket, and a shelf on the days it stays home. It opens one-handed off a brass thumb stud and gives you 3.5 inches of forged edge from a frame that rides flat.
Care: Dry the blade and the bolster both, since there is etched steel at each end of this knife. A light oil once a month covers it. Blow grit out of the pivot after a dusty day and keep it out of the pouch when it is not being carried.
FAQs
Is the turquoise real stone? It is a stabilized turquoise resin composite, which is what makes it durable enough for a handle. The black veining is matrix running through it.
Is the bolster Damascus? Yes. The bolster is forged from the same pattern-welded stock as the blade, so the figure runs continuously from the pivot into the blade.
How does it open? With one hand. A brass stud sits proud of the blade where your thumb naturally lands. There is a mosaic pin set into the scale and a lanyard hole at the butt.
Why stabilized resin
Raw turquoise is porous and it will crack under the pressure a handle pin puts on it. Setting it in resin under pressure fills the voids and makes it stable enough to drill, grind and polish without losing the color or the matrix lines. It also means the handle will not absorb water, oil or blood, which raw stone would. And it will not fade. The color runs through the material rather than sitting on the surface, so years of sunlight and handling leave it where it started.
Two pieces of forge work
Making the bolster from the same billet as the blade is a decision that costs time and material. The easy route is a plain steel bolster, which nobody would notice. Matching the figure across the pivot means forging enough stock for both parts and keeping the pattern aligned when the bolster is shaped. Our page on whether Damascus knives rust covers what that means for maintenance, since there is now twice as much etched steel to look after.
Storing a folder
The pouch that comes with it is tooled leather with a contrast stitch, and it is for carrying rather than storing. Leather sits tight against the blade and stays damp long after the steel would have dried, so between trips the knife belongs out of it. Our notes on how to store knives explain why. For the same stone in a smaller frame, see the Alpine Turquoise inlay folder.
Model: BMK-688
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