Golden Nacre Handmade Damascus Drop Point Ladies Folding Knife | Mother of Pearl Handle & Brass Hardware | Liner Lock EDC with White Leather Pouch | BMK-1220

Description

The Golden Nacre is the dress knife of the range. Genuine mother of pearl, brass fittings, a polished steel divider between the handle sections, and a forged Damascus blade whose etch runs in tight raindrop figuring from ricasso to tip. It is a gentleman’s folder in the old sense, sized for a jacket pocket and finished to be looked at.

Real shell

Mother of pearl is the inner lining of a shell, laid down by the animal in microscopic sheets of aragonite. Those sheets are what create the iridescence: light enters, bounces between the layers and comes back out separated into color. It cannot be faked convincingly and it cannot be dyed, so what you are looking at is the natural figure of the piece we cut. Working it is slow. The material is brittle, it must be sawn wet, and it will crack if a pin hole is drilled a hair oversize, which is why very few production knives use it and why the price of shell-handled knives sits where it does.

Brass, on purpose

The pivot, the body screws, the standoffs and the pocket clip are all solid brass. Brass is softer than stainless hardware, and it also darkens over years into a warm honey tone that suits the shell. It will not corrode, it machines cleanly, and it can be polished back to bright with a cloth whenever you want.

Blade and lock

Three inches of drop point in hand-forged Damascus, thin behind the edge and slightly hollow through the middle of the grind. The spine is rounded so it does not bite your thumb during a long cut. A thumb stud starts it, phosphor bronze washers carry it around the pivot, and a liner lock catches behind the tang at full extension. There is no assist mechanism; the action is yours.

People often ask whether patterned steel is worth the premium over a plain blade. Our honest answer, with the arguments on both sides, is in this piece on whether Damascus is worth the money, and if you are trying to work out what a fair price looks like, what a real Damascus knife should cost covers the market.

Size, weight and carry

Open it measures a shade over seven inches; closed it is just over four, which is small enough for a jacket pocket and slim enough not to bulge. The brass clip carries it tip-up. The knife has real heft for its size because shell and brass are both denser than the composites most folders use, and that weight is part of why it feels expensive in the hand rather than merely looking it.

Who it is for

This is a knife people buy to mark something: a retirement, an anniversary, the end of a long project. It is entirely capable of daily work, but most owners keep it for occasions and carry something plainer on a building site. We are comfortable with that. A dress knife earns its place by being the one you are pleased to take out of a pocket.

From our bench in Memphis

Forged, ground, heat treated, fitted, sharpened and pouched in Tennessee. The white leather slip case is stitched in the same building.

Looking after shell

Treat the handle like jewellery. Warm water and a soft cloth, nothing abrasive, no solvents, no ultrasonic cleaner, and keep it away from prolonged heat which can dry and craze the nacre. The blade is carbon-bearing Damascus, so dry it after any contact with moisture and give the flats a thin protective film before long storage. A drop of oil at the pivot keeps the action sweet. Its stainless-bladed sibling with blue hardware is the Moonstone Blue.

Model: BMK-1220