If you were busy camping with Cub Scouts and doing yard work like me this past weekend, then you missed the 2012 BLADE show. One of the show highlights was this one-of-a-kind Gaston J. Glock hunting knife forged by German blacksmith Markus Balbach features Mosaic Damascus steel. And, by-one-of-a-kind, you know I mean expensive. To make the 4.14″ long, 0.16″ thick blade, the process required hand forging by traditional methods in an oven without the use of a press. The result of many different folded and forged steels are intricate and unusual images appearing in the blade. The blade was diagonally cut out of the welding package and has a hardness of 59° HRC.
The Ferrule and bolsters were also made from Mosaic Damascus. The handle is hand-carved ivory with Scrimshaw engravings of a ship on one side and an old Viking motif on the other. The light brown leather sheath was made from traditional saddle leather using only vegetable tanning materials and was hand stamped. The leather was retanned in drums over a period of 6 to 8 weeks. As an added elegant element, an inlay of sharkskin leather appears on both sides of the sheath.
The knife will set you back $8420, but go have a look over at some of the other blades on the Gaston J. Glock Style website. I won’t say they are much more affordable, but there are some truly inspired designs on display. See if you can find the knife forged using 320-layer Damascus steel from the armor of the German battleship Tirpitz.
