HB19 – Kolobe Flipper With Scrimshawed Antique Westinghouse Micarta (Ceramic IKBS) – M390

Product for HB19 – Kolobe Flipper with Scrimshawed Antique Westinghouse Micarta (Ceramic IKBS) – M390

Maker: Herucus Blomerus (click to see more by this maker)

Price: $1,300.00

Item num: 106811

*** This is handmade and one-of-a-kind ***
Blade length: 3.30 in.
Cutting edge length: 3.25 in.
Total length: 7.50 in.
Blade height (at heel): 0.98 in.
Blade thickness (near bolster): 0.14 in.
Blade thickness (at midpoint): 0.14 in.
Blade thickness (near tip): 0.04 in.
Item weight: 4.00 oz.
Shipment weight: 5.6 oz.
Blade: M390 stainless steel with a hand rubbed satin finish
Handle: Very rare antique Westinghouse Micarta with warthog scrimshaw
Sheath: Cordura pouch
Style: Linerlock flipper with ceramic IKBS bearing pivot

: This HB19 Flipper was made by South African knifemaker Herucus Blomerus. It is among my favorite folders by Blomerus to date. A resident of Pretoria, Herucus (pronounced ‘eh-roo-koos’) has been a proud member of the South African Knifemakers Guild since 2005. Ricus’ folders combine incredibly smooth action with a high level of fit and finish.
The HB19 Kolobe Flipper gets its name from warthog in the Sesotho language.
The blade is perfectly centered with silky smooth, drop shut action — easily opened with one hand using the ambidextrous flipper toggle. It uses the IKBS (Ikoma Korth Bearing System) pivot system. This mechanism, which was originally designed to fit balisong knives, uses ball bearings to create exceptional action with no blade play. This special folder was made with ceramic ball bearings. Generally IKBS bearings are made either from tool steel or from stainless steel. Stainless steel can wear away, resulting in uneven action over time. Tool steel bearings can oxidize making the action rough. Ceramic bearings are the best of all worlds. Extremely hard and wear resistant, they are also inert and will not oxidize.
The clip point blade is premium Bohler M390 stainless steel. It is expertly ground by hand and features an heirloom quality hand rubbed satin finish. M390 takes an incredibly sharp edge and holds on to it due to its high concentration of vanadium and chromium carbides. Its unique powder metallurgical process also promotes a uniform carbide distribution and clean steel properties, making M390 a popular steel used in surgical cutting instruments and in applications requiring a high finish. It offers excellent corrosion resistance due to its high concentration of chromium. The blade is hollow ground for an easy to maintain edge.
The scales are rare antique Westinghouse Micarta. This Micarta was developed in 1910 by Westinghouse Electric Corporation as an industrial thermo-set laminate for electrical insulation. This light toned Micarta was lost in a warehouse and only recently discovered. The top shows the beautiful yellowing with age that makes this Micarta so captivating. The scales were hand scrimshawed with a warthog theme by Carina Meyer. Carina is a BSC Zoology student and her passion for art and nature is clear in her work. The scrimshaw is tremendously lifelike. Titanium liners are fileworked and anodized blue. A hidden bottle opener folds out from the back of the backbar. It is virtually imperceptible unless you know to look for it. The external pivot and pivot collars are blackened zirconium. The matching zirconium pocket clip is mounted for right-side, tip-up carry.
Excellent work throughout!

Availability: In stock. Usually ships in 1-2 business days