TF-4 Flipper With Zirconium And Mammoth Ivory (Ceramic IKBS) – SG2 San Mai Damascus

Product for TF-4 Flipper with Zirconium and Mammoth Ivory (Ceramic IKBS) – SG2 San Mai Damascus

Maker: Francois du Toit (click to see more by this maker)

Price: $1,850.00

Item num: 108045

*** This is handmade and one-of-a-kind ***
Blade length: 3.40 in.
Cutting edge length: 3.20 in.
Total length: 8.00 in.
Blade height (at heel): 1.24 in.
Blade thickness (near bolster): 0.15 in.
Blade thickness (at midpoint): 0.13 in.
Blade thickness (near tip): 0.04 in.
Item weight: 7.00 oz.
Shipment weight: 9.4 oz.
Blade: SG2 stainless san mai damascus
Handle: Zirconium inlaid with crosscut mammoth ivory
Style: Folding flipper liner lock with ceramic IKBS

: Francois du Toit was born (in 1982) and raised in De Aar, South Africa. He developed the skills needed to improvise and work with his hands at an early age. He worked in the construction industry until April 2019 when he met a well known knifemaker from the area, Deon Nel. Nel guided Francois through the basics, from grinding blades to providing an excellent fit and finish on knives. Like Deon, Francois has a tremendous attention to detail with an exceptional fit and finish. He later met Anton van der Westhuizen who introduced him into the art of making custom folding knives. He joined the Cape Knifemaker’s Guild in September 2019 with the intention of providing the highest quality custom knives he could produce. He prefers creating knives with his hands and currently uses no CNC machines in his process.
This TF-4 Flipper has a perfectly centered blade with silky-smooth, drop-shut action. The front flipper opening is tremendously easy to use for quick deployment. When combined with the IKBS ball bearing system, the action is exceptional! The Ikoma Korth Bearing System (IKBS) was originally designed to fit balisong knives and uses ball bearings to create exceptional action with no blade play. This special folder is 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 blade is hand ground stainless damascus san mai. A central bar of Takefu SG2 powdered metallurgical stainless steel is surrounded by alternating layers of stainless steel and nickel. The resulting damascus is high contrast and immediately captivating. The linear damascus reveals Francois’ super-clean hand grind. The flats are polished, nearly hiding the pattern. The blade is hollow ground for an easy to maintain edge.
Handle scales are heat colored zirconium, inlaid with crosscut mammoth ivory. The inlays are meticulously performed. Bronze anodized titanium liners surround a zirconium backbar. The zirconium pocket clip is mounted for right-side, tip-up carry.
Excellent work throughout!

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