Knife Maker's Mark for Jay Fisher Knives

Jay Fisher - World Class Knifemaker

"Eridanus" obverse side view in 440C high chromium stainless steel blade, hand-engraved 304 stainless steel bolsters, Sunset Jasper gemstone handle, lizard skin inlaid in hand-carved leather sheath
Recently Featured fine custom and handmade knives

Gemstone Knife Handle Photo Gallery Nine
(Tetrahydrite to Verdite)

Welcome to page nine

...of my gemstone knife handles photo galleries. The photo galleries were created to illustrate the many and varied gemstone knife handles I've made over more than three decades of knife making. It's easy to see why stone, rock, minerals, and gemstones have captivated man since the beginning of his existence on this rocky planet and will continue to do so!

The gallery pages are in alphabetic order. To see the master list, please visit the Gemstone Knife Handle Alphabetic List page. The pictures are thumbnails; click on them to see a larger picture with greater detail. Please remember that many of the full sized photographs are physically larger than the knife handle, so you are looking at a magnified version. As with any photo, there may be variations in color, density, and balance between monitors, browsers, and display settings.

You'll probably notice quite a variation in photographic quality of some of the photos. Early in my career, I took pictures of the knives with film, and had the film processed. I wasn't happy with that, so began to process on my own, improving the pictures considerably. Then the digital revolution came, and I moved to the realm of digital photography, improving the photographic quality and gearing my photography for this very digital medium. Many of the images of older knives and handles were scanned from old, low rendition prints and smaller negatives, so the quality of the image is less than optimum, but I included them because I believe it's important to see the gem material.

You'll also see repeats of certain gemstones, like Polvadera Jasper, Nephrite Jade, Red River Jasper, and granites. This is because not only do I use them a lot, but they also have variable character that is hard to describe with merely one photograph. For these same reasons, you'll see both sides of many of the handles, to give a complete view of the character of the gemstone.

Please remember that I do not have all of the gemstones pictured in the galleries available for new custom knife orders. I'll keep new gemstone knife handles posted, so please check back periodically. For more information and answers to frequently asked questions about gemstone handled knives, visit my Gemstone Knife Handles page.

Thanks for being here!


Please click on the thumbnail photos for a full image
Tetrahydrite on hidden tang knife handle with kingwood, nickel silver
Tetrahydrite
Australian Tiger Iron gemstone on hidden tang knife handle with African Blackwood and brass
Australian Tiger Iron
Australian tiger iron gemstone is hematite, jasper, tiger eye quartz
Australian Tiger Iron 1
Australian tiger iron has beautiful bands of rich red, metallic hematite, and golden strips of chatoyant tiger eye quartz
Australian Tiger Iron 2
Australian tiger iron is very tough, hard, and extremely durable.
Australian Tiger Iron 3
Tiger eye is silicified (quartz) crocidolite with a silky, chatoyant stucture.
Australian Tiger Iron 4
Tiger Iron could be classified as a tiger eye quartz, or a hematite, or a jasper, since it has all three in varying amounts. The name Australian Tiger Iron is the most recognized name for this rock
Australian Tiger Iron 5
Australian tiger iron comes from western Australia
Australian Tiger Iron 6
Australian tiger iron is  a very masculine, dark, and heavy gemstone
Australian Tiger Iron 7
Bright, beautiful, tough and reliable Australian Tiger Iron gemstone knife handle
Australian Tiger Iron 8
Australian Tiger Iron gemstone on a tactical combat knife with stainless steel fittings
Australian Tiger Iron 9
Australian Tiger Iron gemstone is tough enough for combat ready weapons.
Australian Tiger Iron 10
Verdite (Budstone) on full tang handmade custom knife handle
Verdite
Verdite is also commonly called Budstone
Verdite 1
Verdite is colored by fuchsite, a chrome mica
Verdite 2
Though not a particularly hard material, verdite is fairly tough, and durable on a knife handle
Verdite 3
Verdite (Budstone) does not take a high, glossy polish, but makes up for the finish by having striking color and patterns
Verdite 4
Verdite comes from Zimbabwe and South Africa
Verdite 5
Verdite can be tough enough for tactical knives, if bolstered on full tangs
Verdite 6
Verdite (Budstone) on tactical knife with nickel silver bolsters
Verdite 7
Verdite (Budstone) may have inclusions of quartz and other minerals
Verdite 8
Not much verdite is sold in the US, so it is not common.
Verdite 9

Top of Page