"Icarus", has a bit of the "Sci-fi, fantasy feel" of my very first designs, which is no surprise, as this knife was actually designed, and roughly started back in 1994. However, at the time I moved onto other pieces and into new directions. Icarus was one of those projects that subsequently got put aside for nearly ten years. When I did finally get back to it, I made a lot of changes in terms of the fundamental idea, and brought it more in line with what I am doing today. This was done in terms of design, techniques, and materials. This is definitely a crossbreed of old and new. It initially did not incorporate any gemstones, titanium, etc. It did, however, always incorporate that dramatic blade. The blade is a three layer clad, or San Mai. What is especially unique is the steel configuration: The center piece, and therefore the cutting edge is 440c stainless steel, while the outside layers are W1 iron. This combination creates quite a dramatic appearance. San Mai construction creates the look of a hamon temper line, but takes it even beyond that. The W1 outside layer also has a unique crust-like texture, quite unlike anything I have ever worked, with or seen before on a knife. With this combination there are a number of different contrasts happening in terms of color and texture. This one was a bit different for me, but I really enjoyed the finished piece once I aligned it with my current design perspective, and it always feels good to cross off old projects from the list! Click Here to view the original drawing of this knife. This knife is very figurative to me in terms of gesture and proportions. The knife's figurative gesture reminded me of an injured angel plummeting towards the ground. The name "Icarus" comes from the old Greek legend of a boy who wanted to fly; he fashioned wings made of wax, took to the sky, but flew too close to the sun, his wings melted and he tumbled to his demise. In 2005, this knife was featured in the gallery show "California Art Metal Now: An Exhibition of Contemporary California Jewelry and Metal Art", at the Blue Room Gallery, San Francisco, CA. Curated by Shana Astrachan, Suzanne Baizerman, Susan Cummins & Paul Mahder. The Summer, 2006 edition of Metalsmith Magazine published a review of, "California Art Metal Now", citing the inclusion of my knife entitled "Icarus" as one of two pieces in the show that "any museum might scramble to own." This knife was also recently featured in the book "Knives 2007"

NAME: Icarus	STYLE: Fantasy Fixed Blade Art Knife	LENGTH: 18"
BLADE STEEL: San Mai consisting of W1 iron with hot rolled texture over a 440c stainless core, with nickel in between, BLADE STEEL: forged by Daryl Meier. Black oxide coating revealing three distinct colors and finishes. Blood-groove accents, BLADE STEEL: beveled, fullers along spine, anodized titanium spikes, and gemstones.
CROSS-GUARD: Contoured 1095/15n20/nickel, bold "Crossroads" pattern CROSS-GUARD: mosaic Damascus forged by Robert Eggerling; deep CROSS-GUARD: etched and Gun blued, w/ stones.		GRIND: Hollow, 8" wheel
SCALES: Premium grade, highly figured, double dyed black and gold, box elder burl wood, contoured and beveled w/ stones.
LINERS: 6al4v Titanium, file worked, 2-color anodized (blue, dark purple).
WRAP AROUND TANG: Two part 6al4v Titanium, file worked, 2-color anodized (bronzy-purple, gold) with a polished WRAP AROUND TANG: stainless steel center strip.
STONES: Blade: (from top to bottom) 3mm Citrine cab, 4mm Carnelian cab, 5mm Apricot Moonstone cab, 4mm Amethyst, STONES: 5mm London Blue Topaz, 4mm Sapphire, 4mm Garnet, 3mm Blue Pau Cab. STONES: Guard: from left to right: 4mm London Blue topaz, 4mm Amethyst cab, 4mm sapphire, 5mm Hematite cab, STONES: 4mm Sapphire, 3mm Citrine cab and 3mm Garnets on underside. STONES: Scales: from top to bottom: 3mm Sapphire, 4mm Iolite, 3mm Citrine cab, 4mm Hematite cab, 3mm Citrine cab, SCALES: 4mm Sapphire, 3mm Peridot, 3mm Garnet, 4mm Sapphire, 5mm Golden Beryl, all set in 18k yellow gold.
INLAYS: Abalone inlay at transition point from blade to wrap around tang, INLAYS: and semi-transparent shell inlay with signature Logo underlay.		HEAT TREATED BY: John Lewis Jensen