About Hensarling Custom Knives
I do all of my own heat treating, using both hot oils, and a Lindbergh heat treat oven, and finish the process by tempering the heat treated blade. I use a Rockwell hardness tester, and strive for a hardness suitable to the blade steel I am using at the time. For my folding knives, I use titanium sheet for what's known as the "liners", and Damascus or high carbon steel for the blades. For the handles on folding knives, referred to as scales, I use highly figured Mesquite burl that I process myself or Mammoth Ivory. Mammoth Ivory is found in the certain areas of Siberia and Alaska, during the spring and summer seasons. Most of it is 15,000 to 20,000 years old or older. There is no ban on this Ivory, since the Mammoths have been extinct for thousands of years. It has a beautiful array of colors and textures, from off-white, to a dark tan/brwon, and even blue tones. The area in front of the scales on a folding knife is called a "bolster". It is usually metal, but can also be wood or Mammoth ivory. For my folding knife bolsters I normally use Damascus that I've produced myself, but occasionally purchase other highly figured Damascus patterns from artists that make highly specialized patterns. I am also experimenting with real iron Meteorite as bolster material. There are several knifemakers using this material and it has a unique pattern called Widmanstatten.
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