Koftgari is the name for fine gold (and/or silver) patterns inlaid into parkerized steel. This ancient Indian technique, done entirely by hand, involves creating a very fine cross-hatch grid in the steel and then burnishing 24K gold (and/or silver) into a pattern that is bound by the cross-hatch. Parkerizing involves soaking the steel in a boiling solution of salts to oxidize the steel a deep brown/blue. Beautiful and timeless, koftgari is nearly a lost art. William Henry's koftgari comes from 2 small villages in India, home of the very few Indian artisans that still master this technique.
MOTHER OF PEARL
Mother of Pearlis the common name for iridescent nacre, a blend of minerals that are secreted by oysters and other mollusks and deposited inside their shells. William Henry uses premium mother of pearl material sourced directly from suppliers in Australia, selected for maximum color and figure.
William Henry's patent-pending Wave Damascus features a core in ZDP-189 (HRC 67) or VG-10 (cryo-tempered to a hardness of HRC 61) for superior sharpness and edge retention over time. The core of the blade is clad with alternating layers of stainless steel and nickel silver. The billet, 45 layers in all, is patterned with a custom die to create the undulating waves that emerge across the bevels of the blade. This material can be dark-etched for contrast, or etched and re-polished for a more subtle pattern.
