Art that performs?

[Noctis3880]

I realize this is a tall order, to want my cake and eat it too, along with candles, presents, and the whole shebang.

Just some general criteria first:
-3.5"-4" blade length.
-FFG, high flat grind, or hollow ground blades.
-Less than $1,000.
-No Linerlocks.

I've been looking at this knife and similar WH knives:

It seems like a knife that would stand out, even to non-knife people, and that's sort of the theme I'm going for.

I've also looked at other knives in damascus, though I'm not sure I'm willing to settle for anything with less performance(edge retention and corrosion resistance) than S30V. William Henry's ZDP damascus seems to be good in that regard.

Though while I like the WH designs, experience tells me that I can't go for less than a 3.5" blade for my daily uses, and I do intend to use the knife. Also a bit twitchy about that Mother of Pearl handle, as I hear it could crack if I ever accidentally drop it.

While I don't baby my knives, I don't make a habit of throwing it against the concrete either. However, I did manage to do this to my Sebenza:

I don't think me and titanium get along well unless it's hard coated(TiN or TiAlN) or stonewashed(the one thing I love about my XM-18).

Even so, I think thus far the best knife to fit my description is the Nirk Tighe:

Since the cutouts in the frame and blade give it the "unique" look, use of damascus is wholly unnecessary.

But I was wondering if there was any other knives out there that might fit the criteria. I was thinking maybe a two-color G10 scale might do nicely like in Yuna's knives. I in fact have a Mini Hard 2, though I find myself wanting a longer blade. Still, I managed to scuff the titanium on that one too, and while it's not a huge mar, it still bugs the hell out of me. I'm thinking I need something with titanium only for the liner/clip, though I'm not too crazy about titanium linerlocks.

 

[neuron]

Yuna was the first thing I thought of, and I think Tighe is an excellent bet as well. Depending on the materials and grind used, some of Allen Elishewitz's knives could also be worth a look.

Edit: Here, borrowed from his website, is a picture of an Elishewitz that might meet your criteria.

 

[Noctis3880]

Yuna was the first thing I thought of, and I think Tighe is an excellent bet as well. Depending on the materials and grind used, some of Allen Elishewitz's knives could also be worth a look.

Edit: Here, borrowed from his website, is a picture of an Elishewitz that might meet your criteria.

A very interesting design, but I somehow get the feeling that the blade grind won't let it cut much better than my XM-18.

 

[Charlie Mike]

I'm thinking you need a DDR custom (not HTM) 4" Maxx. I paid $750 2 years ago... I should be getting it soon (yay).

 

[grybsh7]

Lionsteel has a SR-1 with Chad Nichols stainless damascus out now. Actually two different damascus patterns.
This one is the Raindrop. Right under $500.
The SR-1s are nice knives for the money.

 

[RevDevil]

That SR1 is awesome. I need to add one of those to my arsenal soon.

 

[Noctis3880]

I've been eyeing that SR-1 myself for a while, though I haven't quite convinced myself to pull the trigger on that one yet. Aside from WH's ZDP damascus(which has ZDP at its core, and I know for a fact it holds an edge better than S30V), I'm not quite sure how other varieties of damascus perform, and whether the added alloys used to give the color break(copper, nickel, cobalt) make the steel more vulnerable to corrosion.

I personally own a gold anodized SR-1 with Sleipner steel, but it seems to be quite a fingerprint magnet(moreso than other blades I've handled), and forms surface rust quite easily(not as extreme as 1095 or M4, but still pretty noticeable). And I've never really put it through thick materials yet, but I'm not sure it would do so well given how thick the blade is. But I think the deal breaker for me is color. Even black and white is good, but they need to contrast each other properly like this: