Durability of the William Henry pearl

[loveit]

Hi! I am brand new to this forum and am seeking information on a nice, small knife with a fairly reasonable price (to carry). I am looking at the William Henry Kestrel and wanted to know about the durability of the mother of pearl handle. If it drops, will it crack? They are beautiful! The ironwood also looks nice, but I think the pearl is the one for me. I'd really like some opinions before buying it. Any experience with these pearl handles?

 

[dsvirsky]

In general, you do not want to drop MOP onto a hard surface (e.g., cement); it will crack. However, it is an otherwise durable material. I've been carrying a custom folder with black lip pearl scales as my work knife (desk job) for the last 2 years and while the titanium bolsters have some scratches, the pearl still looks fantastic.

 

[loveit]

I have no intentions of dropping the knife, but if I want it to carry, it is always a possibility. Maybe the ironwood is the way to go... I am looking for a small knife with the solid feel of the WH. Any other suggestions?

 

[brownshoe]

A pearl handled knife will handle "gentleman's" duty quite well. It will crack when dropped and can crack at the pins due to age. I'm not sure if this is due to temp/humidity changes, or stress on the pin/pearl junction during uses. It is best to keep it in a slip case to protect it from pocket change, keys, etc. Pearl can be attacked by acidic material, such as the famous dissolving a pearl in champagne. Beware of things like vinegar, really sweaty hands, etc. You might want to consider waxing it occasionally for protection.

 

[Murnax]

Originally posted by brownshoe
A pearl handled knife will handle "gentleman's" duty quite well. It will crack when dropped and can crack at the pins due to age.

I know pearl can crack if dropped, but I was under the impression pearl was stable and would not crack simply due to age. Anybody else know about this?

 

[Gabe Newell]

The William Henry Black and Tan series looks great, weighs between 1.0 and 1.6 oz, and is very durable.

Whether or not you carry it in a pouch will determine whether or not a given handle material is going to last.

 

[brownshoe]

I've seen a lot of older pearl handled knives and some have little or no signs of wear but a crack usually beginning where they are pinned. Maybe its temp/humidity, but could be a result of poor pin work, or possibly pinned scales with no glue. Given the care W&H exhibit in their products, this probably isn't a concern with their knives.

 

[akivory]

I have a peal handled Willliam Henry with raindrop damascus that I have been carring for the last month and I have found it very tough.I sell handle material them and have quite a few of thier knives and find them of the highest quality.
Chuck

 

[Gteckwreck]

I shared your concerns about the MOP, and once I saw and handled the Kestrel in jigged bone, that's the one I settled for (till the fever strikes again LOL). The bone seemed (as has proven to be) very durable. I carry it about twice a week although I do use the slip case.

 

[JediKnight86]

William Henry makes great small knives no doubt, but if you want something just as lightweight and beautiful, but much more solid, no doubt get a Chris Reeve Mnandi

 

[Gary W. Graley]

At one point I owned many of the William Henry lineup, mostly the Lancet series, as well as a few of the T12 larger ones, and the pearl ones are very nice, albeit slippery just a bit, but still quite nice.

Alas, I've not one left in my collection! I am looking strongly at the new Black and Tan Westcliff model, tempting knife!

The Carbon Fiber Lancet has a very strong lockup and useful blade shape and size. The weight barely weighs down the corner of even a dress shirt, where mine rode for a few years...

They rival some custom models in my opinion, very good fit and finish.

Below is a scan I made of my collection, there were a few that didn't make this family portrait, Pearl handled T12, Black and Tan Lancet and a small Hummingbird, two of those actually, one in micarta and one carbon fiber...all moved to other homes.

G2

 

[s.c.]

nice collection.

i've got a mop kestrel on the way (along with a spyderco kiwi). any special ways to maintain the knife? can i wash and rinse like any other cheap knife?

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Originally posted by s.c.
nice collection.

i've got a mop kestrel on the way (along with a spyderco kiwi). any special ways to maintain the knife? can i wash and rinse like any other cheap knife?

hehe, if these are cheap to you, then I suppose it would be ok to do so. I never got them so dirty that they needed a rinse, just wiped the blade down and dried them off when I was cutting. Don't really hunt, most work was at work with boxes/ropes and at home cutting up my meal, which the T12 worked great.

The Kestrel, I had one of those as well, amber bone scales, very very nice knife, handy size though some find it too small. Traded it towards stereo equipment...

Good luck sir, the Kiwi is a solid knife had one for a day, for me the extra cut out at the blade made it awkward for me to use so I returned it asap, even though I'm one of the biggest wharncliff fans around, I felt locked into holding the knife in one position to use, not fond of finger grooves was the main problem I suspect.
G2

 

[thombrogan]

Welcome to the forum, Loveit!

You may want to see if WH offers synthetic MOP if you're worried that your bodily acids may dissolve some of the scales. Otherwise, get the MOP Kestrel and let it be your living reminder that beauty can last forever until it's met with accidents of carelessness. If you can't abide by that, get a carbon fiber model and forget that reminder and think less of me for bringing it up.

 

[T. Erdelyi]

I have a P10 Lancet, kept it in the case in my back pocket, I figured it was safest that way, all alone with nothing to scratch it, damned if it didn' crack from sitting on it.