Titanium is a low density, strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant (including sea water, aqua regia and chlorine) metal with a silver color.
It was discovered in Great Britain by William Gregor in 1791, and named by Martin Heinrich Klaproth for the Titans of Greek mythology
William Henry uses only aerospace-grade titanium alloy for our frames, clips, and micro-fasteners. Called 6Al/4V, it is titanium with a little aluminum and vanadium added in for additional toughness and tensile strength.
Mokume gane was developed in the 1600s in Japan, allegedly by an Akita prefecture metalsmith named Denbei Shoami (1651 to 1728). He used the mokume gane technique to dress up samurai swords.
The mokume gane technique involves fusing several layers of different metals, and artistically exposing sections of lower layers. The metal is often made to display a pattern that mimics wood grain. A variety of metals can be used to give different arrays of coloration.
Layers of metal are pressed together and fused with heat. The forged layers are carved to expose lower layers and are then pressed again. The carving and pressing is repeated to develop the pattern.
Today, some of the finest mokume in the world is made here in the USA, and William Henry is proud to offer a range of this material on our collections. Our mokume is generally made with copper, brass, and nickel silver in either a 45 or 89 layer billet, forged and patterned by hand.
Carbon fiber is a material consisting of microscopic fibers composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber. The crystal alignment gives the fiber high strength-to-volume ratio. Several thousand carbon fibers are bundled together to form a tow, which may be used by itself or woven into a fabric.
Carbon fiber's properties, such as high stiffness, high tensile strength, low weight, high chemical resistance, high temperature tolerance, make them very popular in aerospace, civil engineering, military, competition sports. William Henry uses the highest grade, and beautifully textured carbon fiber for its collections of jewelry, knives, money clips and cufflinks.
Citrine is a variety of quartz whose color ranges from a pale yellow to brown due to ferric impurities.
The name is derived from Latin citrina which means "yellow" and is also the origin of the word "citron." Sometimes citrine and amethyst can be found together in the same crystal, which is then referred to as ametrine.
Also known as 'New Guinea Rosewood', Amboyna hardwood, is a purplish and rose-scented wood which is found in Southeast Asia and Western Pacific Ocean. The wood known in Indonesia as amboyna is the burl of the tree, named after Ambon, where much of this material was originally found. sliced amboyna produces an extremely decorative veneer. William Henry uses this wood to produce beautiful inlays for our knives. Interesting fact: the wood is also used to make the keys on a marimba.
