Titanium
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.
Fossil Mammoth tooth
From a Woolly Mammoth that walked the Earth at least 10,000 years ago.
Modern humans coexisted with woolly mammoths during the Upper Paleolithic period when they entered Europe from Africa between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago. Prior to this, Neanderthals had coexisted with mammoths during the Middle Paleolithic and up to that time. Woolly mammoths were very important to Ice Age humans, and their survival may have depended on these animals in some areas.
The woolly mammoth is the next most depicted animal in Ice Age art after horses and bisons, and these images were produced up to 11,500 years ago. Today, more than five hundred depictions of woolly mammoths are known, in media ranging from carvings and cave paintings located in 46 caves in Russia, France and Spain, to sculptures and engravings made from different materials.
William Henry's fossil Mammoth tooth is harvested in Alaska and Siberia. It is a rare and mesmerizing material, a living testimony of the dawn of Mankind.
Citrine
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.
VG10 Damascus
William Henry’s VG-10 damascus is created from billets with 67 layers of three different alloys. The center, or core, features premium VG-10 stainless steel tempered to an optimal hardness of HRC 60-61 for exceptional sharpness and wear resistance. The core is sandwiched between 33 layers of alternating nickel and steel which we use for tensile strength thru the blade, and to reveal the remarkable forged patterns within the composite alloys in the finished piece of steel. Our final acid etch and hand-polish reveals the tapestry within, as each alloy reacts to the acid and emerges in contrasting tones of black, grey, and silver. Each unique pattern is created by different forging dies used on each sandwiched billet of steel.