Materials & Artistry

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.

Wave Mokume is another William Henry exclusive material (patent pending) that fuses traditional metal forging with modern fabricating technology. This alloy features copper, stainless steel, and pure iron in a 55 layer billet patterned with our undulating Wave. When highly polished and heat colored, the iron layers take on deep browns, purples, or blues according to temperature and quenching technique.

Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by mass of silver and usually 7.5% by mass of copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. The sterling alloy originated in continental Europe and was being used for commerce as early as the 12th century in the area that is now northern Germany. William Henry uses the latest state-of-the-art casting equipment to create mesmerizing pieces that are often considered par with our hand-carved work.

William Henry worked closely with partners in Japan to develop a laminate that captures a 'core' center layer of ZDP-189 (HRC 67) within softer layers of 420J2 stainless steel for our blades. The ZDP creates the razor sharp edge, while the softer layers offer tensile strength and support. The layers are revealed in heat treating and polishing, showing an elegant seam in the blade that mimics the traditional 'temper lines' seen on Samurai swords.

Black Coated ZDP-189
Black (Tungsten DLC coating). This is a surface coating that has a molecular bond with the ZDP blade. The coating has a hardness of about 88 HRC, even tougher than our blade steel, and wears beautifully over time and use.

Kevlar is the registered trademark for a synthetic fiber developed at DuPont in 1965. This high-strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires. Typically it is spun into ropes or fabric sheets offering many applications, ranging from bicycle tires and racing sails to body armor. Because of its high tensile strength-to-weight ratio it is 5 times stronger than steel.

Kevlar is also a well-known component of personal armor such as combat helmets, ballistic face masks, and ballistic vests. William Henry uses woven Kevlar to create necklaces and bracelets which offer unparalleled strength and comfort.

Similar to the technique used to forge damascus, Moku-ti is created with several layers of 6AI/4V Titanium and CP Titanium, fused and welded together to form a billet. The layered section is then artistically exposed revealing patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water, or mimicking the layered design of wood grain.

The patterns vary depending on the blacksmith that works the billet. Our Moku-Ti billets are forged with a minimum of 300 layers by a handful of the very best blacksmiths/artists in the U.S.

Kirinite is a custom acrylic polymer, sets the standard in elegance and durability. Originally developed by Eagle Grips, this material has been engineered and tested in the toughest environments. It is color-stable, durable, and hand-finished beautifully in our shop. Kirinite is crafted in the USA, using a single-batch process, so every piece is unique. Worthy of an heirloom tool, worthy of a William Henry...

CPM 20-CV is an ultra high-grade stainless steel developed by Crucible Metals, the leading US innovator of performance steels. CPM stands for Crucible Powder Metals, their most exclusive engineered alloys, and the 20-CV indicates an infusion of Vanadium, Chromium, Molybdenum and Tungsten for wear resistance, sharpness, and corrosion protection. Tough, durable, razor sharp while still being ‘sharpenable’, and stainless. Built to last a lifetime, proudly offered on select models from William Henry.

One of the true tropical rosewoods, Cocobolo is a very beautiful wood, ranging from a beautiful rich dark brick red, to reddish or dark brown, with a figuring of darker irregular traces weaving through the wood. It is fine textured and oily in look and feel. Our premium Cocobolo is sourced responsibly from Mexico and Central America.

Our Desert Ironwood is sourced responsibly from Arizona and Northern Mexico, from the lower reaches of the Sonoran desert. It is very hard, very dense, and is one of a handful of woods that sinks in water. Ironwood also features some of the highest contrast and striking patterns of any wood in the world. Once used by the Seri Native Americans of Mexico for tool handles, we proudly offer premium grade ironwood on a variety of William Henry tools.

The name "snake wood" was clearly inspired by the snakeskin-like markings that decorate this exotic wood originally found in Western Australia. Extremely hard and heavy, it is one of the most expensive woods in the world. We use only the finest snakewood, responsibly sourced from Suriname, chosen for outstanding color and pattern. All William Henry's snakewood is resin-stabilized for durability.

One of the largest, hardiest and most adaptable spruce in the world, Norway blue spruce is a native of Europe, and is commonly called the mountain spruce there. Due to its hardiness and adaptability it has been introduced and thrives in many areas of the world. William Henry uses the pinecones from this majestic tree to create beautiful inlays for our knives. Before use, the pinecone sections are stabilized with a color pigmented resin which enhances the contrast of the veneer and gives the scales a blue or red tonality. All our spruce cone is sourced responsibly.

Koa is a fabled tree, and wood, sourced responsibly from the Hawaiian islands. It is reddish brown in color, takes a beautiful polish, and can occasionally offer very fine figuring/curl and chattoyance. William Henry uses only the highest grade of figured Koa (as available) for our work, resin-stabilized for durability.

Ebony is a dense black, or black&white hardwood, heavy enough to sink in water. It is finely-textured and has a very smooth finish when polished, making it valuable as an ornamental wood.

Ebony has a long history of use, with carved pieces having been found in Ancient Egyptian tombs. Modern uses are largely restricted to small items, such as crucifixes, and musical instrument parts, including black piano and harpsichord keys.Traditionally, the black pieces in chess sets were also made from ebony, with rare boxwood or ivory being used for the white pieces. All our ebony is sourced responsibly.

Black Palm. A beautiful and distinctive wood that is brown/black in color with a toothpick-like series of brown, black and white streaks running along the grain. On end, the grain is solid 'eyes' in a very compressed pattern. Our ebony is sourced responsibly from Southeast Asia, but also from other parts of the world. We resin-stabilize our black palm for durability over time.

The tamarind is a long-lived, medium-growth, bushy tree, originally found in tropical Africa. In the 16th century, it was heavily introduced to Mexico, and to a lesser degree to South America, by Spanish and Portuguese colonists.

The Tamarind we use is spalted (the natural result of insect and rot damage), it has a distinct yellow hue, and it is sourced responsibly. Due to its density and durability, William Henry uses spalted tamarind to produce handle inlays for our pocketknives, and other accessories.

Afzelia xylocarpa is a tree from Southeast Asia. It grows in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma in deciduous forests. It can reach 30 metres tall with a trunk up to 2 metres in diameter in a mature specimen.

The highly figured lumber is often referred to as Afzelia Xylay. William Henry uses the wood to create beautiful knife handles. All our xylay wood is sourced responsibly.

Bocote is an exotic wood growing primarily along the Western coast of Mexico and reaches heights up to 60'. It is also found in Central America, and the West Indies. It features a yellowish brown body with dramatic dark brown to almost black stripes, with wide range of grain patterns from straight to wild, with curved lines and swirls. The color ranges from golden brown to tan to golden yellow. Color tends to darken with age. All our bocote is sourced responsibly.

In 1975, The Eyrie Vineyards produced the first American pinot noir to compete successfully in France with the renowned pinot noirs of Burgundy. Thanks to the close partnership with The Eyrie Vineyards, the 35 year old wood from that original and historic grapevine will live forever in a beautiful limited edition writing instrument by William Henry.

The Eyrie Vineyards was the first winemaker to grow pinot noir in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where the temperatures, rainfall and day-lengths offer the grape its best home outside of Burgundy. In 1979, The Eyrie Vineyards placed in the top ten pinot noirs at the Olympiades des Vins in Paris. Surpassing hundreds of French winemakers, Eyrie’s pinot noir was the first American wine to successfully compete with the French Burgundies.

Hoping to overturn the rank achieved in Paris, a challenge tasting was restaged in Beaune in 1980, and to the wine world’s disbelief, Eyrie’s 1975 South Block Reserve came in only 2/10ths of a point below the winner, the 1959 Chambolle-Musigny from Joseph Drouhin.

The Eyrie Vineyards is a pioneer in American winemaking - a small business whose tireless and creative work has inspired and guided the United States among the most respected and top ranking wine producers in the world.

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.

Dinosaur Bone is probably the most exotic of our fossil materials — the fossil comes from a 100 million year-old Apatosaurus. Found and sourced in Utah, dinosaur bone offers the possibility of owning one of the most ancient zoological testaments of the planet. The colors can vary from red to brown, black and green, depending on the minerals surrounding the bone as it became petrified.

Here is a stunning 40lb specimen we shot here at the studio.

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 bone is harvested in Alaska and Siberia. It is a rare and mesmerizing material, a living testimony of the dawn of Mankind.

Mother of Pearl is 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.

According to geologists, this fossil coral is approximately 110,000 years old. Found in abundance in Florida quarry mines, these exquisite scales are hand-picked findings which would otherwise be crushed and used in cement. Fossil coral is not living coral, therefore has no odors.

Apple coral is part of the species of corals known as melithaea sponge, which is commonly found on the ocean floors around the waters of Taiwan, Indonesia and southern China. The destruction of coral reefs around the world led to a global ban on coral mining and collecting in 1992, but apple coral was not included.
The United States has placed a ban on shipping coral in and out of the country, but there is no ban on the melithaea sponge corals.
Our apple coral is infused with zinc to obtain a beautiful and original pattern.

Goldlip Mother of Pearl is scientifically the same as White M.O.P. only that Gold is taken from the reverse side of the shell. Good quality dark Gold shells come from the waters surrounding the Philippines and parts of Indonesia. The gold section is a thin lip — like a veneer — of natural color that is carefully selected and worked to yield the deepest possible gold tones.

Blacklip Mother of Pearl is one of the most exclusive pearls in the world. It comes from small shells found in French Polynesia around Tahiti and its Archipelagos. Just under the exterior bark of the shell is where the real beauty of the Blacklip shell lies. A nice pair of Blacklip will have every color of the rainbow in its iridescent black background. We source our Blacklip directly from shell farmers in Tahiti to ensure sustainability and top quality material.

William Henry uses beautiful sections of the Gibeon Meteorite, which fell in prehistoric times in Namibia. It was named after the nearest town: Gibeon.
The fragments of the meteorite in the strewn field are dispersed over an elliptical area 171 miles long and 62 miles wide; it was discovered by the local Nama people and used by them to make tools and weapons.
In 1836 the English captain J. E. Alexander collected samples of the meteorite and sent them to London. There John Herschel analyzed them and confirmed for the first time the extraterrestrial nature of the material.

The Gibeon meteorite is composed of an iron-nickel alloy containing significant amounts of cobalt and phosphorus. The crystal structure of this meteorite provides a fine example of the Widmanstätten patterns: these figures of long nickel-iron crystals are of extraterrestrial origin, and cannot occur naturally on earth. As a purely natural material, the patterns may include small inclusions, distinctive and unique to each item we produce.

With its beauty and wide-ranging expressiveness, jade has held a special attraction for mankind for almost 7,000 years.
Still today, this gem is regarded as a symbol of the good, the beautiful and the precious. It embodies the Confucian virtues of wisdom, justice, compassion, modesty and courage, yet it also symbolises the female-erotic.
It comes in many fine nuances of green, but also in shades of white, grey, black, yellow, and orange and in delicate violet tones. Only in the very finest jade is the colour evenly distributed.

African Turquoise is a type of jasper found in Africa. It has a dark matrix and an interesting blend of base colors, a little greener than most turquoise. Enhancing its role as a turquoise substitute is its matrix, which also resembles turquoise matrix.
It is considered the ‘Stone of Evolution’, and thought to bring encouragement for growth, development and positive change within life itself.

The Kingman Turquoise Mine in Arizona is one of the oldest and highest producing Turquoise Mines in America. It was originally discovered by prehistoric Indians well over 1,000 years ago. Kingman Turquoise is known for its beautiful sky blue color and produces many variations of blue Turquoise.
Our Zinc-Matrix Turquoise is made with Kingman Turquoise infused with zinc, creating a striking contrast between the soft blues of the Turquoise and the shiny, contemporary look of the metal.

Carnelian is a beautiful brownish-red mineral which has ben used as a semi-precious gemstone for thousands of years. Carnelian was recovered from Bronze Age Minoan layers at Knossos on Crete in a form that demonstrated its use in decorative arts - This use dates to approximately 1800 BC. Carnelian was also used widely during Roman times to make engraved gems for signet or seal rings for imprinting a seal with wax on correspondence or other important documents (hot wax does not stick to carnelian).

William Henry uses Carnelian as an inlay or decorative gemstone on several of our collections.

Lapis lazuli, or lapis for short, is a deep blue, semi-precious stone prized since antiquity for its intense color. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, in Shortugai, and in other mines in the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan.

At the end of the Middle Ages, lapis lazuli began to be exported to Europe, where it was ground into powder and made into ultramarine, the finest and most expensive of all blue pigments. It was used by some of the most important artists of the Renaissance and Baroque, including Masaccio, Perugino, Titian and Vermeer, and was often reserved for the clothing of the central figures of their paintings, especially the Virgin Mary.

Agate is a translucent variety of microcrystalline quartz. It generally forms by the deposition of silica from groundwater in the cavities of igneous rocks. The agate deposits in concentric layers around the walls of the cavity, or in horizontal layers building up from the bottom of the cavity. These structures produce the banded patterns that are characteristic of many agates.

Agate is believed to have a stabilizing effect on the body, cleansing at the physical and emotional level.
Tibetan agate, in particular, produces strength, power and courage, enhances truthfulness and brings forth understanding.

Damascus steel was a term used by several Western cultures from the Medieval period onward to describe a type of steel created in India and used in swordmaking from about 300 BC to 1700 AD. These swords were characterized by distinctive patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water. Such blades were reputed to be not only tough and resistant to shattering, but capable of being honed to a sharp and resilient edge. William Henry's damascus is made from several types of steel welded together to form a billet.
The patterns vary depending on how the damascus artist works the billet. The billet is drawn out and folded until the desired number of layers are formed. William Henry damascus billets are forged with a minimum of 300 layers. William Henry works with a handful of the very best damascus artists/forgers in the U.S.

Engraving is one of the most recognized and exacting adornments on metal, and most of our engraving is done on stainless steel, and occasionally - on Titanium, adding layers of difficulty to the process. William Henry works with a select group of world-famous master engravers to create very limited edition pieces on an ongoing basis. Each edition, or piece, is carefully conceived and executed by William Henry and the engraver, and every finished engraving is hand-signed by the artist.

Gold-inlaid Engraving is another, even more complex, rendition of a classic art form. This involves creating a fine engraving with deep relief, then inlaying 24K gold (or different metals) into select portions of the engraving. If done in damascus, we then heat-color the frame which creates a beautiful darker background to highlight the gold inlay.

Koftgari is the name for fine gold (and/or silver) patterns inlayed 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.

Carved Silver is done by hand with chisels and rotary tools. William Henry works with the finest silversmiths to create elaborate (and durable) carvings in sterling silver. In many cases, we use colored sapphires and other precious stones, set in 18K gold bezels, to further decorate these masterful carvings.

Maki-e (literally sprinkled picture) is the ancient Japanese technique of sprinkling a smooth surface (originally lacquer) with gold or silver powder as a decoration using a specialized and delicate brush.

The technique was developed mainly in the Heian Period (794–1185) and blossomed in the Edo Period (1603–1868). Maki-e objects were initially designed as household items for court nobles, they soon gained more popularity and were adopted by royal families and military leaders as an indication of power. To create different colors and textures, maki-e artists use a variety of metal powders including gold, silver, copper, brass, lead, aluminum, platinum, pewter, as well as their alloys.

As it requires highly-skilled craftsmanship to produce a maki-e painting, young artists usually go through many years of training to develop the skills and to ultimately become maki-e masters.

Andrew spent thirty plus years in the graphics art industry and watched it go quickly from 'hands on' to computer based. To try and retain his love of designing by hand, he took up the art of hand engraving as a hobby. He quickly found his niche and enjoyed getting back to the basics of pencil and paper - combined with the hands on engraving techniques that are essential to this art.

Andrew Biggs is now a full time professional engraver living in Christchurch, New Zealand. Andrew is conversant in many styles of hand engraving and particularly enjoys designs based on indigenous art - using scrollwork as a medium to carry the design. He combines and reimagines these art forms into his own unique style and his engravings often tell an underlying story within the engraving.

Every aspect of hand engraving is of course important but the design is alwaysfirst. Andrew will often draw several drafts before being satisfied and finally committing to a finished design. The emphasis on very aspect of his work is quality. This is important for his own artistic integrity as well as ensuring that clients have something timeless - that they can hand down to future generations with pride.

Jake Newell was introduced to the art of hand engraving in the fall of 2006 while attending Emporia State University in Kansas. Since then, he has been fortunate enough to continue his study of engraving through several courses at the GRS Training Center and under the direction of Christian DeCamillis. Jake graduated from Emporia State in May 2009 with a degree in Art Education and is currently an engraving insructor at the GRS Training Center. Jake completes most of his engraving on the road while traveling and volunteering for non- profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity.

Don Patch was a custom gunsmith for 13 years before becoming an engraver. He specializes in high quality bulino game scenes as well as all types of scroll and precious metal inlays. Mr. Patch can reproduce any of the styles of factory gun engraving. He was fortunate to have lived near Lynton Mckenzie and his engraving was greatly influenced by him. Mr. Patch is also a member of the Firearms Engravers Guild.

Joanne Ryall was Born in England, I am still lucky enough to live deep in the Countryside, near the South West coast, surrounded by rich wildlife and stunning scenery. Her uncle was a sculptor and artist, and awakened in her a love of art, and the details there-in. At the same time, her father was busily ensuring she developed a passion for firearms and shooting.
You would often find her in the metalwork or woodwork shop at school, rather than needlepoint, or cookery classes! When she left school, she trained and worked as a sign writer.
Other business avenues, eventually took her attention, flourished, and allowed her the luxury of returning to concentrate on her passion for both hunting and art combined.
Her hunting has taken her across the world, and allowed her to amass a store of experiences on different continents. Wanting to capture these memories and images, the detail possible with Scrimshaw and engraving has provided a natural medium for her.

Bottega Incisioni di Cesare Giovanelli was founded in 1955 by a very young Cesare Giovanelli whose strongest dream was to perpetuate the very ancient craft of metal engraving. Cesare started engraving in his own home kitchen. He was so skilled ,devoted and motivated that within just a few years he had enough work and resources to found his dream in a small village uphill of Gardone, Valtrompia - in the province of Brescia, Italy.

Today, Bottega Incisioni consists of forty-five people spread over various departments. Its core is a group of twenty top Italian engravers led by Master Engraver Dario Cortini, whose work is recognized and appreciated the world over. The studio engraves unique pieces manufactured by some of the most prestigious brands, including watches, knives, jewelry, pens, firearms and more.

In addition to their world class engraving services they also feel the need to help prepare the future of engraving - by offering hands on training to qualified students. With this education and training, passionate students can develop their own unique voice and contribute to the future of this marvelous art form.