Hand-forged damascus
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 sword making 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.
Wave Damascus
William Henry's patent-pending Wave Damascus features a core in ZDP-189 (HRC 67) or VG-10 (cryo-tempered to a hardness of HRC 61) for superior sharpness and edge retention over time. The core of the blade is clad with alternating layers of stainless steel and nickel silver. The billet, 45 layers in all, is patterned with a custom die to create the undulating waves that emerge across the bevels of the blade. This material can be dark-etched for contrast, or etched and re-polished for a more subtle pattern.
Spinel
Natural spinel is a gemstone that has become a great favorite with gem dealers and gem collectors; one might even say that spinel is for gemstone connoisseurs only.
It is a hard glassy mineral occurring as octahedral crystals of variable color and consisting chiefly of magnesium and aluminum oxides.
Some spinels are among the most famous gemstones in the world: among them are the Black Prince's Ruby and the "Timur Ruby" in the British Crown Jewels, and the "Côte de Bretagne", formerly from the French Crown jewels.
Fossil Mammoth Tusk
Literally the ring section of the fossil tusk of 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 between 35 and 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 tusk is harvested in Alaska and Siberia, often from underwater. It is a rare and mesmerizing material, a living testimony of the dawn of Mankind.
Etched damascus
This material obtained by immersing a traditional damascus billet it in an acid solution. The process creates a striking visual contrast by enhancing the components that are more susceptible to the etching of the acid.
