This is a John W. Smith Sole-Authorship Damascus and Mother of Pearl Linerlock. The blade is 3 inches, the handle is 4 inches, with an overall length of 7 inches. Master knifemaker John W. Smith of Kentucky, US, perfectly represents the term "sole-authorship" as he is a maker that truly does everything himself. John does his own engraving, makes his own damascus, does his own carving, his own gold inlays, his own filework, and even makes the beautiful 14K gold screws he uses in his knives! He is a master craftsman and artisan, and is considered one of the top knifemakers in the US and the world. This knife is a great example of John's skill and sole-authorship abilities. The blade and double bolsters are his own amazing mosaic damascus, and have been heat colored for a beautiful effect. The mother of pearl scales are very fiery and colorful and are held onto the liners by four 14K gold screws made by John in his shop. The liners are gold-anodized and wonderfully fileworked, and the backspacer is more of his mosaic damascus that has been fileworked to match the blade spine. The thumbstud is filworked 14K gold, and the bolsters are each inlayed with two 24K gold strips. Another feature of John's knives, which this knife perfectly exhibits, is the amazingly smooth opening and closing of the blade...it literally glides open and closed! The overall fit and finish is perfect, and the lockup is solid and tight. This is a truly wonderful knife for someone that wants a sole-authorship piece by one of the top knifemakers around at a very reasonable price. 

John is one of the 25 AKI (Art Knife Invitational) knifemakers, a very prestigious and select group of some of the top knifemakers and artisans in the world. The AKI event takes place every two years in San Diego, CA and is one of, if not, the most important and prestigious art knife event in the world.