Knife Collecting

8 Stone- and Fossil-Handled Knives for “Old Rock Day”

January 3, 2018

Stone handle knife photo — Brilliant red jasper caps off the grip of Bill Duff’s miniature dagger. (Caleb Royer image)

One of the better ways to celebrate Old Rock Day (you do celebrate, don’t you?) is with a custom knife sporting a handle of anything stony or fossilized.

What is Old Rock Day?

Celebrated on Jan. 7, Old Rock Day salutes rocks of all kinds. In some locales, children are encouraged to discover their first “pet rock,” and festivities may include painting and decorating the “faces” of rocks. Some gather attractive pebbles and stones to make original pieces of jewelry. Some build rock gardens, and some towns and villages hold competitions for the best-looking rock garden.

BLADE has You Covered on Old Rock Day

To avoid getting your Old Rock Day off to a rocky start, we recommend you check out some stone-cool knife handles made of rocks and fossilized materials. You may not get your rocks off, but, if you love knives like we do, you will most definitely rock on.

Rare gemstone handle knife — Jerry McClure outfits his Little Mama Folder with a handle of green nephrite jade. (Caleb Royer image)

Ivory handle knife photo — Mastodon ivory comprises the grip of a Tony Hughes bowie in a 9.5-inch blade of Turkish twist damascus. (Caleb Royer image)

Mammoth ivory handle knife — Bruce Bingenheimer’s BingaLor folders have handles of mammoth ivory. (Caleb Royer image)

Example of custom dagger photo — Sodalite stone caps off Bertie Rietveld’s Pinnacle dagger in nebula damascus. (SharpByCoop image)

Titanium knife photo — The Protégé by Johnny Stout boasts mammoth ivory scales and fileworked titanium liners. (Caleb Royer image)

Walrus ivory handle knife photo — Ancient walrus ivory in a forged integral frame rocks the Slim Bad Fighter by David Lisch. (Caleb Royer image)

Custom knife photo — Don Hanson opts for fossil ivory on his clip-point bowie with handsome hamon. (Caleb Royer image)

See More Beautiful Knife Photos

Knives 2018 features full-color photos of the world’s best custom knives. It’s THE book for knife collectors, knifemakers and anyone interested in functional art.

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