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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 soldered to a nickel silver base frame. In many cases, we use colored sapphires and other precious stones, set in 18K gold bezels, to further decorate these masterful carvings.
Koftgari is the name for fine gold (and silver) patterns inlayed into parkerized steel. This process, done entirely by hand, involves creating a very fine cross-hatch grid in the steel and then burnishing 24K gold 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, nearly a lost art.
Engraving is one of the most recognized and exacting adornments on metal, and most of our engraving is done on TITANIUM, adding layers of difficulty to the process. William Henry works with a select group of master engravers to create very limited edition pieces on an ongoing basis. Each edition, or piece, is carefully conceived and executed by Matt at 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 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.
Carved Ivory

Carved Scales, like our carved silver offerings, feature hand carved and polished handle scales in our range of high-grade shells and fossil materials. Occasionally we mix carved silver, inlaid gems, and carving on the scale in one stunning piece.
Guilloche, or Engine Turning, is a very fine geometric engraving on metal. William Henry owns a rare set of original Guilloche machines, built in the 1920's in Switzerland and used for decorating very high-grade timepieces. Completely rebuilt, these tools are now in service at William Henry and used to create very small editions of beautifully decorated metal components in our knives and pens. Nearly a lost art, William Henry's Guilloche machines are among less than 30 such machines still in commercial operation in the world today.
Heat Coloring, is done with a precision digital kiln at William Henry using heat to create surface oxidization that shows as a variety of colors on the surface of steel and other alloys. With our exotic damascus, the multiple different alloys in each billet react differentially to the heat, creating a range of as many as four separate colors in each piece of steel, woven thru the fabric of the damascus.
Acid Etching, is the traditional method of highlighting the patterns forged into damascus steel. We use a heated acid bath to etch each blade (and many frames and other components) to a depth and color that creates the most visual interest. Our damascus is specifically formulated from alloys that yield the utility properties we demand, but also alloys that will offer dramatic contrast in the etching process.
   

 

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3200 NE Rivergate Street, McMinnville, Oregon 97128 | 888.563.4500 | 503.434.9700

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