Collectibles: Cutting Edge
December 1, 2007
I create art knives," says John Jensen, founder and creator of Jensen Knives, "I approach things from an artistic point of view, whereas other makers only seem to create embellished knives." According to Jensen, the difference is in the craftsmanship. He often spends 25 hours on the sketch design, before even beginning the knife making process—which can range from 150 to 300 hours depending on the type of knife and materials—and boasts that the finished product is roughly 95-percent accurate to his initial drawings. Using titanium or Damascus steel as his starting point, Jensen whittles a square slab of metal with special design tools—often used in the jewelling industry—until the art piece takes its appropriate shape.
But what most knife makers see as a finished product, Jensen sees as a canvas; inlaying elaborate designs on the handle and staining the metal with intricate patterns is where his true art unfolds. Whether it is gold or crystal, black-lip pearl or prehistoric ivory from mastodon tusks, each of his one-of-kind creations is fashioned with the world’s most rare and unusual resources.
Jensen makes various types of knives, ranging from folding knives to daggers to stilettos, but each one carries his distinct style and often bears his signature shield-and-cross maker’s crest. While Jensen knives are built for artistic reasons, Jensen stands behind the quality of his work. "My knives are built like tanks. If the apocalypse comes and you need to use it, it will work the same as any other knife." Prices start at $10,000, but are determined by time-of-labor and rarity of material. The two pictured here, Cyclops (left) and Krystallos (right), took 150 and 210 hours of labor respectively, and cost about $15,000 each.
John Lewis Jensen, www.jensenknives.com
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