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Half Face Blades-founder, Andrew Arrabito, tells a story about walking a knifemaker gathering and feeling out of place. Beautiful blades everywhere but when he asked the guys selling skinning knives if they skinned animals — no. Asked the chef-knife guys if they cooked — not really. What bothered him wasn’t the craftsmanship. It was that almost none of the blades were designed by someone who’d actually done the job.
Read it by the numbers, not the finish.
The Jaq — 6.1” overall · 2.7” blade · .14” thick · CPM S45VN · Acid Etch · Kydex
CPM S45VN is powder-metallurgy stainless: 16% chromium, 3% vanadium, half a point of niobium, plus nitrogen. That chromium number is the story — in salt testing it lands between Elmax and M390 for corrosion resistance while holding edge retention on par with S30V. Sweat, blood, salt air, a wet pocket. It doesn’t care.
At .14” it’s a real cutter. Carbon fiber handle with burlap and copper mesh in the layup, CF pins instead of steel, textured grip.This exact material stack was a one-offmake.
Built near Oceanside by a retired Frogman who asks what a tool is for before what it looks like. Made in the USA.
ARMA POTENTE — consequential tools for the discerning man.
