Hundreds of specially commissioned photographs demonstrate the intricacy of the designs on both handle and blade. Carved, painted, and inlaid, each design is unique. Designs range from elegant, sweeping contemporary lines that demonstrate the simple beauty of deeply cut file work on stainless steel to intricately inlaid pieces using 24-karat gold, diamonds, Mother-of-pearl, horn, ivory, coral, shells, wood, and silver. This handsome volume spotlights the work of renowned veterans of the art as well as up-and-coming artists. Each artist has created a special knife design especially for this book, their techniques documented by hundreds of full-color photographs. Accompanying the pictures are essays written by each of the artists that describe the process and the significance of this unique art form. The artists in this book range from Massachusetts to Texas and from Japan to Australia, representing the wide array of cultures that are reflected in their work.