Where brass meets horn on the workbench
A bolster is the metal collar between blade and handle, and on this set it is brass. Bolsters of this type are shaped, fitted to the blade, then ground and polished until their edge lines up exactly with the horn behind them. Getting that transition smooth is the slow part: brass is softer than steel, and black horn shows every scratch.
Sialkot's cutlery trade grew up around this mix of metalwork and natural materials, which is why the town remains a source of Pakistan cutlery with traditional finishes. The result here is six 12 cm black horn handles, each with a gold-toned brass collar and an 11.5 cm blade of 420 stainless steel, cased in wood.
