Thanks to all for the kind comments. Black Ed: The alloy for the blade of the knife is a true 14 karat gold. There is no iron in it and it is no where near as tough as a steel blade would be. However, it is an alloy of gold, silver, copper, zinc, and cobalt that makes the metal much tougher than normal 14K gold. The alloy is also heat treatable and has the same color as the 18K gold the rest of the knife and map glass are made from. I make up all the gold alloys I use and, with gold at nearly $1100 an ounce at present, just the materials for a project like this get fairly pricey. Between the knife and the glass I used almost 20 ounces of 14 and 18 karat gold, not to mention the emeralds and diamonds.
