They are so fine that they are used in human surgical procedures where objectionable scar tissue might result from the use of a coarser scalpel. The blade is made from obsidian—a type of volcanic glass—which allows a much finer blade than is possible with the conventional steel blade. In some cases this makes the relatively inexpensive obsidian scalpel a suitable substitute for an expensive diamond knife. Patterned after stone-age knives which first made their appearance about 18,000 years ago, these modern versions utilize hard maple wood dowelling for handles and a special epoxy coating. This seals the joint between the blade and the handle, and enables the knife to be autoclaved.

Cautionary information:

As obsidian is a very fragile material, great care should be taken not to exert any lateral pressure on the blade during cutting. Also, as each blade is hand-fashioned, sizes, shapes and points will vary.

Approx. blade length 12 mm