Handle on history: Knives embedded with rocket parts honor 45 years of Ariane launches

A French company that crafts knife handles from leftover rocket metal and the wood from trees surrounding the rocket's launch pad has created a limited-edition piece celebrating the anniversary of Europe's venerable expendable heavy-lift vehicle.

SpacePep's has introduced its "45 Years of Ariane" folding knife. Each of the 100 individually-numbered knives is made with metal from the production of an Ariane 5 rocket, which is embedded in the snakewood handle.

"It was indeed on Dec. 24, 1979, that the first Ariane launcher in history took off from the ELA1 launch pad, giving Europeans autonomous access to space," read SpacePep's description of the anniversary knife. "We therefore wanted to create a unique piece worthy of this galactic success."

In line with SpacePep's other knives, the metal in the 45th anniversary special edition comes from the parts still remaining after the assembly of the now-retired Ariane 5 rockets, such as screws.

Related: Farewell, Ariane 5! Europe's workhorse rocket launches 2 satellites on final mission (video)

"The repurposing of Ariane metals into SpacePep's knives symbolizes the continuation of Europe's space legacy, but in a way that connects it directly to everyday life," Teddy Peponnet, SpacePep's founder and a European Space Agency energy transition and infrastructure project manager for the European Spaceport, said in an ESA statement.

"Each piece of rocket metal is machine cut and expertly integrated into the knife handles by Fontenille Pataud master cutlers in Thiers, France, a city renowned for its tradition of fine knife-making. This careful process ensures that the legacy of Europe's space achievements can be felt in each handcrafted knife," Peponnet told the space agency.

The wood encasing the rocket metal is sourced from the sustainably managed forests in French Guiana, where Europe's Spaceport is located. The Guiana Space Center in Kourou has been the site of every Ariane launch from the 1979 maiden flight through the final Ariane 5 liftoff in July 2023. The next-generation Ariane 6 used the same site for its debut in July of this year.

In addition to snakewood, SpacePep's other knive handles feature the use of five other wood types, from purpleheart to marblewood.

Customers ordering the "45 Years of Ariane" special edition through SpacePep's website can choose to personalize their knife by picking from the still-available serial numbers, opting to include ESA's logo at the base of the blade, adding their initials to the handle and inscribing the knife with a brief message.

Some of the options add to the cost to the 449 Euro (about $475 U.S.) knife. All profits from SpacePep's products go to supporting the Polakat Association, an organization in French Guiana dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture and the area's gastronomic heritage.

"Polakat" means "eating well" in Amerindian, the language spoken by indigenous communities in the region. Through its sales, SpacePep's is helping to fund a research project focused on the cultivation of the tonka bean, a spice that grows wild in the French Guiana forests.

"We are careful to team up with organizations that share the agency's values, and so are particularly proud to work with [this] project," said Nadia Lüders, who is responsible for brand licensing and partnerships at ESA.

SpacePep's other products include The Authentic, an open edition 299 Euro (about $315 U.S.) folding knife and The Set, a six-piece 510 Euro ($540 U.S.) collection. The company also has produced a series of keychains in a selection of the same woods and embedded with Ariane 5 steel flakes that depict the rocket and its launch site. Each keychain sell for 19.90 Euro (about $21 U.S.).

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