Blackside Customs Plan B: A One of a Kind Starlingear Collaboration
The Blackside Customs Plan B (BSC-PB) is a fixed blade in CPM MagnaCut. That sentence sells this piece short, this is much more than a fixed-blade. Hank Greenberg designed and built it in Oceanside, New York. The handle scales are solid copper, hand-carved and embellished by Ryk Maverick of Starlingear. It measures 8.50 inches overall at 5.08 ounces. Condition is mint.
The certificate that comes with it is filled in by hand and signed. It records the model, the collaboration, the steel, the copper handles, and four words that matter more than the rest: one of a kind.
This is a custom knife, created by two very talented designers and artists, Hank Greenberg and Ryk Maverick. The steel, the blade shape, the handle art and every design choice were tailored by two people. Functional art, ABSOLUTELY!
Here two artisans did that work, from two different disciplines. Our guide on how to choose a custom knife covers what that buys you.
Hank Greenberg, and Seven Years as Marfione’s Number Two
Hank Greenberg has spent over 32 years in the firearm and knife industry. He has consulted for major firearm companies, for law enforcement agencies, and for custom knifemakers.
For seven of those years he was Custom Shop Manager at Microtech Knives. He worked hand in hand with Anthony Marfione as Microtech went through a massive growth phase on projects in the United States and abroad. That is the knife company that produces the pieces on our Marfione Custom Sigil listing.
Then he reached a turning point. In his own account, after decades of being the number-two guy he wanted a company where he could express his own vision. Blackside Customs came out of that decision.
He is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Alexander Freitas, and that shows in the knives. Grip, weight distribution and where the jimping falls are not styling decisions when the person designing them trains in close quarters.
Ryk Maverick and Starlingear
Starlingear is the work of one artist, Ryk Maverick. His usual output is jewelry: necklaces, rings, beads, bracelets, pendants, and the occasional motorcycle shifter knob. He works in sterling silver, bronze, copper, aluminum, steel and titanium.
The classic Starlingear look is polished. In recent years Maverick has moved toward distressed finishes and heat coloring, and this knife is that work applied to a blade.
What he does to a Blackside chassis is not engraving in the flat sense. The copper is carved in relief, and separate cast elements are set into the slabs. On this piece there are four: a Starlingear skull at the guard, an American eagle holding a banner at the center, the Blackside Customs crown inset into a carved star, and a gear-form fitting at the pommel.
Because every one is cut by hand, no second set exists. That is the mechanical reason behind the phrase on the card.
The Sumi Finish and the Suminagashi Wave
Sumi is Blackside’s two-tone dark finish. On this blade it stops along a wave that runs the length of the bevel, so the dark flat meets a paler edge in a rippling line rather than a straight one.
Suminagashi is the Japanese art of floating ink. Ink is dropped onto still water, moved with a breath or a fan, and lifted onto paper, which leaves marbled bands that never repeat. The blade is not made that way, but the line it draws is the same idea.
The practical effect is that no two of these read alike, even before Maverick touches the handle. Browse our other fixed blades for comparison.
Copper That Was Never Meant to Stay Still
The scales are solid copper, not a copper veneer. They are thick enough to be carved in relief and to take cast elements set into their faces.
The color is heat. Copper takes an oxide film when it is warmed, and the thickness of that film decides the color, running through straw and orange into purple and blue. On these scales all of those are present in a single slab.
Copper is a living surface. It keeps reacting to handling and to air, and the tone will shift over years of ownership. Some collectors stabilize it under a wax or lacquer. Others let it move. Neither is wrong, and it is worth deciding before you handle it much.
The hardware is black oxide Torx, chosen so the fasteners disappear rather than compete with the carving. See our Blackside Copper Fedele X Kit for another copper piece from the same shop.
Blackside Customs Plan B Blade and Carry
The name is the design brief. The Plan B is a backup blade, the one you reach for when the first answer has failed.
The blade is a clip point in CPM MagnaCut, 4.25 inches with 4 inches of cutting edge at 0.127 inches thick. A fuller runs the length of the blade to take out weight, and a swedge runs the spine to the point.
MagnaCut is formulated so its chromium stays in solution rather than tying itself into coarse carbides. That gives real corrosion resistance without the brittleness most stainless steels pay for it, which matters on a knife carried against the body.
Carry is a thermoformed Kydex sheath with a milled Blackside alignment tag. The handle is 0.448 inches thick with a lanyard hole at the butt. The knife alone weighs 5.08 ounces, and 6.63 ounces in the sheath.
Condition and What’s Included with This Blackside Customs Plan B
Condition is mint, as good as new. We inspect every knife in hand before we photograph it. On a piece with a carved copper handle that inspection matters, because relief carving shows handling immediately. Our published grading standards let you check this description against what arrives.
We received this knife in a trade. It comes with the Blackside Customs slide box and the hand-filled certificate, signed, confirming its one of a kind status.
On a piece like this the card is not a formality. It is the document that separates a one-off from a micro-batch. Read how we handle provenance on pieces verified by the maker.
- Blackside Customs Plan B fixed blade, Starlingear collaboration
- Thermoformed Kydex sheath with milled Blackside alignment tag
- Blackside Customs slide box
- Hand-filled and signed Certificate of Authenticity confirming one of a kind status
Blackside Customs Plan B Specifications
The model, the collaboration, the steel, the handle material and the one of a kind status are taken from the signed certificate.
- Overall length: 8.50 in
- Blade length: 4.25 in
- Cutting edge: 4.00 in
- Blade thickness: 0.127 in
- Blade material: CPM MagnaCut
- Blade style: Clip point with fuller and upper swedge
- Blade finish: Blackside Sumi finish with Suminagashi wave along the bevel
- Handle material: Solid copper, hand-carved by Ryk Maverick of Starlingear
- Handle embellishments: Cast Starlingear skull, American eagle with banner, Blackside Customs crown inset in a carved star, gear-form pommel fitting
- Handle thickness: 0.448 in
- Hardware: Black oxide Torx
- Lanyard hole: At the butt
- Sheath: Thermoformed Kydex with milled Blackside alignment tag
- Weight, knife only: 5.08 oz
- Weight, in sheath: 6.63 oz
- Model code: BSC-PB
- Date made: August, 2026
- Country of origin: Oceanside, New York, USA
- Configuration: One of a kind, confirmed on the certificate
- Condition: Mint
- SKU: 00212-BSC-PLANB-STARLINGEAR-COPPER-20260801
This piece was received in a trade. Browse our other preowned knives.
Video Description: If this is plan B, I’d love to see plan A
The Blackside Customs Plan B is a one of a kind fixed blade in CPM MagnaCut. Hank Greenberg built it in Oceanside, New York. The handle scales are solid copper, hand-carved and embellished by Ryk Maverick of Starlingear. The blade carries Blackside’s Sumi finish with a Suminagashi wave along the bevel. It measures 8.50 inches overall at 5.08 ounces. Condition is mint.
The handle carries cast elements set into the copper. A Starlingear skull sits at the guard and an American eagle with a banner at the center. The Blackside crown is inset in a carved star. The blade is 4.25 inches with 4 inches of cutting edge, at 0.127 inches thick. It ships with a Kydex sheath, the Blackside slide box and a signed certificate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does one of a kind mean on this Blackside Customs Plan B?
It means exactly one exists, and the maker’s card says so. Blackside releases most of its collaborations in micro-batches, where a handful of near-identical pieces go out together. This is not one of those.
The mechanical reason is the handle. Maverick carves the copper in relief and sets the cast elements by hand, so depth, placement and patina differ on every slab he touches. Even a second attempt at the same design would not match. The card is documentation of something the object already makes true.
What is the Sumi finish, and what does Suminagashi mean?
Sumi is Blackside’s proprietary two-tone dark finish. On this blade it terminates along a wave that runs the bevel, so the dark flat meets a lighter edge in a rippling boundary instead of a clean line.
Suminagashi is the Japanese art of floating ink, in which ink is dropped on still water, moved with breath or a fan, and lifted onto paper. The result is marbled bands that never repeat. The blade is not made that way, but the line it draws is borrowed from it, and no two come out the same.
Will the copper keep changing, and should I stop it?
It will. The color on these scales comes from heat, which grows an oxide film on the copper, and film thickness is what produces the straw, orange, purple and blue you can see in a single slab. Copper keeps reacting to air and to skin oils after that.
Some collectors seal it under wax or lacquer to hold the current state. Others let it darken and deepen. Neither choice is wrong, but it is worth making deliberately, because heavy handling before you decide will start the process for you.
Who is Ryk Maverick, and why does his name add value?
Maverick is the artist behind Starlingear, working primarily in jewelry: rings, pendants, beads, bracelets, and sterling silver counter-culture pieces with a following of their own. His materials run from sterling to bronze, copper, aluminum, steel and titanium.
That matters here because the buyer pool is two pools. A Starlingear collaboration reaches collectors who buy his silver work and would never otherwise shop a tactical fixed blade. Pieces that sit in two collecting markets at once behave differently on the secondary market than pieces that sit in one.
Why does Hank Greenberg’s Microtech history matter?
Because it explains the tolerances. Greenberg spent seven years as Custom Shop Manager at Microtech, working as Anthony Marfione’s right-hand man on projects in the United States and internationally. That is the job of executing the most complex custom work a major house takes on.
He left because he had spent decades as the number-two man and wanted his own vision built. What Blackside makes is the machining discipline of that background applied to his own designs, which is why a Blackside chassis is a sound canvas for an artist like Maverick to work on.
Does We Buy Knife Collections actively support the broader knife enthusiast community?
Yes. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, We Buy Knife Collections is a curator and purveyor of fine custom made folding and fixed-blade knives. We are dedicated to the high-end custom knife community and we support knife rights advocacy.
Following our commitment upgrade in April 2026, we are proud to hold an AKTI Premier Membership, supporting the American Knife & Tool Institute’s vital advocacy and lobbying for knife owners, makers, and the future of the industry.
Buy This Blackside Customs Plan B
We inspect every knife in hand and photograph it ourselves. See what else is available on the Blackside Customs brand page. You can also talk to us about selling your collection.
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