Josh Smith Knife show & hammer In

Attended the 3rd Annual Josh Smith Knife Show and Hammer In which takes place in beautiful Missoula Montana.  There was a great lineup of knife makers; Harvey Dean, Larry Fuegen, Josh Smith, Tim Hancock, Larry Feugen, Juergen Steinau, Ken Steigerwalt, Matt Lerch, Owen Wood,  Wade Colter, Rick Dunkerley, Bill Ruple and John Young.  The event started on Friday with an open house at Josh's place in neighboring Frenchtown, MT.  Fun hanging around and talking with everyone, some knife forging, cigar smoking, refreshments, fun with small arms and some heavier artillery.  A highlight of the event was the firing of the homemade cannon shooting bowling balls at the nearby mountain!  Here are some pictures of the cannon and "ammunition";

Looking downrange

 Here, for your entertainment is a link to a video on YouTube of the actual firing of the cannon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8e1rRFgf04
If you listen carefully you can hear a whistling as the bowling ball rotates and the air plays against the finger holes in the bowling ball.

Several of the attendees either arrived early or stayed late to enjoy the fishing.  Here is one of the wonderful streams I visited in the area;

Here is Ken Steigerwalt showing off his casting skills;

Besides the knife show/sale there were several demonstrations of technical skills involved in the knife making process, very interesting.  Anyway, a great time was had by all.  I hope to continue attending this great event.

A knife project comes together.

I enjoy working with various custom knife makers and engravers on projects, it is in fact one of my greatest enjoyments within the hobby of knife collecting.   The fruits of a recent labor have now all come together in a project I present for your enjoyment.  But first some background.

John Young is a very talented, in demand, knifemaker. John's wait list on orders is around five years and at shows a drawing is held for the privilege of buying one of his knives.  Over the years John and I have spent much time talking knives and as a result of many conversations we decided to do a project together.  John and I agreed that one of his knife models, in particular, was a prime candidate for engraving, his push dagger.  Together we discussed handle materials and engraving themes and engravers.  The result of our first project together was this beautiful push dagger engraved by Lee Griffiths.

After completion this piece was presented by John at the 2009 Blade Show in Atlanta.  John and I decided we enjoyed working together on the project and wanted to do more.

For our new project I came up with a theme; game animals with horns that are used for handle material.  Use the horn for the handles and have the animals engraved on the bolsters.  Next John and I came up with a knife design, a new  model, a Modified Chute.  Ray Cover Jr. was brought into the project before the knives were designed for his input on space requirements for engraving.  I also had a custom case made by Huey Gun Cases known for their work building custom cases for high end guns.  I am very excited about this project, three knives with handle materials made from the horns of animals depicted in the engraving.  The set will be on display for the first time at the 2010 Blade Show.

Here is the set in the custom Huey Case;

Close ups of the engraving;

Hope you have enjoyed this blog.

J W (John) Smith

The first custom knife I ever commissioned/ordered was from John Smith.  I saw a picture of one of his knives on the cover of the old NKCA (National Knife Collectors Association) magazine back when it was printed in color on high quality paper.  I was mesmerized. Well, John made me a knife like that one, it was wonderful, a little gentleman's pocket knife with fluted Mother-of-Pearl handles and gold pins.  This was 20 or so years ago.  I was living in Atlanta at the time and John was in northern Kentucky.  That year, when the family went to Cincinnati for the holiday's to visit with my wife's family, John and I met at a bar across the Ohio river in Covington KY.  He delivered the knife and I paid him, we then shared a few beers and thus began a long friendship.  John and I have shared many beers since then.  This is but one example of why I enjoy this hobby, knife people and the custom knife community have brought me many treasured friendships.

Anyway, back to knives.  I believe John is one of the most skilled makers on the custom knife scene today.  His fit and finish is second to none.  John makes his own Damascus and does his own engraving.  John produces Art Knives as well as Tactical Knives.  He is a member of the prestigious AKI (Art Knife Invitational) group of makers. Here are some examples of John's work;

Near or at the top end of the models John makes, I would say his signature piece, are his Sunburst mosaic pearl daggers.

This was the first of this model that I acquired and probably still my favorite.

Check out the details.

Here is a more simple (relatively) high end piece

John's tactical pieces are made with the same fit and finish as his Art pieces.  These next few are made with a 50+ year old Micarta of which there is little left.  The first is his F5 Flipper.

Utility Daggers, large & small

RG1 folder

John is a top notch maker and I highly recommend you check out his work if you are not already familiar with it.

Solvang Custom Knife Show

Recently returned from the Solvang Custom Knife Show which took place Saturday Apr. 24th.  This was an all drawing (i.e. lottery) format show, previously it was more along the lines of a traditional show; first come first served show.  I believe the consensus was that it worked out well and most buyers & sellers were pleased.  I got "skunked" myself, not drawn for the right to purchase any knives, however, I still came home with knives.  I had a delivery from C Gray Taylor and I purchased a Busfield from a friend.   Even though the format was lottery there was plenty of buying/selling before, after and at the show.  Great conversations and food at the show and the Bar-B-Que that evening, held at the Gainey Winery and Ranch was lots of fun.  It is great seeing the familiar faces and meeting new people.  The camaraderie is a highlight of the event [and most every knife show I attend].

Well here is another best part of the show, my acquisition;

C Gray Taylor Sleeveboard gentleman's folder with two blades, nail file and scissors.  The liners, pins, screw & tension bar in the scissors and the tip bolsters are all of 14k gold.  The antique Tortoise shell handles are inlaid with green and rose gold with highlights engraved by Tim George.

This is a knife that I look at and it makes me smile!

I would like to introduce you to, if you are not already familiar with, the work of Jody Muller.

I've known Jody for several years now and I am continually impressed by his knives.  Jody's work generally falls into the art knife category.  Though he occasionally collaborates with other makers, most notably Michael Burch when they make Damascus together, Jody's knives are generally sole authorship.  Aside from the basic knife construction, he makes his own Damascus and does his own engraving.   Here are some examples of Jody'e work;

Here are a few with some engraving that has really impressed me;

One of my favorite themes from Jody is dragons;

Here are some close ups of the engraving;

Hope you have enjoyed seeing the work of Jody Muller.

Skulls

Skulls seem a popular theme when it comes to knives; lanyard beads, engraving, carved, etc..  One of my purveyor friends always says skulls sell.  Kind of like them myself. Not sure what it is about them that causes the attraction. Here are some for your viewing pleasure.

 Engraving of skulls:

Skull Lanyard Beads;

Skull Thumb-stud;

Skull Menuli;

Skull Bead:

Anyway, skulls are kind a cool when associated with knives.  Hope you enjoyed the pictures.