SharpByCoop • Gallery of Handmade Knives

[mckgreg]

Jeepers Coop !!
Greg

[jonathan brand]

Coop- I'd love to see any knife that you struggled with for a while before getting right. . Do any recent ones come to mind? I bet its really hard to get all these high polishes. Gonna be exciting to see what you produce at Blade.. can't wait!

[SharpByCoop]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for noting this. The hardest photos are usually the ones in which the client wants to help... They are also the ones that are the most gratifying when they succeed.

It's ALWAYS about the lighting. Camera quality plays a far distant role. That said, I use (2) lights and an array of bouncing mirrors for 90% of my shots (I have a frontal softbox I will use when the mirrors aren't up to the job.)

A great knife photograph shows the blade AND the handle in good lighting. The positioning of my lights is always different for both of these areas.

At this point, I understand the geometry of bounced lighting, and I make small corrections to the lights or the positioning of the knives until I have achieved the 'look' I want. That look appears easy and natural, but as you alluded to, I may have thrown out 20 shots of the same exact pose until I finally got it correct. The bad ones are all on the editing room floor, so to speak.

Let's look at some examples:

I showed these next two shots to Dr. Fred Carter (An expert photographer in his own right) and he immediately understood how complex and worthwhile it was to show blued handles well. Not easy.





Showing the clouds and highlights in pearl? A photographer's challenge at all times:


(These get a dose of help in Photoshop to replicate the way the human eye will view them. I have to darken the pearl in relation to the rest of the photo. The camera's processor is not 1/1000 as good as the human eye.)

You want to show good grinds well? An inch or two either way with the lights makes all the difference.



Lastly, when I am doing website dealer work, and need to show the vital aspects all in one plausible rectangle, I work hard at visualizing a format that allows all the components to reside comfortably.


(In this case, open, closed, LH side, RH side, well fitment, included pouch, a portion of the backspine, and enlarged detail.)



Thanks for asking. (Most knives in this post courtesy of Walter Hoffman)

[Bastid]

I love this thread. The work of the makers is nothing short of incredible and Jim's photography truly shows them off almost as well as seeing them.

Thank Jim!

[betzner]

Coop - Just an outstanding job capturing the blued, pearl and horn handles. Nobody does it better, those are some outstanding, representative examples of your talent - and a super question by Jon - something I had never thought to ask, but a terrific question.

[Kevin Jones]

It seems impossible, but the images/knives keep getting better and better.

That Dr. Fred Carter is absolutely beautiful.

Thanks Coop.

[Keith Montgomery]

Lovin' this thread.

[SharpByCoop]

It's been busy, as I have been finishing up some projects before packing for Blade.

I had a rare opportunity to shoot a pair of these magnificent 'switchblades' for a collector. They were made by Paul Panak (Burn Knives). he specializes in these Italian autos, and does them well.

These have Jerry Rados opposing twist patterns in each blade, and there are two grinds and guard styles (Flat guard and Picklock).





Charles Vestal showed this fighter he created for the CKCA mini show. He really nailed all of it well. I had to show the quality of his soldering, the clean grinds, and the shaping of his handle.



Jim Drouillard made me a similar knife years ago. It sits in a clip sheath on my van's visor. Always ready and undercover.

Here, he made this knife and donated it to a charity auction to be held in Scotland for his group, 'The Clan'.



(Jim isn't a member here, but we go way back on the Knife Network forum.)

Lastly, a proud collector sent me this wonderful curvy folder by Montana Mastersmith Shane Taylor. Dig the blued damascus!

[Don Hanson III]

Very Nice work Coop!

Would like to know where Paul Panak got that ivory?

[jonathan brand]

I like Shane Taylors knives alot. Paul Panaks got some real nice Ivory there, I agree.

[Marcel54]

Coop, as always beautiful photos

Very cool looking switchblades, very nice grinds and amazing ivory...unfortunately they are illegal overhere.

Don, do you ever sleep

Marcel

[GigOne]

Would like to know where Paul Panak got that ivory?

Sorry, Don. Coming from the man who I thought cornered the ivory market. . . .I just found your query humorous.




Superb pics, Coop!

[SharpByCoop]

Very Nice work Coop!

Thanks Don, and others!

Would like to know where Paul Panak got that ivory?

He he he! Don's so jealous he's going to race Paul to the table next time. No one, I mean NO ONE beats Don at the ivory game! (Juuuuuust kidding ) Here's the Burn Knives website.

I dunno. It's 'wooly mammoth' ivory according to his info sheet.

Marcel: I carry an auto on me every day. Totally illegal. Nor do I come to a complete stop at stop signs. Some instances you have to take risks.

Coop

[Don Hanson III]

Don, do you ever sleep

Marcel, it wasn't that late here, but I do spend a lot of time on BF, too much!

And like Coop, I'm also very illegal. Having made over 300 autos

Gig, I'm always on the hunt. I collect really good ivory

[Kevin Jones]

Marcel, it wasn't that late here, but I do spend a lot of time on BF, too much!

And like Coop, I'm also very illegal. Having made over 300 autos

Gig, I'm always on the hunt. I collect really good ivory

Looks a lot like Don Hanson ivory.

Not too much time around here Don, you add enormously.

Beautiful images as always, Coop.

[SharpByCoop]

Hi folks,

My wife and I are heading out tomorrow, driving to Atlanta. I am going to be busy packing until 1pm departure, but we'll make it to arrive at 2pm on thursday.

Here is a poster we have created from the above knife. I'll have a couple of them around.



I want to announce, in case you weren't aware, that Buddy Thomason will be setting up a Portrait Studio in a corner of our room, and he will be doing knifemaker headshots for "Websites, brochures, articles, books and more..." The Blade Show managers also thought this was smart.

We both felt there was a need for this type of service, and Buddy and I work together well. I am excited for him and for us!

••• Lastly, I am placing an appeal to see if anyone may know of a helper to assist us this weekend. Pickups and deliveries of knives, and maybe even some writeups if Susan is unavailable or occupied. A son/daughter or a spouse that might enjoy staying busy and meeting LOTS of fine people. I'm happy to pay them for their hours: $12 per hour! Please let me know if you have a reliable lead. 203-644-4500cell •••

Thanks! See you there.

Coop

[HTMD]

Thanks to Coop for working with me on this project and thanks also to Eric Bradley, new BLADE Show manager, for his generous support. I think this will prove to be a valuable service for knifemakers and possibly others attending the show as well.



(Can't believe I misspelled my own name! Jeeesh! Something else to fix quick before leaving for BLADE in about 36 hours.)

[SharpByCoop]

My wife and I attended the Blade show, with great success. Buddy Thomason helped me out and did his own portrait shots, and overall it was busy from Thursday afternoon arrival to Sunday afternoon closing.

Here's a taste of the knives from the show. I posted a thread all its own because of the volume.





I have over 80 equal-quality images and knives in my online album.
Click to see them all: Blade Show Knives 2009

More studio images pending....

Coop

[SCMknives]

Wow...these knives are rediculously beautiful. Coop, your pictures make you feel like you can reach into the screen and grab them! Simply put, both the knives and the photo's are top notch!

Thanks, Steve

[Roberto Andrade]

Well done Coop., amazing pictures!