Official 2012 Mini Knife KITH - closed!!

[fast14riot]

Well everyone here is the official start of the 2012 Mini Knife KITH! Back by popular demand, this is the second annual running, and I will be your host. This thread is where you can post “I’m in, I will make a knife by July 1.” You are not obligated until the JULY 1, 2012 deadline when all will have to post: "My knife is done and in a box ready to ship."

This KITH is open to all who wish to make a mini knife or similar tool (sword, hawk, etc.) that they feel represents the best of their abilities and efforts. The spirit of this KITH is to encourage makers of all skills and abilities to try their hand at making a mini knife. All others who have made one before should just try and do a good job. We have knives from fairly new makers to master smiths. All are given with the spirit of the KITH, and received just as gladly.

There will be no exceptions to the JULY 1, 2012 cutoff (midnight PST). If the knife isn't finished by then, you won't get a shipping label....no exceptions. (If you need the label early ,that won't be such a problem, but no extensions.)

So, if everyone wants to, let’s get started. Here is the KITH:

2012 MINI KNIFE KITH
This thread is for all those interested in joining the 2012 MINI KNIFE KITH.
While the normal KITH's are for full sized working (or display) knives, this one will be exclusively for miniatures. The purpose is to make a knife and give it away to another knife maker. In return you will get a knife from someone. No one will know who they are making the knife for until after the knife is finished, and no one will know who they will receive a knife from until it arrives in the mail.

SOME BASIC RULES:
The entrant must make, finish, and box the knife by or before JULY 1, 2012. Once finished, the maker can then post on the “2012 MINI KNIFE KITH - I’m Ready,” thread. This thread will be posted starting MAY 1, 2012. Photos of the completed knives can be posted on a separate “KITH Photos" thread if it gets to the size where a separate thread is needed.
By JULY 10, 2012, I will make a shipping label and an envelope for each entrant, from those who have logged on the “I’m Ready” thread. I will have a third party randomly draw the labels and stick them in an envelope. The only examination of the names will be to assure no one is sent their own label. I will then email the name and address to each person in the KITH.

If you are interested in becoming a part of this; post on this thread, “I’m In - I will make a knife by JULY 1, 2012.”
Also, send me an email to, fast14riot@gmail.com . Give me you real name, your forum name, shipping address, contact phone, and email.
At this point, that is all you need to do. I will keep track of those who are interested in participating. I will send out reminders by email to keep us all going. If you don’t finish the knife, or if there is a conflict of schedule, there is no problem this way - the recipients are only drawn from those who have completed their entry by July 1, 2012.

About the knives:
A miniature can be many things, I generally think it should be of 1/4 scale or less, but it is up to you. A 1/4 scale Bowie can easily be 4" long, but a 1/4 scale katana I would think of as a knife. Whatever scale you choose, be sure to pay attention to every detail to make sure it is true to scale. The entry can be any knife or blade smith related item; fixed blade, folder, axe, hawk, sword, etc. The only requirement is that it be made by the submitter and of miniature scale (For simplicity, I will refer to it as “the knife“). The workmanship should be of the best quality that you are able to do. Levels will vary depending on ability and experience, but if you feel your knife will be a suitable gift, then by all means enter. If you are just starting, and still learning the basics, perhaps sitting this year out would be best. The knife should be fully completed, and a sheath or case is completely optional due to the non-usable nature of minis. You should provide all the pertinent information on the knife in a note to the recipient (put this in the box). Outside services, such as Water Jet, Stabilization, and Heat Treatment are fine, but the workmanship on the knife should be yours. The value level of the knife is up to you as most likely these will be made of scraps. It should be something that will be happily received by the new owner, but levels of value will vary, depending on the maker and their circumstances. It is a fun gift exchange, not a swap meet. It is not about what you get back for what you put in. Some knives will be worth more than others, but it is totally up to you. No one is obligated to go beyond their means to enter this KITH.

Let’s all have some fun and make some truly worthy mini knives.


-Xander Holman

[fast14riot]

Ok, like last year I will use this thread for keeping track of who is entered and who I have received info from.

Who's in:

Fast14riot - Xander Holman
Mike Davis - Mike Davis
Aarongb - Aaron Brown
Wolffbite - Jonathan Wolff
DanCo - Daniel Combs
Zaph1 (and son) - Charles Clayton X2
RyanW - Ryan Weeks
Thegeek574 - Steven Baugh
Tryppyr - Greg Davis
Bladsmth - Stacy Apelt
s2f - Mitch Shaw
The_Cutting_Edge - Jason Leclair
Battle Creek Knives - Robert Carpenter
Arcadiaknives - Patrick Burns

[Mike Davis]

Xander, I am in , I will make a knife by July 1st I had a lot of fun doing this last year, and have already made a few for fun this year. I actually anticipated this, and have a few ready right now, but i will make a few more and pick the one that i think is best.

[aarongb]

I’m In - I will make a knife by JULY 1, 2012.

[fast14riot]

Xander, I am in , I will make a knife by July 1st I had a lot of fun doing this last year, and have already made a few for fun this year. I actually anticipated this, and have a few ready right now, but i will make a few more and pick the one that i think is best.

Mike, glad to have you in! Good thing you got a few done already, although I am glad you stuck it out and came in just under the wire last year, that cutlass was awesome! I get the feeling there are going to be lots of "one ups" this year, I know I am going to try something crazy hard!


-Xander

[DanCo]

Well I am in. I have already started on it actually.

[fast14riot]

Well I am in. I have already started on it actually.

WooHoo! Glad you decided to join us Daniel! But do be sure to email me so I don't overlook your name later on, gotta stay organized with this thing!

-X

[wolffbite]

I am in, I will make a knife by July 1st.

Sending an email shortly... I think I know what design I shall do

[thegeek574]

I am tentatively in.

[zaph1]

I am in and will make a knife by July 1. My son, Graham, is also in and will make a knife by July 1.

[RyanW]

I am in again! I will have my Mini KITH knife finished by July 1st..

[fast14riot]

I am in and will make a knife by July 1. My son, Graham, is also in and will make a knife by July 1.

Good to have you Charles and Graham join us again this year! Please send me a separate email with Grahams name and appropriate contact info so he gets his own turn at the name draw. Along with yours as well.

Gonna have a Lara Croft doll model this years knife?!

I am in again! I will have my Mini KITH knife finished by July 1st..

Ryan, you joined up last minute last year and I am glad you did! I still have that mini sitting on my bar on display next to a few others. Opened a few letters with it too!


Don't forget to email me fellas!

Geek- your not obligated until the July 1 deadline, so if you don't get one done, no worries!


-Xander

[fast14riot]

Just thought I would bump this since it is now in the sticky's. I hope people don't overlook it up here!

Please, remember to send me an email to fast14riot@gmail.com with the following:

Forum name
Real name
Mailing address
Contact phone #
Contact email

I have info for some of you guys on a personal level, but for the sake of organization please still send me an email so I have everyones in the same place. This helps me tremendously!

-Xander Holman
KITH Director

P.S. If you are outside of the Continental US, please list your mailing address in the appropriate format so there is no confusion or delays.

If you sent an email to the account attached to my profile here, that's fine I can take it from there to my gmail account.

[tryppyr]

Don't tell Mike Turner, but I'm in too. i think I can sneak this one in before July 1 while simultaneously working on making something interesting from Mike's damascus.

[bladsmth]

I'm in. I've got a couple really nice projects in mind.

Just for info purposes (OK, I'm blowing my own horn), I just won the award "Best Custom Collection" for my minis this past weekend. I was competing against full size knife collections, including the Buck Club collectors.
The photos were taken Sunday. By then the minis had been picked over in sales. I sold the entire set of historical spears just after taking the photo.

[fast14riot]

Thanx for joining us again this year! Congrats on the award, too! That is awesome, and difficult to do.


-Xander

[zaph1]

Graham is eagerly looking forward to it. After I told him about it last night, he spent 15 minutes telling me what kind of knife he was going to do, then changing it, then changing again. He settled on "something with damascus from Gary Mulkey, probably a sword!"

[Shaw Blades]

“I’m In - I will make a mini battle axe by JULY 1, 2012.”

[The_cutting_edge]

I give it a try. I am in and will make a mini by July 1.

[fast14riot]

Graham is eagerly looking forward to it. After I told him about it last night, he spent 15 minutes telling me what kind of knife he was going to do, then changing it, then changing again. He settled on "something with damascus from Gary Mulkey, probably a sword!"

Charles, please tell Graham that we are all glad to have him join us this year! His enthusiasm is entirely appropriate as I am now looking at several blades I started a while back wondering how I am going to finish them, thinking about how to do something different, what materials to use, and wondering what some of you guys are going to be making!

Something I noticed is we have two makers from Canada signed up already, something we didn't have last year. Hopefully as this goes along more makers complete a knife than last year. We had a good group and great knives, but I want to see this thing grow every year!

I encourage you, the makers, to reach out to other makers here and on other forums to check it out. Something about making a mini really helps build an attention to detail, thinking outside the box type innovation, and gives a different view of various materials maybe not normally used in knife making, wheather tools or raw materials.

Let's all have fun and make some worthy mini knives!


-Xander Holman