Thanks all for your comments...period pieces are my passion and have been for the last 50 years so it is always nice to know others appreciate them.
Kevin - here's a pic of the the coffin handled knife...
It's based on the knife carried by Seth Kinman, a famous 1800's frontiersman with a very interesting history.........
Awesome work all around! Now I'm really curious about the two accoutrements in the top two pictures - the little brush and leg bone container. What're they about? - Storm Crow
The brush is used for cleaning the pan and frizzen of a flintlock, the leg bone is a powder measure for muzzleloaders - in this case about 80 grains of 3F black powder....
Bigfattyt
Where do you get RawHide? Some time I would like to try making a raw hide sheath. Do you line them with anything?
I trade for much of mine but also purchase from Moscow Hide and Fur or Eidnes Furs - both have a website. I use deer, elk or buffalo, for sheaths and other work - cow rawhide is much harder to work with and was not commonly used until the late 1800's (reservation period). I make both exacting copies of original rawhide or rawhide lined sheaths (typical for the western Indians of the 1800's), but I also make bark tanned leather sheaths covered with rawhide - a method typically used in the past only for "repairing sheaths", but often used by todays makers when making fantasy pieces or imitations of originals - originals here in the west were often made of Indian made buffalo rawhide i.e parfleche, which is hard to find these days unless made by the maker themselves (a lot of work) or by a few (very few) period tanners these days......making Indian style buffalo rawhide is VERY labor intensive........with my bad back it's no longer in the cards for me, so I depend on a very few others as a resource and many of those are getting old enough to no longer offer it so I often use other methods......
Lorien
although somewhat threatening, these are astounding!
I'm starting to gain a deeper appreciation for the attention to detail in the decorative aspect of this genre in cutlery. I think I'd have to see some in person to truly understand, but I do and always have appreciated the feel, even if thru lighted pixels. It's just growing on me more and more, I guess.
That second to last piece really speaks to me.
Lorien - there are in fact at least a couple of genres in so far as period pieces are concerned. Both exacting copies of originals and the items that "may have been" yet based at least in part on methodology, materials, and in some cases "Hollywood" influenced - the latter are known amongst the collectors of period pieces as "fantasy", pieces, a term coined by the artisans of Colonial Williamsburg back in the late 1970's and a term that only implies a piece of work in period style, yet not a direct copy of a documented original.
The fantasy pieces are the type so often offered by artisans such as the House Brothers who have created a whole "new" school of knives, artifacts, and muzzleloading guns - i.e. the Woodbury School (Herschel, Frank, and John are the three brothers and they along with Frank's wife Lally, who does some of the most outstanding quillwork ever seen, are the founders of the school), Jud Brennan and his son (much akin to the House Bros in their work and all are outstanding makers, of both exactin gcopies or fantasy pieces - Judd makes some fantastic copies of original Bowies), Dan Winkler and Karen Shook, John Cohea, and some by myself like those shown above (I offer both copies of documented originals as well as fantasy pieces along with several other period craftsmen - neitehr style is better than the other but there is a difference), as well as several others not well known by the more "mainstream" collectors who visit here.
If you would like to know more about original copies is a vis fantasy pieces - let me know and I can offer some sources for both types. FYI - the fantasy pieces are akin to "art" knives, based in part on originals, but with the current craft persons ideas incorporated...........
That recurve piece was actually one of those serendipitous pieces that just happen - The grip, with copper fittings came together with out a blade, and then Tai sent that blade out of the blue and voila!.....
NStricker
Beautiful work Chuck! It seems that the "crows feet" decoration on the first sheath pictured is a motif you've used several times in the past. Is there significance (historically or otherwise) to that line work?
That is seen as crow's feet on some originals from the Plains, but also as raven's feet amongst the Pacific NW, tribes - it's a pattern I just like a lot.......
Scott - I have some pics of some other original belduques if you would like to have them email me via my website...
RogerP
Just beautiful work. The beading, in particular, is phenomenal.
Roger - Perhaps not so oddly enough I almost gave up doing beadwork several years ago. My brother-in-law at the time had become invalided (he's since passed on) and I gave him all my beading supplies to give him something to do, since at the time I was delving into other areas of leather work which have now wound up on the back burner so to speak.
About a year later I got a piece of Longhorn Cow leg bone that just cried out to make a war club. Gib Guignard (may he rest in peace) and I then wound up getting together and that was our first collaboration - Cactus Rose #1 (it can be seen on my website) war club and knife with sheath. Both pieces "needed" beadwork and it became once again a part of my crafting. Fortunately for me I had re-fallen in love with beadworking along with doing quillwork. Now a days beadwork and quillwork is a major part of my crafting whether it be a sheath, pouch, or other (pre-1860) period item.....much easier on my wore out bod than some other methods and a skill I truly love/relove to the point I am now offering custom bead and quillwork for those who appreciate or would like to have a piec of the craft.........
Steve Nuckels - VERY nice work sir! anytime you would like to collaborate on a period piece (mostly all I do these days outside of a few Wild Goo pieces) let me know......
but amazing stuff. That belduque in particular is incredible which reminds me my shear steel billet is still sitting there wanting to be one.
, these are astounding:thumbup:!
