A recent acquisition circa 1989

Scores a plenty
my dough was tied up but when I saw the Offerings on Daves site i grinned knowing
they'd be plucked by the savvy!
 
Here is what Bill told me about my knife:

This one was made around 1988-1990 Eleven different steels. . . Jack
Hammer points, (s-7) dozer and grader cuttin' blades (abrasive
resistant) Circular saw blades (L6), hay rake teeth (spring) wagon and
car springs, 06-01-02-07 (O.H. steel) Hobsons Choice (old English
steel) various plow steels (old). Over a million layers. Sold for 2500
around 1990.

Kajiya was suggested by Col. Dean Hartley WWII marine pilot. Jap sword
collector, losely translated means sword maker to the Emporor. . .
supreme swordsmith shop. So on, so forth.
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Besides "battle blades" and "points of interest", it's also in "Knives '88", you can find it on page 177.
Judging from the woodgrain it's not just the same model but the very same knife.

It says: ".....Forges with sledgehammer, uses no powerhammer....".
And about his prices: "400 to 3500, some to 10 000"
 
NickWheeler said:
I think those are really cool, but what's the reason for the million layers?
Click to expand...


I imagine, so that somebody could say it had a million layers. ;) :)

I really don't care how many layers it has, I've always loved those knives.
 
Bladeandbarrel said:
"Wild" Bill Caldwell is an interesting guy. Combat vet, gunsmith, welder, farrier and one of the pioeneers of early high-performance damascus. I had corresponded with Bill and talked to him a few times in the past and have an affinity for some of his work. This is a combat knife he called "Kajiya" and was made in the late '80's for Eric Paul Meyers and recently sold on Nordic for much less than it cost new back then. I corresponded with Bill about the knife and here are his words.

Tony, I made that knife for Eric Paul Meyer 1989/1991 You can check with Jim Wyer to see if He's still livein' That knife is on the inside covers of Battle Blades.....Also in Jim wyers book, points of intrest 2or 3, I don't remember, At least a million layers, maybe several millions, 01, 02, 06, 07, Bulldozer blades, jackhammer points, old farm spring steel, HOBSONS CHOICE EXTRA BEST Hayrake teeth, Packard car springs. When I had Weyer do the photo I told Him"This knife belongs to a Confederate Soldier, Combat Vet ,He's not mean, He can be bad, He's used this knife in combat, hoped to never have to use it again, but years later He knows the time is comein' , make the photo tell the story".

At any rate, the knife has beautiful damascus, a nice rosewood handle and a neat story. These older knives can teach you a lot.


250jimx.jpg
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This is a great knife with a classic core design...deceptively simple but beautiful...you can see it as the father of the later-pictured Airborne Ranger especially...congrats and thanks for the pic and story. :thumbup:

Ray :)
 
Wow- great knives! Thanks for the pics, the history, and the education.
 
I also got one from Nordic, a Ranger that was made specially for M. Myers. Here is what Wild Bill says about it:

I think when all is said and done that may be the finest knife I ever made
(...)
Mr. Myer paid over $6000

When we see today's high prices for some of the knives, we have to remember how much some of the older knives were fetching back then. This is the second time in a few weeks that I'm dumbfounded about a price quote from 10 or 20 years ago.

The gold inlay with M. Myers' initials made me hesitate I have to say.

Caldwell_Ranger1.jpg
 
Joss,
That's incredible. How does it feel in the hand?
Thanks for showing the knife,
bob7
 
I haven't received it yet. It's gonna take a couple weeks now that I'm relocated to France.
 
Nice score:thumbup: I remember seeing pics of Mr. Caldwell's knives when I first started geting inot forged blades........not that I could afford any of them....lol. As for Nick's question, I'm not sure why you need 1,000,000 layers, but after eyeballing some of Don Hanson's recent stuff, I can see why I would want to try 3000 layers. That old school high layer count random damascus justs looks good IMHO:D Now all we need to see to fully satiate our early 90's forged combat knife Jones is a nice John Smith fighter.;)
 
I received it after a little time wasted with the customs. Dave Harvey @ Nordic performed flawlessly and offered superb service.

The knife is great. It is an uncompromising fighter, with a sharp clip and all. It also says "KAJIYA" on it btw.
 
Some of the more beautiful of the older modern forged custom fixed-blades
that I have ever seen.
Wow! Should get some of these documented in a section in one of my
next books....... With the stories that go with them, of course!

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)
 
Joss said:
The gold inlay with M. Myers' initials made me hesitate I have to say.

Caldwell_Ranger1.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice knife. Beautiful damascus and the handle material complements the damascus vey well. The gold inlay is a bit of a turnoff though...


Kind regards,

Jos
 
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