A very special knife for Mackenzie

adammichael

adammichael

Joined
Sep 13, 2004
Messages
1,553
About 6 months ago there was a thread on Blade Forums by Sean Couch,. He was asking for prayers for his little girl. She was going in for a very serious surgery and, as any parent would be, Sean was very nervous and probably very scared. I have son about the same age as Sean’s little girl and her situation effected me greatly. I don’t believe any child should ever have to suffer at all. They should be outside playing baseball or having tea party’s or playing dress up or coloring or anything else besides laying In a hospital bed with tubes coming out of there little body. I know that’s not realistic, grownups get sick and need operations and so do little kids. There is nothing any engineer or factory worker or waitress or knife maker can do to change that. What we can do is show our support when something like this happens to someone we know. I was relatively new to Blade forums when I read about Sean’s daughter Mackenzie and her medical situation. I thought it would be great to make a knife for his little girl to show our support for her. I contacted Brian Goode and he was very happy to be apart of this project. He talked to a few other makers and before I new it we had 5 makers collaborating on Mack’s knife and Jim Cooper taking a picture of the finished project. Here is the rundown of the contributors:

Michael Kanter = Design ( D’Amico Skinner )
Indian George Rebello = Made the Damascus
Brian Goode = Profiled the knife and drilled the holes
Dan Gray = Hollow grind, File work and Ruby
Roger Linger = Tapered the tang and did the heat treating
Michael Kanter = Installed the handle and made the sheath
Jim Cooper = First class picture
Sean Couch = Mokume and final sharpening

I managed to get a hold of some of Sean’s Mokume for the bolster so he is also a part of this knife for his daughter. He had no idea we were planning on using the mokume for this knife so I hope this will be a pleasant surprise for him. I think we are going to leave the final sharpening to Sean also.

Right now the knife is on its way to Sean’s house so he can present it to his daughter when ever he sees fit.

I don’t know what the future holds for Mackenzie and obviously this knife will not change anything but hopefully it will make her smile every time she looks at it.

Here is a link to a picture of the knife

http://www.fototime.com/487F32BC6E7EADE/orig.jpg
 
That just made my day :) . What a great gesture :thumbup: and I also hope it makes Sean's little girl smile, it definitely made my smile big time :D.

Best regards, Marcus
 
Kudos Guys

Everyone did a fantastic job on all aspects of that creation. Another fine foto from Jim too. That's an uplifting thing all the way around.

More happy knife things, such as this need publicity.
 
bullet101 said:
That just made my day :) . What a great gesture :thumbup: and I also hope it makes Sean's little girl smile, it definitely made my smile big time :D.

Best regards, Marcus
Click to expand...
My sentiments exactly and so cool to see the cream of the crop involved. :)
 
This took a LOT of time in preparation and shipping and coordination from these craftsmen. I was duly impressed at the outcome, as you guys are. It's a stunning knife with a lot of soul in it.

What a great gesture! :D Thank you for including me, men!

Mack, there is a great big hug waiting for you from each of these guys! ;)

Coop
 
I want to thank Michael for the Idea in the first place.
and all others that had anything to do with it.
I'm very happy to have been apart of it..
and I share the sentiments towards Mac..

Sean I hope we did your Pattern Justus and too your liking :)
I'd like to ask

Michael Kanter
Indian George Rebello
Brian Goode
Dan Gray yes :D
Roger Linger
Jim Cooper
Sean Couch

If it's ok to add this and the picture to my site as one of the collaborations I've been involved in..

Mac I hope when you are old enough,
with wisdom grow to know in life, there is good in this rough old world, some times you'll wonder if there is...

There is some unsettling comfort in knowing there are others that are worse off than us,
for me, when things don't go well, I remember,, things could be worse, much worse..
keep your head up..and smile at the world, it smiles back most of the time..
 
What an awesome project.

Good for you guys.

That knife is a work of art. It's good to see that while you guys might butt heads over how to build a press, you can pull together to create a thing of beauty.
 
Wow guys I don't know what to say. I am speechless and crying like a baby as I type this. I never made it to the office today (out at a vendor's shop) so I didn't get a chance to check my emails until a couple minutes ago. I was excited to see what Michael had used the mokume on when I got his email, and now I am shocked beyond belief!

I can't thank you all enough for what you have done and I can't even start to express in words how much it means to me to have you all do something like this for Mackenzie. I love it and I know Mack will love it too! Knowing her she will want to sleep with it under her pillow at night. :)

Just a quick update on my "Runt." She is doing great. She still has a few pains here and there from all the ping pong balls that they shoved in there, but she doesn't let it slow her down. Last Saturday she aditioned for the Competition Dance Show Team and made it into the squad. So she is all excited about that and for school to start back up again.

I haven't been around the forums much lately, but what a great way to check back in. Thanks again everybody for the fantastic work and thought you all put into this piece. I will get a picture of Mack and the Knife and post it here as soon as I can.

Thanks again guys, there should be more people like you in the world.
 
Man... In this day and age to see something like this come to be...
You all get a deep bow and long salute from me. Outstanding job and sentiments guys.

:thumbup:
 
Dan Gray said:
Michael Kanter
Indian George Rebello
Brian Goode
Dan Gray yes :D
Roger Linger
Jim Cooper
Sean Couch

If it's ok to add this and the picture to my site as one of the collaborations I've been involved in..

..
Click to expand...

I have no problem with that at all. Thanks for your contribution Dan, this is a better knife because of your work on it.
 
thanks Michael :) everyone did a fine job..

Sean
I'm sure glad to hear Mac is doing well,, :D
I can't wait for the picture.. when I get it , with you permission I'd like to post it on my site too, I'd understand if you don't want it on the web though..

As a dad I might feel funny about that too.
 
You guys are really a class act! You knocked that bad boy out really quick for a collaboration too, and it looks top notch :eek: :cool: The gang here never ceases to amaze me with what good people they are, and what amazing work they can do.
Keep it up guys :D


Sean
Really glad to hear she's doing so well. Here's hoping she keeps right on getting better, and staying involved in whatever she wants to do.
 
What a great moment reading Sean's response. I am so glad for Mackenzie and her loving dad.

Makes ME feel good to be a part of knifemaking in general, and with you guys in particular. :)

Sean, it's on the way directly to your home; addressed to MACKENZIE! (8x10 print included. ;))

Dan, you KNOW my answer. :thumbup:

Coop
 
I want to thank everyone for keeping the ball rolling. I did very little but enjoyed being apart of this project. Good to hear your little one is enjoying life!!

If you dont mind I'd also like to put this on my site as a colaboration.
I'll list what was done.
 
Most excellent all the way around guys!!!

Kudos to all involved!

Glad to hear she's doing better Sean! :D
-Nick-
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top