A Whoppin' Chopper Collaboration - Rhea/Lurkin/Gustaaf

HTMD

HTMD

Joined
Feb 15, 2002
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This beautiful and very BIG blade with its excellent leather carry system is from the collection of Ryan and Mary Hays. I met Ryan recently at Jerry Fisk's annual Microshow where Ryan whupped me in the cutting competition. Naturally we were talking choppers. He told me about this one and then sent it my way for some additional photography to go with a project he's working on. It is spectacular in every way. Ryan will hopefully add more about how it came to be.

The blade is 10 3/4 inches and OAL is 16 1/2 inches. That makes for a generous handle and if you haven't met Ryan I'll tell you he's got big hands! Spine to edge is 2 5/8 ths inches and a hair under 3/8 ths thick at the top of the spine in front of the guard. The handle is one of the finest chunks of dessert ironwood I've seen and masterfully shaped.

Lin Rhea and Samuel Lurkin collaborated on the knife itself and the leather work is by Van Bellegem Gustaaf. Of the images I made Ryan and I liked this one best:

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This next image doesn't provide much new information compared to the one above but I thought I'd add it here for those interested in a somewhat different presentation.


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Terrific shots, Buddy. I got to handle that one at Blade in the company of both makers - it is a seriously impressive piece. I don't know if you saw a big rough forged blade on Lin Rhea's table at the Little Rock show earlier in the year - that was this knife at an earlier stage.

Roger
 
KevinOubre said:
The Mona Lisa can suck it. That is beautiful.
Click to expand...

LMAO. KevinOubre you are so right. Buddy knocked it out of the park with the use of the props.

This was my wife and I's first trip to Blade. We had walked the floor all day Friday but kept returning back to Lin's table to handle this beauty. Lin is a good friend and we had the pleasure of being introduced to Sam through Lin. With a bit of hand jestering for our communication we created a great friendship. To all that do not know, Sam is from Belgium and was his first trip to Blade also. His English was limited and a challenge for the both of us without his translator, i.e. why we were using hand jesters. I think I will be investing in Rosetta Stone French before the next Blade :D We spent a lot of time Saturday talking with Sam and his friends that traveled with him. It was a great time and a pleasure meeting them all. Maybe Lin can comment in on the specs of the knife and the collaboration and how it unfolded.


In regards to the sheath, It is quite a masterpiece. While sitting down in the Pit Saturday Night at the Blade Show talking with Sam and all his friends we got on the conversation on sheaths. They showed me their sheaths and I absolutely loved the design. I asked about who the maker was and contacted Gustaaf soon after we got home. We had shipped the knife over to him and after a short few weeks we received it back with the new sheath. We were so excited and absolutely admired the craftmanship of Gustaaf's work and the functionality of the setup.

Buddy - I didn't whoop you in the cutting competition I barely won by 1 point. You were sure on my tail, I just got lucky I guess. None the less it was a greatl time.


I appreciate all your comments, current and future ones on this great photo, knife and sheath.

Ryan Hays
 
Can't decide which I like best the fighter or the rig both are so nice.
Great image too.
 
very nice looking knife and the sheath is just superb. I'm liking the sheath the best but as a package it is quite amazing.
 
Working with Sam was a real treat. It all started with a conversation by online translator with a collector in France. He showed me a few pictures of Sam's work and asked me what I thought. I was very impressed, to say the least, and just knew his work would fit in well with what I see as the American taste. I complimented him on his work and one thing lead to another...... You might recall a thread a while back I started called "Do you know Talent When you See it?". That is what came to mind when I saw Sam's work so I really wanted the custom community to become aware of him. Sam and Gustaaf are supposed to be coming to Blade in 2012 by the way. I saw Gustaaf's work first hand in a sheath he made for Joe Keeslar in a similar set up. Beautiful work and I bet he'll be a hit in this country after people see it.

Buddy's photo is just wonderful.

The steel in the blade is W2 but am unclear on the actual source. It came in a rather large blade shape which Sam forged. I knew his work and wanted to make the knife flow as if one maker made it. Also I did not want to grind the blade in a way that forced Sam to change his style into something unfamiliar since the handle shape and finish would be the icing on the cake. The steel ground and hardened well and it turned out nice. I think Sam had to miss some sleep to get it ready and catch the plane over here. He did a great job.

Anyone who has seen the photos of Sam's knives while being used in the forest where he lives, knows that he stresses heavy, hard using knives. I like that as well and Ryan and I have discussed this at length. So I'm not at all surprised that this knife fit very well in Ryan's collection.
 
FANTASTIC knife and rig..WOW !
Superbly photographed, Buddy.
Congrats to all involved !!!

Doug
 
WOW...VERY impressive knife and sheath. Really like the grinds and contour on the guard, and the design of the sheath and leather work is OUTSTANDING! As are the clear well done pictures.

Peter
 
What a great combination!! The three craftsman have done their best on these pieces. I know Sam and Gustaaf personally and always enjoy their work. See you in a week guys!!
 
First off a congrats to Ryan (and Mary). This is outstanding.

Lin, Sam, Van: All put their best foot forward.

Buddy: So smooth and clear. Incredibly well-suited. I bow in praise.

Good post!

Coop
 
WOW!!!!! beautiful knife and sheath,amazing collaboration between these guys !!!!
I like the works from Sam and Gustaaf a lot,thats why I own a knife and sheath from these fellows.

grtz,Jurgen.
 
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