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.
