Anyone like Engraved or Embellished Bolsters?

jb4570 · Sep 19, 2012

Hi All,

I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread about engraved bolster knives and ask others to post some of theirs (posted on the SPS and Armand said to start a new thread, so here goes). I'll be doing a spread of engraved bolster knives, some after market work and at least one factory. The first one is a custom engraved knife done by the man I got it from, he was just learning how to do engraving and this was his hunting knife in the field for years, it has processed many deer. When I bought this knife it was one of my first older 110's, I had no idea how to age them and thought this one was a one liner due to poor photo's. This one reminds me of some of my first leather craft work I made as a kid

. Anyway beauty is in the eye of the beholder, home grown American folk art. It was the first engraved bolster knife I bought.

Over the next few days I'll add more knives to the mix. If you have an engraved or embellished bolster Buck knife please add it to this post! Add a comment to the thread....do you like this type of embellishment or not?
Thank you
jb4570

jb4570 · Sep 19, 2012

Sorry for the poor quality of these photo's I should have changed my lens and should have left the patina on as is would have reduced the glare. Here is my second engraved knife set for today. I found the 112 a few years ago and it is also an old used knife, the engraving is a bit better than the one in my first post. Now the 110 I just found and may have been engraved by the same engraver as it seem to have the same style in the work. These knives were made by Buck some years apart and the skill of the engraver looks to have also improved with time as well.

Here are some older shots of the 112 before the patina was wiped off.

Over the next few days I'll add more knives to the mix. If you have an engraved or embellished bolster Buck knife please add it to this post!
Thank you
jb4570

ItsTooEarly · Sep 20, 2012

John, this should be a great thread... I hope everyone that has any engraved Bolster Buck kknives will post some pics... All I have are D/Y knives... Sorry...
I can't wait to see everyones knives... ITE ... :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

JB, you have some sweeet Bucks... :thumbup:

Haebbie · Sep 20, 2012

Once again the factory engraved last production run 111

Haebbie

Stumps · Sep 20, 2012

I'm still out backpacking in NC, so I can't post any pictures. Not sure that I have many engraved bolster Bucks anyway.

One that I like more than most I've seen was the Duke posted by Plumberdv on the last SPS post #5. Very nice work on that one!! Maybe this will motivate him to re-post that picture over here on this thread.

peterinct · Sep 20, 2012

Stumps said:
I'm still out backpacking in NC, so I can't post any pictures. Not sure that I have many engraved bolster Bucks anyway.

One that I like more than most I've seen was the Duke posted by Plumberdv on the last SPS post #5. Very nice work on that one!! Maybe this will motivate him to re-post that picture over here on this thread.

I agree about Dave's 500. It looks GREAT and was done by a "professional" engraver.

I would also say, there is a HUGE difference between designs cut by those learning or experimenting, and those that are trained engravers. Like most things, knowing the craft and what quality engraving is vs. machine engraving and etching is IMPORTANT.

Of the knives you have shown JB, no offense, but NONE are what I would want on MY knives. One that is done in Western style is well done, but that is VERY different than single point engraving, and some folks like it and others don't. It is done with different gravers/liners and in FAR less time than single point engraving.

These are done in "single point" engraving in various styles of scroll:

Another consideration is COST. Many people are not willing to pay the cost of quality engraving, as in the case of Buck knives, the engraving would exceed the value of the knife. The first two knives I posted, the stonework ALSO exceeds the value of the knife.

Just like the choice of a knife, embellishments are something that are up to each individual to decide for themselves. Good topic for a thread JB.

Regards,
Peter

David Martin · Sep 20, 2012

Peter, I know exactly what your saying and though it may come off as a little snooty, there is a huge difference in a piece done from a trained, experience engraver. My wife is beganning to do some of this work and can do the level of the first ones but not the Flur-de-lis you put on. So, she taking a class by GRS to aquire this single point training. We'll see how it goes. DM

David Martin · Sep 20, 2012

Yes, correct. Well done engraving or scrimshaw (emblishments) will quickly exceed the value of the knife. But these are a ONE of a kind piece, professionally done that no one else will have that speaks of the owners taste. Very nice work! DM

imafritz · Sep 20, 2012

I like some and not others, all pictured here are in the like catagory but there is some real bad ones out there.

I only have the Matco Rusy Wallace 110 which is factory.

ItsTooEarly · Sep 20, 2012

Here's two that I for got about... I wish I had some better pics...

jb4570 · Sep 20, 2012

Hi All,

Great start to this thread topic. Please feel free to post any comments or if you have any engraved or embellished bolsters, post a photo for all to see.

Herbert: Thank you for posting your SMKW 111, very cool factory issue.

peterinct: Thanks for posting your fantastic looking custom knives, did you do that work? You may not like the the first three knives I have posted, yes I know they are not museum quality. However, they are part of american folk art IMHO, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and even an ugly duckling needs love

. Please tell us all about engraving I have no idea what "single Point" is????

Fritz & Amand: Thanks for posting your Matco Tool knives, I have always liked those and will pick up one or two....some day.

jb4570 · Sep 20, 2012

Here is another custom, I found this one at a gun show knife dealers stand. He said the knife custom work was done by one person and the engraving was done by another person. However, he could not remember who they were.

jb4570

bucksway · Sep 21, 2012

Oh my....Got to get one!

peterinct · Sep 21, 2012

JB - I did engrave the knives which I posted. You are absolutely correct in that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". That is why I did qualify that my opinion is directly related to my knives.

"Single point" engraving as the term implies, means each cut (line) is incised individually. By contrast, "Western" style engraving typically utilizes "liners" which make multiple parallel cuts at the same time. Another technique of Western is the "wriggle" cut (the zig zagged line) used for borders and the backbones of the scroll. Additionally, "backround removal" (the areas that appear black) is very time consuming, and is not typically done in Western engraving. In single point engraving, it doubles the time to complete the engraving.

Going back to the title of this thread, by definition, "Embellishment" means to enhance the beauty of an object. Again, this can be subjective, based on personal opinion/preference, but to me, the FIRST question I ask myself when looking at an embellished object "does the embellishment add to the beauty of the object". If the work is well done, the answer should be a resounding YES. Another test if you will, is trying to visualize the object WITHOUT the embellishment. If it is easily done, that may indicate a NO, to that question.

Of course there are many schools of thought on this topic, and if ANY embellishment adds to the owners enjoyment, by all means GO FOR IT! I realize my preferences vary from most that frequent this forum, but it's ALL good. We are here because we love knives!

David - GRS has an EXCELLENT training facility and your wife will love taking a class there. "Fleur de lis" is best recognized as the Boy Scouts symbol.

Regards,
Peter

David Martin · Sep 21, 2012

Ok, 'Scroll work'. She starts the class Monday. Thanks, DM

jb4570 · Sep 21, 2012

Hi Peter, thanks for the information! Do you have any photos of you performing your artwork? If so 'd love to see you at your workbench and or some of your engraving tools.

Here is another engraved 110 that I bought second hand. This knife was also a user knife, but, I like it.

jb4570

ItsTooEarly · Sep 21, 2012

jb4570 said:
Here is another engraved 110 that I bought second hand. This knife was also a user knife, but, I like it.

jb4570

JB, I like this one.... Sweet... :thumbup:

peterinct · Sep 23, 2012

jb4570 said:
Hi Peter, thanks for the information! Do you have any photos of you performing your artwork? If so 'd love to see you at your workbench and or some of your engraving tools.

Here is another engraved 110 that I bought second hand. This knife was also a user knife, but, I like it.

jb4570

I like that one also JB. VERY nice design and layout which fits the bolster VERY well. If you notice, there are not that many cuts to create the design, but because it is well done, it is pleasing to the eye.

This is a photo from a class I took at GRS a few years back. I liked their equipment very much and purchased what you see, to set up my bench at home. The main components are a GRS Gravermax, EMZ stereo zoom microscope with Acrobat stand, GRS turntable/vise, power hone and diamond abrasive disks. What is not seen in the photo is a compressor to power the Gravermax.

Peter

David Martin · Sep 24, 2012

Peter, That looks like my wife's set up I purchased for her some time back. We met the gang and she's in the class this morning. In the classroom there were several tables outfitted like the one you show. Perhaps 12. Good job, DM

st8yd · Sep 24, 2012

jb4570 said:
Add a comment to the thread....do you like this type of embellishment or not?
Thank you
jb4570

When tastefully done some look very nice, but some like cheap jewelry. Most of the later yellowhorse stuff I've seen I don't care for.