Art Knife Invitational 2015

Kohai999

Kohai999

Second Degree Cutter
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
12,554
My wife dropped me off at the AKI, Jakester and I were supposed to meet at the Sheraton Hotel and Marina at 9:15 am, but he got stuck in traffic and showed up around 10:00 am

Chatted with fellow collector Bill Hall briefly, met Daisy, a collector from China and spoke about suits and shirts with engraver Barry Lee Hands. Barry has a wit that matches his engraving skills, incisive and deep.

Ran into Thor, a collector who used to frequent BFC quite frequently, and spent some time catching up.

Then, it was into the show.

Really had a lot of fun this year, filmed a BUNCH of videos of AKI knifemakers.

Appleton, Ron-very talented maker had three knives that I saw, the Vermejo, Venus Rising and Dire Wolf. All folders with unique lock mechanisms. Pretty sure most of them sold, but I have to say, that stylistically, not loving it! I like classical blade shapes, and in the case of the Vermejo, it looked like a cheese knife.

Bennica, Charles -Well known for his "tail lock" mechanism, which is unique in a similar way to Ron Lake's Tab Release Mechanism, which are both technically rear lock folders, but are quite a bit more involved than that description. Charles had three tail locks...the Puzzle, the Incisione and the Alien. They all demonstrated top quality fit and finish. The Piranha had a new locking mechanism, and was very cool. The Squale was and integral fixed blade, and as a Loveless purist, I can't really comment on it. Charles himself was laid back and accessible.

Will post more later.

Just to make sure you all are paying attention, I had three AKI catalogs up for grabs, which are all gone now, but will accept requests for more, and see if they can be gotten.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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We have started posting videos.

Best Regards,

Steven Garsson
 
STeven -- just watched the Wolfe interview and as most folks know, I consider Wolfe to be the finest knifemaker in the world. I am fortunate to have a few of his knives including a couple of folders, one of which I will post with other knives in December.

I will post the first one I got from him in 1986 and in the same image is a smaller version is an integral boot as the first is a fighter and both are part of our "wolfe" display which includes both knives and sculpture (soapstone, wood, copper). You recall I said I do themes. As part of the display is a nice dagger, not quite as fancy as later ones as it is early but still very nice and was part of a three sized set which I only have the largest.

here are the Fighter and Integral Boot

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and now for the dagger

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If I were ever to sell, I will keep you in mind just in case it is of interest. More than likely it would be from my heirs however unless my son who gets all of the Wolfe knives decides he would part with it. That is something I can't control.

Just to give a timeline, this folder was purchased from Elizabeth about 4 1/2 years ago and was her 14th knife

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It plus a couple of Wolfe's folders and the 1988 winner of the Best Boot knife at the Knifemakers Guild show are all displayed together and I enjoy handling them all quite frequently.

I will view the other videos soon. thanks for doing them and Mecha thanks for posting the link
 
Murray White said:
STeven -- just watched the Wolfe interview and as most folks know, I consider Wolfe to be the finest knifemaker in the world. I am fortunate to have a few of his knives including a couple of folders, one of which I will post with other knives in December.
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Hi Murray,

It's one of Wolfe's folding daggers that is a grail for me. You know I love that piece you got from Liz, showed it to me at Blade, and it was an awesome piece then, and remains so.

Wolfe didn't want to sit down for the interview, but when we finished he seemed happy with the results, and I hope that remains true....hope you liked it as well.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
STeven - gotten as far as C Gray Taylor and congrats to him on another BW AKI award. Gotta love that "exotic material" lol -- totally illegal up here however so thankfully he is beyond my pocket book unless I sold a lot of stuff.

Nice to hear his comments about Corbet Sigman. CS was a very good if not much better than simply good maker who I can remember visiting in his home in Liberty after the 1988 Guild show. I was totally amazed at the condition of his shop. One could eat off the floor. Have had a couple of his pieces over the years but none currently.

Great interviews although the noise at the tables of Julie's was a bit overpowering of her voice.

Nice to have seen the photo of CGT's folder but it sure would have been nice to have seen knives of the interviewees but all of them would have been long gone to their purchasers. Looking forward to the vidios of the knives and the show to come.

Video quality is very good so I look forward to viewing the others as I have time but it is getting late here so I may crash soon and get back to it during the day. Thanks again for all the effort.

Oh, now that Ken Steigerwalt is an AKI exhibitor now, who is no longer in the group of 25? Also did anyone else depart and are there any more additions?

MW
 
Murray White said:
Oh, now that Ken Steigerwalt is an AKI exhibitor now, who is no longer in the group of 25? Also did anyone else depart and are there any more additions?

MW
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H. H. Frank has retired from attending
Van Barnett and Dellana have taken a sabbatical
Tim Hancock may be retiring after this year, but is also likely to have new knives in 2017
Kaj Embretson was ill, and could not attend, but is expected to return in 2017

Roger Bergh was a guest maker
Rick Dunkerly was a guest maker

Curt Erickson has been voted in.
Ken Steigerwalt has been voted in.
Owen Wood has been voted in.
Murray White said:
Great interviews although the noise at the tables of Julie's was a bit overpowering of her voice.
Click to expand...

We had an electrical issue, and I opted not to re-shoot in order to keep it spontaneous.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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Steven, these interviews were very well done! I learned a good amount about both the makers, and their knives.. Asking open-ended questions and letting someone answer fully seems easy, but I rarely see it done... I hope more makers and people involved in the knife business sit down with KnifeTV in the future... Production was fairly solid too....

Good stuff.... Best Regards, Richard Slaughter
 
STeven, great interviews. I've just looked at them all and enjoyed every one of them. Keep em coming!
 
Kohai999 said:
H. H. Frank has retired from attending
Van Barnett and Dellana have taken a sabbatical
Tim Hancock will be retiring after this year
Kaj Embretson was ill, and could not attend, but is expected to return in 2017
Roger Bergh was a guest maker
Rick Dunkerly was a guest maker
Curt Erickson has been voted in.
Ken Steigerwalt has been voted in.
Owen Wood has been voted in.
STeven Garsson
Click to expand...

I enjoyed the interviews STeven and agree with Rich, that they were very well done. Quite often interviews seem to end up more about the interviewer than interviewee.

Seems quite a few new faces will be seen behind tables at future AKIs.

I've always found it both surprising and interesting that Jerry Fisk isn't an AKI maker. While I don't usually participate in lists trying to determine whose the bests knifemakers in the world, I believe it would be fairly easy to present a very compelling case that Jerry is certainly towards the top of the heap and would be a most obvious AKI candidate considering his skill, popularity, all he could offer the show and his tremendous contributions to custom knives in general over nearly 35 years.
 
Steven

I just watched all the videos

You guys are getting up to speed very nicely

I really enjoyed them all

Great interviews and this is because of your relationship with this industry

They would not be near as good if it were not for your knowledge and relationships with these makers

Your intimate knowledge feeds these interviews and brings the best out of these makers

Well done my friend you are on to something

Camera work was better I see you guys got a tripod :)

if I could add anything that would be to edit In an opening logo and a closing logo some opening and closing theme music and you are there buddy

Brand what your are doing visually...... Again I think you are on to something

Video is the future of this and every industry

Great job
 
Steven, Joe's comments above are right on. Utilization of that which can be easily accessed online makes all the difference, I think. You pulled all of this off remarkably well. Classy presentation, both through your interviewing abilities and quality of subject. Thanks to you for lots of reasons here.

Bob

Edit: VERY much looking forward to the segment showing some of the knives, once edited.
 
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I am going to watch the vids later, so I can't give my thanks with conviction. Yet. I will.

In the meantime, I had shot (5) of the AKI member's knives leading up to the show for the catalog. I was asked not to post them until the show was over.

You will see these are above and beyond--even for them!

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I had multiple opportunities to work with Phil Lobred for these. He's such a class act.

Talk later.

Jim
 
Very interested in your thoughts when you have time.

Do me a favor, my brother, don't hold back....be who you are, not who you feel you have to be in this case.

I can't make it better if I don't know what I'm doing wrong.....Joe and Murray have spoken with an unvarnished opinion , and I'm not afraid for you to do same.

We are going to do an after-AKI wrap with Phil later today.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Wow. Love that 2nd Appleton.
Thank for the pics Jim.
And thanks to Steven for the videos!!
 
...watching the videos. These are intimate moments which are a gift to all of us. That I am on a first name basis with everyone you interviewed made it that much more engaging.

While I watched I jotted down some of the salient points which were notable to me....

Steve D'Lack: Calm, honest, reassuring presence.

Michael Walker: VERY interesting historical synopsis. Humble. Clearly spoken.

Steve Rapp: Has a nicely subtle sense of humor. Clear and insightful comments. (I had never noticed the tip of his middle finger missing. All longtime machinists carry scars. :))

Tim Hancock: His voice seemed particularly hoarse and he allowed his Parkinson's is present. This said, his facilities and his talents are overwhelmingly present. I LOVED his quick response to your asking about his 'legacy': Teaching. Showing others and watching them teach going forward. Word.

Harvey Dean: Well-spoken. An asset as the current ABS president.

Larry Fuegen: A smiling positive presence. Steven's eyes lit up when LF talked about how 'Functionality matters!' concerning art knives as tools. ;)

Gray and Evelyn Taylor: His/their polished presence still contains a large dose of Tennessee folksy charm. A testimony to US southern artistry and craftsmanship. The work, when you get to see it, carries magnificence.

J.W. Smith: Another warm 'hometown boy' from Kentucky. Nicely savvy aftermarket knowledge. Great value = desireability. His crazy work 14/7 work day ethic shows how much effort it takes to REALLY get to the top.

Wolfe Loerchner: What a wonderful Canadian accent. :) His method is simple yet so out of realm with it's power: Mind/Sketch/Create. No measuring: Work off the sketch. He exudes 'handmade'. I loved his tale of how he mentored his daughter Elizabeth, ONLY after she committed in full. For both their good.

Julie Warenski: She actually LOOKS into the camera and has an infectious smile. She's a pro in the interview department. :D I was nodding when she allowed how you need to work long enough until you have a 'signature' look. Also refreshing that she knows you have to 'love your work'. And it shows in the end product.

Thor: Great to see at least one non maker interviewed and his insights were complimentary and valued. A cool guy who I haven't seen in a while.

Here's my thoughts about the video process and your skills in the overall presentations.

Negatives: Audio at times TOO loud (tinny?) and your dialog needed to drop down a calming notch Your tone with Julie was just right and could have been for all.
The quality of the discussions deserved a better spot than staring at other people at other tables. It was ESPECIALLY distracting and did a disservice to the effort. I would have suggested aiming the camera at a wall instead of the crowd. I realize you wanted to capture the essence of the event, but it there far were too many Photobombs.
In your introductions it seemed unprofessional to only use a first name.
You need to look directly into the camera when talking to the video viewers.
Adam who? I'm wary of the anonymity of the internet and welcome real names. We value community. Why so secret?

continued next post....
 
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