Blade 2016 randoms

Lorien

Nose to the Grindstone
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Dec 5, 2005
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I'll fill in the blanks with text as time allows, for now I hope you enjoy the photos. Sorry there are so few, the camera was kind of a piece of shit, and the scene was very distractifying, (in a great way!).
I think I'm missing some pix here, too, I'm sure they're around here somewheres, I hope I have better luck finding them than United Airlines had finding my luggage so that they could so thoroughly destroy it and the contents therein.

I wandered into the show after flying through the night. The details are probably more tiresome than the trip, so I'll leave the kvetching. Nathan and Jo Carothers were the first on my hitlist, and fortunately they were very easy to find right off the bat. Nathan and I wandered over to Denton's Loveless table and gawked at the knives there a bit, and shortly after that, Dan Keffeler found us and crashed our date. We all found ourselves at Gayle Bradley's table, and you can see Nate and Dan here checking out the God Father of Competition Cutting's sport blades;


It seemed fitting to get a photo with Dan and Gayle together. Dan will go on to win the 2016 Bladesports' World Champs a day later, just like I knew he would. Nathan was included in this photo because, as you can easily see, he's such a fine specimen of a Man.


I bumped into Paul Long very early in the show. He was every inch the southern gent I thought he'd be. We strolled around the show together for awhile and met up with Bruce 'Bing' Bingenheimer. Bruce was real happy to see Paul, and you can see him here puckering up for a big, wet kiss.


I found myself gravitating around the Carothers table, as it was kind of my landmark. Didn't help too much, since the show's so damn big that I got lost frequently. Here's Nate's integral dagger, his Shiv and the Potato Annhilator. This dagger is so sweet- one of my favourite knives of the show.


Jonny Jo Carothers is a menace! A sweet, kind kind of menace :)


I was really looking forward to meeting Don Hanson. Got the added bonus of meeting Joe Richardson of Canine Forge. It was interesting to observe Don in his natural habitat, surrounded by a dizzying array of fine, ancient ivory on Charles Turnage's table. I had to be very quiet while watching him feed, so as to keep from startling him. Hansons are very dangerous when backed into a corner.


My patience paid off, and I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the raw materials for a Hanson piece before they were squirreled away. Look at those scales! I'd love to be a fly on the wall, watching as they metamorphise into a knife handle.


The pearl on Kyle Hanson's little knife here were a gorgeous compliment to an outstanding piece. There was so much to love about this little knife, such a feast for the eyes.



While I didn't get to see as many knives as I thought I would over the course of the weekend, I did get to spend a little time with this Kyle Hanson piece. As soon as I picked it up, I realized that it was my favourite knife of the show. That feeling is still with me, even though there were so many incredible knives in the room. If I was able to afford it, this knife would have left the show with me. I'm feeling like I should have made it happen anyway, since it was undervalued by at least 800 bucks. Visually, it's pretty cool, but it was the handling of it that impressed me the most. You cannot trust a computer to give you all the pertinent information when purchasing a knife- nothing compares to physically experiencing the knife, and nothing ever will. Go to a knife show! You'll be surprised by the challenges to your preconceptions, and the value that these challenges bring.


Joe Paranee supplies and invaluable service to the custom knife community through his informational video interviews. It was an honour to watch Joe conduct them, as he is doing here with Claude Buchonville. It was doubly honouring that he chose to let me waste some of his time as well. The Diskin USA booth was rocking all through the show. Check out Joe's thread here.


This dude, Brian Moreland of JB Knife & Tool, exemplified the approach a table holder should take at a show. I didn't know him previously, but he made eye contact and produced a big smile, welcoming folks to his table. I saw a lot of guys lollygaggin around, waiting for people to buy stuff, but this guy was proactive and made an impression. I have his business card of course, because he took the time to make sure I had one. Actually, I have two, since he made sure to give me another one the next time I walked past his table, where he recognized me and called me over. I have a feeling that they're going to do well in this business, they sure did well at the show, selling almost all their knives.


These are by JB Knife & Tool. Price point, handmade knives with some of the best finished edge bevels I've seen. I like a polished edge, and these little suckers were gleaming. I know that a toothy edge cuts more aggressively with some materials, but I'll take the durability of a polished edge any day over something that might cut a little better at first but that soon loses its bite.


I had a hell of a time getting a smile outta Mark Knapp, but I'm pleased with my success here. Mark has a lot to smile about, after passing his Journeyman Smith test with flying colours. Really enjoyed checking out his submitted knives, which were very fine indeed. You should take a moment to peruse Mark's thread on the construction of this set here.


I consider Bill Burke the Don Corleon of the custom knife world. His family is steeped in the business of custom and handmade knives, and you better not cross them, or you'll be swimming with the fishes! Just kidding, the Burkes are the sweetest folk you'll ever meet, and they are surrounded by people who love them because they are good, solid folk. The Burkes are instrumental in my favourite show; the Seattle show, and I heard tell it would be happening next spring. Bill's importing this Takefu specialty steel, both clad and unclad, and all reports have it that this stuff is the shit. Beautiful and high performance- just like Bill!


Shane Taylor is someone I always look forward to seeing at a show. His warmth and friendliness radiates outward, and although he's a quiet kind of fella, you can see the positive impact his presence makes on those around him. His work is mind bogglingly involved, with tons of hidden details- some of which are not even visible to the naked eye. This piece is simply off the charts, I can't even fathom how he went about forging out and grinding this blade. The detail in the damascus holds your mind in a Vulcan mind-meld, and time simply disapporates.


Ryan Hays, on the left, is the CKCA's new Grand Poobah and all around Friendly Giant. Everyone knows Mike Quesenberry, on the right, and his work is pretty ok I guess;) The other guy is Yoni, Lurquin's buddy and translator was hanging out at the Diskin USA booth, and I hear he's a pretty rad dude, but unfortunately I did not formally meet him. Quesenberry's Main Gauche dagger won Best in Show, and you can see why here. Just wait til the pro photo- it'll blow your mind. I think it might be a Coop shot, so expect greatness layered upon greatness.


Sam Lurquin suffered some disappointment at the Blade wrt to his Mastersmith testing, but instead of capitulating to the disappointment, he was the big man and carried on. I got to see a couple of his test knives and they were beautiful. I have a feeling that his work for the next submission will be phenomenal. Here he is playing the producer in one of Joe's interview videos.


This is just a shot of two rad guys.


There's something intrinsically humourous about pictures of people taking pictures of people.



The legendary main gauche dagger by Mike Quesenberry and Saign Charlestein.


Matt Diskin, at left, is the cutlery industry's Silent Genius. What he lacks in salesmanship, he more than makes up for in talent, vision, creativity and skill. Besides, now he has Joe Paranee to help him promote his business, which is no small help! I highly recommend that you knife makers buy your carbon fiber composites from him. His 'marbled' carbon fiber, (I prefer to refer to it as 'Black Magic') is so devoid of voids and so interesting to look at that it deserves your attention. Fiber Smith is the name of the corporate entity created to market this fine material. I first met Diskin at the 2011 AKI, and had the pleasure of watching him pound on Garsson, which was likely the highlight of that show :D


We burned 5 hours at the local steakhouse, jabbering on about this and that. There was Nathan Carothers on the left and Matthew 'Granola' Gregory on the right. Also in attendence was Mike Walton, (hope I got that right) and Jo Carothers. I had the pecan encrusted trout with steamed broccoli and rice pilaf, which was superb. We had some very interesting, if not downright twisted, conversations. These are my people, and I felt so at home with them. I cannot wait for the next opportunity to meet up. This photo was from the 2nd night at the show, and what was especially cool about it was that I wasn't completely hammered, kind of knew my way around a bit, and didn't get lost at 2 in morning for an hour trying to find my hotel, like the night before. But that is a whole other story.
 
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It was strange, the compulsion I felt to snap a pic of Jason Knight. Maybe it's cuz it'll be worth something some day :D I have a feeling we'll be seeing him more frequently in the future. I do believe that the other fellow is Steve Schwarzer, MS. I do hope that I am correct, but if not, please correct me.


Then I saw this piece by Bertie Rietveld! MAN! This knife could be a collection unto itself- so many interesting elements and a well planned approach, I could've examined it for hours but was almost immediately drawn away, probably by a conversation. It was mentioned elsewhere that this won Best Art Knife at the show. There were some, but not many, art knives and I was pretty fond of this one.


droooooolll...


Somehow I interjected myself into a conversation between Christophe Derringer, (hand is pictured) and Zaza Revishveli. I was so impressed by Christophe's origami pegasus, and the conversation regarding Bladerunner inevitably ensued. Christophe knows a lot about Bladerunner, much more than me, so I learned a few interesting factoids. At the first Seattle Show, Christophe supplied a prize for a 'best of', I think. It was a little friction folder that was one of my faves from the show, humble though it was. If anyone knows the deets and cares to supply, please interject or send em to me via pm so I can fix this short term memory mess of a thread :)


I'm blown away by silver filigree work. It's something that just impresses the hell out of me on its own. Coupled with amazing design and execution in the form of cutlery, well that's pretty much the pinnacle of old technique occupying the same space with contemporary approaches. Or something. I'm talking out of my ass. Simply put this is some cool shit.


I must admit, it was a little weird seeing these knives on Zaza's table, but I really appreciate that someone who creates art objects that command tens of thousands is willing to produce cutlery that's attainable by the common man. Pretty nice designs, imo.


Dan Keffeler is a champion regardless of being a champion. Here he is, lending HIS OWN CUTTER to an aspiring Bladesports champion. Demonstrating proper technique through the use of a broom handle, (does that sound as bad as I think it sounds?) Dan provided instruction that made an immediate improvement that was visible to those of us taking notes. Dan is a special breed, and we are all very lucky to have him among us.


DEFENDing his World Champs title for the fourth consecutive year, Dan chose exactly the right shirt. And that's all there is to say about that.


That is one heavy belt buckle.


So, I was super fortunate to not have to take a cab to the airport. Dan arranged to squeeze me into the Kia with the Peters Heat Treating crew, and I am forever thankful for the lift. It was super fun, Dan is a riot and I was sad to say goodbye.


Here is a random shot of some of the prototype stuff that Nathan Carothers and I used to work out the Light Chopper. The one at the top was batoned through concrete, driven through nails and bent 90 degrees. Maybe we'll save this stuff for the corporate museum once Carothers Performance Cutlery buys its own manufacturing facility. Hey, gotta aim high, right? :D


I'm working on a logo. What do you think? Honest, critical, ball breaking feedback is welcome. Please no bullshit high fives.


I picked up a titanium straw from Steve Kelly for our daughter. Madly looking around for a gift to bring home to my little girl, and nothing jumped out at me. Then I realized, 'this is the last straw', and the truth of that terrible pun gave me a glimpse into the light and I found the answer!


This beautiful hippy string was made by Mrs. and Mr. Mardi Meshejian. My wife has beautiful green eyes and this piece of jewelry seemed like a good call. Turns out I was right ;)





Looks like I got a little sample of Nathan here. I will use his bloodstain to clone him, yeah...I think that would be very useful. Maybe not to Jo.





Here's the stuff I came home with. All prototypes! I'll fill you in in due course. There are exciting times ahead!


The knife up top is the knife that was in Joe's video, made by Bing and called the Roundhouse. The other knife is a surprise! I will be putting a WiP thread together for you soon, and I'll let the cat outta the bag at that time.


And last but not least; Fuck you and your Friendly Skies, United Airlines. Thanks for nothing.
 
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I wish some names would be supplied . I see Carruthers and Keffeler but who's the guy in the yellow shirt ? I have no clue about others.
Was there anyone there selling Band-Aids ??
Thanks for the photos.
 
Glad you had a great time, Lorien!

Nice photos.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Lorien, great to meet you at the Diskin booth.

I enjoy seeing your designs come to fruition and anxious to see your next project.

Good pics, especially like the palm sized Christoph Deringer piece!

Steve
--------------
Member, W.F. Moran Foundation
ABS AP
 
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Great to spend time

I'm happy you had a great time and thanks for all the help
 
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Lorien, glad you made the show. Was a pleasure as always to spend time discussing our current and future projects.

Will talk to you soon

Bing
 
Glad you had a great time, Lorien!

Nice photos.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

I wished you were there, and also missed some other folks I was looking forward to meeting.
All you guys; very sweet to see you!

Mete, did you read the OP? Gear down there, big rig! The words will come, I'm still recovering.
 
I see Carruthers and Keffeler but who's the guy in the yellow shirt ?

Gayle Bradley, who knows a thing or two about cutting. He competed a lot almost 20 years ago. A great maker, to boot. :thumbup:

Great to meet you, Lorien. Thanks for sharing the photos.

- Joe
 
The Doctor of Destruction (of 2x4s), the Physician of Finesse (with a large knife), the Health Care Provider of Hacking (ropes to pieces)!

Dan Keffeler wins the cutting competition again! :eek::D
 
Awesome pictures Lorien. What's that knife (next to last picture) with the carbon fiber handle and brass bolster. Your design I see, who makes that one? Love the profile.
 
Great pics, Lorien, thanks for taking the time out to provide us non-attendees with some meat to sink our teeth into.
 
Thank you a thousand times for this report, especially for those who can not come to this interplanetary event, fun for me ..
 
Looking forward to our next meeting and chat about the show.

I'll be swinging by some time over the next couple of weeks- I need to go to the airport to cajole them into covering the cost of new luggage, and I have a blade almost ready for hardening, plus some other things and stuff.

Thanks to you all for your comments. As opposed to individually expressing my gladness in meeting you, I'll just lay the blanket of appreciation over all of you.

I've finished adding captions to the first post, and I'll get to the second one very soon :)
 
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