Blast from the past/Kyle Royer Bowie

nikoknife48

nikoknife48

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This is a hand forged Bowie by Kyle at age 16. He has been making knives since he was 11. His passion for bladesmithing started as a 4-H project and has grown into one of the top Master Bladesmiths of his time. This bowie is just under 15 inches OAL with a 9 1/2 inch blade and made with 300 layers of 1084 and 15n20 steel in a random pattern. The guard has a rope pattern on German silver ferril and the handle is tiger striped maple. This Bowie won the judges award from the National Knife Collectors association in Springfield, Missouri. I'm proud to have it has part of my collection.
 
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Cool piece with some unique provenance. Very impressive work for a young teen - I sure wasn't that focussed on anything at that age.
 
Rope fileworked guard, Maple handle, pretty much the typical ABS Bowie of years past.
Evident of the impressive work Kyle was doing even at 16.
 
The ability to make such an astounding and accomplished creation as this Bowie at age 16 is so rare that there is not even a specific term for it in the english language. The closest i can think of is a combination of prodigy and genius. History gives us but a few examples of such rare individuals, like Mozart composing a symphony at age 5.
Among knifemakers i know of no other that showed such extreme ability in their teens. Kyle Royer is in a class of his own.
roland
 
I don't think there's any question that the term "prodigy" applies. But having a boat load of God-given talent is only part of the equation - and perhaps not even the greatest part. Knifemaking is hard work. Harder yet when you decide to make it a profession. That Kyle has demonstrated such focus, drive, initiative and dedication at such a young age impresses me even more than his spectacular skills.
 
Roger, that is what i was attempting to impart. The English vocabulary is huge and there is an exact word for the subtleties of 'every' occurence, but there is not a word that conveys "focus, drive, initiative and dedication at such a young age", likely because it is so extremely rare. I tried to sum this up with "genius", which he has, but it does not impart fully how special this young man is.
roland
 
Something that Kyle possesses that isn't often found is his ability to see how that it is done "one time" and retain it. He has taken the time to study with the best and his work reflects it.

Gary
 
rprocter said:
The ability to make such an astounding and accomplished creation as this Bowie at age 16 is so rare that there is not even a specific term for it in the english language. The closest i can think of is a combination of prodigy and genius. History gives us but a few examples of such rare individuals, like Mozart composing a symphony at age 5.
Among knifemakers i know of no other that showed such extreme ability in their teens. Kyle Royer is in a class of his own.
roland
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Kyle has not only demonstrated enormous talent as a knifemaker in his youth but as amazing is the talent he has demonstrated as a businessman.
Another talent rarely found to such degree in someone so young. Both have contributed in elevating him into the top tier of knifemakers worldwide.

Another young man who found success very early on in the ABS is Josh Smith who earned his Journeyman Smith certification at 15.
 
Kevin Jones said:
Kyle has not only demonstrated enormous talent as a knifemaker in his youth but as amazing is the talent he has demonstrated as a businessman.
Another talent rarely found to such degree in someone so young. Both have contributed in elevating him into the top tier of knifemakers worldwide.

Another young man who found success very early on in the ABS is Josh Smith who earned his Journeyman Smith certification at 15.
Click to expand...

And Josh made MS at the age of 19.

I remember the time that Kyle offered his knives up for sale through eBay. I sure wish I had bought one at that time..........think the Gamble (that recent great thread).

Marcel
 
rprocter said:
Roger, that is what i was attempting to impart. The English vocabulary is huge and there is an exact word for the subtleties of 'every' occurence, but there is not a word that conveys "focus, drive, initiative and dedication at such a young age", likely because it is so extremely rare. I tried to sum this up with "genius", which he has, but it does not impart fully how special this young man is.
roland
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I hear ya Roland - sometimes one word just isn't enough.
 
Niko,

Very cool addition to your impressively sharp collection.
Congrats !

Doug
 
Neat! I think Kyle must have had skills even when he was still in diapers. Nice to see an example of his early work and a great add to any Royer collection. Congrats!
 
I met Kyle at a knife show in St.Louis years ago and was shown his first knife.

The young man has come very far in a very short time!!! :cool:
 
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