Commisioned custom scrimshaw piece - just took delivery

blakesnowden

blakesnowden

Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
201
I have been training my new German wirehaired pointer "Ace" fairly religiously myself for the last 6 months for upland bird. He is steady to wing and over all a super all around hunter and a great friend around the house. This photo was his first, full point, and retrieve on wild pheasant in Kansas this year. He locked up on point and the bird was on the move and Ace snuck on him locked again and then he bust and I gave him a few clicks before I dropped him. Ace made a perfect retrieve and present. He was 8 months when this photo was taken. This was a very rewarding feeling for me personally and I thought I would commission a knife commemorating it.
It is ivory and titanium, with Eggerling damascus, jewled thumbstud, gold torx, with gold file work inlayed with turquoise. The scrim is pretty close to the photo and overall I am happy with the work. Anyway thought I would share it. ~ let me know what you all think.

Untitled-1.jpg
 
blakesnowden said:
It is ivory and titanium, with Eggerling damascus, jewled thumbstud, gold torx, with gold file work inlayed with turquoise. The scrim is pretty close to the photo and overall I am happy with the work. Anyway thought I would share it. ~ let me know what you all think.
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As a graphic artist, I have to say that the scrimshaw is NOT of a quality that I have come to expect.....Rick Fields and Bob Egnath, both passed on, but they represented the best of this artform...whoever did this scrim....does not....my recommendation, if you really want scrim, is to go with the best of the best for portait work, otherwise, you are wasting your time and money.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
blakesnowden said:
I guess to make that assumption one would have to know what was paid (?)
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No, it doesn't, because less than wonderful scrimshaw LOWERS the value of a knife, just like less than wonderful engraving....it has the opposite effect of embellishment...it becomes detraction.

At that point it becomes something of a purely sentimental value...if you like it, and would not change anything, ignore what I write.....but if relative values DO matter to you, than my writing may be helpful for your perspective in the future.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Great story and cool knife but I have to agree with STeven on the Scrim. The faces are fairly messed up on it. But, like STeven says, if you like it and don't care to ever sell it the quality of the Scrim doesn't matter so much. Still a great story though.:thumbup:
 
Great story .Very nice knife....love your dog and the pic.....scrimshaw artist
needs to pratice portraits and animals more before they charge for work with
a signature on it....good thing the handle can be replaced.
 
Stephen F said:
Well I guess thats your bonfire well and truly P1$$3d on!:(:rolleyes:

Stephen
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He asked, and I was polite...much more so than in the past.

One must make the leap that if validation is requested, and will not be provided, for some reason, that reason must be stated.

Don't go getting your knickers in a twist, Stephen.;)

Best Regards,

STeven(the right way to spell the name) Garsson
 
STeven's right, period. Not sure I would want a knife with my own image on it, either.
 
Kohai999 said:
He asked, and I was polite...much more so than in the past.

One must make the leap that if validation is requested, and will not be provided, for some reason, that reason must be stated.

Don't go getting your knickers in a twist, Stephen.;)

Best Regards,

STeven(the right way to spell the name) Garsson
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I go commando, and I can assure you it takes a lot more to twist anything on me.

But I seriously think you have misconstrued a request for validation of the intrinsic value of the story and knife, and instead provided a hard materialistic appraisal.

.... " SteVen " the correct way ........ seriously? :D:D

STEPHEN
 
betzner said:
Not sure I would want a knife with my own image on it, either.
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If something possessed me to have a knife scrimmed with my ugly mug on it (such as severe brain trauma, mind altering drugs, etc.), I'd stay away from masters who'd make it look exactly like me. A true to life rendition might frighten/sicken onlookers! :D

Apart from the execution of the work, a pheasant & dog hunting scene seems a little out of place on a dressed up tactical folder, to me. But as the others said, it's your knife, and it is a great story. Thanks for sharing.
 
There are scrimshaw artists who do much better portrait work, but I believe the real value is commemorative in nature. I feel sure that anyone who knows both you and Ace would recognize you from the scrim. The probablility of you EVER selling the knife is so remote as to make the point moot, therefore it is of undefinable value to you and I congratulate your aquisition. I know you will look at it years from now and be flooded with great memories.

Paul
 
Stephen F said:
But I seriously think you have misconstrued a request for validation of the intrinsic value of the story and knife, and instead provided a hard materialistic appraisal.
Click to expand...

Maybe I did, but it would be an appraisal of value to many of our members here, and if nothing else, may lead the OP to a new adventure in finding scrimshanders...which might have some value in its' own right.

Best Regards, and missed you at Blade, bigtime,

STeven Garsson
 
Nice story, and a more personally meaningful knife than many of us keep in our safes! :D

Is the knife by a Thai maker?

Good on ya for the dog AND the knife...sometimes value is more than what *other* people see :)

-Michael
 
STeven is right. Great story, great idea, neat knife- awful scrimshaw. The eyes are the hardest to do, and they are seriously messed up on both the dog and the person. Uneven, wrong size, bad spacing relative to the faces and each other, etc. I am a little surprised that the person doing the work didn't apologize and offer to replace the scales at his/her cost.
 
Okay, I know the scrim is shi (t) clearly.
The knife is of zero value to anyone but me, maybe my girlfriend, or perhaps friends of Ace. But for me, it was about a commemorative to mark and occasion in which a culmanation of efforts were realized.

I don't want to turn this into a dog show but I thought I would share this one; colorado back roads, when Ace was only 5 months perhaps it can more clearly demonstrate the progression (of training).

[youtube]ttvxkMDDi-E[/youtube]
 
blakesnowden said:
Okay, I know the scrim is shi (t) clearly.
The knife is of zero value to anyone but me, maybe my girlfriend, or perhaps friends of Ace. But for me, it was about a commemorative to mark and occasion in which a culmanation of efforts were realized.
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Blake,

I, for one, don't know what YOU know about knives, knifemakers, scrimshaw or dogs. ALWAYS go under the assumption that people don't know very much about knife stuff, and if/when I become a pontificating windbag, I will be "gently" corrected/redirected.

It is for this reason that I qualified my original statement, with the "sentimental" value comment. I am not wired for large bits of sentiment or whimsey, but can understand how many people are.

At any rate, it IS a fantastic story, and more than anything else, I hope that you and Ace have many adventures afield for years to come...there is just not enough of that "simple" joy to be had anymore.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I am glad that YOU are happy with the knife.

BUT, I agree with STeven. I was expecting MUCH higher quality of the scrim, considering everything on the knife.
 
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