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Curt Erickson California Knife - Inlaid/Engraved by Julie - Yep, Another One

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betzner

betzner

Joined
Jan 23, 2007
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This one came at me yesterday hard and fast. It's been on my list of wants for a year and I didn't even see it coming!

California Knife, 6 1/2" blade with satin, hand-rubbed finish to 2500 grit, 11" overall, mother-of-pearl and black marble mosaic handle, German silver wrap and fittings, full metal German silver sheath, ruby gemstone set in sheath button. Fully engraved with gold inlay by Julie Warenski-Erickson, including Julie's famous granulated 24K gold dots, in double the normal size, around the entire handle perimeter. Knife has a three piece guard that is hand file fit.
 
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Beautiful workmanship by Curt on the knife, and Julie's always-stunning embellishment.

Great get, Bobby!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
Beautiful workmanship by Curt on the knife, and Julie's always-stunning embellishment.

Great get, Bobby!

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Thanks, STeven. I think I am going to go into a bit more detail on the sum of the parts in the future, ie, the stats of the piece. Makes it much more interesting, I now realize. Incidentally, Curt did the handle mosaic completely, in answer to questions from two people already. Yeah, this one is sure an eye-popper.

Best,

Bob(by)
 
Easily one of my favourite examples of the genre - a truly elegant piece in every respect.

Roger
 
betzner said:
Thanks, STeven. I think I am going to go into a bit more detail on the sum of the parts in the future, ie, the stats of the piece. Makes it much more interesting, I now realize. Incidentally, Curt did the handle mosaic completely, in answer to questions from two people already. Yeah, this one is sure an eye-popper.

Best,

Bob(by)
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Great idea!

Maybe one day, we can get a WIP from Curt, or even better, from both Curt and Julie. If it was a knife going your way, wouldn't that make it even sweeter?

I remember asking Julie at the first Art Knife Invitational I attended in 2005 about her "beaded" borders, and although she gave an excellent explanation, pictures would be very helpful.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
STeven, if you recall, I started posting stuff about Curt three years ago, but at Curt's request - because he considered himself to be so computer illiterate. I doubt you are going to see any works in progress by either Curt or Julie.

However, I'm going to visit at their new place, sometime this year. Maybe with my assistance, something can be arranged. Not sure when this is going to happen, but be hopeful.And you hit upon a point - that gold dot granulation - that has always intrigued me, as well.

Best,

Bob
 
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Wow, that's a beauty! The engraving on the sheath really pops out at you. Thanks for sharing. :thumbup:
 
A very, very nice piece and the granulation work brings it up even further. I'm somewhat familiar with the technique from a jewelery standpoint, my wife being a huge fan of the technique (much to the chagrin of my wallet).

If I may ask, how is the handle constructed? Since you mention the guard as a three piece affair I'm going to assume it isn't integral.

I'm pretty ignorant about this type of knife, so please forgive my possibly silly question.
 
bluejaunte said:
A very, very nice piece and the granulation work brings it up even further. I'm somewhat familiar with the technique from a jewelery standpoint, my wife being a huge fan of the technique (much to the chagrin of my wallet).

If I may ask, how is the handle constructed? Since you mention the guard as a three piece affair I'm going to assume it isn't integral.

I'm pretty ignorant about this type of knife, so please forgive my possibly silly question.
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Aaron, the explanation at the beginning of the thread is about all I know, as far as a California knife is concerned. It was furnished to me by Curt. So no question is a silly question as far as I am concerned. The one thing I can be sure about is that it was built in just the same fashion that Buster Warenski would have built it, since that's where all the training and experience came from for Curt. The only other thing I can say for sure is that it has a tang!
 
I'm blown away again, and I handled this. :confused: :eek:

Really cool, really complex, and really well-made. Congrats, Bob! :thumbup:

Coop
 
Easily one of my favorites that you've shown Bob. Exquisite knife and equally exquisite engraving. Julie also does a gold basket-weave that is amazing.

Congratulations and thanks for the picture.

Peter
 
One thing I forgot to mention about this knife, and a rather important point it is, too. It's a flat grind, guys.
 
betzner said:
One thing I forgot to mention about this knife, and a rather important point it is, too. It's a flat grind, guys.
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Very cool piece, sir. Do you mean flat grind as opposed to full convex or hollow?
 
jdm61 said:
Very cool piece, sir. Do you mean flat grind as opposed to full convex or hollow?
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I mean flat ground, as opposed to full convex or hollow, but with a bit of distal taper as one would expect. The top clip is also flat ground, on a disk grinder (9 incher, to be precise).

EDIT: Don't know how many times I was told in my life that Buster (Warenski) was the master of the flat grind - and he imparted it all to Curt back in the 80s when they worked together.

Kevin - This piece has so much going for it that, despite a preference for the daggers, I know it will be one of my top favorites, too. Thanks.
 
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it blows me away.
 
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