Dan Maragni Knives--Update w/pictures

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brandyspaw

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I'm looking at a custom knife for sale that was made by Dan Maragni. It is a fixed damascus blade knife with ivory grips and appears extremely well made. The seller mentioned that this knifemaker is no longer making custom knives but didn't know much about him. He does have some documentation such as letters and receipts from Dan to the original owner who commissioned the knife.

After doing some internet research I found out about Maragni's long career working for Cold Steel and Ontario knives. but it looks like he quit making custom knives back in the eighties.

However, my search of the internet bombed when trying to find any of his knives for sale.
Did he produce very many knives when he was making knives back in the eighties? I'm just trying to get a handle to determine if the knife is worth the $1,500 asking price.

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide me.
 
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Thanks for the correction Doug. I had the spelling right in my notes from when I looked at the knife but botched it when I entered this post on the forum.
Bill
 
He quit taking orders for knives in the late '80's/early 90's....he does occasionally produce a knife or two, but only something that interests him.

He made a fair amount of knives, I would assume at least a few hundred are floating around somewhere....I have seen knives of his for sale at Nordic Knives, depending upon the piece, it may represent a fair value, or it may be a bit high.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Agree STeven. I suspect a bit on the high side but one can't be sure without at least seeing good photos. Damascus done then is quite different from now. Dan used to come to some of the CKCC shows but I don't recall any damascus pieces. I think I once had a small boot knife of his but certainly at that time is was well below the asking price of this one.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far.

I talked again with the seller this morning and he was quick to emphasis he is very flexible on his asking price. (Thats definitely a motivating factor.) So the next time I travel up north I'm going to see if I can vist with him again and take a couple of pictures of the knife. If I make connections and get pics I will post them.

One other thing I did learn lately in my research is that supposedly Dan did not do ivory handles very much on his knives. This knife has ivory and it is also scrimshawed on one side. (There is also a small crack in the ivory on the side with the scrimshaw.) I'm trying to contact the original buyer who commissioned the knife from Dan as I have some contact info for him. I'm going to try to find out if the ivory and the scrimshaw was done after Dan had built the knife.

I really like this knife but I am very concerned not to overpay, especially in todays economy. So any info I can
find out is very much appreciated.
 
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Well, I finally got up to look at the knife again and I took a few pictures of it that I thought I would share.
The seller does has the original catalog, receipt and letter from Dan Maragni as well.

The pictures show the split in the ivory handles on the side of the knife with the scrimshaw. I haven't been able get in touch with the original owner of the knife but I believe the knife was stocked in the ivory and scrimshaw was done after Dan built the knife. I believe this since ivory and scrimshaw isn't mentioned on the receipt or the letter to the original owner.

Anyway, I thought you might like to see what the knife looks like.

DSCN0496.jpg


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That is one of Dan's sgain dubh knives with Bob Egnath scrim....it's a stunner.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Yeah, the knife is listed as his "Skene Dhu" model in Dan Maragni's catalog and on the receipt the original owner got. I wasn't aware that the scrimshaw was done by Bob Engnath but, after checking, the look of the artwork and the signature matches Bob's work.

Its a fantastic looking knife. Even the small split in the ivory handle on the scrimshaw side can be stabilized from what I've found. I'd really like to buy the knife especially since the owner dropped the price to almost half his original asking price.

Unfortunately, my situation has changed and now I'm not able to purchase it. I did, however, agree to help sell the knife for the older gentleman that owns it. He might even be listing it here on the Bladeforum exchange if I can't get any interest generated for him.

Thanks for the input.
 
I know the thread is quite old,but I just got this present from my father.
He bought it in the late ‘80s in Milan,Italy.
I can’t see the pictures brandyspaw posted (maybe the thread is too old).
May you help me to find out if this is a real Maragni’s artwork?

Thanks!
 
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