milesofalaska
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2010
- Messages
- 514
Fossil walrus ivory handle Fish-- utility knife. Blade is forged 1084 steel. Overall 13 inches , blade is 7 inches x 1 inch wide x 3/16th thick. Guard is custom cast copper bear head. Copper from 1920's water pipes in Nenana Alaska. Fossil walrus ivory is a natural artifact as is, unchanged, unpolished, about 15,000 years old St Lawrence Island Alaska. Unsure what it was- but think a spear rest on a kayak. (other items found nearby were carbon dated). Fits in hand well as a handle. In keeping with the ancient rustic handle I gave an antique old look to the steel when I etched it. Note the copper brass hammered in the steel when forged. Permanent decoration will not affect function of the blade, and is chemical bonded under heat and hammering. Fwi Kfish 1011 is the code if inquiring $395.
Pay pal works best for me - can use shop cart on the web swite this knife is bottom of the page http://www.milesofalaska.net/Custom_knives/index.html Or email me - will accept checks or a layaway
All my work tends to have a rustic look- connected to the land. I built this knife around the artifact which is worth more than my blade ,and I wished to oh- honor the ancient craftsman- hunter who 15,000 years ago- a cave man went out to sea in a kayak resting his hunting spear on this handle. What were his thoughts? I decided not to alter the artifact in any way. A hunter lost at sea in a storm, kayak washes ashore in ruins. 15,000 winters later a Eskimo child digging in the sand pulls up the spear rest and runs back to the village of Savoonga.
As it was thousands of years ago a trader from far away brings knives, tools to trade barter and gift exchange. Here we are, still cutting fish. Something old and sane in a world that somehow has lost a grip on whats important. The knife may not be technically the most perfect blade? But the man who owned this handle conquered the world with a sharp piece of flint. Who among us could measure up? I asked an old Eskimo once when young , where he got his cool ideas! He smiled and told me the ideas are not his! The material tells me what it wants to be, and my job is to release its spirit. I do not have those exact same beliefs. But still, hopefully the knife speaks for itself.
