Fred Ott's unique dagger

HTMD

HTMD

Joined
Feb 15, 2002
Messages
1,705
Fred Ott (Durango, CO) brought this well-made and interesting dagger for me to photograph. I love Fred's stuff and have shot several pieces in the past, including a few award winners. Totally unique and recognizable, Fred's knives are always expertly crafted, beautifully finished and totally functional. He plans a display box for this one. Fred has a style like no other and here is a fine example:
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A few details about the dagger:
Blade is an 01 and 15N20 steel twist
OAL 13 1/2 in. - blade 8 in.
Oosic spacer
Bronze fittings
Ironwood handle
 
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Wow, very nice dagger. Lots of things going on in that handle. Good choice of materials, the Oosic / Ironwood / Bronze work well together.

Beautiful damascus as well.

Kind regards,

Jos
 
Thanks for posting Fred's dagger, Buddy!

I bought my wife one of Fred's fighters with silver wire inlay work several years ago and the workmanship is as you described. His knives are indeed unique and a pleasure to own.
 
This is a nice looking dagger, but boy do I like his wire inlayed handles. His Cache la Poudre camp knife is my alltime favourite.

Marcel
 
Marcel, as you mentioned enjoying Fred's wire work, here's the knife I mentioned above. Would enjoy seeing more of Mr. Ott's work but it can be hard to find. Any other Fred Ott fans out there?

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Nice. Here's a photo of the Cache la Poudre that Buddy made a couple of years ago.

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Marcel
 
Do the materials get ANY warmer and more pleasing than this? I've yet to see better.

Exceptional knife + great photo = good post. Thanks.

Coop
 
Wow, that dagger is awesome. I've followed Fred's work for a while some time ago, and the only reason I don't have one of his knives is that he seemed to have moved onto to doing mostly damascus knives by that time and I'm not a fan of the look of damascus steel in general. That said, that dagger is one of the few instances where I find damascus to be pleasing. I love what he did with the fittings. And that ironwood is just the most stunning example I recall ever seeing.
 
Fred is a humble guy and doesn't seek a lot of attention - but I know he'd be pleased about the positive response to his work. Here's some more of his work for anyone who has interest - and, BTW, Fred's pricing seems (to me, anyway) to be quite reasonable. I asked what he'd charge for the dagger. He wants to finish the display box, then set a price for the package. However, he did say "somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,500."
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very nice what a unique pairing of materials A real treat to see so many of his knives in one post thanks Buddy
 
r connally said:
Marcel, as you mentioned enjoying Fred's wire work, here's the knife I mentioned above. Would enjoy seeing more of Mr. Ott's work but it can be hard to find. Any other Fred Ott fans out there?

FredOttSilverInlay.jpg
Click to expand...

I really like this piece, not a big fan of the dagger though.
 
Buddy, thanks for the additional pics. Really like that '08 PKA Hunting/Utility award winner.

Marcel, the handle on the Cache is fantastic. The shape and the wire work is really cool.

Really glad to see Fred's work showcased here on the forum :thumbup:
 
Re the dagger, I said to Fred, "Hey Fred I love the guard - on the horizontal I see some kind of big creature with the blade coming out of it's gaping mouth." "Hmmm," he murmurs. Then I say, "Yeah, and on the vertical it looks like a chicken has just laid a black egg." "Wow," says Fred, "I missed that." ;)

I think he got that I was just yanking his chain and anyway we had a big laugh out of it. That got him talking about the Van Gogh exhibit - 56 rarely or never exhibited pieces - at the Denver Art Museum, which he'd just seen. Fred was a fine art painter before becoming a knife maker. It's like someone said long ago, "You can't hide talent."
 
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