Jerry Hossom Kopis

G

Gabe Newell

Joined
Jan 6, 2003
Messages
1,139
I have always liked Jerry's knives, and have a large number of them. Specifically, I'm drawn to his artful combination of curves and lines, the lightness of his designs which belies their typically oversized scale, and his willingness to experiment with non-traditional patterns in search of greater utility.

This image from his website illustrates his artfulness:

index_image041.jpg


while his experiments with the Carolina Chainsaw

attachment.php


and his bird & trout knife

attachment.php


show how he will work with his customers to iterate and refine a design to make them as usable as they are pretty.

I've just received pictures from Coop of my latest piece from Jerry, and thought they illustrate all of the reasons I'm so fond of his work.

Hossom_Kopis01-ww.jpg


The blade is 18", the overall length is 26". It weighs 2 lbs 6 oz. The steel is 154 CM, and the handle is green canvas micarta.

If you've read Gates of Fire then you understand the feel that Jerry was trying to achieve with this kopis.

Here's a non-collage version of the pic:

Hossom_Kopis02-ww.jpg


Thanks, Jerry. Thanks, Coop. If I ever get a chance to go to Thermopylae, I will take this with me and touch it to the battle marker.
​
 
That is a beauty and Coop's pics are great as usual.

Here is a pic of the bird and trout after he etched his mark.
DSC_0001.jpg
 
My only problem with Hossom knives is that many of his sweet designs are not represented with photos on his site (not that that is a problem with his knives, just that I think he should keep pics of all of his designs.........just to toot his own horn........oh, ya, and also they are like the Colonel's seceret spices.........make you crave for them nightly........greedy bastard...............and I don't have one).
 
The scale of this sword is underacheived through my photos. It is REALLY big!

What is deceiving is how large the handle is. It's a monster, and so the sword looks 'proportionate'. It IS proportionate, if you were 300lbs and 6' 6" tall. :eek:

Here is what Jerry wrote on the neatly typed note that came with it:

Sword handle is intentionally oversized reflecting the style that was made for a Spartan hero of the 300 era and not for mortal men. The immediate impression upon picking up the sword is that it is too large, too powerful. It is.
Click to expand...

It weights in at a hefty 2lbs 6 oz's, and for one of Jerry's trim knives to be this hefty it HAS to be big.

Congrats, Gabe!

Coop
 
A most impressive sword. :thumbup:

FWIW, I think the solo image (without the inserts) is terrific and the better of the two.

P
 
Yeah! Mr. Hossom has a terrific eye for design. Wow! Thanks for posting, Gabe.
 
Congratulations to both of you. It is great to see Jerry's work without someone chiming in who had a personal agenda against this very creative and serious maker.
 
ptgdvc said:
FWIW, I think the solo image (without the inserts) is terrific and the better of the two.
Click to expand...
Good eye; I agree. Once I chose that background, any insets were NOT going to blend in. So I went back with a style that worked successfully for me many times.

The sword is powerful enough and the details are less significant. That's why I gave two choices. The solo image has just enough to satisfy.

Coop
 
I got this in the mail today (thanks, Coop) and have been carrying it around the office with me terrorizing my co-workers who had up til the Kopis showed up become somewhat inured to my peculiar hobby. Then there are the co-workers who, with a gleam in their eye, ask hesitantly if they could, y'know, maybe hold it for a second ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top