Kelly Carlson RIP.. A Tribute...

rbslaughter1

rbslaughter1

Joined
Feb 15, 2006
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Currently there is a thread going that Bobby Branton started about makers that have passed on.. Sadly a special friend of mine, and many others here on Blade Forums, was on that list... Today, August 18th, marks the second year anniversary of Kelly's death... I really miss him.. He was one of the very rare early collectors of custom knives who went on to teach himself to become an excellent knife maker in his own right.. Something that a lot of us here have a desire to to, but lack the skills and determination... I'd like to show some examples of his work, both fixed and folders, as a remembrance... He was a kind man, and a true gentleman. He served his country proudly with Special Forces, and loved and cared for his family..... RIP Kelly. My thought's are with Paula, and your son's today....

A nice pair of art folders, the "Icicle" model being engraved by Tim George..
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Another pair.. Both in D-2 steel.. Kelly's only push dagger I believe...
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A very sleek folding dagger using Ti....
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A dagger that Kelly and I worked on together... He really resisted making this piece, but finally agreed to give it a go.. The celtic styled gold inlayed was done by Ron Nott who sadly has also since passed.. This damascus was made especially for this project, and began a very nice friendship between Kelly, Andre Andersson, and Andre's father...
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A very large assisted opening folder, also engraved by Tim George, that was featured in a profile Blade Magazine did on Kelly.. When I say large, believe me it was a beast... Blade was right at 5".. What a knife...
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This folding dagger has a unique damascus pattern on the bolsters.. To me, it gave the piece a "swoosh" look, like exhaust fumes.. this design was called a baracuda...
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Sadly, I believe this is the last knife Kelly made, although I can't be certain.. He sent it to me to photograph and later that week told me to keep it.. You can understand why is so special to me, a favorite for sure...
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I hope you enjoyed seeing some of Kelly Carlson's work again.. A fine knifemaker.... A good friend... Best Regards All, Rich Slaughter
 
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A wonderful tribute Rich, he is indeed missed. I was lucky enough to visit him at his home a couple of times to do some shooting, talk about knives and life.
 
Years ago that dagger with the Andersson damascus was one of my favorite knives at the time. Seeing it again brings back memories and my opinion hasn't changed.....that is still a knife I would love to own. His "eggs" are great little knives as well. He was for sure a talented maker.

Marcel
 
I never got the chance to know him or his work, obviously I missed out on some real talent. I like all of the above knives, thanks for the post Rich.
 
Thanks Chuck, target shooting and talking about knives with a fellow maker or collector was something Kelly would have gladly spent most days doing I believe... If your visits were during a time of year that allowed for it, riding one of his many motorcycles would have been on the agenda too..

Marcel, I remember you writing a personal email to me years past about this dagger.. We both share a love for daggers and I always enjoy seeing new ones added to your collection when you post them...

Bob, I do in fact know you admire his work.. Folders in your collection usually seem to get there via trades... When one is actually purchased, it tells you something about the knife, and the maker..

Martin, with your extensive collection of art folders, a thumbs up from you on the designs makes a statement... Thanks for commenting....

I should have mentioned in my post yesterday that anyone wishing to relay a story, or share a Carlson knife photo, please do.... Thanks again guys, Rich Slaughter
 
Really nice stuff. I like the first one with the green ivory and the last one. Thats an incredible gift. I'm going to keep an eye out for his stuff.
 
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I also miss seeing Kelly at the NCCA shows. I am happy to own one of his folders with ivory scales, scrimmed by John Stahl. It is very well made, and a reminder of the many great conversations with Kelly. He was the epitome of a gentleman and provided a great lifestyle for his family.

We shared a love of the outdoors and especially motorcycles. As anyone that knew Kelly would expect, he KNEW motorcycles and had an enviable fleet of them.

Sadly, he is one of several members of the NCCA that is no longer with us.

Thanks for starting this thread Rich.

Peter
 
Thank you Jon for commenting, and your email.. You have a nice collection going.. Great makers..

Joe, thanks to you too.. Through your posts I have been made aware of such makers as Bill Bagwell, Phill Hartsfield, Nick Wheeler, etc...

Peter, thanks for your comments and thoughts on your friendship with Kelly.. Motorcycles were a huge part of Kelly's life and all he needed to know about someone to become a buddy of his was if you rode one... Any style, didn't matter... Coop, in a previous life, (grin), used to repair and tune exotic bikes and I'm pretty sure that's where their friendship started.. You and I have crossed paths on the forums a few times I recall.. Was the knife you mentioned in your post one of the Japanese series Kelly did? Those were amazing knives.. I am having trouble remembering if John Stahl was the scrimshander Kelly used for those...

Thanks again to all of you for posting your remarks... Best Regards, Rich Slaughter
 
rbslaughter1 said:
Peter, thanks for your comments and thoughts on your friendship with Kelly.. Motorcycles were a huge part of Kelly's life and all he needed to know about someone to become a buddy of his was if you rode one... Any style, didn't matter... Coop, in a previous life, (grin), used to repair and tune exotic bikes and I'm pretty sure that's where their friendship started.. You and I have crossed paths on the forums a few times I recall.. Was the knife you mentioned in your post one of the Japanese series Kelly did? Those were amazing knives.. I am having trouble remembering if John Stahl was the scrimshander Kelly used for those...

Thanks again to all of you for posting your remarks... Best Regards, Rich Slaughter
Click to expand...

A few years back, John Stahl used to attend the NCCA shows on a regular basis. He is from NY and his specialty is birds of prey and large cats. The knife I have, has carbon fibre bolsters, a damasteel blade. The scrim is a cheetah in stride on one side and an abstract close-up of a cheetah face on the other. John had his work in the Knife annual book around the time he did Kelly's knife which was in '02.

Prior to moving to NH, Kelly lived just down the street from me (I didn't know him then) and did a lot of business with Canton Cycles. He had some nice Ducatis, BMWs, and an in depth knowledge of motorcycles. Bikes are a huge part of my life also, and we spoke of bikes far more than knives actually. His sons/wife often accompanied him to the shows, and it was easy to tell what a nice family he had. It was really sad to find out that he was ill, and he is undoubtedly missed by all that knew him.

Peter
 
Kelly was a great knifemaker and even better person. Our family was saddened to hear he passed.

The handle material on the knife in the photo below is Moire pattern Black Timascus. We wanted to buy the knife but Kelly said it was already sold. If anyone wants to sell this knife please let us know.

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Thanks Dave, Dudley & Chuck for your comments and photo's... Dave, your knife is really turned out... From PeterinCt's brief bio on John Stahl, he mentioned he liked to scrim large cats, and birds of prey.. Is this his work here? (Eric E. didn't mention it in his photo credits..) The blade shape, and grind on your knife are very nice in my opinion...

Dudley, what a unique piece from Kelly this is... Larger than most of his "Egg" models, and with full coverage art deco engraving from Tim George... I love the way you described Tim's work as "chiseled and engraved"... To me it makes his work even more impressive... I have seen this knife again recently, and really admired it...

Chuck, Kelly was so excited about using your black Timascus material.. The treatment, and pattern, he achieved on the scales for this knife worked great in my opinion... Sadly, he refused to sell it to me as well (grin..).. I have a good memory, at least at the moment, so if I see it down the road I will be sure to mention your interest in the knife to it's current owner.. The photo is my own Chuck, so if you would like to use it I'll be happy to send you the entire file.. No trouble at all, just ask..Such a cool folding Dagger!

Thanks again to all three of you guys for your photo's and thoughts..... Best Regards, Rich
 
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Hi Rich,
I should have provided more details...
Kelly agreed to make a modified version of the Icicle, Chuck provided a link to some of the icicle model that were scrimed by Matt Stothart with a Japanese influence.
This knife is wider and much longer than the Icicle. Matt Stothart did the scrimshaw.
David
 
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