Knifemakers Guild Knives done. Wish me luck!

Awesome! Congrats! I'm sure your knives will speak for themselves, and you won't Lady Luck. You do incredible work.
 
Thanks for the encouragement. The judging is Thursday. I'll let you know how it goes. If you're near Kansas City, come to the show.
 
Here's some of the knives Andy has been working on

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Wow. Awesome work Andy. I'm a big fan of the trinity pinouts. Also, is the Philellow I see? :thumbup:
 
Not sure how you do it Andy but you always seem to step it up a notch.... beautiful work friend!
 
Hey Andy,

I have a couple of questions about your choice of models to submit. Why submit two Monarchs and two Handymans (Handymen?) instead of one each of various models? As much as I personally prefer Shadetree burlaps and other synthetics, I am curious as to why you would not choose some flashy exotic burl woods instead. I guess I am asking if there any rules for what you must submit and what your strategy was with these choices. Is the judging based solely on the evenness of the grinds and symmetry of the handles or what? Just trying to understand what the criteria is from both sides.

I like all six of your submission knives. The only one I have a critique on is the bolstered Burgundy & Black burlap Handyman where the top of the grind meets the spalting. The arc where those two areas meet looks less perfectly curved than the others. That may be an inevitable visual effect due to the depth of the spalting, but I wanted to point it out anyway to hear your comments.

You are a great knife designer and craftsman. I want to see you get the honor and respect that you are do by the Judges.

Best regards,

Phil
 
Phil
Some of those are "maybes"
Andy made 10 knives and these are the ones I grabbed and snapped a photo of
He asked me to snap a few photos yesterday and post them. I'm not sure those are the "finalist"
Sorry for the confusion
 
Comprehensivist said:
Hey Andy,

I have a couple of questions about your choice of models to submit. Why submit two Monarchs and two Handymans (Handymen?) instead of one each of various models? As much as I personally prefer Shadetree burlaps and other synthetics, I am curious as to why you would not choose some flashy exotic burl woods instead. I guess I am asking if there any rules for what you must submit and what your strategy was with these choices. Is the judging based solely on the evenness of the grinds and symmetry of the handles or what? Just trying to understand what the criteria is from both sides.

I like all six of your submission knives. The only one I have a critique on is the bolstered Burgundy & Black burlap Handyman where the top of the grind meets the spalting. The arc where those two areas meet looks less perfectly curved than the others. That may be an inevitable visual effect due to the depth of the spalting, but I wanted to point it out anyway to hear your comments.

You are a great knife designer and craftsman. I want to see you get the honor and respect that you are do by the Judges.

Best regards,

Phil
Click to expand...

There aren't any criteria perse on what you have to make. I chose small knives because those are the ones that I like making the most. There were two of each model in the batch, just in case. I lost several during the process. The Monarch and the Handyman just happened to survive. I wanted to make one of the Handymen for myself also, so I'm glad they did survive. In person, I don't see any issue with the curvature of the rear of the plunge on the one Handyman. I kinda get what you're saying from the picture though. I still have to wax the handles and get nitpickey with the knives before choosing the 6. We'll see.

A few of these knives will be auctioned off here once the show is done. 33% of the funds from those auctions will go to Super Ben.
 
So, I have to say that this thread got me to thinking. I'm looking at the pictures of these knives and knowing what they are for makes me think that Andy has put his best foot forward with these knives. There was probably some sense of pressure when making these and I'm sure Andy wanted to be sure that the were the best examples of his fine craftsmanship.

Now here's the thing, I feel as though I can reach into my chest of Fiddlebacks and pull one out at random and see the same level of craftsmanship and the same attention to detail in mine as I do in the ones pictured above.

Basically this thread just proves, to me at least, that all of the knives that come out of the forge are held up to amazingly high standards. Weather they be for the Friday thread, for Dealers, for Guild presentation or for any other reason that they may be made. It's even evident in all the apprentice's knives as well. Heck, I even find the same mentality in the sheath makers on this forum. I mean, if you're gonna make a sheath for a Fiddleback it damn well better be a nice one.

There is obviously a great work ethic being continually grown and perpetuated at Fiddleback Forge and I'm extremely proud to own the knives that are produced there. This is why you will never see me without at least one on my person.

To all the craftsman that frequent this forum I just want to say thank you. Your extreme dedication to produce extremely high quality products by hand is a wonderful thing and I sincerely hope that it continues for decades to come.

Jim
 
Not gonna wish you luck Andy, I give you congratulations! You have worked hard to make your own luck.

I have no doubt you will pass this next step in the guild, your work and reputation are solid and speak for themselves.
 
Onedog said:
...Now here's the thing, I feel as though I can reach into my chest of Fiddlebacks and pull one out at random and see the same level of craftsmanship and the same attention to detail in mine as I do in the ones pictured above...
Click to expand...

I agree with this 100%! In saying this I don't want to take anything away from Andy's guild knives; they are spectacular! It is just that there are so many spectacular knives that come out FF, and IMHO there are at least one are two knives in every Fiddleback Friday that are similarly awesome...

I guess what I am trying to say is "thanks!" Andy makes awesome knives and I feel lucky to be a customer.
 
I will follow suit with fod and congratulate you Andy of a job well done.
 
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Waiting in line. Last guy came out and had failed.
 
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