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- Feb 17, 1999
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While some of the knives obtained this year have found spots within other threads, there has not been a thread based upon each knife at the time it was obtained or any information about the acquisition. Also, hopefully the inclusion of these knives are just in time for Roger P to begin his annual crusade for the best Bowie of the Year.
The year began not at the first month but sometime after the big party we had for my wife's 80th birthday when I found posted a knife by Vladimir Kolenko which I found attractive and after asking to have a base created to stand the knife in, received this wonderful knife with some terrific embellishment and gemstones adorning various parts of the knife, handle and stand.
In early summer and before the CKG show an old time friend of mine did some transactions which allowed me to obtain a fine Bowie created in 1976 by DE Henry called the Schively based upon a knife created in Great Britain in previous times. Quite a unique piece as these two image will show.
At the same time I was able to obtain a couple of fine knives by an extremely talented Canadian maker who has been creating knives since before we began our knife collecting life 34 years ago. Harald Moeller is know for fine Art knives, folders and of course the Viper throwing knife.
The first knife is a Bowie that I had owned many years ago before doing a deal with my friend to re-obtain a piece I wish that I had never parted with. This knife is engraved by a fellow Canadian -- Roland Robidoux now of Florida.
At the same time came the opportunity to obtain a truly amazing Big Bear Fighter with great Mammoth and fine engraving.
Following the CKG mid-summer show, Harald and I consummated a couple deals to add his version of a San Francisco Bradford style Bowie with engraving and Rubies, diamonds and Mammoth ivory. The fitted sheath makes this an outstanding work of art.
Being a big fan of Ammolite, having given my wife a number of pieces of jewellery made from this one of a kind gemstone which comes from the Lethbridge area of Southern Alberta and is unique to Canada, and having a couple of rings of my own with this same gemstone (one obtained from a jewellery shop in the Sheraton Centre at the time of the CKG show) a knife from Harald with an Ammolite inlay seemed to fit the bill as a great addition to our collection.
The CKG show was a fun time for us as we had a nice display of 50 Canadian made knives and were able to obtain a couple of nice knife books created by Francesco Pachi -- one of knives from various maker he photographed and the autobiographical life of 30 years as a knife maker by Wolfgang Loerchner as well as a book my wife wanted of beautiful glass also done by FP. As avid glass collectors it fit right in.
We had a great time hosting Mike Ruth Jr and his wife and saw much of the general touristy things around the local area including a trip to Niagara Falls. While not obtaining anything at the show itself, a couple of knives came into our hands from Michael Donato.
The first is a piece that gives us a fine example of an AKI knife by esteemed maker, Buster Warenski with Julie Warenski Erickson's engraving.
Keeping with the glass collecting theme came this SR Johnson Boot knife with Glass carved scales by world renouned glass blower, Gordon Smith who has works in both the AGO and Corning Glass Museum.
Shortly thereafter, from another esteemed dealer, Nordic Knives' Dave Harvey, we added another great knife by one of our favorite makers, Curt Erickson which is also engraved by Julie. This comes on the heels of a piece my wife obtained at Blade 2013 and a small boot knife obtained a few years ago from a BFC member.
Lastly in the past few days this wonderful work of art has graced our doorstep just in time for the XMAS season. It is an amazing piece created by Slovakian maker, Brian Chovanec. Let me use his own words to describe this amazing creation -- the Fleur de Lis.
"O/A 340mm (13.38") Blade 215mm(8.5") Damascus @ cca 59HRC ( Bohler K720 and K600 ,stock forged by Roman Privrel )
Black Walnut burl,Brass/Bronze,Copper,Sterling Silver, Sapphires ...tang through, glue-less full take down construction, all 100% hand made (right down to the hinges on the case)me being the sole author...there is over 400 hand made pieces in this composition, not a single one was pre-fabricated, it's all the good old fashioned hand work done on a bench/ in a vise /or on a knee...literally This is a true one of a kind, there just isn't another one like that, period ,and I never make two knives the same ...almost 4 months of work went into making it, there's a lot of details that pics just won't do justice to, as well as some tricky things like hidden locking mechanism on the hermetically sealed case...which btw is carved/and hollowed out from one solid piece of seasoned walnut (10+ years I can guarantee ,probably more),as well as the take-down construction (including the scroll inlays on the sheath,the little flowers in the heads of the scrolls are actually screws holding it in ,anchored in threaded bases counter sunk in the sheath) etc......this is a piece destined for a very discerning collector looking for something special for their collection ..."
Thinking that this fit the bill, it now proudly resides on display among many other pieces we have acquired over the years of collecting.
As you can see, this is something quite special and will be appreciated by our family for a long time.
Thus ends the tale of 2014. Hopefully, everyone enjoys the images.
The year began not at the first month but sometime after the big party we had for my wife's 80th birthday when I found posted a knife by Vladimir Kolenko which I found attractive and after asking to have a base created to stand the knife in, received this wonderful knife with some terrific embellishment and gemstones adorning various parts of the knife, handle and stand.
In early summer and before the CKG show an old time friend of mine did some transactions which allowed me to obtain a fine Bowie created in 1976 by DE Henry called the Schively based upon a knife created in Great Britain in previous times. Quite a unique piece as these two image will show.
At the same time I was able to obtain a couple of fine knives by an extremely talented Canadian maker who has been creating knives since before we began our knife collecting life 34 years ago. Harald Moeller is know for fine Art knives, folders and of course the Viper throwing knife.
The first knife is a Bowie that I had owned many years ago before doing a deal with my friend to re-obtain a piece I wish that I had never parted with. This knife is engraved by a fellow Canadian -- Roland Robidoux now of Florida.
At the same time came the opportunity to obtain a truly amazing Big Bear Fighter with great Mammoth and fine engraving.
Following the CKG mid-summer show, Harald and I consummated a couple deals to add his version of a San Francisco Bradford style Bowie with engraving and Rubies, diamonds and Mammoth ivory. The fitted sheath makes this an outstanding work of art.
Being a big fan of Ammolite, having given my wife a number of pieces of jewellery made from this one of a kind gemstone which comes from the Lethbridge area of Southern Alberta and is unique to Canada, and having a couple of rings of my own with this same gemstone (one obtained from a jewellery shop in the Sheraton Centre at the time of the CKG show) a knife from Harald with an Ammolite inlay seemed to fit the bill as a great addition to our collection.
The CKG show was a fun time for us as we had a nice display of 50 Canadian made knives and were able to obtain a couple of nice knife books created by Francesco Pachi -- one of knives from various maker he photographed and the autobiographical life of 30 years as a knife maker by Wolfgang Loerchner as well as a book my wife wanted of beautiful glass also done by FP. As avid glass collectors it fit right in.
We had a great time hosting Mike Ruth Jr and his wife and saw much of the general touristy things around the local area including a trip to Niagara Falls. While not obtaining anything at the show itself, a couple of knives came into our hands from Michael Donato.
The first is a piece that gives us a fine example of an AKI knife by esteemed maker, Buster Warenski with Julie Warenski Erickson's engraving.
Keeping with the glass collecting theme came this SR Johnson Boot knife with Glass carved scales by world renouned glass blower, Gordon Smith who has works in both the AGO and Corning Glass Museum.
Shortly thereafter, from another esteemed dealer, Nordic Knives' Dave Harvey, we added another great knife by one of our favorite makers, Curt Erickson which is also engraved by Julie. This comes on the heels of a piece my wife obtained at Blade 2013 and a small boot knife obtained a few years ago from a BFC member.
Lastly in the past few days this wonderful work of art has graced our doorstep just in time for the XMAS season. It is an amazing piece created by Slovakian maker, Brian Chovanec. Let me use his own words to describe this amazing creation -- the Fleur de Lis.
"O/A 340mm (13.38") Blade 215mm(8.5") Damascus @ cca 59HRC ( Bohler K720 and K600 ,stock forged by Roman Privrel )
Black Walnut burl,Brass/Bronze,Copper,Sterling Silver, Sapphires ...tang through, glue-less full take down construction, all 100% hand made (right down to the hinges on the case)me being the sole author...there is over 400 hand made pieces in this composition, not a single one was pre-fabricated, it's all the good old fashioned hand work done on a bench/ in a vise /or on a knee...literally This is a true one of a kind, there just isn't another one like that, period ,and I never make two knives the same ...almost 4 months of work went into making it, there's a lot of details that pics just won't do justice to, as well as some tricky things like hidden locking mechanism on the hermetically sealed case...which btw is carved/and hollowed out from one solid piece of seasoned walnut (10+ years I can guarantee ,probably more),as well as the take-down construction (including the scroll inlays on the sheath,the little flowers in the heads of the scrolls are actually screws holding it in ,anchored in threaded bases counter sunk in the sheath) etc......this is a piece destined for a very discerning collector looking for something special for their collection ..."
Thinking that this fit the bill, it now proudly resides on display among many other pieces we have acquired over the years of collecting.
As you can see, this is something quite special and will be appreciated by our family for a long time.
Thus ends the tale of 2014. Hopefully, everyone enjoys the images.
