Larry Fuegen Seminar

Rossi Knives

Rossi Knives

Joined
Jul 21, 2009
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434
Hey custom knife fans,

I foud out that Larry Fuegen was doing a one day seminar at the New England School of Metalwork. Attending was obviously a no-brainer. I have always been a big fan of Larry's work. The seminar was among the best I have ever attended.

On with the pic's all right all ready!

Marcel Morin, local knifemaker was there with a classic Fuegen piece from when Larry was living in Wiscasset.
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Ged Messenger brought a very nice collection of Fuegens for us to apply fingerprints to. Ged actually bought the very first knife I ever sold.
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Filework demo.
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Carving progression.
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An enviable afternoon; making the complex approachable.

Thanks for the post. I enjoyed your clear photos. :D

Coop
 
SharpByCoop said:
An enviable afternoon; making the complex approachable.

Thanks for the post. I enjoyed your clear photos. :D

Coop
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Thanks Coop,

His teaching style is fantastic. By the end of the day I thought my brain was going to explode.

markb said:
Thanks, that was fun.

Any tips you learned that you could pass along?

Mark Behnke
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Mark,

The filework demo was extremely valuable. Larry demonstrated all of the Jim Schmidt patterns and his own "secret" pattern. I had been only working from one side of the spine. Larry was flipping the blade in the vise to get maximum contour. Also he uses a pneumatic pencil grinder for carving. Fordhams do not have a high enough RPM to carve material that has hard and soft layers like wood.

Overall, I learned that simple tools used with extreme skill is the direction that I want to take my knives.

-Nick
 
Thanks very much for the review and photos - most enjoyable.

I just love that big stag and carbon Fuegen bowie.

Roger
 
Me want one of those little Personal knives. Nick, that's a not so subtle hint, BTW. ;) :)

Larry is one of the best, that's for sure. :)
 
These photos are big and precise, thanks for them and the write up. Its rare to see so many LF knives on a table available to inspect also.

He is such a likeable person and is so polite and mild mannered, it seems hard to believe he has deep imbedded mad skills that can make those goblin folders that give me nightmares.
 
Larry is so knowledgeable and has such a broad range of talents that he's a natural for seminars such as this.
It's great that maker's are so sharing with their knowledge.

Danbo, speaking of "hints" last year at the CKCA banquet (at Blade show) Tim Hancock took his personal carry of 14 years off his belt and offered it up for auction proceeds benefiting the CKCA.
It would be very cool if this became a tradition among makers attending our banquet.
I love that little EDC of Larry's. hint-hint

I agree Bruce, never seen that many Fuegens on one table at a given time. Nick, were they for sale or just for viewing pleasure.
Great looking sheaths there too. :eek:

Thanks Nick for this thread.
 
Kevin Jones said:
I agree Bruce, never seen that many Fuegens on one table at a given time. Nick, were they for sale or just for viewing pleasure.
Great looking sheaths there too. :eek:

Thanks Nick for this thread.
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Thanks Mr. Jones,

The knives were just for viewing, and the sheathwork is certainly as good as the knives.
 
Overall, I learned that simple tools used with extreme skill is the direction that I want to take my knives.

-Nick
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As a beginner filing guards for that perfect fit, I've thought of a mill and a surface grinder but have decided to master the file and layout skills first.

I noticed simple tools on the bench in your picture.

Mark Behnke
 
I also attended the class and had a great time. There were only 7 or so of us in the class, so if felt more like 1on1 instruction than a seminar.

One tip that I picked up was that Larry discussed not worrying about everything being perfect. He stressed doing everything to the best of your ability but to remember that these knives are hand made and that some variation and or minor flaws demonstrate this. We are not dealing with mass produced products but truly hand made works of art and craftsmanship. If this was comming from someone with a bucket of shodily made blades, I might have seen it as a cop out. But is was comming from one of the masters in our craft and I thought it made sense.
 
markb said:
As a beginner filing guards for that perfect fit, I've thought of a mill and a surface grinder but have decided to master the file and layout skills first.

I noticed simple tools on the bench in your picture.

Mark Behnke
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To your point, here's Larry filing a guard for a recent bowie he made for me.

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Thanks for those pictures Kevin. Assuming this is the guard for the "Buckaroo Bowie" could you elaborate on the Hancock safety notch .
I don't see how the guard connects to the throat if that's the case.

Hope this isn't a hijack?
Thanks Mark
 
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markb said:
Thanks for those pictures Kevin. Assuming this is the guard for the "Buckaroo Bowie" could you elaborate on the Hancock safety notch .
I don't see how the guard connects to the throat if that's the case.
Thanks Mark
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Mark, the two little decorative tabs on the guard fit perfectly into the slot cut into the loop of the sheath and secure the bowie. Then you just tilt the bowie handle slightly away from the sheath loop and the bowie can be drawn from the sheath with ease.
Sorry for the poor photo, however it shows the slot very well.
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it really was a great day with Larry. He is so easy going and really knows how to explain everything that he does as he is doing it. I think we all left there Tuesday night with a better understanding that it's not the tools that we have that make the knife but our own knowlege and perseverance. I am hoping he does it again when he is back in Maine visiting his wife's family.

Marcel
 
cool thread man, thanks a lot!
 
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