Maragni/Engath Grail...to me anyway.

[Dawkind]

This piece basically came out of nowhere and I'm still surprised I have it....

Since I got into bladesmithing back in the '80's, I have sought the work of Schmidt, Hudson, Maragni, Fikes, etc....never been able to find or afford one. This showed up advertised as a hunting knife on an on-line firearms auction site....

A Damascus Skene Dhu finished by Dan in '87 and looks to be scrimmed by Bob in early '88....I did get the original bill-of-sale, letter telling the customer the knfe was finished and that the model he got had gone up $150 since being ordered and what a great deal he got, plus his business card and the brochure pictured.

The knife has a small spot or two and, it's a shame, the wonderful ancient ivory 'relieved itself' right through that fantastic leopard scrim.....still a great piece and I'm thrilled to have it. :thumbup:

 

[billf]

That is way cool

Dan is a great guy - he is not on the forums at all, but he is at Ashokan pretty much every year, and a great source of information

I have none on Dan's knives.....but I do have an anvil I got from him :thumbup:

Bill

 

[RogerP]

What Bill said. :thumbup: That's a fine score - I'm happy for you.

Roger

 

[Kohai999]

I always liked Dan and his knives, the sgain dubh is a personal favorite. I have an o-tanto from Dan, it's an awesome piece.

Bob Egnath was a gem of a man, and sadly gone well before his time.

Nice get, unfortunate about the ivory....one of, if not THE reason I will not collect knives with it.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[Lorien]

yup, at least you got the knife knowing the handle had a crack in it. Imagine getting your grail, only to find after a short time that the ivory cracked while in your care.
This style of knife is very interesting, and this particular one is very cool.

 

[ROBB]

Very nice knife.

 

[Win Heger]

Another great knife for your collection. I never owned one of Dan's knives or had any thing by Bob. I did talk with Bob several times and was waiting on a knife for him to scrim when he died.

Win

 

[Marcel54]

Very nice sgain dubh, that crack is a pity. I used to own a small boot dagger by Ray Beers with a great looking scrimshaw of a raging bull elephant by Bob Engnath. It was one of the best scrimshaws I have had the pleasure to see or own. Bob was one of the best.

I wish you lots of pleasure with this knife.

Marcel

 

[BRTATCK]

Very nice. I really like the package. Just the right amount of filework and scrimshaw. Great find.
Brion

 

[Kevin Jones]

Congratulations on a fine addition to your collection. This piece is a good example where a maker can incorporate multiple design elements such as fluting, filework, damascus and scrim even on a small piece with very favorable results.

In regard to the ivory, I find it interesting how we sometimes idenify a prominent crack and converse as to what a pity it is yet other times we praise knives and seem to pretend such a crack is not there.
The reason I bring this up is that collectors (usually newer collectors) will contact me and ask "is that crack ok?" or "should I buy this knife with that crack in the handle?". It's a hard question to answer.