Michael Rader, MS - Fighter & Stand

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betzner

betzner

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Jan 23, 2007
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I've always enjoyed seeing Michael Rader's creations specifically because of his artistic eye. I've actually collected (and still have) a couple of his pieces. More recently he's been creating some wonderful chef's knives, which seem to get snatched up FAST! Luckily, this very recent non-culinary piece didn't get away. It, too, got snatched up FAST, and just arrived.

Forged-integral W2 Fighter, differentially heat-treated blade with the curves of a goddess! Awesome traditional (clay) hamon*. Spacers - black G-10 and copper. Handle - dynamite box elder burl with blackwood accent piece. Endcap - curly koa. All stabilized. "Change & keys" stand - koa with lead weights inside, sealed in epoxy. Stand's bottom is a piece of pear-wood, left over from Michael's box-making days. Overall length about 13 3/4", blade about 8 3/4".

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My thoughts on hamons---

A hamon is NOTHING without the right blade and the right maker. This piece = the right blade. And Michael Rader = the right maker. Ergo - the hamon is "right". And the steel is beautiful.
 
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Hotdang!

Of course I'd eventually accidentally slice myself open on that beaut if it was sitting on top of my desk or dresser or shelf...
 
that was one of my favourites from the show! It is perfectly balanced and ergonomically excellent. Lots of funky banding and stuff in the steel, too.
 
Lorien said:
that was one of my favourites from the show! It is perfectly balanced and ergonomically excellent. Lots of funky banding and stuff in the steel, too.
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Oh, yeah, that steel is beyond just beautiful.
 
Very Nice- enjoy it.. I used to own a knife with Michaels classic handle. They are real cool.
 
Bob- You have done it again! I am particularly impressed with the balance of the Wood and Steel coupled with the marriage of utility and beauty with the fine looking Hamon as the cherry on top, cries out for me to assure you that if your desk gets over crowded I will rent the corner of my desk to you for a very reasonable price. No need to thank me.
 
Burga said:
Bob- You have done it again! I am particularly impressed with the balance of the Wood and Steel coupled with the marriage of utility and beauty with the fine looking Hamon as the cherry on top, cries out for me to assure you that if your desk gets over crowded I will rent the corner of my desk to you for a very reasonable price. No need to thank me.
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Hi Neil! Glad you finally decided to sign up on Blade Forums. Another forumite now who has a way with words. Think I will pass on your offer, LOL. This one is going to stay with me.
 
JParanee said:
Congrats Bob :)

You coming to Blade this year ?
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Hey there, Joe - Unless something changes, I think I'm only going to stick with certain west coast shows from this point forward in my life. That would be Solvang, AKI and the new Seattle show. Always loved Blade, but too much flying over my lifetime, so hate the trip itself.
 
betzner said:
Hey there, Joe - Unless something changes, I think I'm only going to stick with certain west coast shows from this point forward in my life. That would be Solvang, AKI and the new Seattle show. Always loved Blade, but too much flying over my lifetime, so hate the trip itself.
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Would love to see you

I'll have to come West :)
 
Lorien said:
that was one of my favourites from the show! It is perfectly balanced and ergonomically excellent. Lots of funky banding and stuff in the steel, too.
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Lorien, I know what you mean, check it out, lovely! This is what I love to see.


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Great grab, Bob.
Very cool addition to the collection.
Intense steel.

Doug
 
Really cool knife and stand. I love how Rader uses complimentary materials in his handles. I also appreciate how he angled the blade away from tray! Great functional set up, Bob! Congrats!
 
Simply a WONDERFUL package... Thank you for sharing it with us Bob!!! :cool:

But you know it has a hamon right? ;) :D

Beautiful work Michael, and the stand is fantastic! :thumbup:
 
Cudos to Michael Rader on this wonderful piece. It would really be great to see more of this type of quality artful package on the market. The really great part about this piece, of course, is the knife itself. But it would probably not have hit the chord it did, eliciting the response it did, without the Rader stand.

Most stands simply aren't made to be all that functional, ie, properly designed and executed to hold the blade perfectly in place and in balance, with ease of removal and replacement. Typically, stands are simple display pieces. But this stand (+ blade) has it all, in spades. Design, form, function, etc. Beyond it's beautiful sculpting is it's secondary functionality.

This piece is as unlikely to be sold as one of my best Warenskis. To put this one in perspective, let's just say it's had it's own space created where I can use it and peruse it every day.
 
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I'm not sold on the ashtray style of the stand, though it is artfully done. Hiding the tip of the blade, you lose the perspective of the full blade which you would want to see..
David
 
2knife said:
I'm not sold on the ashtray style of the stand, though it is artfully done. Hiding the tip of the blade, you lose the perspective of the full blade which you would want to see..
David
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I, myself, never lose perspective of the full blade because I use the knife every day, something only the owner of the piece can say, David. And if you had cared to read and look at the entire thread, you would understand that the stand is for change, keys, etc - not an ashtray.:foot:
 
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