My finished daggers

Mark Knapp

Mark Knapp

Joined
Dec 20, 2009
Messages
4,421
There are a lot of different things going on here and you may comment on any of them if you like.

These are final shots of the two daggers I did WIP threads about. This is some new stuff for me, please feel free to comment on what you like or what you think might have made these knives better, aside from my material choices maybe, we all have preferences. You know, the whole "One man's carp is another man's koi" thing.

Also, as an offshoot of the really good thread about knife photography, I was in a quandary as to what would be a better way to display these images; either in four shots total, two each of the montages and two each of the sheathed images, or two shots total, a combination of the two images in one shot. Please comment, if you prefer one over the other, or does it really matter?

This dagger has a blade of 1095 and 15N20 about 4 1/4 inches long. The handle is stacked kudu horn; the guard and bolster are carved, antiqued bronze. The overall length is 8 1/4 inches. The stone insets in the bolster and sheath are lapis lazuli. The sheath is tooled leather, I embossed the tooling with gold and antiqued it.

Knapp_110118-web.jpg

Knapp_110118A-web.jpg

Knapp_110118B-web.jpg


Which images do you like better? Coop went to extra trouble to make the top image work well on the web. Which would you use on your web site? Which would you use in your portfolio?

This is the dagger from the first WIP I did. You have seen the knife before but not these pictures. It has a blade of the same damascus pattern I used in the other dagger, it is of 1095 and 15N20 it is 6 1/2 inches long, the overall length is 11 1/2 inches. The guard and bolster are mokume and the handle is a mosaic pattern of bubinga and lace wood. The sheath has sea snake skin, barramundi skin and African porcupine quills.

Knapp_110118D-web.jpg

Knapp_110118C-web.jpg

Knapp_110118E-web.jpg


Are you able to see everything you wanted to see in the first shot? Or do you like the second two better. Now that I have previewed my post I am thinking the two separate shots are better than the two combined.

I hope you like them, thanks for looking, and making comments.
 
Man that is some beautiful work,the handles and the carving and the sheaths,such talent to behold----Best Regards Butch
 
Mark, the two daggers are just unbelievably beautiful. Talk about ART!! The sheaths are equally beautiful in their own right.........but the use of leather is where I kind of question you. The mouth on the first pictured sheath is by far the better of the two. The molding is much superior on that one, and the gold overlay and antique is superb also, but in both cases the level which is attainable using leather does not come up to the level of perfection of the daggers. I'm saying you did as well as you could with leather (and I'm damned glad it wasn't my chore), but in this case carved wood or leather covered fiberglass might have been a better choice of materials. Other's mileage may vary.

Paul
 
Those knives are beautiful as are the photos.I cant find fault with either.:thumbup:
 
sheathmaker said:
Mark, the two daggers are just unbelievably beautiful. Talk about ART!! The sheaths are equally beautiful in their own right.........but the use of leather is where I kind of question you. The mouth on the first pictured sheath is by far the better of the two. The molding is much superior on that one, and the gold overlay and antique is superb also, but in both cases the level which is attainable using leather does not come up to the level of perfection of the daggers. I'm saying you did as well as you could with leather (and I'm damned glad it wasn't my chore), but in this case carved wood or leather covered fiberglass might have been a better choice of materials. Other's mileage may vary.

Paul
Click to expand...

Boy, thank you very much Paul, I know you see what I was trying to do, and the challenges I took on. The top one was the second one I did, the snake theme one, the first, and I really learned a lot on them, I am glad I showed improvement. I know I am asking leather to do some stuff it may not want to do. Thanks a lot, I appreciate it.
 
Wow Mark. I have been waiting to see the stacked Kudu. I like it. The daggers look like they would be very comfortable in the hand. I particulary like the guard and handle on the second one. Very nice inlay on the wood handle. The large stones may be a little over the top, but that is personal taste. Impressive.
Gary
 
you're a renaissance man! Major props on the skillset Mark:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

jury's still out on my opinion of these two daggers. I definitely need to look at them some more. This is a good sign generally. But not always:)
 
Mark, first off as a novis bladesmith I find your work and style very recognseable, especially your handles.

The first dagger, I really like the detail in the spacers with the wavy pattern at the guard and bolister turned out very nice.

Both pieces are most excellent and very interesting!

Steve
--------
Potomac Forge
 
Your use of vibrant color, textures and unique materials has allowed you to
develop a style that totally apart from all others.
Thanks for sharing your work with us Mark.
 
Lorien said:
you're a renaissance man! Major props on the skillset Mark:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

jury's still out on my opinion of these two daggers. I definitely need to look at them some more. This is a good sign generally. But not always:)
Click to expand...

Lorien, please come back often and let me know what you think once you formulate it. It's a wonder to me that you have any time for anything extra with all the "irons in your fire". Besides all that, I can see how high your bar is set, I'm just a steel smusher in Fairbanks, I appreciate that you are giving them some thought.
 
I fired you a pm just now:)
 
I liked both of these the moment they drew from the sheaths. At first we thought we'd shoot them as a pair....

I found them to have two decidedly different personalities, and that the merge would confuse the viewers. Solo images needed.

On both of them there is buried treasure, so I went with a montage clutter... lol! ;) In fact the sheathed knives looked so dominant, I decided to simply leave that out and let them stand on their own.

I went back to an old standard of display I used to do, which is a 'collage' instead of a montage for the longer portrait view. There is a LOT of info that can be printed neatly on a single letter page. Your call.

But, all-in-all, the knives and Mark's luscious handle materials, along with his Alaskan damascus, ornate guards, and always-powerful sheaths, conspire to stick it to you. :thumbup:

A happy client will LOVE them. :)

Coop
 
Kevin Jones said:
Your use of vibrant color, textures and unique materials has allowed you to
develop a style that totally apart from all others.
Thanks for sharing your work with us Mark.
Click to expand...

Thanks Kevin, and everyone, I appreciate it. This area of the forums can be a tough place for a guy like post in. There are examples of exemplary work posted here daily. Not to mention the high expectations of the collectors that view and post here.

It's my wish to learn from the people that come here, not necessarily adopt every philosophy out of hand but I do want to broaden my scope and appeal. There are so many exceptional makers here that are filling the demands of the collectors here nicely, it would be foolish of me to try and compete, but I do want to learn from them and from you collectors.

I am happy to be influenced by the people here, I know it has made me "up my game", that is a good thing. I would never want to duplicate anyone, even if I could. It's my goal to do good, different stuff.

I'm open to critique that helps me along the way. Not necessarily to make knives like other fine makers here but to make my knives better. Like what Paul said. Or like what Gary said, that Knife might look better with smaller stones.

On another step along the way, I'm signed up for the ABS bladesmithing class in Oct. (assuming there is room for me) I am excited about it.

Anyway, thanks again, much appreciated Mark
 
Ok, I'll lay it on ya straight, since you asked:);
the blades are too disjunctive with everything else which is going on.

If the intention is to create juxtaposition by creating blades with crisp grind lines, straight edges and geometry, then I feel the impact of that is lost with the busy pattern welds.

Now, I personally LOVE the pattern welding in the blades and I would hate to see that go, since I feel the patterns complement the organic nature of the handles.

I also LOVE all that is going on with the handles. Very interesting to look at, (probably very comfortable in hand) and unmistakably Knapp.

Which leaves the actual shape and finish of the blades themselves.

Personally, I feel that those handles call for more of a Scagel or Moran approach to blade design. That is, grind lines which flow into the ricasso and to the edge. Appleseed. Not the harsh, crisp grind lines which seem to be in favour these days.

The choils as well are hard on the eyes. I feel that this is an area in knife design where you make it or break it when it comes to 'flow'.
These choils arrest the smooth movement of the eye from one tip of the knife to the other. They are too harsh, too geometric, as is as the straight plunge cut from edge to edge. A 'Spanish notch' style of choil, with more shaping, and bringing elements from the shapes within the handle to the blade would do wonders I think.

The secondary edge bevel is not working for me. The organic flow from the ricasso to the edge is disrupted by this grind line. Additionally, generally a prominent secondary bevel is added to a knife to create a 'burly' edge. Not at all necessary for these knives.
When I look at these knives, I want to see one bevel which ends in infinity, (not that that's possible, but, I get off on the illusion).

Lastly, the spear point shape of the blades looks just a little too blunt. Why not go to extremes with the pointy-ness of these daggers? The blade shape is just too plain and too utilitarian for such artfully designed handles.

In short, these knives look too restrained. I think you need to fly your freak flag a little higher when it comes to blade design. My co worker looked at these knives and said that "they look like art pieces which were turned into knives made to cut". Being a knife user yourself, I'm sure it is difficult to divorce yourself from a pragmatic approach to making knives. But you are also an Artist, and I think you owe it to yourself to let yourself go, just a little bit more. At least in the area of blade design.

:)
 
I don't post here much. but just had to with these. Damn, those are beautiful. Be proud man, that is some fine work.
 
Wow Mark, even looking at the WIP's it is amazing to see them together and completed. As far as photos go I would tend to stay away from the montage shots just because both of these knive have so much going on that multiple pics could be a bit over whelming.

You are a great artist. That being said, it almost looks to me like you were trying to display all of your talents on one knife. Some might say that all the contrasts tend to make the knives look very "busy." That being said, I am only jealous that I have yet to refine my talents to your level.

Kevin

PS if your buyer for the second knife, bubinga and lace, is so over whelmed by its beauty and has a heart attack or something, please let me know!
 
Lorien said:
Ok, I'll lay it on ya straight, since you asked:);
the blades are too disjunctive with everything else which is going on.

If the intention is to create juxtaposition by creating blades with crisp grind lines, straight edges and geometry, then I feel the impact of that is lost with the busy pattern welds.

Now, I personally LOVE the pattern welding in the blades and I would hate to see that go, since I feel the patterns complement the organic nature of the handles.

I also LOVE all that is going on with the handles. Very interesting to look at, (probably very comfortable in hand) and unmistakably Knapp.

Which leaves the actual shape and finish of the blades themselves.

Personally, I feel that those handles call for more of a Scagel or Moran approach to blade design. That is, grind lines which flow into the ricasso and to the edge. Appleseed. Not the harsh, crisp grind lines which seem to be in favour these days.

The choils as well are hard on the eyes. I feel that this is an area in knife design where you make it or break it when it comes to 'flow'.
These choils arrest the smooth movement of the eye from one tip of the knife to the other. They are too harsh, too geometric, as is as the straight plunge cut from edge to edge. A 'Spanish notch' style of choil, with more shaping, and bringing elements from the shapes within the handle to the blade would do wonders I think.

The secondary edge bevel is not working for me. The organic flow from the ricasso to the edge is disrupted by this grind line. Additionally, generally a prominent secondary bevel is added to a knife to create a 'burly' edge. Not at all necessary for these knives.
When I look at these knives, I want to see one bevel which ends in infinity, (not that that's possible, but, I get off on the illusion).

Lastly, the spear point shape of the blades looks just a little too blunt. Why not go to extremes with the pointy-ness of these daggers? The blade shape is just too plain and too utilitarian for such artfully designed handles.

In short, these knives look too restrained. I think you need to fly your freak flag a little higher when it comes to blade design. My co worker looked at these knives and said that "they look like art pieces which were turned into knives made to cut". Being a knife user yourself, I'm sure it is difficult to divorce yourself from a pragmatic approach to making knives. But you are also an Artist, and I think you owe it to yourself to let yourself go, just a little bit more. At least in the area of blade design.

:)
Click to expand...

I'm smelling what you're stepping in Lorien, ( I almost said "I'm feeling you" but just did not even sound right). I am seeing what you mean with the plunge and the pointyness, I like that.

I'm with you on the secondary edge. I have resolved to make my blades thinner at the edge to make the "to zero" appearence possible, I need to reconsile that with the shallow (24 inch dia.) hollow grind that I like so much without making the edge too thin.

I am not sure what a Spanish Notch Choil should look like. Please eloborate, draw a picture or give me an example (photo) if you don't mind, and if you can find the time.:D Do you have a job or something too. :D

Thanks a lot, all good stuff.
 
Last edited:
Mark Knapp said:
I am not sure what a Spanish Notch Choil should look like. Please eloborate, draw a picture or give me an example (photo) if you don't mind, and if you can find the time.:D Do you have a job or something too. :D
Click to expand...

looked around and couldn't find anything in particular. I didn't have anything specific in mind, maybe I should have described it as a 'sculpted' choil. Maybe have a look at David Broadwell's stuff for some inspiration:thumbup:
 
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