Ok, so not ACTUALLY a sale. I donated a piece to the auction at my blacksmith guild's yearly hammer-in that just wrapped up. Last night was the auction. The piece was a double bar composite twist damascus blade with 304SS hardware, and ebony throat spacer, and rosewood hidden tang handle.
The auction was going along pretty well and I was a little anxious to see how my knife would do. I had a reserve of $150 set which I thought was fair, though I honestly hoped that the guild could get $200 out of it. I hadn't had time (or equipment...or materials...) to make a sheath, so I let people know that it would come with a sheath of their choice by our guild's local leather worker Marvin Shipley.
The bidding started, and after a few rounds passed my reserve. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I hadn't overpriced the piece. Then it kept going...and going...and going. It wasn't just 2 people bidding either. I was amazed! In the end, the very first knife I've ever "sold" went to it's new owner for $425!
Needless to say, you could have knocked me over with a feather for about an hour following...
I don't even have pictures of it (yet)! However, the sheath still needs to be dyed (it was made today at the show my Marvin), and I want to put together a "birth certificate" for it to give to the gentleman who bought it. I've got it here and will be getting some (bad) pictures soon with good pictures to follow after I get some dye for the sheath.
I even have an open-ended order pending for another similar knife!
I'd like to say a big thanks to J. Neilson for teaching me how to properly fit a hidden tang and for his constant encouragement and friendship. J. was in attendance last night, and has informed me that I should get back into the shop and book a table at the Timonium, MD show this December. Before last night I wouldn't have even thought about it, but now I'm going to start putting my nose to the grindstone and get some knives done.
I'd also like to take a minute to thank both J. and Stacy Apelt for coming to the show to judge our knifemaking contest. You guys are both great and added a lot to the show. Stacy's display of some of Bill Moran's blades as well as some of his own work was an excellent addition, and having him around my bladesmithing demo was a real treat as well. You guys are fantastic folks and I really look forward to spending some more time with the both of you. You're welcome here any time you want to come by.
Anyways, I'll quit rambling now and clean up so I can get some pics taken and posted.
-d
The auction was going along pretty well and I was a little anxious to see how my knife would do. I had a reserve of $150 set which I thought was fair, though I honestly hoped that the guild could get $200 out of it. I hadn't had time (or equipment...or materials...) to make a sheath, so I let people know that it would come with a sheath of their choice by our guild's local leather worker Marvin Shipley.
The bidding started, and after a few rounds passed my reserve. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I hadn't overpriced the piece. Then it kept going...and going...and going. It wasn't just 2 people bidding either. I was amazed! In the end, the very first knife I've ever "sold" went to it's new owner for $425!
Needless to say, you could have knocked me over with a feather for about an hour following...
I don't even have pictures of it (yet)! However, the sheath still needs to be dyed (it was made today at the show my Marvin), and I want to put together a "birth certificate" for it to give to the gentleman who bought it. I've got it here and will be getting some (bad) pictures soon with good pictures to follow after I get some dye for the sheath.
I even have an open-ended order pending for another similar knife!
I'd like to say a big thanks to J. Neilson for teaching me how to properly fit a hidden tang and for his constant encouragement and friendship. J. was in attendance last night, and has informed me that I should get back into the shop and book a table at the Timonium, MD show this December. Before last night I wouldn't have even thought about it, but now I'm going to start putting my nose to the grindstone and get some knives done.
I'd also like to take a minute to thank both J. and Stacy Apelt for coming to the show to judge our knifemaking contest. You guys are both great and added a lot to the show. Stacy's display of some of Bill Moran's blades as well as some of his own work was an excellent addition, and having him around my bladesmithing demo was a real treat as well. You guys are fantastic folks and I really look forward to spending some more time with the both of you. You're welcome here any time you want to come by.
Anyways, I'll quit rambling now and clean up so I can get some pics taken and posted.
-d
Congrats and good work on a nice knife.:thumbup: I just "sold" my first one too........in my case, it is going to some poor schlub in a KITH
