Dawkind
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2000
- Messages
- 13,028
I must preface these photos with the fact that I have dreamed of a Maringer take-down blade since I first saw his catalog in the 1980's. I had always been interested in knives and such from an early age but when I saw Tom's exquisite work I knew that someday I would have to own one....it has been an ongoing search ever since.
I have been fortunate enough to have found several of his Vorpal-series knives, along with their superb Kydex rigs, over the years but a full-blown take-down piece has always eluded me. I think this is because anyone who has been fortunate enough to accquire one has held onto it, the thought of ever parting with it never crossing their minds, and the fact that Tom quit making knives for a number of years.
This piece is an evolution of not only his take-down work but also of his Vorpal knives....a fighter in essence but one of the most elegant pieces of cutlery art that I have ever had the pleasure of handling and in the 30+ years that I have been collecting knives and going to shows I have handled many. This piece exhibits absolute perfection with World-Class grinds, fit, and finish......I dare say that the blade grind, mirror-polish and final sharpening are as good as any extant.....I stare in total awe at what I now have.
All of the pictures that I could ever take would not begin to capture the perfection of this knife, not only the aforementioned craftsmanship but the feel and balance.....and I mean perfectly balanced! The picture of the knife on that 19th century Victorian knife-rest is not an illusion but 9.3 ounces of stainless perfection. The edges of the blade are scalpel sharp both top and bottom, extra-thin for effortless cutting and the epitome of what a fighting knife should be, in my very humble opinion.
It's hard to imagine that this knife breaks down into 17 different pieces and one of these days I will take it apart and find out......but not today or anytime too soon.....I still revert back to a near comatose state whenever I look at or fondle this wonder. I guess that's one of the drawbacks.....oh, well, I'll just have to learn to live with it I guess.
Tom has referred to this as his 'Vorpal Haiku' in that it has the same number of pieces, 17, as there are syllabals in a haiku poem and since the knife derives many design elements from Japanese swordmaking, it seems to be very fitting.
I hope that you can get just a little of the enjoyment out of these pictures as I did taking them...
I have been fortunate enough to have found several of his Vorpal-series knives, along with their superb Kydex rigs, over the years but a full-blown take-down piece has always eluded me. I think this is because anyone who has been fortunate enough to accquire one has held onto it, the thought of ever parting with it never crossing their minds, and the fact that Tom quit making knives for a number of years.
This piece is an evolution of not only his take-down work but also of his Vorpal knives....a fighter in essence but one of the most elegant pieces of cutlery art that I have ever had the pleasure of handling and in the 30+ years that I have been collecting knives and going to shows I have handled many. This piece exhibits absolute perfection with World-Class grinds, fit, and finish......I dare say that the blade grind, mirror-polish and final sharpening are as good as any extant.....I stare in total awe at what I now have.
All of the pictures that I could ever take would not begin to capture the perfection of this knife, not only the aforementioned craftsmanship but the feel and balance.....and I mean perfectly balanced! The picture of the knife on that 19th century Victorian knife-rest is not an illusion but 9.3 ounces of stainless perfection. The edges of the blade are scalpel sharp both top and bottom, extra-thin for effortless cutting and the epitome of what a fighting knife should be, in my very humble opinion.
It's hard to imagine that this knife breaks down into 17 different pieces and one of these days I will take it apart and find out......but not today or anytime too soon.....I still revert back to a near comatose state whenever I look at or fondle this wonder. I guess that's one of the drawbacks.....oh, well, I'll just have to learn to live with it I guess.
Tom has referred to this as his 'Vorpal Haiku' in that it has the same number of pieces, 17, as there are syllabals in a haiku poem and since the knife derives many design elements from Japanese swordmaking, it seems to be very fitting.
I hope that you can get just a little of the enjoyment out of these pictures as I did taking them...
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