Kohai999
Second Degree Cutter
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2003
- Messages
- 12,554
Right around the time we came up with the name for our knife busines, High Hat Knives in 1992....we started doing a lot of gun shows in Washington, Puyallup, mostly. It was a decent beginning, we looked for more knife specific shows to sell at and in 1993, we met J.D. Smith at the Oregon Knife Collector's Association show held annually in Eugene, Oregon.
After studying at the Saugus Iron Works in the early 1980's, J.D. worked as an apprentice to Jot Singh Khalsa and was also a member of the American Bladesmith Society, where he rose from Apprentice to JS to finally, MS in 1998.
He was producing EXCEPTIONAL damascus blades from almost the beginning....he had/has not only an innate ability to understand what questions to ask, but builds on knowledge with an emphasis on experimentation of both aesthetics and the craft of forging patterns simultaneously. I mean he was doing ethnic (kris, tanto, parang....) blades with sometimes three bar composite damascus within a year of starting to forge damascus, and winning awards at knife shows for it.
Within a year of meeting J.D., and hanging out, we had attended shows in Eugene, OR, San Jose, CA, Providence, RI.....and spent some quality time chilling at The Forge with Bill McHenry and Jason Williams. He was learning, but he was also teaching at the same time. There has not been a year since 1993 that J.D. hasn't been influencing some up and coming maker.....I've met probably 10 people since that time period that he has directly mentored.
J.D. was one of the first makers to explain to me, not only HOW to make good damascus, but why he used certain design elements. He LOVES African Blackwood as an example, but he also loves a nice leather wrap, so why not carve a Blackwood handle to resemble leather wrap? It seems like a lot more work, but he explained to me how he could do it relatively quickly, he found it immensely satisfying and it allowed him a signature look that elevated his work.
That I met J.D. and became a good friend of his so relatively early in HIS career while I was working on my OWN thing allowed me to ask good pointed questions of him, and also engage in spirited debate/discussion, which he is always up for. Why is this a good knife, why does this or that maker do good work, why do I like a particular knife? As my eye and aesthetic was developing his was too, and we were always crossing over and talking about it.
J.D. is a tall, fit East Coast black man in an industry that doesn't have a lot of black men, fit or not. He told me 30 years ago..."Don't ever forget that I am black, but don't make a big issue of it, either".....and I never have. He didn't have to say that, we both grew up in the NY area, but he said it because of this industry, and the solidly "good old boy" crap that it can represent.
I came to this as a total outsider, like most of my friends. We sit at the periphery of the room in a banquet to this day, because that is where we can find space to be who we are and not have the billy and nanny goats looking over our shoulders talking smack. Can't tell you how many times me, Pete Stephens, J.D. Smith, Matt Diskin and others would just go out and have a nice meal at a "good" restaurant in Eugene, or some other town in the USA to hang out and talk like we do, get drunk and laugh our asses off rather than try to be "part" of the mainstream, and "fit in". I was resolutely accepted by the people who mattered to me in the beginning and have never tried to curry favor for patrons, power or politics in the knife world, just wanna live my Knife Life as I see fit, and make no apologies for it either.
YOU do you, I'll do me.....ask me to tone it down, reel it in, "be nice"....nope, that's you.
J.D. has stories....man does he have stories.....ask him about 9/11 trying to get out of Boston to Eugene for the OKCA show back in the day .
He has a 31 year-old daughter who is a grad student in Cairo. He speaks Russian, he Salsa dances and he casually quotes Longfellow: “Under a spreading chestnut tree/ The village smithy stands/ The smith, a mighty man is he/ With large and sinewy hands.”
Last time I saw him(couple years ago) he had this fabulous piece he was working on with Josef Shnayder building completely next level work fit for kings.
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
After studying at the Saugus Iron Works in the early 1980's, J.D. worked as an apprentice to Jot Singh Khalsa and was also a member of the American Bladesmith Society, where he rose from Apprentice to JS to finally, MS in 1998.
He was producing EXCEPTIONAL damascus blades from almost the beginning....he had/has not only an innate ability to understand what questions to ask, but builds on knowledge with an emphasis on experimentation of both aesthetics and the craft of forging patterns simultaneously. I mean he was doing ethnic (kris, tanto, parang....) blades with sometimes three bar composite damascus within a year of starting to forge damascus, and winning awards at knife shows for it.
Within a year of meeting J.D., and hanging out, we had attended shows in Eugene, OR, San Jose, CA, Providence, RI.....and spent some quality time chilling at The Forge with Bill McHenry and Jason Williams. He was learning, but he was also teaching at the same time. There has not been a year since 1993 that J.D. hasn't been influencing some up and coming maker.....I've met probably 10 people since that time period that he has directly mentored.
J.D. was one of the first makers to explain to me, not only HOW to make good damascus, but why he used certain design elements. He LOVES African Blackwood as an example, but he also loves a nice leather wrap, so why not carve a Blackwood handle to resemble leather wrap? It seems like a lot more work, but he explained to me how he could do it relatively quickly, he found it immensely satisfying and it allowed him a signature look that elevated his work.
That I met J.D. and became a good friend of his so relatively early in HIS career while I was working on my OWN thing allowed me to ask good pointed questions of him, and also engage in spirited debate/discussion, which he is always up for. Why is this a good knife, why does this or that maker do good work, why do I like a particular knife? As my eye and aesthetic was developing his was too, and we were always crossing over and talking about it.
J.D. is a tall, fit East Coast black man in an industry that doesn't have a lot of black men, fit or not. He told me 30 years ago..."Don't ever forget that I am black, but don't make a big issue of it, either".....and I never have. He didn't have to say that, we both grew up in the NY area, but he said it because of this industry, and the solidly "good old boy" crap that it can represent.
I came to this as a total outsider, like most of my friends. We sit at the periphery of the room in a banquet to this day, because that is where we can find space to be who we are and not have the billy and nanny goats looking over our shoulders talking smack. Can't tell you how many times me, Pete Stephens, J.D. Smith, Matt Diskin and others would just go out and have a nice meal at a "good" restaurant in Eugene, or some other town in the USA to hang out and talk like we do, get drunk and laugh our asses off rather than try to be "part" of the mainstream, and "fit in". I was resolutely accepted by the people who mattered to me in the beginning and have never tried to curry favor for patrons, power or politics in the knife world, just wanna live my Knife Life as I see fit, and make no apologies for it either.
YOU do you, I'll do me.....ask me to tone it down, reel it in, "be nice"....nope, that's you.
J.D. has stories....man does he have stories.....ask him about 9/11 trying to get out of Boston to Eugene for the OKCA show back in the day .
He has a 31 year-old daughter who is a grad student in Cairo. He speaks Russian, he Salsa dances and he casually quotes Longfellow: “Under a spreading chestnut tree/ The village smithy stands/ The smith, a mighty man is he/ With large and sinewy hands.”
Last time I saw him(couple years ago) he had this fabulous piece he was working on with Josef Shnayder building completely next level work fit for kings.
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
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