Kohai999
Second Degree Cutter
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2003
- Messages
- 12,554
These photos were taken at Phill's shop on November 2013, I hope they speak for themselves.
Have been trying to work on completing the 2017 AKI Thread, but it's hard because it brings up a lot of very strong, and some crushingly sad thoughts, and while my intent is to finish it, I wanted to focus on something that makes me happy, and that is talking about the knife people who have been so generous with time and wisdom, and invaluably influential in my "knife life".
Before I get too old and forgetful, wanted to document them chronologically, hopefully you find it edifying and entertaining.
My formative and young adult years prior to Military service were spent in NY State. I had a friend named Michael Kleid who shared my love of knives, and encouraged me to attend the 1985 New York Custom Knife Show with him.
So we went.
And I was introduced to another Michael who was a very, very knowledgeable and enthusiastic (bordering on insane) collector. He informed me in no uncertain terms that if I wanted to learn anything about knives that I would have to attend the Ashokan Conference.
So Michael Kleid and I attended the 1986 Ashokan Conference (as did Larry Fuegen who has become a dear friend and mentor, but that is much further up, from a timeline perspective).
Many people were demonstrating, and my head was filled with so much information I thought it would explode, but two people stood out, and one has been so influential in my life that it cannot be communicated properly in language, but I'll try.
Dan Maragni was one, and Phillip Baldwin was the other. This is about Phillip Baldwin.
Dan and Phillip grew up together in Long Island. I can't be specific at this time about Dan's education, because it's not readily available online, but I can about Phil's.
Phill once explained to me that they wanted to make swords(as many teenagers do think about and try, usually giving up at the wood/waster stage), and that their intellectual curiosity and intelligence led them to doing so.
In 1978, at 24 years old, he was a metalsmithing Graduate student at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.....and part of the SIU Mokume Research Group. Basically...they were trying out every possible combination and permutation of producing diffusion bonded non-ferrous metal....and they figured it out. So when Phill was in his early thirties, and I was in my (just) 20's....at Ashokan in 1986 he gave a rapt audience (comprised mostly of professional 'smith's) a lesson on making straight grained mokume gane composed of copper and brass sheets he had prepared in advance, using a torsion plate to hold the metal and forging it right when it got to the diffusion point.
This is where the metal is basically molten enough to bond to another metal, but not so molten that it runs like water and becomes useless, littering the bottom of your forge....there is an art and a science to it and it has taken me over 30 years to grasp the fundamentals from a base point of reference.
Have to interject at this point and declare categorically that the state of pattern welded steel "Damascus" in the mid '80's was for the most part comprised of random pattern and not very well done at that....all the guys that were at Ashokan had various pieces for display/sale and Wayne Valachovic was one of the only guys doing things like Turkish twist pattern without cold shuts and malformations and he was charging like $200.00/inch at that point because he wasn't getting perfect yield either and wanted to get paid for his time that included complete crap that he wouldn't be able to sell.
Obviously, people don't generally work in a vacuum, and Phill told me that his influences at the time and over the years have been Paul Champagne, Jim Kelso, Daryl Meier and Dan Maragni. Like Phill, these gentlemen have been influential to me, but because of them, I have had Phil to learn from. Another great friend, Don Fogg, told me "Phill has forgotten more about pattern welded metal than I will ever know".
Many can do mokume gane in the US at this juncture because of the information that has been promulgated by folks like Phill who freely share many salient points....but pretty much nobody can do it as efficiently or knowledgeably from a professional vantage as Phil, which is why he has a business making mokume gane (and shakudo, shibuichi and a marvelous chemical, called oddly enough, Baldwin's Patina) with the name of Shining Wave Metals, located in Snohomish County, WA.
Now from the period of roughly December, 1987 until December, 1990....my ass belonged to the US Govt, and I didn't get a chance to pursue anything directly knife related other than buying some neat Filipino made butterfly knives and a JEST machete that is around somewhere and learning about machining from a First Class Petty Officer in the Ship's repair shop, which was pretty danged cool in it's own right....did some woodworking AND some metalwork during that time, learned about lathes and grinders and finish work.
Then, I got promoted to Civilian/Veteran and continued tattooing which is another thing that I learned while being owned by the USN. Pete "P.A." Stephens took me on as an Apprentice at Seattle Tattoo Emporium in November, 1988....neither of us knows exactly why, except that I was from NY/Military like him and am loyal person by nature, don't easily take to people and he found value in that.
In 1992, we started a knife business together that become an eventual brick and mortar shop called High Hat Knives on Pike Street, right next to the tattoo shop. I wanted to reconnect with Phill Baldwin and have him make us some knives, but he wasn't interested....he was however interested in coming to a knife shop located in Seattle and seeing what we were doing.
So he did.
Since then, I have been to Phill's shop in Snohomish more times than I can recall. He has stayed at my home, we have eaten together more times (usually great food, and great beer) than I can recall.
He allowed Pete to learn everything that he wanted to working alongside Phill in his shop so he could forge monosteel and pattern welded knives and make mokume gane and learn advanced metalsmithing techniques.
Phill has made my wife and I two sets of pattern welded wedding rings, made me knives which I use, and those that I simply treasure, made me a mokume gane bowl, a tanto tsuba (unsigned, sadly), a mokume gane' belt buckle, mokume gane money clip, cufflinks and more mokume gane than I know what do do with, but always find an application somehow...and the greatest gift of all that I have is his friendship.
He speaks so quietly and almost mumbles that my near deaf ass frequently yells at him which makes for a most interesting discussion dynamic, but I never fail to learn from his wisdom or glean his salient points. The only tattoo he has is one I gave him. He always makes me smile.
Like me, Phill doesn't make friends easily, but he makes them with great investment and emotion and I couldn't replace Phill Baldwin's friendship for 100 knives handled with fantastic steel and precious metals. He is my first true and lifelong friend in my "Knife Life".
As I post these, which will be freestanding elements, each a new post, feel free to share your own stories about my friends, or those who have helped create your "Knife Life".
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
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