Never too much...

[Lorien]

Steve Hoel's knives are very, very clean. He strikes me as a perfectionist, who is obsessed with his work. Mr. Hoel was very enthusiastic about discussing his approach to making knives, and it looked to me that a small part of his brain was still back at the shop.

It's hard to imagine more perfectly fitted knives. His coke bottle folder was seamless, as were his persian styled folders.
But one knife really stood out, and that was his collaboration with Barry Lee Hands- who I very briefly met. This guy is CRAZY! Exceptional engraving artist, really I've never seen anything like this. The Hoel/Hands collaborative knife was a highllight of the show for me. A true pleasure to beHoeled D)

Here's a beauty little coke bottle folder with pearl inserts. Fantastic f&f!

This is the knife that completely blew my mind! Stunningly gorgeous!

 

[Lorien]

Steve Johnson, he was a guy who I totally wanted to connect with. He sent me the catalogue to the last AKI, I've enjoyed emailing with him for a bit, and I frequently enjoy his outlook when he posts on USN. But he's a popular dude, so his table was busy, and he was busy, and sadly I didn't get much of a chance for a conversation, and not much for photos either.

Dietmar Kressler was pretty busy too. A lot of guys hung out around his table so I didn't get much of a chance to check out his stuff. I guess by the time his table was clear I was trying to cram some food into me and a drink or two, and when I was done the gig was pretty much up. Actually, I went up to the room around them to clean my camera out, and when I got back I don't think I really took any more pictures.

Right around this time I checked out Jim Merritt, and I was expecting a real cranky guy. Not sure why, I have no good reason. But man, he was AWESOME! He was really nice to me and answered my dumb questions without flinching. I was really impressed by his kindness and overall civility. The knives were amazing and I can't remember the model name, but it was kind of a 'city knife' or maybe 'stiffhorn'- anyway all the knives were just beautiful and the one I really liked had a sweet stag handle and some nice cross hatching for the thumb. Unfortunately, no photos.

So here is 'Christine's Fighter'. There is really not much that needs to be said about this knife. It is a significant Art Knife piece, and that is all.

My favorite Steve Johnson knife was his Mediterrainian Dirk which is a unique knife and so perfect in form, fit and finish. However, this knife pictured is of another level from 99% of the knives out there, including the dirk and really is an ultimate grail for most any collector. This knife, I declined the offer to handle. I could not bring myself to handle it. That was a weird feeling.

 

[ddd]

Lorien, I am happy to see that this being your first custom knife show
it really was a mind blowing experience, as it was supposed to be.
After all, it was the one and only Art Knife Invitational....

Your company was a pleasure and I do hope that we meet again
sometime soon.

Keep your AKI story going it is a real pleasure to follow!
and make sure to pursue your dreams.

Dreams do come true, you know...

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

 

[Lorien]

Dreams do come true, you know...

Especially when you have good friends in your corner. Thank you very much David, I'd love to come visit Israel one day!





Ron Lake. Iconic. Innovative. Inspiring.
In short, his knives ROCK. His designs are uniquely his own, there's no mistaking them. And yet they seem deceptively simple. But I could tell, every line, every curve, every embellishment is fastidiously persued.
Ron was keen to talk about his work and describe his techniques, even to a newb like me.

The embellishment on this knife was insane. The gold (leaf?) underlay of the entire handle inlay was visible through the round tortoise shell inlays, but the really crazy thing is if you really looked close, you could see it through the light colored G10 inlays. Very, very trick!

I recall Ron telling me that all his knives were stainless damascus, but this was the only one that was obviously so. He mentioned that damascus sometimes is just too much going on and draws too much attention to itself, which is why he chooses to polish his damascus knives. I saw his point, expecially after taking the time to find the pattern in the polished blade. For someone who is going to own a knife like this, camoflaging the pattern with a high polish adds constant surprises that really need to be looked for to be found.

Now, with that being said, the knife which he etched was absolutely gorgeous and perfect in every way;

Ron Lake's option knife was unbelieveably light! Picking it up, I just couldn't believe that it was titanium. It looked like Ti, yet I could not find out where he shed the weight. Well, turns out I was wrong. The frame and bolsters are aluminum, with a fairly specialized 'electroless' plating, which I think he said was nickle. This was a sweet little knife, and I think my favorite of what he had on his table.

l

 

[Lorien]

What can be said of Wolfgang Loerchner?

He and his knives are awesome.

I can't really think of much more to say other than that he's in a league of his own and I love his vision for what Art Knives can be.

 

[Lorien]

I was really impressed by Steven Rapp's knives and his unbounded knife making skills. He's a pretty funny guy, he was seated at the same table for dinner, and there was a fair amount of laughter going on over there between the Kleiner and Talanian and him.

Twisted wire in a fluted handle has always been something I've been attracted to. It's so medeival I love it. I wish I got some more shots of this piece, it was pretty damn cool.

This ring dagger was another one of my favorites, I would love to have brought it home with me. Instead, I'm knocking my brains out trying to design one. Pardon the pun, but it's hard to get a handle on it.
Peined pins always look sweet, unless there are too many. I figure this knife was pretty much perfect.
After the show, when there was a huge collection of very high end knives out on the tables for trading and selling, I was somewhat shocked by the poor quality fit between knife and sheath of some pretty significant pieces. The fit between this ring dagger and its sheath was pure SEX. The knife slid in in such a soft and silky way, and right at the end, locked in with a tight fit.

Earlier, I posted a picture of a miniature knife that Rick Eaton made. It was pretty cool to see these guys incorporate the exact same theme into a knife. I don't know if it was coincidence or what, but it was very neat to see. This knife was quite huge, and looked authentic in every way. Not that I know better, but it looked authentic to me.

 

[Lorien]

Didn't get a chance to check out Pierre Reverdy's knives, or talk to him at all, so I guess there isn't really much to say there.

But I did get a chance to check out John W. Smith's knives, and had a great conversation with him which left me eager to check out his well appointed workshop. He has some killer tools, including a Bridgeport which is a huge brutish metal chomping beast.

I have a bit of a 'thing' for John W. Smith's folders. I own 2, with a third on its way- all purchased 2nd hand. The precision is killer, and John stands behind his work like none other. I've sent John a design, and hopefully one day we'll turn that design into a real knife. It's a bit of a departure from his regular work, but he's definitely the man for the job.

John sent me some photos of his knives from the show, but in keeping with the rest of this thread, you'll have to put up with my crappy photos. Besides, I only took one picture of one of John's knives which is too bad, but again, with all the chatting I kind of shat the bed on that one. I was most impressed with has folding daggers, mostly because of the complete lack of visible fasteners. He described how he was able to put these knives together without the fasteners being visible and needless to say I was amazed by his precision and the way that he thinks.

However, I just got one shot of his 'gent's' folder, as I was so taken by the checkered black lip handle scales. So beautiful, and of course, mechanically perfect.

 

[Lorien]

Jurgen Steineau's knives have always been so intriguing to me.

His use of geometric planes pretty much defies photography, I really needed to see his work in person to 'get it'. And I did. I think. Fact is, I'm still thinking about it.

While his work is not to be admired necessarily for its utility, in my view, it has no direct peer as sculptural expression. So far as I now, Jurgen is the only guy to utilize geometrically opposed and converging planes in the way that he does. I feel that Wolfgang Loerchner is the only artist that Jurgen can be compared to in certain aspects, but Wolfe's approach is fundamentally different- organic as opposed to mechanical. Equally engaging, however Wolfe's approach has been copied more and is more familiar to most of us.

At any rate, fascinating work by a man appreciated beyond the cutlery world for his Art. Sadly, only one picture. His table was buzzing.

 

[Lorien]

C. Gray Taylor's knives are exquisite and they totally blew me away. To my untrained eye, they looked to be about as perfect as humanly possible, and that combined with his materials choices and intriguing designs made me want to learn more about his work.

The one that I dug the most was this one;

yet another knife I would have liked to have brought home.

I don't know much about the Buster Warenski award, but it seemed to me that C. Gray Taylor certainly earned it.

 

[folderlover]

Enjoying reading your review. Here is some background on the Buster Award.
Buster Warnski was one of the original members of the AKI.* His work raised the bar for all knifemakers.** The Buster Award, is given in honor of Buster and is the People's Choice Award. *It is voted on by the collectors. *C Gray won in 2007, Larry Fuegen in 2009 and C Gray again in 2011.* Both of these makers are worthy recipients.

 

[Lorien]

I swear I got a pic or two of one of Dwight Towell's beauties, but I couldn't find any. His persian styled knife was awesome, and he was quite friendly at the show. Wish I'd a few pics, but oh well...

Anyway, Michael Walker is THE undisputed Mad Scientist of folding knives. What an innovator! His table was, of course, hopping. The mechanical perfection and out of the box thinking that his knives showed was a real inspiration.

Throughout all the hubbub, there was a silent moment between Michael Walker's table and me. I had an amazing opportunity to examine his work closely, and I found myself holding the following knife in my hand for probably 10 minutes- I was absolutely captivated by it. No other knife has drawn me in so deeply as this one. For that 10 minutes, all the sounds around me died away and nothing existed expect me and this knife. Sounds corny, but it really was a magical experience.

This Zipper was absolutely off the hook. I know that platinum was incorporated into it, but I'm not sure where. At first I thought the handle had an inlay of some kind, but it must have been so seamless as to be indetectable. I've been thinking that the blade was made from platinum, 'zipped' to the damasteel edge, but I really don't know. This is a fascinating knife, but truth be told, I like the Crowbar locking folder better.

I think Steven might have mentioned before that he would have, (and if I felt I deserved to) I probably also would have voted for Michael Walker to receive the Buster award.

 

[Lorien]

The memory of that weekend in San Diego will be forever etched in my mind. For me, it was a significant event; giving insight and something of an entrance into a community of people whom I have been drawn to.

Fittingly, the last knife maker I met of the day, I met as David and I were on our way back from the show. Julie Warenski stopped to talk with David in the hallway and it is an understatement to say I was thrilled to meet her. Her knives are unbelievable, and although many of them are so insanely intricate and ornate, it was her smaller, more utility oriented knife that I liked the most;

This is one of my favorite photos. I don't want to get all deep and philosophical, but in many ways, this final picture sums up the experience given to me through the Art Knife Invitational. Thank you very much to those who enabled my attendance, most especially David who is probably sick of hearing about it.

Thank you for following this thread

 

[Lorien]

dang, I had this feeling that I was forgetting something in this thread...

The highlight of this show for me, was the opportunity to hold the most beautiful knife, (to me) that I've ever seen. Ever since I got David Darom's book 'The Great Collections', Buster Warenski's white jade handled Jambiya has been a constant source of inspiration. I have gazed longingly at the picture of this knife an uncountable amount of times.

And so it was, at the end of the show, Dr. and Mrs. Marton brought out a portion of their incredible collection for display. Among the astounding regular and miniaturized knives they had brought, was the very same Jambiya which has helped keep my fire lit. Not only did they encourage me to handle it, while telling me about it and how it was one of Mr. Warenski's personal favorites, Dr. Marton humored me be capturing a quick photo.

Anyway, this was a very special experience for me. Even typing this now and thinking back on the experience, I can feel the electricity moving up and down my spine as I did when I beheld and then held this piece.

Ok, this really is my last post in this thread. Thanks again!