Just got back from the long weekend and I believe the time is right to step forward and identify myself as the one who has been working with George and Carol on the construction of this superb knife. This is my first year as a BFC member, but in that short time I've been extremely fortunate in the members of the custom knife community that I've come to know. My dealings with folks like Neil Blackwood, Larry Chew and Gary Hallberg have been first rate affairs all the way. To anyone who's a veteran of the custom knife world it's probably no surprise at all that my experiences with the Tichbournes have been more of the same.
Obviously the end result of George's quality work speaks for itself. But it's important to note that the behind the scenes aspect of working with the Tichbournes is equally impressive. This is certainly the most involved custom project I've been involved with thus far, and I'm happy to say that just working with George and Carol is at least as much fun as getting your new custom made knife. They put you at ease immediately and go out of their way to express their legitimate delight and desire to include your input into the creative process. Never have I felt more comfortable making suggestions or better yet, asking questions that highlighted my own ignorance in the ways of custom knifemaking. At every turn they exhibited tremendous patience and went to great lengths to ensure that I was aware of all the ramifications of every design decision that needed to be made.
And I think you'll agree that Carol's excellent photography beautifully complements George's outstanding skills as a craftsman. In fact, at several critical junctures in the design process, I was emailed highly detailed pictures like the ones above, to aid me in making my decisions. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that whenever I handle this fantastic knife at least half of my thoughts will devoted to remembering what a pleasure it was to work with the Tichbourne team.
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Semper Fi
