Quillon Dagger by J.R. Cook

HTMD

HTMD

Joined
Feb 15, 2002
Messages
1,705
This is a "KEY-yon" dagger. That's the way to say Quillon. Quill refers to the drooping curve of the spine of a bird's feather invoked by the drooping arms of the dagger's guard.

Why do we see quillon daggers with straight cross type guards? I don't know. J.R. did it the more historically rooted way, expressed through his unique style - and it is sweet. My wife, who also appreciates custom knives said "Ask JR if it's sold." She's got an eye for the good stuff. She also likes the relatively trim handle on a knife that sacrifices nothing in the blade department, and I agree.

JR's spiral handle carving has become one among several of his trademarks, and he always does it well. Looks tricky to me, like it would be very easy to make a bad job of it. The sculpted flowers on the ends of the guard arms and the finial are noteworthy and help define the character of this dagger.

orig.jpg


Blade is of 1084 & 15n20 and 8 inches; OAL is 13 3/4 inches.
Handle is elephant ivory.
Fittings are iron with acid engraving.
Guard is iron with acid engraving.
Acid engraving on the blade as well.

PS: ALT means Arkansas Living Treasure. J.R. is one and this dagger is in his "ALT series" of exclusive pieces.
 
nice dagger buddy -- glad to see I'm not the only one that has problems with the darn ivory looking different and even getting a yellow color when doing some of the images with ivory.
 
Thats a nice dagger and the photo is cool! The handle is really something. I am trying to figure out whats going on with the damascus.. Do you have a close up?
 
The damascus has been etched and has a vine going through the blade to match the flowers on the guard.:thumbup::D:thumbup: Beautiful image and great knife!
 
Great photo again Buddy. Another stunning knife from JR. The man is making some very, very nice pieces.

Jon
 
AWESOME! The more you look at the picture the more you notice the fine details J.R. put into creating that beauty. The spiral carving on the handle looks great, as does the carving on the pommel, guard and spacer.

Thanks for posting it Buddy.

Peter
 
Thanks for the comments guys. Buddy, you can tell your wife the Dagger is ear marked for the Little Rock knife show in February, I will be posting it and others as they are finished on my web site (Show Events tab). I can be talked out of it. She can send me an e-mail or call 870-845-5173 if she wants to talk me out of the knife. Thanks for posting the great photo you took Buddy.
JR.Cook
 
Another example where JR is making every effort to progress himself as one of the ABS's finest knifemakers.
His designs and execution of new processes are resulting in one outstanding knife after another.

His "deep etch" process combines beauty and texture resulting in some of the best damascus out there IMO.

Similarly, Buddy's images are getting better and better as well. Every one I see can't help but think it's better than the last. This image is so vibrant and clear it looks as you can reach into the photo and grab it.
 
^^^ Yeah, Kevin. An outstanding knife with an image that makes it even more appealing. Kudos and appreciations to all.

Wow.

Coop
 
What a beautiful blade. Every design element fits my taste, and as mentioned, Buddy sure knows how to show the goods... (As a bonus, I now have learned the correct pronunciation....) :thumbup:
 
Murray White said:
...problems with the darn ivory looking different and even getting a yellow color...
Click to expand...
That's so true, Murray. Light colored or white vory is tough because it seems to easily pick up and reflect color casts from the surroundings and then again during post-processing with certain tools that affect color.
Some would say just spot meter the ivory, expose just for the ivory and when the rest of the image is complete, overlay that original handle view. (Or just mask the perfectly exposed ivory while processing the rest of the image.)

For the record, this piece of ivory has color that is consistent throughout and is a beautiful mixture of sepia tones a definite hint of yellowish-orange. Point is, it's a perfect match for the handle and guard fixtures as all of the color shades are in the same family (not a rule, but it often works). I tried to make sure at least some of the ivory's true color came through even if I couldn't reproduce it perfectly.

Close-up of JR's combination of damascus and acid engraving:

orig.jpg
 
What a beauty, love the handle, fittings and damascus a lot. The only aspect I'm not completely sure about is the acid etching on the blade. For me it detracts a bit from the beautiful damascus.

Marcel
 
Again, this technique looks really tricky to pull off - continuing the vine pattern onto the blade in a way that ties it in visually, yet lets the damascus dominate and doesn't create total chaos as a result. It's stylistically in keeping with some of what you see in the original and now antique bowies and daggers. Imagine this dagger in 60 years - its dramatic blade wearing the beautiful patina of time. (JR, you should be paying me for this.;))

No doubt it's adventurous on JR's part. Established makers take risks at their own peril, so I admire the ones that are willing to do it anyway. JR pulled it off nicely, IMHO. Still I'm sure he'd be the first to suggest that it won't be everybody's cup of tea. Regardless, I'll bet a dollar JR picks up an award at the upcoming AKA show in Little Rock for something.
 
Good to see you here J.R. - terrific knife shown to best effect by Buddy.

Roger
 
Thanks Roger, I have been working hard to bring my knives to the next level.
I am working on a little Bowie now. Maybe I can get Buddy to shoot it when it is finished.
This Bowie will be my 25 years of forging anniversary bowie. It is stamped 25 year. It has a "W" feather Damascus blade and a new design guard I call the swallow tail. All fittings are damascus and a walurs ivory grip. It is looking good If I don't screw it up, it will be a nice one for the Little Rock show.
 
J.R. - I saw the results of your efforts to elevate your craft at Little Rock last year - a very impressive table indeed. The pieces we have seen posted here in recent weeks show that you aren't sitting still. I look forward to seeing the "W" feather bowie and hope you do get it shot before or at the show.

Roger
 
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