Roman Dagger by Curt Erickson (circa 1988) - Engraving by Julie Warenski

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betzner

betzner

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This piece is, for many Erickson afficionados, the ultimate piece by Curt. And it's actually the first piece that brought together the talents of Curt Erickson and Julie Warenski, in the late 1980s. An incredible job done on the dagger and some really remarkable engraving by Julie on top of that. The piece had pretty much disappeared years ago, into a European collection, but came out of hiding a year or two ago, needing a bit of restoration by Curt - and now it's back to it's original state, with wonderfully aged ivory.

Antique pre-ban African elephant ivory one-piece handle, deeply spiral-fluted, matching pommel cap, magnificent grain and Schreger lines - absolutely flawless ivory. Blade is handrubbed, satin finished - tool steel, allowing for the bluing and engraving to match the blued fittings (which are themselves works of art).

There have been several images produced of this dagger, and each seems to have it's own personality. This particular image, just in from Coop, has done a super job capturing the overall montage. Thanks, Coop!

orig.jpg
 
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MAGNIFICIENT Bob!!

Well done Coop. That is an incredible image of a most beautiful dagger.

Thanks for posting it,
Peter
 
This is a wonderful dagger Bob.. The handle is as good as it gets.. Thanks for showing us this example of Curt's work from so many years ago.. What a pleasure.. Best Regards, Rich Slaughter
 
I learned a new term here: Schreger Lines. Something I've witnessed for years, yet never knew it had a specific term. Perfect examples.

And I didn't realize the age of this dagger until now, either.

What a teacher/student example of art. I'm glad to have had an opportunity to capture it, too.

Somewhere in its 1000 year future there will be others.... ;)

Coop
 
I think about your Main Gauche, that freakin' incredibly cool Khuk and this spectacular Dagger.
It boggles the mind.
Thanks, Bob.
Props, Coop.

Doug
 
SharpByCoop said:
What a teacher/student example of art. I'm glad to have had an opportunity to capture it, too.


Coop
Click to expand...

For those who may not completely understand Coop's comment about teacher/student - Buster Warenski was the teacher to whom Coop refers. Curt was Buster Warenski's "student" of knifemaking and Julie (later Warenski) his student of "engraving" - both in the 1980s - before their paths crossed.
 
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killer! Thanks yet again Bob!
 
Thanks Bob for sharing this truly timeless dagger.

Kevin
 
That may be one of my favorite looking pieces of ivory.

Great color and depth. Sometimes on a lovely knife, or gun, to my eye the Ivory will be too stark (age and use would fix that on a piece that was meant for use).

I am not sure an art piece like that would get enough "use" or even enough bare handed fondling to darken the ivory!

I wanted to comment on the lovely depth of the ivory with the lines, and learned a new term. Schreger lines (in their different patterns) is a term I had never heard before.

Stacked Chevron Schreger lines! Do I see some in the end cap, or is that a trick? Looks like 90 degree chevrons to my eye (faint).

The thought of that pleases me more than I can say. I have been a life long admirer of that pattern in fabric!
 
Bigfattyt said:
Stacked Chevron Schreger lines! Do I see some in the end cap, or is that a trick? Looks like 90 degree chevrons to my eye (faint).

The thought of that pleases me more than I can say. I have been a life long admirer of that pattern in fabric!
Click to expand...

Actually, that's precisely what you are seeing on the ivory pommel cap. Here is a quick explanation of what it is and what you're seeing:

"Lines of Schreger are characteristic lines found only in elephant and mammoth dentine. The lines make a unique crosshatch pattern and
are commonly referred to as cross-hatchings..."
 
betzner said:
Actually, that's precisely what you are seeing on the ivory pommel cap. Here is a quick explanation of what it is and what you're seeing:

"Lines of Schreger are characteristic lines found only in elephant and mammoth dentine. The lines make a unique crosshatch pattern and
are commonly referred to as cross-hatchings..."
Click to expand...

That's the way you can determine whether it's elephant or mammoth ivory. Both have cross-hatching but the angle of the crossings are different for elephant and mammoth.

Bob, you're killing me with yet an other presentation of this amazing dagger. Great photo of one of my alltime favourites.

Marcel
 
What a stunning knife?

That ivory work is truly superb.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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