Walter - Unfortunately, there is not "a lot of info" about William Scagel and his knives on-line. There have been several articles over the years in the knife magazines, KNIVES annual and other miscellaneous publications. Much of what is known gets repeated in these articles.
Ed Fowler wrote an interesting and thoughtful article for BLADE magazine about one of Scagel's most unusual knives - the April 1998 issue, pp. 52-55.
Harry McEvoy authored a 'booklet' (black and white) about Scagel and it may still be available. Try Knife World (best source, IMO, for all manner of knife-related print resources).
Be aware there are myths and misinformation that, over time, have become woven into the Scagel story and accepted as truth. We (Dr. Jim Lucie and myself) attempt to address some of those things in our book
W.Scagel, Handmade. The book will debut at the BLADE Show next summer.
And... since you've expressed interest, here's something I don't believe I've shown here before.
"THIS FENCE IN MEMORY OF MY TRUE FRIENDS - MY DOGS - TIMBERWOLF - W.Scagel"
Bill Scagel was especially fond of his dogs, so much so that he made this plaque (did all the brick and iron work on the fence, too) commemorating them. The wording is a little confusing and actual facts are scarce, but evidence suggests that while Scagel had more than one dog over the years (and the fence honors all of them), 'Timberwolf' was the one buried here. Regrettably, the ornate fence has fallen into some disrepair and suffers terribly as a result of that hideous paint job!
As an example of the difficulties stemming from a relative absence of facts, Scagel may have had more than one dog named Timberwolf. We do know that for some years he kept a real wolf, named Timberwolf, on his property. He may have kept the wolf for the same reasons that he kept and nurtured many singular plant and tree specimens - out of a deep abiding interest in the natural world. And/or maybe the wolf served to discourage intruders. One thing we do know for sure, because we actually dug it out of the public record... one of his wives (he married twice, divorced twice) alleged in court that he kept the wolf for the express purpose of preventing her from leaving the property during his work-related absences. The court found no evidence to support the outrageous claim,
and furthermore... (it's all in the book).
