Sleepless...

David Mirabile is one cool cat, and his knives are equally rad. I don't know how he got away with not having his picture taken, or maybe I got one and misplaced it. At any rate, here are some pics of his work. I particularly liked the jaw bone/carbon fiber stand he made for his tanto;




A certain 'stubby' character bought one of these knives. The bottom one. You know how when a person has a dog, you can see matching characteristics between dog and master? Well, such was the case here. Knife and man seem to be made to go together...




Matt Diskin has got to be one of my favourite people of knifedom. We only met once before, but I really like the guy and have huge respect for his work and the variety of it that he brings to the table. In this case, literally. I don't know why I left the show without picking up some of his carbon fiber.




I didn't get any photos of Matt, somehow he escaped as well. His Fire pocket knife is awesome, and I understand there is another amazing Diskin project in the works.




The Blade Brothers, (the Beggs) are a ton of fun. Really not much to say that the pics don't convey...







just a heads up; keep your eye out for this guy. He's trouble!








Man, there were some great Begg folding knives available! I couldn't get over the feel and precision of them. Aesthetically, they stand out from the crowd! I spent an inordinate amount of time flipping away at them. They are sweet, and I really want one.











I LOVED this one! Super portly, and beautiful in every way. Slick as snot.




Todd made this little unit for himself. At first I thought it a little too blinged out, but after some fondle time, I wanted to put it in my pocket and head to Mexico...



...but something told me I should NOT do that :)


(Todd bought this Gurkri from Adam Desrosiers, which I understand is a high honour!)


My bud, Dan Keffeler showed up at the show with a couple of amazing swords, which Todd Begg was only too happy to examine...



 
Speaking of Dan Keffeler, it was like a dream come true to get a chance to fondle the Super Assassin he made awhile ago...




...and to see the new sword which I understand is an evolution of the Super Assassin. This thing is a beast, hungry for timbers! Check out the fuller on this thing. (ps, hey there's Diskin in the background)





But what I was the most excited about was my new sword! Dan asked what we should call it. Something that makes you think about mountain biking and stuff, off the top of my head, the first name that came to mind was 'North Sword', (like North Shore) and that is what she's called. I was going to bring er out for a swing in the forest tonight, but I think I cracked a rib last night when I augered myself into the ground, so it might be awhile before I'm back in swing :(


One of my biggest thrills is to see the patterns I draw onto paper become reality, and Dan's take on my pattern is almost perfectly to spec. He improved a couple aspects, but the lines and dimensions are almost exactly as drawn. I must admit, it was kind of fun walking around the show for awhile with this in my belt :)



AVATAR!
 
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The bottom Mirabile was much lighter that I expected. David told me it was cedar under the wrap so a super light wood for the base. I really liked all 3 of those pieces. Chris Roberts
 
Super write up and images so far Lorien, having left a day early this is my only view of the other rooms at the show.
 
Lorien, thank you so much for posting your insights into the show. Looks like it was a real blast. Some real nice work there.
Cheers Keith
 
I liked Randy Lee's old school, mirror polished knives. I'm a sucker for shiny objects, especially knife shaped ones. He's a jovial fella, had a permanent smile on his face, which is great.






Got a visit in with Rick Dunkerley, who is doing some very fine work, especially when it comes to complicated damascus making like this;



and some nice art deco styled carving;






I don't know what it is about cowboys, but I think any stereotypes I had have been dissolved.




Joe Szilaski was there as well, and the wares he had on his table looked familiar. I don't know if you guys read Blade, but when Joe writes, it's always a treat to read his words. These items have shown themselves between those covers as well, and might be somewhat familiar to you;






One of the more impressive makers of the show wasn't even there. Instead, his representative, Kornel Tolnai, showed off his finely made, creative and interesting pieces. The maker's name is Csaba Vojko, from Hungary.

This knife had a switch on the scabbard, that when triggered released the blade with a slightly springloaded 'click'. I thought it was one of the best knives at the show.






same guy;










I really liked this one, as well;

 
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although my body's a little wrecked, I did get out into the backyard for a little chop sesh and the North Sword is amazing. I'll be putting together a thread all about it soon :)
 
Cool man. Can't wait to see it. Dan is one of my favorite makers. Great dude that makes great blades.
 
Lorien, It was such a pleasure to meet and chat with you. Thanks so much for posting up this thread. It truly was a great show and your pics show a lot of what I was not able to take in.


Looking forward to more

Get healed up pal

Bing
 
What a great photo safari through the event. Thank you for taking the time to share these with us less fortunate.
 
Bing, I really enjoyed meeting with you as well. You and John are great table sharers!
I have another dozen or so posts to make, with photos, so be patient while I get through them. As I said in the beginning, there is a lot. Typing up stuff is also pretty time consuming.
 
I only got one pic of David Anders' table that turned out, the lighting in his corner was really bad. This knife was super pretty and felt great in hand;





Got a chance to check out a Moran that someone brought to the show. It's interesting looking at knives like this which were innovative and remain so. Check out the brass thumb ramp;




 
Here's Bill Burke, holding one of my favourites from the show; raised clip, wrapped artifact ivory handle with mokume insert. Too bad I didn't get better pics, but if you look you'll find Coop pics somewhere around here. Such a neat little knife, and really well done.




Some beautiful heat coloured 'butterfly' damascus on a dagger made by Gary House;






Gary's a great guy. Look at that smile!




Ah, Mr. Fritz...what to say? Yet another good dude, who did extremely well at the show. Unfortunate I didn't get some pics of his table- it was packed with goodies! Pretty sure he sold about everything he brought, and no surprise there. Clean work at fair prices...but there might have been something about that hat, too...I think it might actually generate a gravitational field :)




I haven't seen much of Henry Torres' work, but it was a pleasure to meet him and check out what he's up to;




A lot of brut de forge knives don't look quite right to me, especially when the handle starts inboard of the forged in finger choil/guard thing. Henry's version is one of the nicest of the genre I've seen and felt amazing in hand. I wouldn't mind owning a knife like this one;




Henry told me he'd made a knife like this one for a self styled border patroller who wanted a big scary knife on his belt. Definitely fits the bill imo.




I was totally and completely blown away by Devon Thomas' kitchen knives. I don't think I've ever seen finer examples of the damascus maker's art than these;








In some ways, I regret having spent zero time considering purchases while at the show. All I did was talk to people and take pictures, but if I'd been more focused on procuring goodies, I most certainly would have left with one of Devon's billets. I'm sure the chance will present itself again...

 
I've heard of Shane Taylor before, seen some of his knives, but meeting the man was a great experience. Some people, you just click with, and I totally felt a connection with the guy right away.

When I saw his folder, I knew I'd seen my favourite knife of the show. It had a super substantial feel, and the proportions were excellent. A pretty damn big knife. But it was the theme that got me; there was a cohesion of design elements that is so hard to achieve. The knife showed a discipline and pure intent that totally blew me away;











I voted for this knife as soon as I saw it. Here's proof!


(it ended up winning, btw!)



I don't know what the hell this thing is, but it's a beautiful object that had gears and stuff ticking and clicking. Mighta been a time keeping device, or perhaps a time travelling device. I guess I'll never know.

 
Lorien Those are some great pics it seems like it all happened so fast. Thanks to all the folks that came to the pre funk Bill I found the knife you left in the plate forge as well as 4or 5 other forged knives stuck here and there. all and all I would say it was a good show and I am looking forward to next year. I plan on doubling the food fun and drink at the pre funk hope to see you all there.
 
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