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- Jan 15, 2012
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O.k. so as more and more of these specific knives get out into the world, its becoming a more frequently asked question. What's with the heart that I cut into some of my knives. Its always kinda been a personal thing with me that I've never explained, but since inquiring minds want to know. Here it goes, sorry if this sounds to artsy fartsy, but, you asked for it!
First, lets see some knives with such example. These pics are just I few I found quickly in my photobucket, there are many more, if you have one of my knives with a heart in it. Feel free to post it here.
I think, (at least I have been told) that my thinking is very different from most. I don't get to bothered with things that people in general consider important, but on the flip side, I find myself sometimes totally flipping out over little tiny details that most people don't see. It sucks sometimes, but other times it leads to something cool. They say the devil is in the details, well, I hope its not him, but there indeed is something there.
I remember when my daughter was just a tiny baby. The wife had gone out and it was just me and her. As she lay sleeping in my lap it was watching a cartoon that the T.V. was tuned into. I cant for the life of me remember the name, but there was a little girl character that had several pets. All of the pets hated her because this little girl loved and hugged and squeezed all of them to death. Now this little girl was all girl, she wore pigtails, pink dress, lacey socks the whole nine yards. But, I just happen to notice, if you looked closely, you could see a skull and crossbones on her hair bow. Totally went against her whole demeanor and outfit. I wondered how many other people ever noticed it and the more I thought about it, the more I was impressed with the thinking of the animators and I thought it was brilliant! A modern day interpretation in a childs cartoon of the ying yang. The concept that you can't have one thing without its opposite. You can't know that love exists without knowing hate. Fire and water, fish and bird and so on.
Now, lets fast forward a few years to when I started making knives more seriously.
I have made very few knives that I really wanted to impress anybody but myself. Still that way today. Those details I told you about earlier, well, there's things I like to do and things I don't like to do. One thing I HATE is to have my knives referred to as weapons. If you ever wanted to give me a huge compliment, consider and share my knives as artfully crafted tools. I don't want to get into the mindset of producing something that's sole purpose is to take a life. Its not something I wish to have my name attached to. I actually turned down a opportunity to be in a major blade magazine because the writer wanted to see a example of a T.M.Hunt "fighter" just not what I want to be known for. I think its overdone, to many people are cashing in on it, and I feel like it desensitizes life. I dont feel like that is my purpose in the knife world.
So, having said all of that lets reverse a little bit, because I know some of you will say, "well I've seen you make daggers and tomahawks that the Indians used for fighting and so on." This is indeed true. But I make them not because I want someone to thrust into another mans skull, but because I appreciate the history, and heritage of the pieces. Let me explain further, I LOVE the looks of daggers, I think there visually beautiful. However, we all know the basic logic and thought behind the design is nothing beautiful. In fact, quite sinister being as it is designed specifically to stab into flesh with least amount of resistance and most amount of penetrating force. When I make a dagger, I'm likely to carve a heart in it, I know of no example where a heart has been used in a negative way, it is a symbol of love and beauty, and my mindset is to bring something beautiful back to something that can be the total opposite......... like the ying to the yang.
So, there you have it. The reason I first started making knives with hearts in them was just something that was floating in my strange world of logic that was trying to give positive back to negative. I've had some people give me some crap about it, knowing that they don't understand how I think I never really defended it, never really explained it either, I know that a lot of real manly guys out there think hearts in knives are stupid or for ladies. But I really don't care what they think, its not for them, it is for me.
I know personally, that this is a sometimes sad and depressing world that we live in. But there are still good things about it. Sometimes the simplest things alter our day for the better, the sight of nature, a smile from a pretty girl, hearing your favorite song on the radio, or just maybe, seeing a little tiny heart carved into a knife.
Thanks for reading folks!
Todd
First, lets see some knives with such example. These pics are just I few I found quickly in my photobucket, there are many more, if you have one of my knives with a heart in it. Feel free to post it here.
I think, (at least I have been told) that my thinking is very different from most. I don't get to bothered with things that people in general consider important, but on the flip side, I find myself sometimes totally flipping out over little tiny details that most people don't see. It sucks sometimes, but other times it leads to something cool. They say the devil is in the details, well, I hope its not him, but there indeed is something there.
I remember when my daughter was just a tiny baby. The wife had gone out and it was just me and her. As she lay sleeping in my lap it was watching a cartoon that the T.V. was tuned into. I cant for the life of me remember the name, but there was a little girl character that had several pets. All of the pets hated her because this little girl loved and hugged and squeezed all of them to death. Now this little girl was all girl, she wore pigtails, pink dress, lacey socks the whole nine yards. But, I just happen to notice, if you looked closely, you could see a skull and crossbones on her hair bow. Totally went against her whole demeanor and outfit. I wondered how many other people ever noticed it and the more I thought about it, the more I was impressed with the thinking of the animators and I thought it was brilliant! A modern day interpretation in a childs cartoon of the ying yang. The concept that you can't have one thing without its opposite. You can't know that love exists without knowing hate. Fire and water, fish and bird and so on.
Now, lets fast forward a few years to when I started making knives more seriously.
I have made very few knives that I really wanted to impress anybody but myself. Still that way today. Those details I told you about earlier, well, there's things I like to do and things I don't like to do. One thing I HATE is to have my knives referred to as weapons. If you ever wanted to give me a huge compliment, consider and share my knives as artfully crafted tools. I don't want to get into the mindset of producing something that's sole purpose is to take a life. Its not something I wish to have my name attached to. I actually turned down a opportunity to be in a major blade magazine because the writer wanted to see a example of a T.M.Hunt "fighter" just not what I want to be known for. I think its overdone, to many people are cashing in on it, and I feel like it desensitizes life. I dont feel like that is my purpose in the knife world.
So, having said all of that lets reverse a little bit, because I know some of you will say, "well I've seen you make daggers and tomahawks that the Indians used for fighting and so on." This is indeed true. But I make them not because I want someone to thrust into another mans skull, but because I appreciate the history, and heritage of the pieces. Let me explain further, I LOVE the looks of daggers, I think there visually beautiful. However, we all know the basic logic and thought behind the design is nothing beautiful. In fact, quite sinister being as it is designed specifically to stab into flesh with least amount of resistance and most amount of penetrating force. When I make a dagger, I'm likely to carve a heart in it, I know of no example where a heart has been used in a negative way, it is a symbol of love and beauty, and my mindset is to bring something beautiful back to something that can be the total opposite......... like the ying to the yang.
So, there you have it. The reason I first started making knives with hearts in them was just something that was floating in my strange world of logic that was trying to give positive back to negative. I've had some people give me some crap about it, knowing that they don't understand how I think I never really defended it, never really explained it either, I know that a lot of real manly guys out there think hearts in knives are stupid or for ladies. But I really don't care what they think, its not for them, it is for me.
I know personally, that this is a sometimes sad and depressing world that we live in. But there are still good things about it. Sometimes the simplest things alter our day for the better, the sight of nature, a smile from a pretty girl, hearing your favorite song on the radio, or just maybe, seeing a little tiny heart carved into a knife.
Thanks for reading folks!
Todd
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Secondly, well said man, I love the hearts. Though they were perfected as pure weapons over time, I think daggers still started as tools in a time when a person carried their knife everywhere and did everything with it. The heat treats sucked and it gave the user two edges to dull as well as giving them a thrusting tool to survive a violent world with. You already know my thoughts, and that I want two of your knives with hearts in them for myself personally, and one for my wife. To me something used offensively is is a weapon, but defensively is a tool to survive. I have never used a knife for the former, but have for the latter more than once. I still sleep fine with a clear conscience, I never drew first blood. Love that new dagger by the way, very well done!!
