Stepanyan engraved Overeynder folding dagger

[HTMD]

Turns out Amayak and I live within a short distance of each other so he asked me to shoot some engraving he'd recently completed. I was not ready, at least right away, to fully comprehend Amayak's style. His Armenian accent was fascinating but I had some difficulty following him. At one point I kind of embarrassed myself when I thought he was telling me that my pictures were crap. He wasn't. Amayak was patient and he repeatedly said, "My vork is different." We kept talking and communicating and finally I began to appreciate what I was seeing. In the end Amayak liked this one best:

Still he says I'm not really that close, but he seems willing to continue to help me get it. I really appreciate that. I respect that.

Amayak's work is on the cover of Knives Annual 2010. It's upsetting to look at the picture because it gives the impression that the engraving is not even important. Of course it's a matter if ignorance in the design dept. and lax editing, not bad intent on the part of the publisher. Still, I'm just sayin'...

 

[betzner]

Yeah, he does WAY GOOD engraving in a style absolutely his own.

Bob

 

[HTMD]

Hey Bob - Yes, Amayak is very good.
He says it's engraving though some might call it carving.
I asked him if it's Art Deco. He says not although he knows that some call it that.
One thing that I like about this particular design is how easily it allows the viewer's eye to roam around. It almost leads ones eyes around a little circular tour. :thumbup:

 

[betzner]

Buddy, to me, the stuff I've liked the most, so far, is the stuff he does on Owen Wood's knives. Just amazing. There's a great synergy between the two. And this comment is certainly not meant to take anything away from Tom Overeynder's work, of course.

Bob

 

[SharpByCoop]

I love his work, He IS an interesting and warm guy. I'd call him a friend.

Carving or not, he elevates the work to a delightful appeal.

Nicely done. I know he's also a fussy one. Stay with him! :thumbup:

Coop

 

[Lorien]

super kick ass! I love the guy's work, I hope I get to see it for real one day.

 

[Jos]

Wow. Just wow.

Groeten,

Jos

 

[Knifeologist]

Wow. Not much to add.

 

[Kevin Jones]

Well done, knife and image.

 

[Jon Brand]

Wow, that knife really stands out. Thats beautiful!

The steel looks tight. Do you know who made it?

 

[Marcel54]

I like his work, whether you call it engraving or carving, it is beautifull. The only thing I'm wondering about is how this knife would have looked with a monosteel steel blade. I'm not sure but I think that would have given just a bit more focus on the handle.

All in all a great picture of a good lookin' knife.

Marcel

 

[蓝山1234]

漂亮！尤其是把手！

------------------------------
Translation added by Bastid.

"Beautiful! In particular, handle"

Welcome to BFC 蓝山1234.

 

[ddd]

When I was at the closing stages of my most recent book,
"The World of Art Knives" I was left with 4 empty pages.

A printing "signature" for my books is 8 pages so I could either
cancel these 4 and 4 additional pages in the manuscript or -
give the 4 extra pages to my good friend Amayak Stepanyan and
enrich my book with his art and personal story...

I of course chose the latter.

So here are the 4 pages I dedicated to Amayak's amazing and
truly original engraving/carving art...

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

 

[Joss]

I love his engraving - especially the non-figurative stuff.

 

[ddd]

Here is a wonderful personalized collaboration piece made for me
by Owen Wood and Amayak Stepanyan.

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

From my book "The Great Collections" (2007)

 

[Dusty One]

Outstanding work............

 

[Javier Vogt]

I just hate when I see a piece of work, and I simply can't understand how it's done... pieces like this are just too much for my brain...

Oh, I love it!

Javi

 

[castor0troy]

Wow.thats high relief work.I thought only Ron skaggs did this kind of work.
Amazing stuff.

 

[peterinct]

VERY nice example of Amayak's engraving. I also like the collaborations he has done with Owen Wood, especially the NYC themed one.

He has the kind of skills that diemakers posess, as that was his profession back when he lived in Russia.

His skills are absolutely amazing which is an understatement!

Peter

 

[RogerP]

He says it's engraving though some might call it carving.

Buddy, you plucked the thought right out of my head. Whatever it is called, I do very much like his style and this is a very beautiful knife. Good job on the photo, too.

Roger