- Joined
- Feb 28, 2002
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- 13,348
I have always had a great fondness for the forged integral – they have impressed me as both elegant and elemental – a knife pared down to its most basic essence, and gracefully so. It is also a design that is as steeped in history as any blade – from the Mediterranean dirk to the Argentine gaucho, forged integrals large and small have been relied upon by their owners to perform in circumstances ranging from the most mundane of camp chores to the most dire of battles.
The knife picture below was crafted by Master Smith Burt Foster of Bristol, Virginia.
This knife features an 8 ½” blade forged from W2 and clay-hardened. Overall length is a shade over 13 ½”. The graceful blade shape is accented by a long swedge running almost the entire length of the spine. The handle is sculpted from a beautiful piece of California Buckeye burl and complemented by a 14k gold spacer and domed pins. As with all of Burt’s knives, this one comes with an absolutely first rate hand-crafted sheath by the maker. Burt chose a striking combination of black cowhide with inlaid snakeskin for this Blade.
I have been familiar with Burt’s work for some time but first saw an integral from him at the Blade Show this past June. While we can still look forward to a stunning array of Burt’s bowies, fighters, daggers, hunters and camp knives, it is probably fair to say that he has been bitten by the integral bug: “Integrals defy many of the design features of bar stock knives, and consequently they require a clean slate and an open mind when designing them. I’m still very much learning what I like and what I don’t about the different direction I can take them. Blade shapes, handle to blade ratio and all the little curves really challenge me because people tend to think in straight lines, and there are none on a nice integral.” I would say that to this point, Burt has figured things out very well indeed.
The knife design is not one that is easily pigeon-holed in terms of category. Some knives are obviously a Bowie, and nothing else. A drop point hunter is a drop point hunter and brooks no meaningful debate. This knife, however, looks like a camp knife or even like a chef’s knife, but feels like a fighter in hand. Burt explains: ”It’s still a camp knife, but one that has given up some of the blunt force toughness in the edge and tip in trade off for that light weight and quick feel. Light camp chores, really. Imagine snicking thin bamboo or saplings with it. The blade just asks nicely and the target falls in half. No brute force.”
Here we see the smooth, flowing transition from bolster to blade:
Upon taking the knife in hand, the thing that impressed first was the terrific balance and wonderful quick feel. This knife is fast – like a pass-rushing linebacker whose blinding speed belies his size. As mentioned above, this was a specific design feature of this particular blade. ”We underestimate the total contribution of the guard, the wide blade, the thick spine, the ferrule, the wide and thick handle to the actual and perceived weight of a knife. Each of those things adds a little heft to the knife, and by eliminating as many as possible, along with the long swedge grind, the end result seems drastic.”
I would be remiss if I did not share with you one of the knife’s more compelling visual delights – one that managed to completely elude my camera – and that is the wonderfully active hamon – or clay hardening line. Fortunately, Burt has knife photography figured out as well: (pic from www.burtfoster.com
When I saw this knife described as “The Vorpal Blade” I knew that I recognized the name, but could not quite place it. It seemed to resonate somewhere from within the mists of childhood, which didn’t initially seem to make sense. Reading the excerpt from Burt’s site clarified things at once. The description is taken from a poem called “Jabberwocky” from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872. For those unfamiliar, here is an excerpt which conveys the heart of the tale:
Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird and shun,
The frumious Bandersnatch!
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the maxnome foe he sought –
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood a while in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tugley wood,
And burled as it came!
One two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms my beamish boy!
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
He chortled in his joy.
As Burt relates: ”I thought of it when I was holding the finished blade. My Dad learned that poem at boarding school when he was about 10, and for some reason, has never forgotten a word of it. When I held that knife, I felt like cutting wood, cleaning a fish, cutting potatoes or slicing a rope all seemed beneath this knife. I thought of a different time (probably a terrible time, but we look at it as a romantic time) when blades were used in battle, and quickness was desireable item numero uno. Slow and thick would get you killed. I loved the snicker-snack of that blade in my hand and imagined the vorpal blades of old would have needed to feel that way.”
My thanks to Burt for this tremendous blade and for the detailed information about its design and construction.
Roger Pinnock
The knife picture below was crafted by Master Smith Burt Foster of Bristol, Virginia.
This knife features an 8 ½” blade forged from W2 and clay-hardened. Overall length is a shade over 13 ½”. The graceful blade shape is accented by a long swedge running almost the entire length of the spine. The handle is sculpted from a beautiful piece of California Buckeye burl and complemented by a 14k gold spacer and domed pins. As with all of Burt’s knives, this one comes with an absolutely first rate hand-crafted sheath by the maker. Burt chose a striking combination of black cowhide with inlaid snakeskin for this Blade.
I have been familiar with Burt’s work for some time but first saw an integral from him at the Blade Show this past June. While we can still look forward to a stunning array of Burt’s bowies, fighters, daggers, hunters and camp knives, it is probably fair to say that he has been bitten by the integral bug: “Integrals defy many of the design features of bar stock knives, and consequently they require a clean slate and an open mind when designing them. I’m still very much learning what I like and what I don’t about the different direction I can take them. Blade shapes, handle to blade ratio and all the little curves really challenge me because people tend to think in straight lines, and there are none on a nice integral.” I would say that to this point, Burt has figured things out very well indeed.
The knife design is not one that is easily pigeon-holed in terms of category. Some knives are obviously a Bowie, and nothing else. A drop point hunter is a drop point hunter and brooks no meaningful debate. This knife, however, looks like a camp knife or even like a chef’s knife, but feels like a fighter in hand. Burt explains: ”It’s still a camp knife, but one that has given up some of the blunt force toughness in the edge and tip in trade off for that light weight and quick feel. Light camp chores, really. Imagine snicking thin bamboo or saplings with it. The blade just asks nicely and the target falls in half. No brute force.”
Here we see the smooth, flowing transition from bolster to blade:
Upon taking the knife in hand, the thing that impressed first was the terrific balance and wonderful quick feel. This knife is fast – like a pass-rushing linebacker whose blinding speed belies his size. As mentioned above, this was a specific design feature of this particular blade. ”We underestimate the total contribution of the guard, the wide blade, the thick spine, the ferrule, the wide and thick handle to the actual and perceived weight of a knife. Each of those things adds a little heft to the knife, and by eliminating as many as possible, along with the long swedge grind, the end result seems drastic.”
I would be remiss if I did not share with you one of the knife’s more compelling visual delights – one that managed to completely elude my camera – and that is the wonderfully active hamon – or clay hardening line. Fortunately, Burt has knife photography figured out as well: (pic from www.burtfoster.com
When I saw this knife described as “The Vorpal Blade” I knew that I recognized the name, but could not quite place it. It seemed to resonate somewhere from within the mists of childhood, which didn’t initially seem to make sense. Reading the excerpt from Burt’s site clarified things at once. The description is taken from a poem called “Jabberwocky” from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872. For those unfamiliar, here is an excerpt which conveys the heart of the tale:
Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird and shun,
The frumious Bandersnatch!
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the maxnome foe he sought –
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood a while in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tugley wood,
And burled as it came!
One two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms my beamish boy!
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
He chortled in his joy.
As Burt relates: ”I thought of it when I was holding the finished blade. My Dad learned that poem at boarding school when he was about 10, and for some reason, has never forgotten a word of it. When I held that knife, I felt like cutting wood, cleaning a fish, cutting potatoes or slicing a rope all seemed beneath this knife. I thought of a different time (probably a terrible time, but we look at it as a romantic time) when blades were used in battle, and quickness was desireable item numero uno. Slow and thick would get you killed. I loved the snicker-snack of that blade in my hand and imagined the vorpal blades of old would have needed to feel that way.”
My thanks to Burt for this tremendous blade and for the detailed information about its design and construction.
Roger Pinnock
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