I understand both sides of these type of knife reviews more than I used to... I still do lean towards the "art" knives, and the majority of my collection are fancy folders... It seems to me that some of the top Italian makers, the ones most of us are familiar with, are making each and every knife as "canvases" as Dave referred to them... They go on to be completed by master engravers... At times, and it is becoming more of a norm, the engraving is total coverage usually in the bulino style....
Barry's work is amazing, and it has taken him years to develop his "signature" look... That right there is a major achievement in any artist endeavor, would most of you agree? Only someone who is grossly uninformed would not give him due respect... However, in this case, I personally think he just went to far... I don't like engraving on blades, with the exception of some Art Daggers... I own a few knives that do have engraving on the blades, but had I commissioned the job, they would have been left plain...
I have spent big bucks over the years, to have many knives engraved, so I am at risk of being a hypocrite.. However, my tastes have changed, both in knives and engraving... I'm now at a point where simple, well done traditional engraving is what I want, if at all...
Steven's opinions don't come as a shock to us, he has been saying for some time that he finds some, (not all), Italian knives lacking in design, quality, and especially over the top engraving...
I own several engraved folders by top Italian makers, and have shown them here a few times... You can do a search and view them, but I will not be rude to DDD and put them in his thread to make a point.. To me it has never been about the quality, or engraving when I was in the process of buying them because I had them in my hand and I could tell for myself that they were beautiful, and well made... Again, I am speaking about MY knives and I can't comment on other makers lack of quality that was referred to...
I decided recently that a few of my Italian pieces, were a bit over the top for my current tastes, and have made the move to send them on to collectors who appreciate full coverage engraving.... Bulino engraving fascinates me, but I think we are in a period where engravers are been asked to "one-up" each other on every knife, and sometimes the results are lacking... Especially in subject matter chosen... The concept of "open space" in paintings and drawings, is as old as dirt.. To me it applies to engraving on a knife as well... With such limited space to begin with, covering so much of the knife is a mistake to me... To me it's knife first, engraving second, and hopefully they compliment each other and lift the whole knife to a new level...
Ken mentioned Italian sports cars and to me that is the perfect example of not going to far... When the designers get the lines, they don't bling the car up on the outside, they save that for the interiors... (grin)
David's knives posted here are beautiful, and deserve the compliments extended.. Best Regards, Rich Slaughter
