Two newly completed knives

[tvandeventer]

Hi Folks,

I haven't posted here in awhile and almost forgot how. We'll see how it goes.

This first one was requested by a client (almost a patron) who wanted a personal hunter for actual use. He wanted damascus and mammoth ivory, but a Loveless shaped blade. Making a fully stock removal blade did not particularly appeal to me, nor does copying another's style too closely. So I made the damascus and forged the tip, put in a bit of a distal taper, and drew out the tang. The rest was indeed stock removal but flat/convex ground instead of hollow ground. We'll see how he likes it after I get a sheath made.

The next three shots are of a medium size Bowie with damascus fittings and a little filework. The handle is an old piece of Sambar stag that had a smooth texture and was a bit ill-formed. I had to grind much of it away and in the end it appears more like oosic. The steel is W2.

Won't be making it to Blade this year so y'all have fun.

Cheers,

Terry Vandeventer
ABS Mastersmith

 

[peterinct]

Those are BOTH fine looking knives. The damascus on the hunter is exceptional.

Peter

 

[HTMD]

Agreed! Excellent lines and proportions, great use of materials and superior workmanship - total attention to detail. Opening this thread made for a very pleasant surprise. Thanks!

As an aside - not to take away from these excellent representational images because they do the job perfectly well - but both kives would make good candidates for a more artistic photographic presentation. They just have 'that look' about them.

 

[RogerP]

Glad you remembered how to post! Two winners there. I really like that tiny bit of filework just back of the clip on the bowie. Nice little detail, that.

Roger

 

[Keith Montgomery]

That stag ended up looking great. I like both these knives very much.

 

[tvandeventer]

Thank you gentlemen,

Roger - That little notch at the top of the clip is sort of a trademark on my bowies. I can visualize an 1830's cutler who's just about done grinding the clip. It's near perfect on both sides but as he's making his final pass across the wheel, "%@#*!"
He dings it on the stone! "Oh well," he grumbles, "I'll just match it on the other side...!" This, from a modern maker's perspective and personal experience!

Buddy - For better or for worse, I photograph every knife I make. One print goes into the customer's packet with his receipt, care sheet, and provinance (They LOVE this) while the other goes into an album and future web site. In a corner of my wife's photo studio I have the same set-up that the pros do. One thing is missing though. That's Photoshop. I shot these two knives rather hurridly yesterday but I have been considering having them professionally photographed. Jim Cooper has done well by me and I'll continue using him on those special pieces in the future. Yours is good advice to all serious makers

Cheers,

Terry Vandeventer

 

[J.D.]

VERY NICE knives, They both are great, my favorite would be the Bowie, love the file work.