Viking dagger by Arpad Bojtos

[Marcel54]

Thanks guys for all the nice comments. Although I have more great knives I truly mean it when I say that this is one of my favorites.

Why don't you try the coming Blade Show, at least for once? I think you will truly enjoy this amazing experience - and it would be great to get to
meet you...... David

David, you convinced me.... if time and money allows I will come this year. I will keep you posted.

As impressive as the dagger is, that display stand is !

Roger

Roger, different strokes for different folks

I'm a sucker for a knife with a nice display stand. Me too

Arpad is amazing in using all handtools in the creation of his masterpieces. It's my understand that he doesn't even use a vice to hold his work for carving but a pitch pan. IMO, he's among the very top designers in the world.

Kevin

Kevin, it's true...he almost only makes use of handtools. He has a real eye for proportions and his interpretation of a subject is masterful. On top of that he is really one of the nicest and modest men I have ever met.

Very, very nice Marcel!

Mike, sometimes I put money to good use


Marcel

 

[ddd]

Arpad is amazing in using all handtools in the creation of his masterpieces. It's my understand that he doesn't even use a vice to hold his work for carving but a pitch pan.

Very true, Kevin and Marcel, as you can see from the tools Arpad used
to create the "Buffalo Hunter" knife for my second book on custom
knives (Modern Fixed-Blades).

After creating the rough shape of the knife, the steel is heated to a
temperature of 860°C for 45 minutes to obtain the relative softness
needed for carving. Bojtos doesn’t like to use vices, so he uses the pitch-
pan to hold the the blade steady while carving. He first carefully plans
the designs, and then draws them on the steel using felt-tip markers.
A rough carving of the relief is made with hammer and chisels.
The relief is then "cleaned" using files and scrapers, and Arpad proceeds
to carve in the fine details. Finally the three-dimensional picture is
cleaned out and finished using sandpaper and grinding pastes.
After heat treating the steel, Arpad fixes the handle slabs to the knife
with 14k gold pins.

Arpad spends a great amount of time researching a subject and begins
to visualize the design for a knife long before he actually starts working
on it. He sketches again and again while discussing his designs with his
wife, Daniela, and daughter, Zuzana, who are his first and severest
critics. It sometimes takes him months, even years, before he makes the
final drawings for a new knife. Only then does he begin to choose
suitable materials for the handle and sheath.
It is an unwritten rule with Arpad not to use walrus or narwhale ivory for
a tropical design or exotic woods and elephant Ivory when carving an
arctic scene. Old trees are often a dominant feature in his carving, as his
work space overlooks the town's park, with many of its hundred-year-old
trees in full view.

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)

 

[ddd]

Marcel, great decision! See you in Atlanta!

Here is the finished "Buffalo Hunter" by Arpad Bojtos.......

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)