KNIFEMAKER, EXTRAORDINAIRE

[LRB]

Amazing artistry, amazing knife. See it made from paper to completion. http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=vmmiDcxqjzM

 

[DNICK]

Thats almost to mutch isent it, talk about craftsmanship! Wick I see by the time of your post you dont sleep mutch more than I do.
Duane

 

[50cal.cliff]

Wow that's crazy good! Way beyond me but, then I would rather someone actually use one of my knives! I would be scared to hold somthing like that let alone use it.
I have to say though absolutely fantastic craftmanship and attention to detail. You lose track of demension of the parts he is creating till you see them laying in the makers hand.

 

[chipper]

That was awesome. Now if I can just get my hands on a cnc machine and a lathe I'll be set.

The interesting thing about the video to me was how much time he spent building the pretty stuff and how much time was invested in making the blade. I'm all upside down. I spend all my effort building the blade and a smaller amount on making it pretty. I can see quite clearly that time invested in making the knife pretty is well worth it.

Thanks, I enjoyed the film.

Regards
Loyd Shindelbower
Loveland Colorado

 

[wolffeone]

simply stunning..... however, dont sell yourself short Wick. I'll put the F&I War era knife and sheath that you just made for me against it anytime. When I show it to friends, they're amazed at your artistry and craftsmen-ship. Just my thoughts.....

 

[LRB]

Thanks wolffeone, I am very happy you like it. As I told Roy S. That guy would be a hard act to follow. About like David Hasselhoff following Jerry Lee Lewis at a rock & roll event. Here's the guys website http://www.antoniomontejano.com/

 

[Claude Mathis]

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=fI-w0-QUAlM

 

[LRB]

I saw that one too Claude, but it just doesn't hold a candle to the Bowie.

 

[anvil1231]

WOW!!!

 

[Trkdriver99]

Boy I bet you could not either one of those for $50 could you? I am glad I can't do that. My head would swell up so big I could not drive my truck.

Ronnie

 

[longshot47]

I did'nt know the Pope carried a knife! :shocked2:
Staggering!
Thanks Wick

 

[shmrck1]

Wick & Claude,
I would not want to own either,but I
have no need for a Rembrandt or Van Gough
either.I,on the other hand,admire the
artistry and beauty of them all. :hmm:
Thanks for the post.
snake-eyes

 

[Tramperoes]

Hi,
I am from Spain and I know the knifemaker...well I want to do that Antonio is a really good aquaforis engraver and a jewerly artisan, but the steel are the poor part of the pieces, because the blades are all made by stampation processes by Marto. But is impossible to have all in this life...pretty knife...bad blade...

Yours

 

[LRB]

What is a stampation process? the video clearly shows the blade being ground, and shaped by Antonio, presumedly. OK, I looked it up. Stampation has to do with ceramics. How does that relate to the steel in this case?

 

[Claude Mathis]

Wick & Claude,
I would not want to own either,but I
have no need for a Rembrandt or Van Gough
either.I,on the other hand,admire the
artistry and beauty of them all. :hmm:
Thanks for the post.

I had a similar feeling when I saw the knife. Kind of like, "Pimp my Knife". :wink:

It occurred to me that you could take any object, even a dinner fork, and embellish it to the point of being ridiculous. It would certainly be a "work of art", for it's own sake, but not something that would appeal to me. I think sometimes, more is not necessarily better. Frankly, I would rather have one of Wick's knives. I find them more attractive for my taste.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I thought there was some kind of language barrier in what he was saying. I don't know what stampation is, either!

Some Stainless steels use chromium, and nickel, and skimp on the carbon. Without the carbon, it is not going to keep an edge. It looks nice, but for practical purposes, its a letter opener, or butter knife. Nothing more.

I can understand an artist doing something like this to showcase his creative ideas, and capabilities. It becomes a display piece. It has no practical use, however, as a knife. Butter knives and letter openers can be bought much cheaper than whatever price he puts on this work of art. Its obvious the man has training in jewelry making, and that is not a bad skill to bring to knife making. But, until you have extensive experience and training in the use of a knife, you won't know what is practical as well as beautiful.

I made my first Bowie Knife, just to see if I could do it, but thinking I could have both a knife and a small axe in one tool. Then I took it out and tried to cut tree limbs. I now recommend that people carry an axe in addition to a more functional( and smaller) knife. Among other benefits of this latter choice is that the side of your hip and leg will thank you at the end of the day. :shocked2: :grin: :surrender: :thumbsup:

BTW, there is a huge market out there for " fancy " knives", and people willing to pay premium prices to own such knives for their collections. These folks are speculator/collectors, believing that fancy hand made knives, in time, will increase in value, particularly after the death of the knifemaker. If you want to eat well, making knives for this kind of trade is certainly an option to consider. :thumbsup:

 

[LRB]

Thankyou Claude. I feel about the same as the rest of you. I would not use such a knife, even as a letter opener, but I have to admire the skill, and execution of such an object of art. I have the realization of what something like that takes to achieve. The man has as much skill with machinery, as he has artistic talent. Can you imagine the hours he spent, just thinking on what to do, what the end result should look like, and then how to pull it off. The knife itself is really useless, except to the eye, and to the appreciation of a fellow human being, being able to do such fine work. Any one of us, might do as well, if we focused on absolutely nothing else. For some, it would hard. For others, it may come much easier, but barring physical, or mental disabilities, it is "possible", for anyone of us to do the same. The key is passion. A person may desire to do many difficult things, but without real passion for these things, chances are, he will fail, or fall short of his goal. I believe that I admire the man, for his passion, and abilties, more than I admire the knife. I would not care at all to own such a piece of art. I am content to merely admire it, and the man who made it, for his skill, and the undeniable amount of himself that he put into it. Excuse my rambling, but this is my cocktail hour. I hope everyone who watched the video got at least a little of amazement of what a determined man can do, when he puts his heart, and soul into it. Thanks guys. I am glad you enjoyed the post, and :thumbsup: :hatsoff: to the maker!

 

[paulvallandigham]

I agree with you. There are lots of Objects of art made that have no functional purpose or use. I prefer the kind of artistry you put in your blades, because the underlying knife is eminently useable as a knife. The artistic touches are secondary, but fascinating to view.

I think of knives and axes as sculptures, which by their very nature demand that the viewer not only wants to see all the parts, but to feel them, too. You don't touch an oil painting. But you do run your hands over a marble, or bronze statute.

There are plain, working knives and axes that don't draw a lot of interest. Once you have felt one, there is no " need " or passion to make you want to feel another similar piece.

But when we see a knife, or axe, that has been decorated, or etched, or shaped differently, we all want to touch it, in addition to viewing it. The marriage of form and function is what makes these tools great sculptural art. And, even people who have never used such a knife, or axe ALWAYS want to know if the object is also a working tool!

I may not choose to use an ornatedly made knife or axe as a working tool, but its always nice to know that they can hold an edge, and do the job, if needed. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Prariedog Son]

J.Nielson
mountainhollowknives

 

[Blizzard of '93]

undeniably artistic. I think I'll take a 10" piece of spring steel blade with a hefty hunk of antler base handle and a nickel-silver guard tho.