R9 family photos

[Dino]

Trecker, my friends always said if we were ever attacked they wanted to be in my cul-de-sac.

They know between my house and my son's it is well protected.

[kjtrains]

Dino.  Neighborhood protecton at it's best!    

[ACP]

Dino,

 Until I moved to my adoptive state, in northern New England, I was a native of new jersey. I started collecting knives in the late 1990's because I was so sick and tired of gun laws in my native state.

Over time, I became a serious collector and was made an Honorary Member of the Knifemaker's Guild. This got me into shows early and allowed me to cultivate relationships with the makers.

And I thought guns were expensive! I have sold the majority of my knife collection but it was a great ride. There is nothing wrong with what you are doing. You don't have to be a member of the Knifemaker's Guild to make knives. However, I have heard many stories of great knife makers who started the same way you did.

If you google the Knifemaker's Guild, they may have information that will benefit your hobby. Best of luck in this pursuit.

[Richard S]

Dino:

If you carry your newly found hobby to the level of an avocation, I would be honored to purchase and own one of your custom-made knives. Should that happy circustance occur, let me know and we'll disucss specifications.  

[ACP]

Whoa! Dino, how's that for an endorsement?

[kjtrains]

WOW!  Dino.  Richard could be your first customer, outside of family.   Excellent.

[Dino]

I'm flattered Richard!  

ACP thanks for the information on The Knife Maker's Guild, I will do my research on it.

When I finally produce a knife worthy of this audience I will post it for all of you.

Demascus and Ivory maybe or Demascus and splated maple?

[ACP]

Dino:

First things first. Go with the cheap scales, like maple, instead of ivory. As you acquire confidence you may wish to utilize better scale material.

My favorite scale material was fossilized ivory, which comes in an array of colors as it had thousands of years to leach with ambient ores and minerals beneath the ground.

As I write this I am gazing at my Rogers slipjoint, double bolster with fossil ivory scales

Save the fossil ivory for Richard's knife. If you look deeply enough in this forum you will see that Richard has some impossibly great pistol grips and I don't see him scimping on knife scales

[ccoorreeyy]

splated maple!

[P7Enigma]

"spalted maple".....

[ACP]

"Spalted" is the correct term. I believe this word deals with the process of stabilizing the wood prior to useage as knife scales; (handle material).

[Richard S]

Something modest and unpretentious, perhaps, such as fossilized woolly mammoth ivory from the Pleistocene era. Or, possibly cut from a rougly 4"x1" chunk of lapis lazuli I picked up in a Rawalpindi bazaar some years ago and have been using as a paperweight.  

[kjtrains]

Looking forward to this event, for sure!    

[yankee2500]

Something modest and unpretentious, perhaps, such as fossilized woolly mammoth ivory from the Pleistocene era. Or, possibly cut from a rougly 4"x1" chunk of lapis lazuli I picked up in a Rawalpindi bazaar some years ago and have been using as a paperweight.  

Lapis would make some fine looking scales.

John

[Dino]

ACP and the rest of you guys, thanks for all the information.  I have some very affordable California Buckeye comming that is impregnated completley with resins.  Tom, P7, is also sending me some "left over" wood with my presentation box that he made me.

Love my new hobby but my wife is missing me because all of my free time is now in the garage.

Before I went to bed around 10, now I find myself in the shower at midnight because I could not stop working on the knives.