Ron, Stunning! Very nicely crafted!Bet you have a few hard hours in that..I really like the horn handle.

Ron,

Congratulations on your daughter's engagement, upcoming wedding and what sounds like a fine future son-in-law!

Your craftsmanship is beautiful.

Here in North Carolina, there is a tradition of knife making. We see examples of this work regularly here at some of the shows I attend.

One of our community colleges (Montgomery community college in Troy NC) has a knife making program that is well regarded. You're probably beyond much of what they teach.

I believe that you can get damascas steel blanks from a number of foundry suppliers in India and other middle eastern locations. That would allow you practice on less expensive supplies.

Marc

Jerry,

I started carving the Tree Spirit at 5:30 Am yesterday morning. When I decided to take a break for some coffee it was 1:33 PM. I thought I was looking at the clock wrong. I would have sworn I'd only been working for a couple of hours.

Here's a photo of how the pommel cap started out. This is the other half of the piece of horn I split to make the pommel cap.

Years ago,when I was trying to learn how to shape rifle stocks. I asked an old stock maker what his secret was, and what his techniques were to shaping a stock? He said, "You start out by getting rid of the wood you don't want. When you get to the part you need, stop."

Thanks...

Marc,

I recently met a knife maker who gave me a lead on some relatively reasonable Damascus blades from a maker in Spain. He doesn't do computers, so I sent him a letter.

I really wish I had the equipment to make my own blades, but that isn't going to happen for a while.

Thanks...

Ron