[Doug Sanders]

Following up on Jim Kelso's latest piece he has shared with us- a beautiful moth of various metals gently resting on a stone made of wood, I started thinking about the combination of these two materials- metal and wood- in one piece.

Of course, knives exemplify this best, so what thoughts go through a knifemakers head when deciding on handle material, especially if wood is chosen?

I want people to get all philosophical here . Metal can be the yang to wood's yin- or the opposite even. Metal comes from the bowels of the earth, wood is the outpouring of the earth's richness. Wood feels warm to the touch ; metal cool.

On a more practical level, the shininess of metal seems -at first glance-inappropriate in combination with wood, but the two work beautifully together. It's a tricky balance...

[DFogg]

Steel has a limited range of color options especially in polished blade form. It can have visually stimulating aspects, but the power comes from the form. Working laminated steel patterns or the crystal patterns in the hamon the blade can become busy.



If the blade is busy, then I wouldn't want a fancy grain such as a figured or burled wood. I would choose for color and how it blended with the color of the fittings. Carving can enhance the flow of the piece. I like ebony and bloodwood and use them a lot.

[larry harley]

it just happens!!!!!
if i try it stops the flow
if i relax
the knife will tell me what it wants
some call it the muse
i get a mental flash of what i have
i build on it
and the next flash is the next step
the knife kinda tells me how it will look good
I NEVER (ALMOST NEVER) PLAN
or use prints
as a matter of fact i,m really weak
when i have to transfer from side to side
but
part of the real fun of knife makeing is leting it grow
on the anvil and on the bench

i,m not haveing to take a stick and beat the collectors off
but the things ive made this way(and its been a pointed effort)
really really please me
for the past few years ive tried
to divorce my old stock removal self from my new forge to shape
self
i call what i,m doing now hillbilly baroque(broke)
organic not polished
etched or textured and carved \
harley
baroque opossum

[Doug Sanders]

Hey Larry-
Gary Snyder's got nothing on you! Thanks for the prose....
Who really knows why we make the aesthetic decisions we do? Intuition I guess

[larry harley]

]
Hey Larry-
Gary Snyder's got nothing on you! Thanks for the prose....
Who really knows why we make the aesthetic decisions we do? Intuition I guess
[
i didnt mean to prose on u
boy u cought me cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i didnt mean to prose on u
i cant help my self!!!!
my daddy raised me on the bible, erskin caldwell,and lenny bruce
i got duped by ginsberg and e.e.cummings early
i think there,s a deep place where the bladesmith and the poet warrier all exist as one
or at least they do in my head lol
and now when i write
i write what i think as i thought
which ant common syntaxxxxx
kinda like if jed clampet had a car wreck w/ ginsberg or cummings
u would have jed ginsberg
or e.e. clampet
harley
word possum

[Jim Kelso]

Howl meets Flatt & Scruggs! Shasta Mountain Breakdown