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"The Mortimer"
#1
Since I have finally figured out a simple method to post pictures, I will now be posting pictures regularly. 

This is specifically in response to Mr. Grepper's call for re-posting pictures that got erased by the miserable photobucket fiasco. 

It's the best full tang knife I've ever made, which is easily one of the best blades I've ever finished. 

This knife was commissioned by a Gentleman I hold in very high esteem. I get to call him "Family" because we are that close, and we've always been that close. His family lived next door to my Mom's folks, and the Mortimers and Richards kids (Jim and Sam Mortimer, my Mom, Aunt and Uncle) grew up together, and are inseparable. 

There is something about this knife that draws people, and those who hold it in their hands are always inspired. It's heft and balance, the organic beauty of the blade, the ancient  mammoth tooth and mammoth ivory, combine into something far greater than the sum of the materials.

I'm fairly certain this knife will find it's way into an article in Knife Magazine within the next few months. If you're familiar with knife publications, that will mean much more than I'm capable of expressing. Blade magazine may be popular, but I wouldn't use it in the outhouse. 

I'm not much of a photographer, so these will have to suffice for now.

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#2
That’s not just a knife Mr. Mark.  It’s a work of fine art.  Absolutely beautiful!  You set a standard of craftsmanship, artistry and bladesmithing with this one.  There are a lot of custom and homemade knives out there and a lot of them look just that; homemade.  This shows true expertise.
 
The knife makes me feel good just looking at it.   It takes a rare combination of expert bladsmithing, vision and artistry to make something like that.  It looks as though nature grew it from the stump.  The blade is beautiful, the handle exquisite and together it’s pure eye candy.
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#3
Really beautiful knife Mr. Mark, I cordially congratulate you. Owner's pride and neighbour’s envy. Smile
Thanks for the nice photo documentation also.

Jan


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#4
Thanks a bunch for the kind words, Gentlemen.   Smile
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#5
Here's another compliment Mr. Mark. Probably most beautiful knife I've ever seen. If I could create knives like this I'd quit my job. Can I ask how much time it takes to make something like this?
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#6
Thank you, Mr. Bud, that is probably the most generous compliment I could ever hope for. When I think of being able to produce something that will be cherished for generations, the significance of  time and money really fade.

So, "How long does it take...?" 

That is a very popular question indeed, and one without a very good answer.

When someone asks for a full blown  Mortimer, with mammoth tooth and mammoth ivory, I start forging blanks, like the one in the last picture. I forge until I'm satisfied that I have at least two blanks that meet my expectations in every way, and then I forge until I have 6-8 blanks of approximately equal mass. Once I have the two I'm looking for, I make other patterns of similar mass.

That makes one "batch" of blades, and making knives in batches is the only way a guy can be productive with heat treat, which is a very big part of the process. With blades like this, I will forge 2--4 per day, depending on whether they are to be hammer finished, but it always takes at least a couple days to forge a batch. That's basically the easy part.

I'm always working with at least a couple batches, and a batch can be anywhere between 16 small knives to 4 big knives so that's where time per knife starts to lose relevance, and it's difficult to explain.

Working with different handle materials makes a big difference. Ancient material takes a lot of time. I have to grind a little, and set it aside to see what affect it had. Warpage is a big concern with all natural material. 

Hammer finished blades are way more difficult, because I can't just grind things perfectly in a matter of minutes or hours, they have to be forged perfectly to shape, which is simply a different ballgame.

I can tell you this much. More expensive knives are less efficient to make, just because everything is more difficult, and everything has to be perfect. For knives running into thousands of dollars, I can't express what it takes to fix something that took a few seconds to mess up. There's basically zero room for error in any way.

They say bladesmithing takes about a 10 year investment period until things start to pan out, but the more money you're able to invest in apprenticing under the top dogs, and buying the best equipment, and natural ability, and creating and taking full advantage of opportunities all make a difference.

So, the Mortimer took about a year...
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