IMA18 Cutting Edge Art

Page 18

T h e C U T T I N G E D G E
Welcome to One of the Many Worlds
of One-of-A-Kind Masterworks

    Throughout the developed countries of the world thrives a relatively little known community of skilled artisans who cater primarily to a wealthy group of private collectors. Whether in the form of pistols, rifles, knives, swords, clocks, watches, jewelry or an assortment of esoterica such as mechanical dolls and other fine sculptures, each is a one-of-a-kind, completely hand-crafted masterpiece.

    I wouldn't have been aware of how extensive -- and exclusive -- are these clubs for serious investors, entrepreneurs, and true aficionados of the sport, so to speak, had I not happened upon a television documentary which told the various stories of these artistic geniuses, named a few of them, and showed both samples of their work and the painstaking processes involved in crafting utilitarian sculptures so unique and beautiful that the pieces, when finished, were already nearly priceless in value.

    In Japan, musicians, authors, and artisans of exceptional ability are honored as "national treasures". Unfortunately in the United States, no such distinction exists, and many of our American treasures go about their creative business largely unheralded outside the specific groups to which they belong.

    Not so many years ago, it was my esteemed pleasure to first meet and then become fast friends with Herman Schneider and his wife, Ruth. Herman and I quickly formed a mutual admiration society, the result of which was that he soon owned a few of my paintings and I took possession of one of his custom art knives. For those of you who have reviewed the pages on this site that focus on my trilogy of novels entitled Dragonia: Tales of the Golden Talon, the personal story is told of how and why I created for Mickey (Herman's nickname) a very special painting.

    These newly added pages which showcase some of Herman's work as well as others, are the first to expand on his and my relationship, especially as regards a rather extensive collection of renderings which were created especially by me, with him in mind. Well, actually with the whole concept in mind, as to what could be done in the way of designing all kinds of original art knives, some of which involved innovations never envisioned or created before.

    It is precisely those custom drawings and designs which I have painstakingly recreated on these pages. While none were ever made, and only one was seriously considered as the culmination of Herman's lifetime of work, I was, for a time, seduced by the "romance of the blade" as one might say. Thus we have this unusual collection of entirely original drawings which were themselves created with little more than a ruler and pencil, ink pen and compass.

    None of the verbiage contained in any one drawing is intended to be deciphered and read, but I left a lot of it still showing because it represented important parts of a given design and, on the original pages stored in my vaults at home, it still does.

    Please note that all of these images are two-dimensional renderings of what are intended to be three-dimensional objects. In some instances, only a custom knife-maker (of which there are many) might understand what it is I intended with respect to how a particular knife might function or appear. For the most part, I promenaded the batches on display for the sole purpose of entertaining visitors and perhaps introducing some to a realm of art with which they were not previously familiar. If so, then my efforts will have been successful in that regard alone. If, on the other handle, someone would like to transform one of my designs into the real deal, then I'm ready to deal and can be had cheap.

    In the meantime, spend a moment and take a gander at an artform that not only captured my imagination, but inspired me to take pencil in hand and create my own visions of sorcery and swords. And knives.

When your Swiss Army knife
needs an upgrade:

The familiar "Cobra" knife is renown the world over

Fig. 2. Master, Herman Schneider, and his Cobra knife.

Herman likes to tell the story of how the phone rang one day and Sylvester Stallone was on the other end, asking if Herman would be interested in making a knife for his new movie, Cobra. Herman refused because Stallone had to have the knife so quickly that "Mick" didn't think he could finish it in time. Then Stallone called back a second time and the rest, as they say, is history.

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Beautiful to look at. Expensive to own.

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Fig. 6. Above: The Schneider "skinner" owned by my wife, Mini, and I.

Fig. 8. A gorgeous folder by master knife maker, Salvatore Pudu.

Fig. 7. Another shot of the knife owned by yours truly.

Closeup of my skinner's finely engraved guard.

Fig. 10. Engraved cat on opposite side of guard.

Fig. 11. Another look at the personalized Anton skinner made by Herman Schneider.

Fig. 12. I took some of these photos myself. Not too bad, I don't think, for a first time.

Much of the stainless steel used for art knives comes from European foundries, where the art of metalworking dates back hundreds of years. Herman traveled abroad on many occasions just to acquire the high quality steel he wanted for his knives.

Herman makes and stitches some of his own sheaths. Here's ours.

Fig. 14. For many years Herman gave out throwing knives to his friends as Christmas gifts. Each was personalized. Herman and I both like sci-fi movies, so mine has GORT, the robot from the movie "Day The Earth Stood Still."

Fig. 15. "Rose" pattern steel. One of several different styles.

Photo Credits:
sharpbycoop.com; hoffmanknives.com; knifelegends.com; monstermarketplace.com; therealmoviestars.com; bladeforums.com; customknives.com

My personal collection of original, freehand drawings
intended as unique designs for custom art knives.
Pencil and ink on paper, computer enhanced.

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Folding knives require that the blade be gently returned inside the handle and never allowed to "snap" back into place.

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The butt ends of most fixed-blade knives penetrate much or all of the handle itself.

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Butterfly knives are also known as balisongs, batangas, and fan knives.
The distinct advantage of this design is the ability to unlock, open, and use the knife with one hand only.

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My own designs and name, "rotating" blade knives use 180-degree flips to hide and expose alternate blades in a single frame.
As one blade is returned to its concealment inside the handle, a second, different blade is brought into view and locked in place.