Thursday, January 19, 2012

The Knives for the Invitational

Front and back bolsters are Moki-ti, bookending blue Mastodon.
Every year Bob goes to a show in Las Vegas called "The Tactical Invitational."  A select group of tactical knife makers are invited to a small room at the Palms.  There is a buffet with the guy slicing the roast beef (big hit with Bob!), a DJ, and buyers have 3 hours to fondle the knives.  Bob will have 7 knives this time.  Each knife on the table will have a little box behind it to put tickets in.  One ticket per box per person.  There are those who bring several "helpers" to the show.  Because one ticket is drawn for each knife, and that person gets the "opportunity" to buy that knife.   If you bring 7 friends, and they all put tickets in a box of a favorite knife, the odds increase of getting it. 
Single Checkering Ebony bookended by Damascus bolsters

A "Persian" blade, Moki-ti bolster, with a lightening strike handle.
So here are a few of the knives going to Vegas.  I will stay home and keep the home fires burning, so to speak.  Vegas is just not my scene.  But these are some high end space age materials that Bob used.  One is "Moki-ti" that is a layering like "mokume" with different kinds of titanium.  Frankly I don't even understand how they make it.  The other really cool material of the knife directly above this is "Lightening Strike" carbon fiber.  It was designed by Boeing to make planes out of.  The copper wire running through the carbon fiber is an all encompassing lightening rod.  Pretty cool.  Bob also made one knife with a ceramic blade.  The knife below is made of "Superconductor" and "Lightening Strike".  The superconductor is from the super collider in Texas that they scrapped.  Lucky me gets the scraps, and those turn into jewelry in my Etsy shop. 

Even the thumb disc is Superconductor
We've both been beavering away in the shop.  I have several superconductor hearts I sell as pendants.
I'm so grateful to be able to work with these cool materials...thanks Honey! And I know at the end of the night Saturday, the knives will all be going to new homes.  I better take one last look.

Superconductor sliced many ways gives it different patterns.

Thanks for reading.  Each day is a gift, open now.
xo,
Suz