The Realm of the Dark Blade

Every once in a while I come across a knife that, while interesting by itself, is made even more interesting by the creative integration of strategically incorporated props…

Ivory Art Folder by Herbst

Here is an interesting blade, or set of blades. Or whatever. It in fact looks like an ivory scaled, damascus bladed folder, mounted atop a custom designed blade display, strategically designed to make it look like the head of a… Pterodactyl? A cockatiel maybe… I dunno.

Ivory Art Folder - Open

Either way, from the site of Herbst Knife Making Academy we have the quite appropriately named “Ivory Art Folder”. ‘Cause that’s exactly what it is. A work of art. In ivory and damascus steel. Even half closed it looks cool…

Ivory Art Folder - Folding

Quite an interesting piece, incorporating a very unique serration design on the blade, as well as an amazing level of detail on what I’d call the “eye” of the great damascus cockatiel…

Ivory Art Folder - Scales and Eye

Great stuff eh? The back of the grip was also treated to some equally unique styling cues…

Ivory Art Folder - Back

All in all, some really great work here… Though the mounting itself seems evil enough on it’s own to be used as a weapon… A punch dagger or something…

Ivory Art Folder - Head

Gotta love how blade art can be so evil looking and cool at the same time!

Ivory Art Folder – [Herbst Knifemaking Academy]

Today I ran across a couple of interesting knives from South African knife maker Herbst. To be honest, these are not really my kind of blade, however I thought they represented a rather interesting perspective on the idea of patterning the full blade of the knife…

Except, in this case, doing so through and through… Hard to explain, so here, let me just show you:

Big Five Bowie - 1 of 3

Allow me to present the “Big Five” bowie. A rather beautiful bowie, I might add, though I am personally not too fond of the idea of carving a perfectly good blade through in the name of aesthetics. However, as the name suggests, the blade is “engraved”, (for lack of a better word), with the silhouette of 5 big game animals. An elephant, a rhino, a buffalo, a lion, and another big cat or possibly other animal, that I cannot readily identify.

Big Five Bowie - 2 of 3

Certainly excellent work, if not for the little red flags that are going up in my head on account of the large gaping holes in the blade. And I will certainly admit to it poossibly just me being mechanically excessively anal retentive. But I have never claimed to be normal, so HAH! is all I have to say about that.

Big Five Bowie - 3 of 3

Here’s another one, perhaps mechanically more sound, (yes, yes, I know I am probably the only one who is thinking abou that, but I just can’t help it so leave me be!!! )  but really not my type:

Carved Damascus - Pic 1

Now I do like the curves of the blade on this knife, it’s just the flourishes in the blade are a bit much for me…

Carved Damascus - Pic 2

See what I mean? It is still beautiful work, it just that those particular aesthetic look more to me like it belongs on a wrought iron gate, not *in* the blade of a knife.

Carved Damascus - Pic 3

Still, they are all quite amazing, the real pity is that when I look at this knife, images of flowers and vines keep popping into my head, totally obliterating any possible chance at making some truly nice lines become evil. Yeah… And the green grip does not help dispel these images in any way, shape or form.

Which, as  those of you who know will know, is one of my most heavily ranked internal grading criteria for how cool the aesthetics of a blade are. As you can probably guess, even though the craftsmanship of this blade is superb, this knife did not rank all that high on my scale.

Hey, what can I say? Nobody’s perfect…  At least I was able to work through my hangups enough to share it with you. lol…

Yeah, you’re welcome.

• The Big Five Bowie Knife – [Herbst]
• Carved Damascus – [Herbst]

Today I have a set of yet more crossover blades. Like most of the others, these knives feature qualities from different cultures, melded together to form beautiful harmoniously wicked looking blades. I refer to the work of Wally Hayes, of Hayes Knives. I suppose I ought to stop flappin’ mah trap, and show you a few pics:

Damascus Dagger - Broad Spear Point

Now this is what I am talking about. The astute among you may have noticed that this little dagger bears traits from three separate cultures. OK, so let’s play a little sleuthing game. Who wants to take a stab at guessing which ones?… Don’t worry, I’ll wait…

*whistling*…

*taps hooves*…

*facepalm*

OOOOK, that’s about enough of the waiting thing.

I’m sure many of you guessed Asia, as the first culture, and you would be correct. The tsuka, guard and habaki  are all Asian in origin. However the other two flavors are a little harder… Actually that’s not entirely true. This here dagger has a damascus blade. That one should be easy… Yeah. really…. Oh, come on… Ok, ok. The damascus betrays the  Middle Eastern genes in this blade. Right? From Damascus…? Got it?  Good.

Now, last but not least, the shape of the blade itself is neither traditionally Japanese, nor Middle Eastern. Both far and middle eastern blades generally feature curved blades. This blade, carries European lines. And there is our trilogy of genes. And a beautiful child it is too…

If you got all three, you may proceed to pat yourself on the back. Yes, you may sprain your arm in order to do so if necessary. I’ll allow it. Just this once. Feel the burn? Good. Here’s another example:

Damascus Dagger - Fine Spear Point

How about we up the ante. Eh? Try and be a little more specific? What do you think…? This one should be easy, it’s pretty much almost the same as the other… Ok, well here’s my take…

The Tsuka and Guard are almost definitely Asian. Japanese, to be precise. No habaki, like the other one, but these are all hybrid knives, so I’m gonna let that slide. The blade is, again, Damascus, can’t really be precise about it’s origin without a metallurgical analysis, so i’ll leave it at that. The blade shape on the other hand, almost definitely European. I’d guess late British, if I were a betting creature…

Now here’s another interesting piece:

The Predater

Talk about mixed messages! This knife looks like a cross between a Ka-bar, and a tanto. A hybrid westernized tanto at that. The grip features a simple tsuka-maki, running up to a simple stubby upturned guard, and on into a polished, rather beefy looking straight blade, with what looks like it could be a false back edge all running into a hybrid clip tanto point.

Hard to tell from the pic. But it certainly looks like it means “bidness”.

Finally, here’s another quite interesting short sword, for obvious reasons called the “Waki”:

The Waki

For those of you wondering why the name is obvious, it may help to know that the japanese have a short sword called the Wakizashi, that is traditionally worn as a pair with a full size Katana. This sword is just the right size, so I presume that is why it was given a contracted form of the name.

Lacking a guard and habaki, this blade might be troublesome to wield in combat, however from an aesthetic standpoint… Whoa… I think it just got a little hot in here…

I have but one concern though. I don’t rightly know if the “Waki” was really the most dignified name to give this particular blade. But to be fair, a curvy blade of dark swirling damascus would, by any other name, would still look just as beautiful…

What more can I say… It’s a thing of beauty…

The Waki and friends – [Hayes Knives]

Today is a good day. Sinza, a buddy of mine, who started the Exotic Automatic forums we run, (http://exoticautomatic.com Go check it out!!) ran into a very interesting blade, and was kind enough to give me a heads up! And I gotta tell ya, this is an exotic beauty of a blade. Born of classic knife blood. My kind of heritage… Yeah…

Allow me to introduce you to a unique stiletto from Burn Knives. A stiletto of mixed blood. African, Asian, and European. They call it an 11″ Italian picklock stiletto in random patterned damascus with a hollow ground tanto blade. *I* call her Aidemona. For reasons which may not be obvious right now. But I assure you, I will explain. And here she is:

Aidemona - 11" Italian Picklock Stilletto, Damascus steel, Tanto Blade

Isn’t she beautiful? I have always been a fan of stilettos. Beautiful, narrow, usually single edged blades, automatics with will of their own, an a undeniable presence. And this one, while a major departure from traditional stiletto design, is all the more attractive to me for it’s differences. Such sweet differences… OK… I guess I ought to stop marveling at her beauty and introduce her properly. Meet Aidemona.

Aidemona - Left Side

Aidemona - Bolster, Guard

I call this knife Aidemona in homage to several characters from Shakespearian literature. Specifically the tragic work, Othello. In it, we have the Venetian beauty Desdemona, who falls in love, and elopes with Othello, a moor, a man of color. In my mind I imagine that if they had a daughter, she would have been called Demona. A child of mixed Italian and African blood. A stiletto in dark damascus steel.

Aidemona - Right Side

Aidemona - Liner filework

But Aidemona is yet so much more than that. What if Demona had traveled to Asia, and hooked up with a Japanese man? A Samurai of noble blood? What would their daughter look like? Well, this is who I imagine Aidemona to be. An strong, exotic beauty with a proud Italian stiletto heritage, a Japanese blade, and beautiful dark damascus skin… A melding of cultures so far apart, into something… breathtaking.

Aidemona - Blade

Aidemona - Blade, Right Side, Point

Perhaps I am biased. I have always loved tanto blades. Their strong, utilitarian lines, and the pure strength of that point design. I have also always loved automatics. And what type of blade is more deserving to be the proud ambassador of automatic knives than the Italian Stiletto? I can’t think of any better. And of course, I love dark knives. Dark blued steel, patterned damascus, they look better to me than the million other shiny flashy blades out there. So you can probably imagine how knives like Aidemona make me feel.

Aidemona - Spine filework

Aidemona - Pommel filework

And just look at the fit and finish on this blade. Sweet, jet black onyx stone scales, the intricate file work along the spine, liners and pommel of the grip, the skull safety, and the mother of pearl button… A functional, beautiful but, oh, so evil looking work work of art. I love it. I would propose to her, except I have so many girlfriends now, I think it would surely mean my demise…

Aidemona - Mother of Pearl Button, Skull Safety

Aidemona - Closed - Right Side

I think I’m going to just go back and spend the rest of the day just drooling over her from afar…

11″ Italian Picklock Stiletto, Tanto Blade, Black Damascus – [Burn Knives]

Today, per popular request, I thought I’d treat you to one of the sweetest gun blades I’ve ever come across. A very unique gun blade that is so cool in so many ways, I hardly know where to begin. So I guess I’ll start with a pic:

The High Roller - By Bruce Bump

Now *that* is a cool gunblade. Exactly *how* cool? Let me count the ways…

First off, this piece of art is a study in beautiful black damascus steel. And my regulars will all know that black is a BIG plus in my book. This little knife is a beauty. A 5″ black damascus blade, that folds into a beautifully contoured black damascus grip, adorned with a set of sweet sambar stag horn scales. Just amazing.

The High Roller - Sans Pistol

And then we have the fully functional black powder muzzle loader pistol in .22. All in black, with beautifully done scrollwork along the length of the barrel and backstrap/grip.

The High Roller - Top

Seriously, a black damascus folder, especially one like this, is a thing of beauty all by itself. But a black damascus folder attached to a black steel gun? That’s just too darn cool for school.

The High Roller - Grip

And as if that weren’t enough, the knife was made to stow in a beautiful book set, complete with black powder kit and a pair of elephant ivory dice to boot.

The High Roller - Book Safe

This, ladies and germs, is functional art. None of that “fantasy” garbage here, the knife is fully functional, the pistol is fully functional, and the whole thing is just an amazing amalgamation of art, sinister lines and beautiful darkness all put together to make a single, awesome kit of uncompromising WIN.

The High Roller - Pistol Barrel

What more can I say? I’m not the gambling sort, but I’d certainly take it up if it gave me an excuse to carry something like this around…

The High Roller by Bruce Bump – [Blade Gallery]

Anyone who is into classical Japanese sword flicks will know about Zatoichi, the blind wandering swordsman masseuse, whose skill with the sword was unparalleled. Those of you who know, will also remember that Zatoichi carried with him a shikomizue, or sword cane, which he used to great effect, as he wandered from village to village, helping those in need.

Those of you who are long time readers might know that I love shikomizue. They are the embodiment of simplicity of sword design. They may not be the best functional design, but as swords go, I just love the clean lines of a well constructed shikomizue. Add to that the fact that I love stick fighting, and that a shikomizue is basically a stick with a blade in it, and I probably don’t need to explain any further why I like them.

But until recently I didn’t think there was anything more I could possibly want out of a shikomizue until I saw this one:

Handmade Zatoichi Cane Sword Nodachi Shikomizue - Black Damascus

This, ladies and gentlemen, is, in all honesty, the most beautiful shikomuze I have ever seen. 40+” of shiny, jet black lacquered straight cane saya, concealing over 28″ of mildly tapering black damascus blade showing an amazing deep, orange red damascus pattern. A single accent is visible when unsheathed, a gold habaki, sitting atop the tsuka. It is absolutely breathtaking.

Now I realize that I may be a little biased, but this combination is just.. I have no words. A shikomizue, in black, with a black damascus blade…

I think I know what’s going on my Christmas list this year…

Handmade Zatoichi Cane Sword Nodachi – Black Damascus – [True Swords]

A while back, I had a reader ask for some information on Mughal period weaponry. Not knowing too much about it, I did some reading up and found that the Mughal period was a historic period in India that ran roughly from the 16th to 19th Century, where a large portion of the Indian subcontinent of Asia was ruled by Islamic Imperialists.

However I also quickly discovered that the Mughal period covered waaaay too much time and encompassed a large a geographical area that sported too many different but entirely indigenous weapon designs for me to single any specific one out. So due to my rather dwindling time resources, I wasn’t able to be much help (for which I apologize).

However during my travails, I did manage to turn up one rather unusual supposed example of Mughal weaponry:

The Sword of the Mughals

This sword features a damascus blade that starts out fairly straight, but curves mildly towards the tip into a rather wicked looking point. The spine of the sword follows suit, except for the top third, which looks a lot like it was cut down from a much larger, wider deeply curved scimitar.

The hilt is also unusual for a Persian blade, featuring no cross guard, and almost straight grip, but a reverse curving pommel, molded into the head of a stallion. Overall an interesting (if a little perplexing) study in Persian weapon design.

This blade is an interesting mix of flavors, part scimitar, part broadsword, with an unusual hilt design. The weapon, as a whole seems to match little of the historical weapon patterns of the area that I’m aware of, but instead seems to be a variation of a mix of different Persian weapon styles that have themselves been modified.

As an example of Mughal style weaponry, I must admit to being a bit flummoxed by the design. Most of the authentic historical weapons I came across when I was doing my initial research on the topic, bore significant differences in design.

I’m tempted to say this is another fanciful but failed attempt by an overzealous weapon designer to create a historical Mughal blade with generous helpings of creative license thrown into the design process. But being no expert in Mughal specific blades, who knows…

But no matter. It does not look bad on it’s own merits, even if it’s just a little too tame by my standards…

The Sword of the Mughals – [Realm Collections]

Today, I have a special treat for you. You may or may not know this, since it does not come up particularly often, but one of my favorite blade materials is Damascus steel. For two reasons. First, barring unfinished or tarnished steels, it is one of the only true “dark” finished steels that I know of.

The next reason is that, even though I have a great love for all dark weapons, (to me they have more character than most) the truth is that, most dark weapons are not inherently dark, and require special finishes, most of which rarely do any more than provide an aesthetic touch to a blade.

Damascus steel on the other hand, has an inherent dark aesthetic beauty that requires no artificial colorings or preservatives. Ok, so maybe there are some forms of Damascus that have artificial colorings. Some shades of Damascus require chemical treatments or the usage of special alloys or metals to achieve the desired effect.

But in the grand scheme of things, these are no worse than the coatings used to enhance the appearance of monosteels. Nonetheless, it is still the only type of steel that I know of, whose aesthetics are also functional, and whose enhanced cutting power does not really require any special finishes / treatments / coatings. Damascus steel has an inherent beauty all it’s own.

But the cool thing is that, in the hands of true metalworking artists, using these various other methods, Damascus can be made into patterns and colors of amazing beauty. I was quite thrilled to find a site that featured such beautifully wrought Damascus blades, each one uniquely and excellently finished to a level of detail that, much like J. A. Harkins work, totally blew me away…

I present to you a taste of the blades of Kevin and Heather Harvey of Heavin Forge. First up:

<_>

The Zulu assegai – In Damascus

[view full size]

Now obviously, as one of my favorite African weapons, this Damascus Assegai caught my eye. Definitely a thing of beauty. Due in no small part to the very eye catching Gaboon Viper Damascus pattern on the blade:

Zulu Assegai – Close up of Blade

[view full size]

Now this is a very unique spear, first because of the shaft style, which appears to have been carved to appear like a dark horn grip at the bottom, and smooths out the rest of the way up. Very cool. And the head sports a cool damscus pattern they have appropriately called called “Gaboon Viper”, as it emulates the characteristic diamond pattern found on the back of the aforementioned reptile… I’ve got two words for the head on this spear: Absolutely Awesome…

<^>

Persian Fighting Blade!

[view full size]

If you’ve been reading my blog for any amount of time, I needn’t explain to you why I like this blade… It’s all about the points and curves… (I’m sure you can figure it out… ) And it doesn’t hurt that it has a Damascus blade. Which is actually appropriate since Damascus steel is reputed to have been developed in ye old Persia and was also called watered steel at the time. No surprise, as Damascus does look like Steel with waves in it…

<^>

Next we have a piece i like to think of as from the West. The Wild West. California gold rush and and all that jazz… It should be self explanatory why:

Gold Rush Bowie

[view full size]

Yep, we have a bowie knife, perhaps almost the trademark of the wild west, (besides the ever ubiquitous revolver), in an amazing gold and almost cobalt blue Damascus hue… I’ve always like gold accents on black blades, but this just takes it to another level altogether…

Gold Rush Bowie – Close up of ricasso and top of hilt

[view full size]

There’s gold in that thar bowie!… I seen it with my own two eyes!!

<^>

Finally, but certainly not least, we find a weapon harking from the dark continent of Africa, an interesting little dagger that reminds me of an insect for some reason. A long wasp maybe? I dunno. But here is it, in all it’s insect like glory…

African Dagger

[view full size]

Now this particularly dark brand of Damascus is one of my favorites, perhaps the only true dark steel in existence. And this sample is particularly beautiful, complementing the overall theme of this dagger very well. Between the African styled hilt, and the really very cool horn sheath, it’s perhaps one of the most intriguing implementations of a Damascus dagger I’ve seen to date…

<^>

And that’s all I’ve got for today. You can see more of Kevin and Heathers’ work at Heavin Forge. Perhaps what really impressed me was not only the creative use of color in the steel, but also the overall attention to detail, fit and finish on every weapon. Absolutely beautiful. Make sure you swing by their page.

As much as they were all great works of art, after looking at them all, I discovered I had a favorite. Probably because I tend to gravitate towards more dark colors and organic shapes, I liked that last waspy dagger best. It just spoke to me. We had a grand old chat.

I think I’m gonna give it a name. I’m calling it the Black Stinger… Yeah… In fact I think i’m gonna have to make myself similar blade one of these days. It won’t be nearly as cool as this one, but If it has half the personality, I’ll be looking forward to quite a few great conversations with it…

P.S. I’d like to point out, for the record, that I am not insane. Just a *wee bit* loopy when it comes to certain blades… But I’m totally harmless, I assure you… No really…

Kevin and Heathers Damascus Blades – [Heavin Forge]

I’ve noticed that there are a lot of blade designers who like to call their weapons “Barbarian” weapons. What is perhaps most interesting is that, to my knowledge, there are no predefined criteria for determining how barbary a weapon is. So how they decide which weapons are “barbaric” and which ones are “civilized” is beyond me. But then again, I am but a lowly blogger of  the occasional barbarian weapon:

Barbarian Sword

[view full size]

Now In this particular case, I can see, a little bit, why one might refer to this sword as barbaric. On the surface, it does look kind of simple. But in reality the design is as elegant as any other I have seen, so it would be an assessment based on ignorance. Indeed, this sword has some very attractive elements.

The finish, for instance, is actually an acid etched damascus steel pattern. One of my favorite. Granted it’s a cheap way to finish a non damascus blade, but it still looks good. And then the blade profile. Very cool. a simple but interesting design, with a large ricasso, heralded by two smaller vertices just aft of the blade, and a smaller point on the spine.

All of this leading into a mildly curved black leather wrapped handle, and terminating in an unusually shaped pommel. I suppose the combination of simple lines and unusual accents is what i find so interesting about this sword. It just kind of quietly menacing. Not loud and deliciously evil looking. And not even particularly barbaric. Just subtly sinister.

And I can respect that.

Barbarian Sword – [All things Medieval]

Today we are going old school. I ran across this sword not too long ago, and thought it was another great example of classic medieval sword design. Much like the Black Italian Bastard Sword I posted about a while back. Except that this sword is fairly simple. No gimmicks, no fancy ironwork, just a great sword

Sir William Marshall Sword - Damascus

I think I like this sword for same reasons as the Italian Bastard Sword. It is a simple, straightforward and strong design. Aesthetically, I do not find it as pleasing as the Italian bastard sword is. Perhaps because in straight swords, I tend prefer blades whose width does not change drastically from hilt to tip. In this sword, there is quite a large difference. However what it lacks in aesthetics, it makes up for in simplicity, functionality and contrast.

The blade is of a standard tapered design. Not one of my favorites, but in this case, not too bad. A prominent fuller runs almost the entire length of the dark Damascus steel blade (this comes in both polished steel as well as Damascus), both to increase stiffness and reduce weight. The cross guard is a simple polished bar. Barring my personal issues with the change in width of the blade, it is, overall a great blade.

Sir William Marshall Sword - Polished

The grip is wrapped in black leather, interwoven with black leather strips, I’m betting more to improve traction, and non-slip qualities than for any aesthetic purposes, although it does look quite good. And it is all capped of by a simple polished round pommel.

Simplicity and functionality at it’s best. And even though from a visual standpoint, the Damascus steel blade is a big plus in my book (though the Damascus blade does come at a premium over the regular steel blade version), the fact that it is simply a strong and versatile sword steel makes it more of a functional improvement, than an design one.

This would be for the knight who wanted a sword that just worked. That could be depended upon. And you really couldn’t go wrong with this.

Sir William Marshall Sword – [Hanwei Shop]