"This hardbound presentation book presents custom folding knives in all of their artistic glory. This large book is filed with some of the most stunning photography in the cutlery industry; one can almost reach out and touch the knives. I appreciate how the color and detail of the photography presents each knife 'center stage' without distractions. The book also has an outstanding collection of articles that introduce the reader to the techniques of handcrafting and embellishing knives.
As an introduction to custom knives the author has choosen 22 world class knifemakers - each with their own individual look and feel. Many of these same knifemakers are featured at KnifeArt.com. Each artist section features a grouping of knives, a biography and snapshot of the maker. What brings further interest to the reader, the book showcases individual knives in the rough stages of development. You can see how much time and hardwork goes into a knife of this caliber. This volume is an incredible companion to any custom knife collection and will make any knife lovers coffee table complete."
Full Review By The Author
True, there are museums overflowing with large collections of 'cutlery', from prehistoric stone knives through ancient Egyptian gold daggers to modern dueling swords and fighting bayonets. But nowhere, to my knowledge, will one find a permanent public display of exquisite Damascus bladed knives, fully embellished in gold and diamonds, or of beautifully engraved folders - all hand crafted in recent years. Being an avid collector, as well as writer and photographer of several modern photographic guides (from wild flowers and underwater sea life to handguns), I was often disturbed by the lack of any public display of this art form. Therefore, one summer evening, while checking several of my favorite custom knifemaker sites on the web, I made a decision to correct this situation. I decided to create a significant journal devoted to modern day folding art to fill the definite void. If you are reading these words, they (as the saying goes), the rest is history.
Choosing from a long list of very talented custom folder makers from around the world, all of whom deserved to be represented in this new book, proved to be a difficult task. It kept me awake for many, many nights, before I contacted the first artist. Several considerations combined in making a list of folder artists who would eventually go down in history as representatives of this art for the beginning of the third millennium.
In making the final decisions, I considered visual originality, stylistic diversity, and the desire to mingle young promising artists with world renowned veterans, as well as my own personal aesthetic preferences. Quality of the designs and workmanship, steels used, Damascus, beauty of the embellishments, and the visual appeal of the final pieces of cutlery all combined here to give the world a representative insight into this wondrous art.
I finally chose the 22 featured Artists and presented their art on eight pages each. I also chose nine custom folder makers, whose work and designs are characteristic of today's modern hand made folders, to show their knives on two pages each. More than a dozen different custom folder makers are also represented in the book, the beauty of their art displayed on one or more pages.
Early on I realized that in order to present this unique form of art in its fullest, I had to provide an insight into the personal lives of the artists as well as their thoughts and feelings about their craft - breathing life into steel objects. This was achieved only by the full and enthusiastic cooperation of everyone involved, presented here in the form of their biographies and signed personal statements.
I was also concerned about creating a visual language that would not confuse the viewer. Custom knives are often depicted on elaborate backgrounds, surrounded by confusing artifacts. I decided to show the knives alone - something like showing the beauty of a great painting on a plain wall, letting it "sing" for itself without any surrounding distractions. This demanded the consent of the world-class photographers who were commissioned to photograph the folders over a period of several years. It also demanded from me over 800 hours of computer work, carefully pulling images from their original backgrounds, combining several folders into one illustration and enlarging various sections of the folders to show, in detail, what this art is all about. The "manipulated" backgrounds were created so as to compliment the beauty of the knives, and a hue was chosen to lead the reader throughout the section of each artist.
Personally, I enjoyed every moment of this tedious labor, living for hours at end with the tiniest details found in the images of each beautiful folder. However, there was one case where I could not resist breaking the rules of the visual language I had created for the book. I just could not touch the original artwork of two collaborated creations, made especially for the book, by two great Japanese artists: Knifemaker Ms. Harumi Hirayama and photographer Tomo Hasegawa. Their combined efforts are like visual poetry, coming from their hearts. I felt that the entire world should enjoy their two illustrations as they were presented to me.
To complete the documentation of this astounding modern art form, a group of world-class experts wrote an original introduction to the book. It displays the various aspects of this modern art form, as it has never been shown before. The introduction includes such topics as The Art of Mosaic Damascus (Steve Schwarzer), The Art of Engraving (Steve Lindsay), The Art of Scrimshaw (Linda Karst Stone), Anodizing Titanium (John Lewis Jensen), Locking Mechanisms in Folders (Ron Appleton), Knife Shows, Collecting Hand Made Knives (Bud Lang), and Collecting as a Way of Life (Dr. Pierluigi Peroni), all covered in detail with original illustrations prepared specifically for this section.
Index
