This is Torrey, wife of the Podforge, guest posting while he’s away at the Oregon Knife Collectors Association annual knife show in Eugene, Oregon.

So I get to show you the good stuff: two knives finished just in time.

First up is this beauty: full tang, the metal tapered at both ends. The metal is 1075 high carbon steel, differentially hardened to make the hamon. It has a coin finish, creating a two-tone metal gray that continues the gray-blues of the handle.

The handle is stabilized giraffe bone, dyed blue. It is both pinned (black G10) and epoxied together to last, approximately, forever.

Let me say another word or two on how the metal is tapered at both ends: the symmetry and grace is compelling in ways I never expected. I was lukewarm on this design when it was a sketch, and when it was in CAD, and when the plasma robot made the blank.  The top and bottom curves are nice–but just nice–until the symmetry emerges in both planes when the blade and the tang are ground.

Now here’s the one I thought would be my favorite of this set: a paring knife style made of 1075 with hamon, finished by hand to a high polish.

The grain in the cherry wood handle is set off by red G10 surrounding the hidden tang. It’s all held together with a single black G10 pin and epoxy. Because the wood is not stabilized, but finished instead with cyano acrylate (that’s superglue to the rest of us), it will last slightly less long than forever.  

Describing this knife is more difficult. I’ll make an analogy: when I’ve taken the kids to shop for shoes, I watch their faces. If they love the way it looks, that shows–those are the ones to try on. But once the shoes are on the feet, I look for the face of compromise: are they making adjustments for comfort or gait? The rights shoes–especially the shoes for everyday wear–are the ones that leave their brow unfurrowed, their eyes relaxed. That’s when they’re no longer worried about the shoes, but can now focus on what they can do in the shoes.

That’s how I feel about this knife. This one isn’t as eye-candy as the other–it doesn’t demand you stare at it for minutes at a time to appreciate its beauty.

It’s more insidious than that. Once it gets into your hand, you don’t want to put it down. It’s comfortable there, like a pointy, sharp appendage that just belongs there.

So there they are, folks: two new knives, showing now at Elemental Forge’s table at the Oregon Knife Collectors Association show in Eugene. If you’re in the area, stop by!