The Armour Archive

My wife's at it again... and this one is too cool not to post pics of.



The piece is hand-ground from 1/4 inch thick 6150, heat-treated and tempered. Overall length is 12 1/2 inches, 2 inches wide at the swell of the belly, and weighs a pound. The grip scales are Amboyna Burl, which is absolutely stunning. It feels great in the hand. The amazing thing is, it's not even quite done yet. She still has some sanding to do on the grip, and then will polish the heck out of it. It's just going to pop.


Don't be fooled by it's beauty, though... it has a dark side, as illustrated here:






Some work in progress pics, since those are always neat to see:








She will also be making a leather sheath for the piece. It is available, though she has not yet set her price. That said, if anyone is interested, PM me.

Also of interest - in that last photo, you can see some of the tools that Jody left her. The hammer's grip is loaded with pin work and filed grooves. The exacto handle is filed in a spiraling twist. Jody was an artistic fellow, and a lot of that creativity carried on with Shan-Aan.

Amboyna is FANTASTIC wood. I love that stuff.

Maeryk wrote:Amboyna is FANTASTIC wood. I love that stuff.

Smells funny when you work with it, though.

Jody left her a number of neat woods to use - African Blackwood, Pink Ivory, a number of Walnuts, Cocobolo, Desert Ironwood... a bunch of others, too.

WoW...

I think I just messed my pants over that....Simply stunning...

You have an amazingly talented wife. I am sure you already know that. That is great work. I would someday like to have one of her knives for my collection for sure.

Aaron Schnatterly wrote:

Maeryk wrote:Amboyna is FANTASTIC wood. I love that stuff.

Smells funny when you work with it, though.

Jody left her a number of neat woods to use - African Blackwood, Pink Ivory, a number of Walnuts, Cocobolo, Desert Ironwood... a bunch of others, too.

Respirators should be worn when working with ALL those woods. African Blackwood is evil, cause it just leaches oil the entire time you are working with it. More people are allergic to cocobolo than any other wood.

She needs to wear a mask and work somewhere/how that the dust won't infiltrate your living quarters.

Eamonn MacCampbell wrote:WoW...

I think I just messed my pants over that....Simply stunning...

Like I said... too cool not to share, even though it's not quite done yet.

Wait until it's buffed and glowing...

Sextus Maximus wrote:You have an amazingly talented wife. I am sure you already know that. That is great work. I would someday like to have one of her knives for my collection for sure.

Funny thing, that... I know it, but she doesn't, or, at least, she doesn't act that way. Very humble, and will probably be embarrassed if/when she reads this.

I'm sure she'd be very glad and honored if you found one you'd like to pick up. Her bench is pretty busy right now, actually! Here's a quick pic from yesterday morning:

Maeryk wrote:Respirators should be worn when working with ALL those woods. African Blackwood is evil, cause it just leaches oil the entire time you are working with it. More people are allergic to cocobolo than any other wood.

She needs to wear a mask and work somewhere/how that the dust won't infiltrate your living quarters.

Good advice, and an absolute truth.

Cutting and grinding is done at the shop, in a neg-pressure room with a particulate cartridge filter mask. She does all of her hand sanding outside, if she's at home working. Also, any turning she does is also always with full PPE.

Personally, I find walnut drives me apeshit nuts to work with. I have to have long sleeves on.

Aaron

Wow, like the title says. that is one heck of a beautiful piece. i hope she never figures out a selling price, so i don't have to try and find the money. as i said after i purchased one of her Goddess Daggers, she is a true artist. by the way my wife was completely blown away by the dagger, and best of all very surprised. however i like this one for me.


Mike

Thanks, Mike! We're very glad she was pleased with the Goddess. Also, thanks for the kind words on this piece as well!

Now, just 'cause I'm a torturous sort...






They would make a nice pair, don't you think?

All (semi-)joking aside, the wood is really starting to pop as you can see in the pic with the little grasshopper, who decided to pay a visit. There is something really natural about her work. Seems Mother Earth thinks so...




She's done some work on the sheath, too. Still needs to do some molding work, clean up the edges... not sure what else she has planned for it. It's turning out to be very nice, though.

Aaron

i don't know if i ever said this, but i hate you.


Mike

PS: thanks for the new pictures.

Shan-Aan did some more work on this piece... coming along VERY nicey.


The grip scales are awesome now that they've been buffed. It's hard to get the colors displayed on the monitor to be true to the actual piece, and monitor to monitor, things will look a bit different. On mine, though, the photo a couple of posts back with the grasshopper on the grip is truest. LOTS of activity here. These show the level of polish better, though...







The sheath is nearly done, as well - a bit of buffing and molding yet to do.







I'm not sure if there's much left that she wants to do yet... possibly a lanyard? I know she was talking about perhaps hand-turning a bead out of Amboyna...

Absolutely beautiful, I have always loved the lines of the Kukri, this one especially.

Thanks, Benedek! The lines are pretty hot on this - crisp, but flow well. It feels fantastic in the hand, too... something I can't relay in a picture, but wish I could.


I have had a couple of questions regarding getting a feeling for size. I guess that, except for the few of you who have seen the Goddess in person, even those photos don't help much. Perhaps this will be a different reference - en-suite with a S&W M&P40.

Four new photos of this beautiful piece...






The bead on the lanyard is hand-turned from the same Amboyna Burl used for the grip scales.

I believe Shan-Aan has a tiny bit more burnishing to do on the sheath, and this one's done... as in "for sale".

Exquisite!

Also really like the Goddess dagger.

Thanks, Mike! Shan-Aan thought it was wild that, in such a short time, such a long distance impression can be made and relayed. Net's cool like that. It means a lot to her to know her work is appreciated.

Also, funny how that Goddess keeps popping up...

I have to ask - probably cry at the answer - what's the price tag on the Goddess?
(Haven't checked lottery numbers yet )

Mike Garrett (Orc) wrote:I have to ask - probably cry at the answer - what's the price tag on the Goddess?
(Haven't checked lottery numbers yet )

Mike, since you're out of the US, I sent you a PM.

The Goddess has her own thread here:
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=76856

... but to answer the question for everyone, these are $350. That said, she's offered an Archive price of $325, and to show my appreciation for this community and to support her work, I've shipped them within the US at my expense (and will pitch in a bit towards shipping elsewhere, though a couple of countries are off the list due to customs issues and legalities).

A trio of additional photos - both of the kukris together.






The Amboyna Burl one (with sheath pictured earlier in the thread) is now available for sale... $500 plus shipping and insurance. Money order or Paypal (add 3%) is cool...




(In case anyone is wondering, the bow in the background is Shan-Aan's Kassai Hunter horsebow. She's literally worn out a full dozen carbon composite arrows with this thing!)

This kukri is now sold pending funds.


The other kukri (the one with the Macassar Ebony scales and pinwork) will be for sale soon, probably around the same price... give or take depending on final work.

This kukri is sold.

There are other projects in the wings, though... will share with pics as things come up.

Dammit! I'm too freaking broke, and I want that damned knife!

-Ed

Edric the Bastard wrote:Dammit! I'm too freaking broke, and I want that damned knife!

-Ed

I know how you feel... wish I could have afforded it, too!

The one with the pinwork is seriously nearing completion, and will be in the same ballpark... $500ish... maybe a little more depending on what she does with the sheath, and whether or not she pops a lanyard on there...