Hello

[Kirby B]

Hello, my name is Kirby Bletcher I am from Elizabethtown PA. I have lurked here for quite some time now and thought I would finally introduce my self. It also seems like the more I engrave the more questions I have.

I have been making custom knives since 1997 and started engraving a little about 2 years ago. Engraver Ron Nott has been and still is a big help in getting me started. Below is some pictures of my work. First one is a William Henry folder. Second is a cigar cutter that knifemaker Ted Moore made. And the others are folders that I made.

Thanks for looking!

[WVEngraver]

Hey Kirby!!!

Glad you took the plunge and posted. Your knives are fantastic and I can't wait to engrave another. Maybe I'll get to hold on to one for more than 3 days and keep it all to myself.

Chris

[Ddbltrbl]

Beautiful Knives Kirby!
And, it looks like your engravings coming along quite well. Look forward to seeing more from you.

[ron]

hi Kirby ... well welcome i am glad that you have decided to post some of your work ,, now we expect you to keep posting more ,, they are great and the engraving is also fantastic ,, if you want on sat. i have classes with a couple of people for a few hours , you are welcome to come over and join us ,, just give me a call .. ron p

[KDavid]

Hi Kirby, welcome to the forum. your knives and engraving are really beautiful. keep posting. I will be visiting Ron Notts engraving studio in mid February, if you are close by stop in. we can both harass Ron

[Daniel Houwer]

Hi Kirby,

Nice work! Just love the last one with the mozaik damast.
Do you forge weld that yourself? or do you grind it out of stock.

[rbaptiste]

Great work.
Welcome here.

[Vanknife]

welcome Kirby nice work.

Cheers

"VAN"

[Kirby B]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and comments on my work!

Ron, I would love to stop in Saturday but things are to hectic right now. I'm very thankful to be busy! Hopefully in the next few weeks Ill get free and stop in.

David , Let me know when you'll be there, harassing Ron sounds like a good time!

Daniel, I do not make my own damascus. The steel in that picture was made by Robert Eggerling. I usually use his or Larry Donnelly's steel. May be some day Ill take the plunge and learn to forge damascus but I must first convince my wife that I need more equipment.

Thanks again everyone!

[ron]

hi Kirby .. well when you get time stop in on a sat , if you and Dave and Chris M. if we can get Chris out of his W.V. bunker .. stop by we can have a class reunion .. ron p

[carl bleile]

Hello Kirby, your knives are great, I saw the one that Chris engraved, shame it was bought by a collector so soon after being done I wanted to see it in person.
Carl Bleile
southwest, Ohio

[Kirby B]

Thank you Carl! Chris did a great job with the engraving on that knife.

[WVEngraver]

A good canvas makes all the difference Kirby.

Carl, you will get to see one finished as one will be cased to compliment the 1903 Colt we discussed.

Ron, get rid of that cold and get well. Although I have no need to leave the bunker as my "Y2K" generator is performing flawlessly - I could be persuaded to make the trip if I finally get some of that special coffee you promised and have yet to deliver on

[ron]

hey Chris .. the cold is still hanging on , i am trying to engrave between drip of the nose .. boy that stuff looks bad under the scope , but that real mans coffee is waiting for you and Dave , now that is if you can handle it ,, be here when Dave gets her and we can have some good engraving classes . just let me know when you are coming so i can get out the good stuff .. coffee i mean .. ron

[SVD]

Ron

Back in October I had a nasty cold that was going around KC. The ever-indulgent wife picked up the milder version that was going around and to keep hers from turning into the bad one we decided to give that Zicam stuff a try.

The stuff works.

There seem to be about 400 variations of it. My next-elder brother likes the nose swabs but those are for when you think you're getting a cold. The ever-indulgent wife likes the chews because she tends to a slightly dry mouth. Big ol' drooling idjit me, the melts work great. Colds are just swarming around here this year - I had another one a few weeks ago but taking Zicam made it much less unpleasant and end quicker. Since then I've gotten close to having a cold three or four times but managed to stave it off.

Give it a shot and see if it helps. I've heard one unconfirmed report that some people have complained that the nose spray screwed up their sense of smell but I don't like sprays anyway. Still, you might want to go with the melts or chews just to be safe.

As for coffee, I roast my own that I get from Sweet Maria's

(end off topic diversion)

[ron]

hi Steve .. thanks for the advise , i don't know why i didn't think about zicam i do hear good results from it and i asked my pharmacist about what i could take and he didn't suggest that , may be because i have hi blood pressure problems .

as for coffee ,,,, i like it black and strong , i use SENSCEO DARK ROAST .. great coffee .. ron p

[WVEngraver]

No s**t Ron .... have you ever offered anyone a cup??? :smilie5::smilie5::smilie5:

[ron]

well i think i have ... hey for my cold , i need some of that WV spring water that you have in the mason jar ...ron p

[WVEngraver]

I'll see what I can muster up (allegedly). Any particular flavor?

[Big-Un]

We have some peach and apple flavored "water" here. I have my own blend of coffee from a gourmet shop here; 1/2 Sumatra, 1/4 Kenya, 1/4 Costa Rica; strong with good flavor.