Kirby Bletcher Custom Folder

[WVEngraver]

Another perfectly crafted knife made by Kirby over in PA.

410 hardened stainless bolsters, pearl scales, 24K border. Used the handy dandy 105 degree template sharpened graver for all the cuts & shading.

No screws made the designing go alot easier. Thanks for looking ...

Chris

[plat955]

Great Knife! I love the Scroll overlapping the border. Beautiful little folder...

[Roger Bleile]

Very 3D looking. Excellent design Chris.

Roger

[MikeDubber]

Very clean and well-designed scroll work - and it really appears to fit the shape of the bolster just right.

I see too many scroll designs that would work very well on their own, but they appear to "forced" into an defined space and do nothing to enhance that space. In those cases, the engraver/artists would not have thought to allow the scrolls to "escape" the confines of the gold inlaid area, protrude through the border, and create a pleasing scroll. Had these scrolls been confined and not escaped the space like this example, the whole design would have likely been compromised.

Mike Dubber

[Ddbltrbl]

Beautiful job Chris! Really tastfully done!

[jlseymour]

Beautiful Chris, Very nice design and scroll...
Seeya at the engrave-in...
Jerry

[rbaptiste]

Good job

[Daniel Houwer]

Great design Chris!

[Peter]

That looks great Chris. Great design and nice balance between light and dark makes it really pop.

NO doubt the engraving enhances the beauty of the knife.

Peter

[JJ Roberts]

Chris..I give you an A+...Keep up the good work.

Yours truly,
JJ Roberts
www.jjrobertsengraver.com

[ron]

hi Chris .. beautiful and fantastic engraving ,, you have become a true master of engraving .. thanks for posting ..oooo i do like it .. ron p

[D.DOUGLAS]

Nice job Chris! Pretty fancy looking knife.

[WVEngraver]

Wow .... thank-you guys for the comments. I've been a little unsure about this style since I started working on it for the last knife. It pulls together a bunch of things I've picked up through study and I would like to develop some of the leaf variations further.

I think the combination of background removal and shading is what makes it work. I thought I had too much background removed ... that's always a concern because it will ruin a knife.


Jason, Roger, Dble ... thank-you.

Hi Mike, I've been thinking about your use of the word "compromised" and I had not thought of it that way. You could not have said it better because that's the big picture. My motivation for going outside of the border was to help achieve the 3D look and I hadn't considered the overall effect if I didn't. Breaking up one inlay into 5 was certainly worth every extra bit of time.


Hi Jerry ... I'm looking forward to it.

Hi Roland, Daniel, JJ ... thank-you.

Hi Peter, will you be riding the entire way from CT? I'll be trailering my bike a good part of the way to the engrave-in unless I can bring a chiropractor on retainer.

Hi Ron, this would not be possible without your "brutally" honest critique of my very first attempt at a knife. I think qualifying as a "master" at anything also includes being able to make money at it ... there, I have a long long way to go.:[1]:

Hi Doug, glad you like it. Kirby really did a nice job on this knife. I felt obligated to do more than I am getting on this engraving.


There's something special to be said about a good critique and an honest thumbs up (or down) from your peers as I figure all this stuff out.


Chris

[Vanknife]

Good day Chris,
Wow this is very very nice and picture perfect if you ask me.

Cheers

"VAN"

[Ken Hurst]

Chris --- I totally agree with Mike D. In addition the scroll pops and is crisp, well done ole boy.

[Gail]

Wow Chris! The design, layout and execution are beautimus!!!!

[WVEngraver]

Thank-you Van!!

Hi Ken, thank-you for the phone call and your business advice. Making money at this is 90% of the battle. The other 90% is the artwork and 10% engraving :[1]:

Hi Gail ... thanks a bunch. Talk to you soon!!

Chris

[Kirby B]

Wow! Chris you really know how to make my knives look good. Your work encourages me to work harder at my own engraving and to make the best knives I possibly can. Thanks for sharing the photos!
Kirby

[ron]

hi Kirby .. yes Chris did a fantastic job on an fantastic knife , you should start engraving again , you are welcome to join 2 others from the area on sat. for engraving classes at my shop ..just let me know .. ron p

[Kirby B]

Ron, I didn't stop engraving Iv just been busy with knives lately. I am trying to get some stuff done for Lewisburg as well.

[ron]

hi Kirby ,, yes i know what you mean , i haven had time for making knives because i am very busy with engraving .. see you at the show .. ron p

[WVEngraver]

Kirby, you really did a nice job making this knife.

Definitely get busy scratching metal because an unembellished knife is just a knife. ..... right after you finish making the next one for me of course

Catch ya later.

p.s. I sure wish you took the photos. You're alot better at it than I am.

Chris

[carl bleile]

Mr. WVEngraver excellent work, together with a great knife makes a complete package.
Carl Bleile
southwest, Ohio

[frans]

I'm Astounded. Some of the work I see in this hand engravers forum is of the best quality - really top shelf stuff.