Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades Coincidence?

“Men are drawn to cutting instruments. We have been forever. It is almost primal, the need to cut something.” Curtis Klingle, CM Forge

"A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances which have no apparent causal connection with each other".

Coincidence,


A little more than a month ago VinceM mentioned to me that he had some knives consigned to him by Ray Kirk. I recently had the opportunity to make the acquaintance of two ABS master smiths, Jerry Fisk and Mike Williams, on another forum.

In a conversation Mr. Fisk had told me of the requirement/test for obtaining the ABS master smith designation. Consequently, when VinceM sent me the pictures of Ray Kirks' small knife and I saw the MS stamp, I perked up. I like wood, and carbon steel, this one was 52100 forged from a piece of round bar and a "smoked, Bois d' Arc handle.
As an aside, back in the early 80's when I had my own steel fabrication shop, I washed out an anvil from 100 lb. a yard rail, and made myself a small forge. Back then one could buy Blacksmith coal at Sunset Fuel Co. in Houston. I took a few metallurgy courses and heated and beat, pound and ground a few different items. If I ever decided to make blades, I would be a heater and beater.

Anywho, prior to this I had no integrals in my possession. This small Ray Kirk was a knife that was not all that impressive at first glance, but the more I examined it, the more it grew on me. As I've mentioned before, elegant in its simplicity and flawless in the makers' execution.

Then when Vince uploaded a picture of a forged Damascus Integral knife by Argentine knifemaker Ariel Salaverria, I could not help but notice the similarity. The shape was oddly kin to the small Ray Kirk integral. I asked him to send it my way. I went to both the website of the maker of the AES blade and Ray Kirks’. It seems Mr. Kirk was inspired by the Brazilian gaucho blades.

To top it off, Vince e-mails me and tells me I have won the Large Ray Kirk stag/forged integral knife.

Now that's gotta be coincidence.



Whatever, I’m jazzed. My first integrals.





Most likely not my last.


Best,

GWB

PS: and a shout out to VinceM and Ray Kirk. Thanks much guys!!!