CJA EDGED ART/SCORPION FORGE 250 HONYAKI XH GYUTO

I haven't received this one yet, but It Is Officially On Its Way.

In the mean time I thought I'd post more pics and vids here, showcasing the knife through its inception...

One of the great things about working with Cris (and by working I mean he's doing all the work), is that he takes you on the journey with him. Seriously, you get develop this intimate attachment with what he's making for you. You also get a peak at his workshop, inadvertently, and you get to hear/see his surroundings. It gives you an overwhelming since of where this guy is coming from, and ultimately where your knife is coming from. You even get to meet one of his friends, Oreo.

[video=youtube;PVr7ozMz8WA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVr7ozMz8WA[/video]

[video=youtube;17yXA5rH7nI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17yXA5rH7nI[/video]

[video=youtube;oZcDeCZ4oaM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZcDeCZ4oaM[/video]



This is the wood I picked up for this knife. I had a bit of a hard time deciding what to go with, but ultimately thought that the crazy sap wood patter plus the black lines of this piece would compliment the wild Hamon of Cris's work. The larger piece will be a saya, which Cris was kind enough to split for me.



A couple of pics of the knife in progress

[video=youtube;8zWD71aMcYg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zWD71aMcYg[/video]


[video=youtube;Io3XwzPR0Co]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io3XwzPR0Co[/video]

Lots of pics of the handle build out:

Wow congratulations!

And next to the passaround some of got to play with:



And another video showcasing the handle:

[video=youtube;n3LCA_GQStA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3LCA_GQStA[/video]

Thanks Rick!

Amazing amazing amazing! I've got about 6 months on my Cris Anderson blade and I'm going to enjoy every minute of the journey.

Can't wait to see that Saya!

Congratulations. His knives are so badass. Just sick

[video=youtube;nnPVeHd4oVs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnPVeHd4oVs[/video]

[video=youtube;4fJ5DyjaQas]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fJ5DyjaQas[/video]

Beautiful, and just in time for xmas too. I remember the first time I ever saw one of Cris' knives was in Mikey's handle gallery and have admired them ever since.

It's very enjoyable to share this gentleman's passion with you guys. Cris goes through pretty good lengths to share his work with you, and if anybody here is like me (duh), you'll enjoy nerding out over this stuff just as much as I am.

I consider myself pretty fortunate to be able to see and use as many "tools" as I have since I've joined this shiny and sharp world. I've had the opportunity to use a lot of great/ talented knife maker's labor, some of which I've kept and some I've moved along.
Obviously not every knife maker is going to be so forthcoming with this many pics and videos, and I certainly don't expect them to be. That's what makes this little journey more special, as it's a little peak into a craft I will know very little about.

I was speaking to another knife maker when I mentioned a line from a (not so great) movie "Days of Thunder". Tom Cruise plays a very believable stock car racer and at one point he admits to knowing nothing about the mechanics of cars, but he knows how to drive them. I kind of feel the same way when it comes to knives, and I'm totally find in my ignorance. Yes, I enjoy learning more, but if a knife maker tells me this is the steel and style he works with, I'm not going to change it. There's a trust there, and I have to call it "trust" because I'm paying a lot of money for something that's pretty much sight un-seen. There are many makers here on this forum, and many more outside of it as well. It's been a goal of mine to try as many wares by as many makers as I can. This can obviously become cost prohibitive, and the fact that one has to simply trust the makers without ever meeting him or her makes this a little challenging.


So, back to the story at hand. I reached out to Cris when he first joined this forum about 2 years ago. We started to talking and I became a fan. We spoke about what type of knife I would like, size, thickness, how tall, handle style etc. I decided to put my name on his books to reserve a spot. When it became my time to start the project, I was a little tapped out on knife funds. So we put it on hold. Fast fwd a bit, I reached out to Cris about picking up where we left off. At this point several other people were catching on to how badass his knives were, and the demand was climbing. As all successful knife makers have done, his pricing began to reflect the demand/ increase in costs on his making them. The original price he had quoted me was now just a fraction of his current pricing at the moment (then). Yet to my surprise, Cris was more than insistent on sticking with the original pricing. I was more than surprised. His response? "A deal is a deal".

I can't argue.

Can't agree more, Cris is quality people. I'm just glad I got in fairly early, I'm pretty sure a 310 suji would cost me a little more now.

Be well,
Mikey

That is one of the hottest looking knives I've seen in some time...and to my specs

marc4pt0 said:

[video=youtube;8zWD71aMcYg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zWD71aMcYg[/video]

Click to expand...

Just as a side note, this cutting video is of the knife with no edge and way prior to any geometry being finalized.

Would love to know where the balance of the knife is when you get it - just curious! Stunningly beautiful!!

Hoping to see some 'Salty-ish' or 'Theory-ish' cutting vids as soon as you can please !!!!

Tom

That's a good looking knife! I second that, Cris is definitely great to work with. I'm sure you'll make plenty of use of this one.

MontezumaBoy said:

Would love to know where the balance of the knife is when you get it - just curious! Stunningly beautiful!!

Hoping to see some 'Salty-ish' or 'Theory-ish' cutting vids as soon as you can please !!!!

Tom

Click to expand...

I believe the knife balances about an 1/8 of an inch in front of the heel. Hoping to see for myself come early next week!
My wife and I have commandeered her family's Xmas Eve tradition of Fondue and wine. So this bad boy will be doing a lot of chopping if it hits home in time!!

Anticipation levels very high!!

marc4pt0 said:

Anticipation levels very high!!

Click to expand...

How giddy are you?????

twenty bucks says USPS loses it.

Congrats on getting your knife finished, Marc. I haven't done my part to help promote Cris's work yet, so hopefully this knife gives you some good things to say.

XooMG said:

twenty bucks says USPS loses it.

Congrats on getting your knife finished, Marc. I haven't done my part to help promote Cris's work yet, so hopefully this knife gives you some good things to say.

Click to expand...

Yow!! Don't jinx it.

Can't wait to hear how it lives up to your expectations Marc. Guess I'll have to get on the list for yet another knife. That handle is smokin'.

alterwisser said:

How giddy are you?????

Click to expand...

Giddy like a little school girl on Xmas eve

XooMG said:

twenty bucks says USPS loses it.

Click to expand...

Shush!

Love the pic next to the pass around. I must say your editorial adjustments after using that knife look exactly spot on for the type of blade I dig. I suspect there will be quite a few commissions asking to repeat this knife!

Great job to the both of you. Gorgeous.

Marc, you know Oreo made all the knives, right?

Thought that was a secret.
Guess the "cats out of the bag" now...
I'd say you owe Cris a big apology

Whoa whoa whoa whoa!!!!!!! INSANE!!!! CRIS IS AMAZING

Somebody owes us $20...

Wow, a new use for dryer lint! Wait, let me guess....you just picked it up at the post office and you couldn't wait to get home before you opened it! I've opened several knives in the post office parking lot lol.

Cris's packaging is always kind of funny, but it seems to work well.

Congrats on receiving the knife intact.