Kramer auction starts

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Kramer knives starts an auction for a knife the last salmon. Looks good
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Well I had sold my kidney in anticipation for this. Guess I was too late :(
 
Does anyone find this as ugly as I do? Not that anyone would be interested in my opinion, but still...

Some of the auction knives lately have looked more like spectacular display pieces than knives to be used. As an art piece I find it interesting, as much for the technical skill to make it as anything. As a knife, it does nothing for me.
 
I see knives nowadays and just want to buy them... do some mental juggling to justify price tag and use. Often decide not to buy in the end.

That one I could entirely skip the second part.
 
Does anyone find this as ugly as I do? Not that anyone would be interested in my opinion, but still...
I don't find it ugly as such. But I can't get excited about it either. So, yes, there is a design on the knife. One design of the millions that people potentially could dream up. In other words, an arbitrary design. One that has none of the natural beauty and variation that you get on something that's hand-forged, or uses Damascus cladding, where the natural patterns are what makes each example unique.

If I didn't know what the knife actually sold for and someone showed it to me, I'd probably think "yes, that looks like a decent knife, and it has a cute design on it. Bit of a gimmick, not that much more exciting than a t-shirt with some catchy design printed on it. I guess the knife is worth a few hundred dollars to someone who likes that look."
 
Kramer has done a handful of these 'art knife' projects over the last year or two. They are not being made to be kick-ass, use-daily kitchen knives. They are typically highlighting the work of a knifemaker (Kramer) plus one or two artisans.
 
I'm curious as to how they get that design onto the blade. From the photos, it looks like the two sides are exact mirror images. So, obviously, some kind of template is involved. How do they get the look though? Protect parts of the blade with some lacquer and etch the bits that are not protected?

I'm guessing that the process might be similar to etching circuit boards. Any knife smiths around here who can explain how this works?
 
Kramer has done a handful of these 'art knife' projects over the last year or two. They are not being made to be kick-ass, use-daily kitchen knives. They are typically highlighting the work of a knifemaker (Kramer) plus one or two artisans.

Yep, it's the type that can't really see some serious stone work... :D Say it weighs 1 pound, and just putting a new edge on it removes a 100$ worth of material relatively... :eek::)
 
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I'm curious as to how they get that design onto the blade. From the photos, it looks like the two sides are exact mirror images. So, obviously, some kind of template is involved. How do they get the look though? Protect parts of the blade with some lacquer and etch the bits that are not protected?

I'm guessing that the process might be similar to etching circuit boards. Any knife smiths around here who can explain how this works?

i think it done the same way one does "mosaic damascus" more or less. look it up on youtube.
 
I'm curious as to how they get that design onto the blade. From the photos, it looks like the two sides are exact mirror images. So, obviously, some kind of template is involved. How do they get the look though? Protect parts of the blade with some lacquer and etch the bits that are not protected?

I'm guessing that the process might be similar to etching circuit boards. Any knife smiths around here who can explain how this works?
Wire EDM and plug weld. He’s got a lot of time and money in that blade. There has to also be a good bit of research into the process to have it come out that clean.

Hoss
 
Wire EDM and plug weld. He’s got a lot of time and money in that blade. There has to also be a good bit of research into the process to have it come out that clean.

Hoss

Yikes! One definitively does not want to sharpen a mm too high and mess with the lower flipper... Scratch is 700$ worth removed relatively... :p
 
It seems the idea is to never use the knife, so it won't ever need sharpening.
 
It’s too bad I’m not really rich ... imagine the meal I could have done up for my New Knives post if I had it! As it is all I can show is a couple of pics of a few of the salmon’s friends that didn’t get away!

The first is me trying to learn how to fillet with a deba .... poor fishy!

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The next is my smoker full of salmony goodness ...

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No Orca pics unfortunately, although I do see them from time to time on the water.
 
The first is me trying to learn how to fillet with a deba .... poor fishy!
That looks much the same as my first attempt. It'll only take three or four to get the hang of it. The trick is to make long uninterrupted cuts, slowly and with little pressure. Use the tip of the knife to feel the bones.

And don't forget that, no matter how you cut it, it's the taste that matters! :)
 
I improved over time but it’s sure a different technique that my previous filleting with a long, slim, flexible filleting knife. Fortunately it seems an excellent salmon for smoking is pink salmon which is plentiful and reasonably cheap here on the West Coast.
 
I'm curious as to how they get that design onto the blade. From the photos, it looks like the two sides are exact mirror images. So, obviously, some kind of template is involved. How do they get the look though? Protect parts of the blade with some lacquer and etch the bits that are not protected?

I'm guessing that the process might be similar to etching circuit boards. Any knife smiths around here who can explain how this works?

If you want to see some more of this technique, search for Steve Schwarzer. He has a lot of stuff on instagram. I'm still trying to get my head around how it works myself.
 
I improved over time but it’s sure a different technique that my previous filleting with a long, slim, flexible filleting knife. Fortunately it seems an excellent salmon for smoking is pink salmon which is plentiful and reasonably cheap here on the West Coast.
Yes, I noticed that you definitely didn't skimp on quantity!

I make it at least 5. (Not all of the smoker on the right is visible in the pic.)
 
This reminds me alot of the kitchen knives in David Boye book "Step by Step knife making - you can do it" from late 70's There is a chef knife in there with an etched whale motif IIRC ... a resist is applied to blade, a pattern drawn in the resist and the whole thing etched. Also like Hoss says it could be done with an edm, look up sobral brothers knives they use a machine like that but to do relief carving of grooves and such.
 
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