Australian Blade Ed 2 Sep 2017

End of an Era
The Bethune Bowie
Special Feature

to the second edition of Australian Blade. The response to the first edition
was overwhelmingly positive and its success was due to the folks who
Welcome
contributed. One of the many congratulations came from Joan Renton-
Spencer, wife of Australian’s most prolific knife writer, the late Keith
Spencer. Joan wrote:
“Well done Chris. I must admit to have been very surprised to read your article
that included our George Lee Sye book - and chuffed over your reaction to
actually seeing the knives we featured in the book from our collection. Keith
would have smiled about that too. He would have also been extremely pleased to
see an Australian writing about knives. So, just wanted to wish you the very best
with your publication… keep the pen sharp.”
Thank you Joan. This edition is even better, again due to the input from a number of people. So
thank you very much to Dylan Jones of Cape York Blades, Michael Masion of Australian Knife,
Andrew Smith, Kirk Powell, Gillian and Graham Wilson of Queensland Metal Artisans Collective
(QMAC), Corin Urquhart of Gameco, James Johnson, Steve Filicietti, Bruce Barnett of Barnett
Custom Knives, Dan Comeau of D. Comeau Custom Knives, Canada, Tiago De Matos of Wild
Edge, United Kingdom and Captain Barry Cross. Ultimately though, the gauge of success for any
publication is whether folks take it up and have a read. So thank you for taking an interest in
Australian Blade!
This edition covers the 2017 Sydney Knife Show, which just gets bigger and better each year. And
just like magazines it is the people who contribute to the Show that ensures its success. Corin
Urquhart of Gameco advises that key folks included Andrew Smith who managed all the logistics,
Keith Fludder, the Master of Ceremonies and the Knife Competition judges (all chefs), who
donated their time in exchange for a donation to charity, Ben Shewry, Mike Eggert and Jemma
Whiteman. Well done to them and the unnamed multitude of others behind the scenes who lifted
and shifted into the long wee hours. Well done all the Australian knifemakers who burnt the
midnight oil to put that final loving touch to their blades and then travel from near and far across
the width and breadth of this big island. Well done the international attendees Noriyuki Tshida of
Rockstead Knifes and Kansei Matsuno who both travelled from Japan to attend the Show and
exhibit. Michael Morris of Morris Knives came from Yale, Michigan in the USA to exhibit. But
most of all – the folks who attended!
Jack O’Brien.
Vale,
Renton-Spencer has advised that long established bladesmith from Perth, Jack O’Brien passed
Joan
away in August. In Joan's words:
“Jack was working on his final blade, another commemorative knife, before he
became too tired to continue. We covered Jack a fair bit in the old Knife Annuals…
he was best known for his beautifully mirror polished special blades for service unit
commemoratives. He was a good bladesmith too and had mastered the art of mixing
bronze with steel, something others said couldn't be done!”
Our sincere condolences to Jack’s family and friends.

Contents
Welcome.........................................................................2
Contents..........................................................................3
The 2017 Sydney Knife Show - THE Place to be! ...... 4
Cape York Blades - Northern Frontier..........................9
Four Questions – Dylan Jones of Cape York Blades...12
Damascus Magic!.........................................................13
Australian Knife Magazine...........................................14
Queensland Metal Artisans Collective.........................16
Maker profile - James Johnson.....................................19
Versions of Perfection...................................................21
Bethune Bowie..............................................................23
International Make - Dan Comeau...............................26
Book Review - Beowulf...............................................27
Software review - Procreate.........................................29
Forged SUP9, copper guard, filed space and stag handle by Cape York Blades.

THE Place to Be!
Article by Andrew Smith
Photos by Kirk Powell
The first weekend in August has made Rosehill THE place to be for those interested in all things knife
and knife related. Australia’s top knifemakers, sellers and industry suppliers once again setup for the
second Sydney Knife Show at the racecourse, now encompassing the entire second level of the Grand
Pavilion with outdoor demonstrations from the NSW Artisan Blacksmith Association and Norton
abrasives. Even at the start of the bump in on Friday night, the 3000 square metre exhibition space
was almost overwhelmed. By 9:00 AM on Saturday morning, we had 99 exhibitors setup on over 170
tables and booths waiting for the doors to open to the public.
Before the doors opened on Saturday, the Knife Art Association Show Committee conducted the
knife awards judging, assessing the submitted knives for their aesthetics, construction, and fit and
finish. It’s difficult to quantify how much the quality of the knives has increased since the first show
in 2014 (then known as the International Cutlers Exhibition), but it makes our job harder and harder
every year. In saying that, this year Steve Filicietti dominated the competition with his incredibly
detailed forged pattern welded steels and the immaculate fit and finish of his knives.

Australia” Best Chef’s Knife Competition, sponsored by
Steve took home the awards for “Best Damascus Knife”, “Best Forged Knife”, “Best Art Knife”
and “Best in Show”, a feat which will be very hard to equal in years to come. Other winners
include Brett Selley of BSG Knife Co. for “Best Hunting Knife”, Ali Bastian of Bastian Knives for
“Best Folder”, Ian Stewart for “Best New Exhibitor” and Kevin Slattery of Kev's Forge for “Best
Utility Knife”.
Ali Bastian Ian Stewart Kevin Slattery Mike Dicketts Brett Selley Steve Filicietti
The show awards this year also included the “Made in
Damasteel and Artisan Supplied, with prized steel
awarded to the top three placed makers. Ben Shewry of
Melbourne’s Attica Restaurant and Mike Eggert and
Jemma Whiteman of Pinbone in Sydney judged this
year’s competition. The best fourteen knives were put
through a series of practical cutting tests with each
judge scoring the blades on their technical difficulty, fit
and finish, ergonomics, and practical tests cutting
tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and sweet potatoes. After
much testing, re-tests, discussion and deliberation, the
judges had come to their decision. Third place for the
Chef’s Knife Competition went to Kevin Room of
Room Custom Knives and second place went to Tobias
Bockholt of Metal Monkey Knives. The winner for the
“Made In Australia” competition and deemed best
Chef’s Knife was Mert Tansu of Tansu Knives entry.
Mert, a skilled knifemaker and chef from the NSW
Hunter Valley, took home over $1500 worth of
Damasteel’s Vinland patterned stainless steel which will
no doubt be put to good use in the near future.

After the Chef’s Knife Competition, the patrons of the Sydney Knife Show were privileged to see
a very dynamic demonstration from the Sydney School for Japanese Swordsmanship. Ben Chow
and Hans Fricke, along with other members of their Sei Do Kan Dojo gave an action packed
display showing different sword techniques including sword vs sword, sword vs spear and
technical cutting displays of tamashigiri (bamboo matting), close paper cutting and even a held
banana, showing the true skill, and trust needed to accurately use a Japanese sword. Judging by
the five deep crowd gathered around the display area, both exhibitors and public enjoyed the
demonstration and we’ve already booked the school to put on another demonstration next year.
Sunday is always geared a little more towards families
especially as kids under twelve get in for free. This
year we arranged Barry Armstead to come to the show.
For those unaware, Barry is part of the knife making
community in Canberra and though selling his knives,
had funded a fully wearable and working Iron Man suit
made of steel. Barry, as Iron Man, visits children’s
hospitals and has public displays raising money for the
Starlight Children’s Foundation. Barry suited up a few
times during Sunday, walking the exhibition area and
posing for photos for a gold coin donation. On Sunday,
Barry raised over $800 for the Starlight Children’s
Foundation, taking photographs with children,
exhibitors (and organisers) alike.

The show has gone from strength to strength, since the first show at the Australia Technology Park
in 2014, the number of exhibitors has tripled and the number or patrons has nearly doubled. We
spent more money on advertising this year than the previous two shows combined, investing in
social media ads, radio, print media, billboards and more.

Of course we’d like to get more people through the doors and supporting the industry, but at the
same time to get 2800 people through the door is still no mean feat, up about 20% from last year.
The biggest indicator of the show’s success came with the amount of custom knives sold. At nearly
500 up almost 60% from 2016 and confirms the ethos behind the show and the Knife Art Association
in promoting the art of knifemaking is working. We are already looking forward towards a bigger
and better show in 2018.

Frontier
According author of “Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places”, Cape York
Northern
Peninsula (Cape York) is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia
and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth. “To qualify as
"wilderness," an area must have 70 percent or more of its original vegetation,
cover at least 10,000 square kilometres, and have fewer than five people per
square kilometre.” Cape York is 137,000 square kilometres and Thursday Island is
some 39 kilometres north of the Tip, nestled in the Torres Strait archipelago. As
the crow flies, Thursday Island is 2,745 kilometres north of Sydney and 143
kilometres south of Papua New Guinea. Truly the Northern Frontier!
Dylan Jones of Cape York Blades is based on Thursday
Island and as such, can legitimately claim the title of
“Australia’s most northern knife maker”. Given the
remoteness on Australia’s northern border, it was rather apt
that Dylan presented his “Frontier” range of knives at the
2017 Sydney Knife Show. Here's Dylan’s own account.
“When I got back from the American Blade Smith
course in Sydney and started to plan for the Sydney
Knife Show, I thought to myself “I have heaps of time!
I’ll use some of the blades forged over the last couple
of weeks.” I already had a good idea about some
others that I wanted to make. Then “Boom!” all of a
sudden I was six weeks out from the show and only had
four knives ready! This was partly my fault as I kept
selling knives as I made them thinking I had heaps of
time before the show. The next six weeks were chaos."
"Every weekend in the shed away from the
family (thankfully I have an understanding
wife) every night after I sorted out the kids I
would be burning the midnight oil trying to get
everything done in time."
"On top of all that I had two split Damascus
guards, warped blades and split scales just to
keep things interesting. Originally I wanted 20
knives for the show and ended up with 13.
Considering the lead up I was pretty happy
with the outcome and the quality of the builds.
The last week involved sheath making with the
wife hand stitching at night after the kids were
in bed."

"Living on Thursday Island is great till you have to travel, I left home a 7AM on the
Friday and 1 ferry, 2 buses and 2 plane flights later I arrived in Sydney at 9 PM that
night. Straight to the in laws to get some shut eye before getting back up at 4:30 AM to
get ready for the show. I recruited my father-in-law Digby to help me at the table over
the weekend. We arrived at the Show around 6 AM on the Saturday, found our table and
began to set up. To be honest I was a little nervous - it was only the second show I have
been to, the first being the Canberra show the previous year. As we got there a little early
I had a chance to catch up with some of the other makers that I knew and meet some new
ones. I also submitted two knives in the competition but fell short of winning a prize."
"The show started at 9 AM along with the butterflies in my stomach! The first hour rolled by as people made their way
around checking out all the amazing work that was on display. I had made a batch of frontier style knives for the show and a
lot of people were showing interest in them. I was busy answering lots of questions then after a bit I sold a knife then another
and I was on a roll. At the end of day one I had sold 6 knives which I was very happy with. It’s fun trying to figure out the
people who are going to buy a knife, they come and look and touch then come again than after maybe three or four visits
they come back and buy it, with the occasional person coming back to find it had been sold in the meantime."

"Day two started at a more respectable hour which was nice. Sunday in general
for me was a bit slower than Saturday but still a good day overall and I sold 3
more knives. Got a chance to meet a heap of new people and help get my name out
there which was the point of the trip. Being a little quieter allowed me to get
around and talk to some of the other makers out there which was great - so many
talented makers with amazing ideas and skill. Overall I had a great show, I
covered my costs, promoted Cape York Blades and caught up with some mates and
made some new ones. The Sydney show is a great event run by all the hard
working volunteers from the Knife Art Association. Even if you’re not a knife
enthusiast it’s worth the trip to see what these great Australian makers are
producing.”
By his own account Dylan had a successful show and left Sydney richer for the experience. But that positive
experience was by no means one sided. Bruce Barnett was moved to remark :
“I've been following Dylan's progress … since he did the ABS course in Sydney and he's coming out with
some interesting stuff. I really like where Dylan is going with the frontier style because no one else has really
gone for it in Australia."
The future looks bright for Cape York Blades with Dylan Jones at the edge of the frontier.

Four Questions – Dylan Jones of
Cape York Blades
What got you into knife making?
Being a hunter and outdoorsman I have always had a connection with quality knives. In 2009 I was in New
Zealand hunting and was staying with family on the west coast and noticed a sign for Barry town knifemaking.
They were running a one day knifemaking workshop so I gave them a call and made my first knife. Form there
I made a few crude knives without any real direction. And decided to go to Canberra to Tharwa Valley Forge
and do a two day knifemaking course. This changed everything for me and I haven't looked back
What's your favourite knife steel and why?
This is a hard one as the steel has to match the application. So I'll do this it two parts the first being carbons
steels. I love to forge though I don't do as much as I would like. It opens up so many possibilities that stock
removal doesn't provide. I've have used a few different carbon steels but 1075 and 52100 are my favourite.
1075 is forgiving easy to heat treat and very affordable, heat treated right it performs very well. After some
heat treating tips from Bill Burke I've had a lot of success with 52100. While heat treating 52100 is a little
more complex than 1075, it's still pretty straight forward and makes for a great knife. I've only used two types
of stainless 12C27 and RWL-34. The RWL-34 would be my pick. I sent some 12C27 Skinners to be field
tested in New Zealand during the 2017 Red Deer Roar and got excellent feedback from a full time guide over
there but I still prefer the RWL-34 for its ease of use and being able to get a very keen edge that's holds up to a
lot of abuse.
Which maker has influenced you the most?
Another hard one as many makers have influenced me. First of it would be Karim from Tharwa Valley Forge
and Kev from Kev’s Forge. These guys ran the first course I did and Karim continues to mentor me and answer
my stupid questions. After that it would be Bruce Barnett and Shawn McIntyre who both make the best San
Mai I have ever seen and both also continue to offer advice on various aspects of my knife making. Lately I
have been trying something different with my Frontier collection of knives and have taken inspiration from
John Cohea from the US
If you could only have one knife, what would it be?
Probably one of my Cape York Blades Small hunters in 52100 or RWL34 with rams horn scales. It’s just a
good size, general purpose blade and easily the one I've sold the most of. Otherwise I would love one of Shawn
McIntyre's San Mai hunters with a stag handle.

Damascus Magic!
Steve Filicietti is a man of few words. He doesn’t need to say much, because his knives speak volumes for him.
Artistic, integral, forged, masterpiece and art are all words that spring to mind, yet fall just short of doing justice
to the blades that leave Steve’s workshop.
Steve scooped the awards at the 2017 Sydney
Knife Show and walked away with Best
Damascus Knife, Best Forged Knife, Best Art
Knife and Best in Show. That’s an outstanding
effort and is testament to the number of years
and effort Steve has devoted to knife
making. Steve's a humble bloke who regularly
donates his time to drive from his home in
northern New South Wales up to Ipswich in
Queensland to conduct forging workshops,
such is his generosity. His willingness to share
and teach is greatly appreciated.
Bill Burke, American Blade Society Master
Smith was recently moved to comment:
"Of the Aussie knifemakers who's (sic) work I
have seen, only Steve Filicietti's is consistently
good enough to be of "master smith" quality.”
Bill went on to contextualise his comments
with: “This is not to say that others work is not
(as good) just that I haven't seen any others
who are. I am sure there are others."
13'' sanmai blade and black palm handle

13'' blade, desert ironwood handle and blued steel fittings
Perhaps the man himself has the best advice
for the aspiring knifemakers out there.
“…just keep working and learning. If you can
continually improve and push the standard of
the performance and workmanship in your
knives you are a master. Mastering one little
thing at a time.”
Words of wisdom indeed.

Knife Magazine
Tricks” and a rarity in this PC day and age – a “Sexy Naked Centrefold”! A number of people
Australian
Australian Knife – the highly
anticipated, new quarterly
magazine was launched at the
2017 Sydney Knife Show. The
driving force behind it, Michael
Masion confessed to a few
sleepless nights in the lead up to
the launch but needn’t have
worried. This new Aussie
publication has been well
received and Mike is to be
congratulated for a professional
and informative read.
“Bloody hell” ventured one
show exhibitor (who shall
remain nameless as he sat
behind his awards for Best
Beard, Best Flannie and Best
Bloody-Big-Buggar-Off Blade)
“You can’t even get a New Idea
for five bucks! I dunno how the
hell he does it!”
Australian Knife has a little bit for everyone including “Focus on Makers”, “Shop Talk”, “Tips N
contributed articles to the first edition including Matt Preece, Adam and Terri Parker, Glenn Waters,
John Kroezen and Christian Mathieson.
Gillian Wilson provides a rundown on QMAC – Queensland Metal Artisans Collective, Tom
Germain reviews a hunter and Paul-Emmanuel Arestan details an acid etching tutorial.
Michael Masion who describes himself as “a collector, curator and supporter” also authored a
number of articles. So “well done!” to all who contributed. We look forward to many more issues.
Subscriptions and further information can be found at www.australianknife.com.au

Queensland Metal
Artisans Collective
Gillian Wilson
The Queensland Metal Artisans Collective (QMAC) is a recently formed, very active not for profit association based in
the South East corner of Queensland. As you can tell from the name, the club supports a range of metal arts and counts
among its members knife and sword makers, blacksmiths, jewellers, and a whole bunch of blokes who just want to bash
hot metal. About half of our membership are beginners.
QMAC was generously donated a table at the Sydney Knife Show this year by the Knife Art Association. We have
received immense support from Corin and the team. Conditions of the table were for the promotion of the club only.
Not really sure what we were going to do to “promote the club”, we thought we may tap the Sydney market for raffle
tickets. Fly the flag, raise the banner, hand out business cards and flyers. Pretty clueless, really. We had booked Air
B&B accommodation a few kilometers away from the venue, and with Uber, we were pretty much set.
We were astounded at the warm welcome received from knifemakers, many of whom seemed to know exactly who we
were. Started to feel like legends in our own minds (about 15 mins) until the public started streaming in at 9am.
We had a quick peek at our fellow QMAC members’ tables, Paul-Emmanuel Arestan, Kevin Room, Tim Kingsford,
Brad White, Adam Grosskopf, and of course, Steve Filicietti, and they were looking good, and full. Except for Steve’s.
You wouldn’t really call it full. But ooooohhhh, the knives….
By then, we had all our beginner knives (and a few not-so beginners) proudly displayed, the QMAC banner strung
across the front of the table, business cards and flyers ready, Josh Day’s knife proudly displayed to ensure the public
that at least some of our members had a clue, and with the thumbs-up from Kevin Room across the aisle, we were
ready to start “promoting” the club.

WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT
Then came the announcement just before the show opened that
the winners were being announced. I held my breath when I
saw Steve standing with a group of guys, obviously waiting.
Sure enough, his name was called, again, and again, and again.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get better, Steve won Best in
Show. A magical, heart-stopping moment. We were so
delighted for the man who gives up so much time and effort for
our club. So very well done, and well-deserved Steve.
“PROMOTING”
My heart sunk into my shoes when the first visitors came calling
at our table. My closely held theory was that if we displayed our
beginner knives, the public would notice the difference, pause,
look puzzled, which would allow us to then explain that these
were beginner knives, many of them first knives ever.
Then, while getting over their shock, we would explain what the
club does and then beg them to purchase a raffle ticket. QMAC
members Kevin Room and Luke Cole donated a beautifully
made knife black and a set of Mokume Rings to help us raise
funds for our desperately needed new workshop.
CHEF’S KNIFE CHALLENGE
While we were busy “promoting” the club, we heard an announcement that the Chef’s Knife competition was taking
place. To my immense shame and deep regret, I gave the comp a miss in favour of relieving someone of their hard-
earned cash. I had no idea that our quietly spoken and modest Kevin Room had entered the competition with a truly
gorgeous knife. Kevin’s impeccable work and attention to detail brought him third place in the competition, sailing past
seasoned and experienced knifemakers. We are so proud of Kevin – rack up another award for a QMAC member.

knifemakers’ tables.
To my great surprise and relief, the shock tactic of displaying beginner knives worked like magic. It’s possible that
people were so glazed over from seeing beautiful things on all the other tables, it was a relief to look at something
that was perhaps not so beautiful. I have never been prouder of our members.
We had shouts of “What?!! First knife ever?” which drew attention to our table from other members of the public,
and we advised them the they too had the capacity to make beautiful things, and the beginning point was right here
(dramatically pointing at our wares). We then immediately setting about relieving them of their cash.
Drew and Luke were QMAC stalwarts at the show, taking over the table at a moment’s notice for all QMAC
members when they needed a breather, or the voice started taking strain.
After a very successful first day, we had a quick drink at the hotel, and Uber’ed back to the apartment. Early night
after a stiff Irish coffee (Graham style), and prepared to do it all over again.
The pace was not as frenetic the next
morning – we knew what we were in
for, and had an opportunity to walk
around and have a look at other
The atmosphere was like a reunion of
likeminded people, and it seemed
almost as though the public were a
necessary evil, but an imposition on
people just wanting to catch up with
one another.
We received a number of comments about why the other States did not have a QMAC, how great it was that
Queensland was taking the lead on this fantastic idea, and what brilliant work our beginners were doing. The real need
for knifemakers (and all artisans) to be able to together and bounce around ideas, collectively work out problems seems
to have put our members on a steeper learning curve than most – this was evident from the comments we received. Go
QMAC! All our members did really well, and much interest was shown in Josh Day’s work. We believe Josh will be a
real contender for next year’s show. Get ready for 2018 Josh! All in all, it was a great experience, and inspiring to look
at the fantastic work that is being done. Corin and the Knife Art Association put on something really special – well
organised, with a great atmosphere. We hope to attend again in 2018 and show everyone how far our guys have come in
another 12 months.

Profile
Maker
Johnson
James
A little bit about me and my knifemaking
journey. Over the years I have spent a large
amount of my life travelling around Australia
and the world working an array of different
jobs from body guarding to coal mining. I have
always had a passion for knives as I have been
and still am an avid fisherman and hunter. In
2003 while working on pearling boats in
Broome Western Australia I met my partner
and we now have 3 children together. In 2010
we moved to Mackay Queensland where I
worked in the underground coal mines,
conducting maintenance and installing
conveyor systems. After a string of accidents
underground it was decided I’d hand in my
notice, which unknowingly, was perfect timing
as my wife had just been offered a job in
nursing. From that moment on I would be a
stay at home dad and get into knife making,
which had been something I'd wanted to do for
some time. I started with very basic hand tools,
a file, rasp and hacksaw etc. which worked
well, but the knife making bug had bitten me
and I needed more!

As my skills developed and I was able
to save the dollars I purchased an
Australian made Radius Master Belt
Grinder which was a real game
changer for me. It was perfect for
profiling blades using the smaller
wheels and general grinding, bevels
etc. a great piece of kit! My next
purchase and I believe the most
important was a Paragon Heat
Treating Furnace/Kiln an absolute
must for custom knifemaking. Being
able to get the exact hardness for a
specific blade type or a customer’s
preferences is essential. In the
beginning I found a lot of
misinformation on heat treating recipes on the internet and found its best to keep it simple, follow
the steel manufacturer’s heat treating guidelines and there shouldn't be too many issues. I also found
websites like "Cashenblades" in the US a good source for heat treating recipes for carbon steels.
Moving forward to August 2017, I recently had the privilege of having a table at the Sydney Knife
Show. This being my first show it was a great experience and a little nerve wrecking in the
beginning but the nerves soon left and I really enjoyed myself meeting and speaking to other
knifemakers and customers. Being able to see in person some of the work from so many talented
Australian knifemakers was an inspiration and has pushed and driven me in a positive direction to
improve my skills and continue my journey in knifemaking.

Versions of Perfection
Drew Weeks - Member - Queensland Metal Artisans Collective
As a member of Queensland
Metal Artisans Collective
(QMAC) I originally joined up
in the hope of furthering my
blacksmith ambitions, with
little interest in knifemaking
beyond something simple and
functional. Then I met Steve
Filicietti. From afar Steve’s
work appeared solid at first,
the closer I got the more I
quickly realised the skill,
talent and attention to detail
that had been put into every
piece he produced. He spoke
in a humble and matter-of-fact
way that can only come from
the confidence of having been-
there and done-that.
Nearly 8 months after seeing Steve's first demo on making Damascus at his home workshop in Ballina, I sat in amazement
behind the QMAC table at the 2017 Sydney Knife Show as I heard his name being called out over the loud speaker for the
third time. Steve had just won Best Damascus Knife, Best Forged Knife and Best Art Knife, after accepting his Best Art
Knife Award I heard the announcer over the PA System warn Steve "don't go too far..." Before calling his name again for
The Best in Show, bringing his total to 4 awards for 3 knives, winning every category he entered.
After the ceremony the show quickly kicked off, I stopped by Steve’s table to check out the goods and congratulate him as
Graham and Gill took over the QMAC table showing off our beginners work and selling raffle tickets for Kevin Room's
beautiful steak knife set and Luke Cole's stunning mokume ring set. I quickly moved up to where Dar Lu had his table and
greedily collected my SWF Rams Head touchmark. Then began the adventure that would turn an interest into an obsession
as I moved from table to table, inspecting the wares and asking the questions. Most were happy to oblige but all beamed
with pride when complemented.
The common theme throughout the
custom knifemaking tables was
undoubtedly quality. With different
makers all emphasizing different
aspects, some of the most noteworthy
were DPC Knives and the hamons they
produce which in contrast to the clean
smooth lines of the various kitchen
knives gave them a dramatic and artistic
flair turning a simple kitchen tool in to a
literal art piece any self-respecting cook
would display with joy. Something that
could perhaps persuade even the biggest
takeaway advocate to take up the
vocation and have them julienning a
bushel of carrots in next to no time.

Another favourite of mine was Fromholtz Forge based out
of Canberra, not only was his work of high quality but he
was more than happy to share the story behind his work
which made me and the other people at his table feel a real
connection.
The highlight of the show for me was the testing of the Chef
Knives. I was lucky enough to be present when they were
testing Kevin Room's entry and was delighted to see the look
of satisfaction on Chef Mike Eggert as he motioned to his
fellow judges and appeared to comment on the feel of the
knife in his hands.
After the show it was good to talk to
the various vendors and introduce
myself. It was promising to hear
many of them talk about how
educated the crowd appeared to be
compared to previous years and
other shows. Whilst looking after the
QMAC stand I was pleasantly
surprised to see the interest in the
beginner knives that we had on
display and was more than happy to
pass on the public’s compliments to
the various makers within our club.
All in all a huge congratulations are due to the organisers, the
exhibitors and even the crowd for creating and maintaining such
an amazing atmosphere, but in my book it all swings back around
to Steve and his 3 knives that won the 4 awards. I believe what
Steve has created embodies everything that is special about the
custom knife scene. Not everyone forges, not everyone makes
their own Damascus billets or stabilises their own handle materials
(and the list goes on), but all the makers strive for their own
version of perfection in their own styles and it was more than
evident by the pride shown by everyone I spoke to.
I’m not sure on the exact number of people through the door or the
number of knives sold, but from every angle I approached it, from
wandering through the aisles filming some of the tables, to
interacting with the crowd when sitting behind the QMAC table or
relieving Steve Fillicieti for the odd break, to the after show drinks
on Sunday evening, this show was undoubtedly a massive success.
I personally walked away with more knowledge, drive and
ambition then I ever thought possible.

Bowie
with Captain Barry Cross
Bethune
In his book “George Lee Sye: Pioneer of Australian
Custom Knifemaking” Keith Spencer detailed how
Joseph Bethune was first introduced to custom knife
making by George Lee Sye. Captain Barry Cross
relates how this huge 40 centimeter Bowie - the last
knife by Joeseph Bethune - came into existence.
"Well, when I was chasing Lee Sye
knives I got Joseph's name as
someone that may have one. So I
chased him up, went to see him …,
yes, I got hold of him ...and went to
his house up in Atherton and ...
workshop immaculate and a lot of
the equipment ... made by him. Just
a very, very talented, meticulous
fellow."
"Seen six or eight of his knives that he
still had there that he considered not
worthy of letting anyone see them, and
I then discussed with him, would he
consider making a custom knife for
me? And the original idea was to make
a big filleter. That was the original
idea, and then use some marlin bill for
a handle."

"But by the time he'd done his mathematics and worked it all out,
the filleter turned into a Bowie because the handle accepted the
measurements better than a filleter did, the Bowie handle with the
black marlin bill suited it better, so we talked about it and Joseph
said, "Well, look, I haven't made a knife for 20-odd years and this
would certainly be the last one I ever make."
"And we struck up an agreement. I
wanted the black marlin bill handle
with the bull whaler shark and the
tiger shark tooth inlaid into each side
of the handle. This was because they
were the two sharks that ate our big
black marlin when we were fishing for
them. And so Joseph worked with that
and came up with the Bowie and the
end result came out pretty (good) ...
I'm happy with the end result, yeah."

"So (it's) ... the last of the Mohicans, a knife made by Joseph. And even Joseph, when he finished the
knife he said it was a real challenge for him making it. (Joseph) hadn't made anything quite like that
before, ... hadn't worked with marlin bill or shark's teeth before and hadn't really done a knife as big
before. So he said it was quite challenging to make it. ....We had an agreed value that I wanted to
spend up to and as with most custom things, things change and we renegotiated at the end there and
I ended up with something that I'm pretty happy with."

Maker
International
Comeau
Dan
Dan is a respected and prolific knife designer and maker living in Canada. Dan is passionate about sharing knowledge and
willingly assists others along the way. In his own words Dan is a "Modern day Renaissance Guy, D.I.Y. and re-purposing
Jedi, crafting knives and tools and finding new uses for old junk along the way." In this article Dan describes how how his
knife interest really fired for him.
"Back in the early 1990's I attended a survival course in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
The instructor was an amazing individual named Mors who guided us through a stellar weekend of
shelter craft, fire craft and of course axe and knife craft. (Mors has published several books and videos
on these subjects-- Google 'karamat')
I'd always had an interest in knives, but never had much of an understanding what a knife could do in
the hands of a skilled operator. During the course we learned some knife dos and do nots and how to
maintain and sharpen it. Up until then, my idea of a "bush knife" was something that John Rambo would
be wielding in the movies. You know the massive blade with the hollowed out handle with matches inside
and compass on the butt? Reality was, not many of those features are terribly useful in survival
situations if one knows what they are doing.
Mors' idea of a perfect bush craft knife had a small blade, approximately the width of your palm, say
100 mm (4"), a Scandi grind that was easy to field sharpen and a comfortable, roundish handle that
could be held in various ways without creating hot spots or blisters on your hand. The steel needed to be
quality so we could create and hold a sharp edge. We were using Mora (Swedish) knives. A truly useful
knife was used for scraping roots and bark, carving a bowl or a spoon or a snare hook, splitting wood
with a baton and having a morning shave. What did I say? Shave?
We learned a very basic technique to sharpen and strop the blade to a razor edge. This involved a single
water stone and a leather belt. The stone was whetted with water and the blade was pushed edge first
across the stone. A slurry formed after gliding the knife across the stone a few times. Repeating left and
right until a slight but uniform burr could be felt along the edge. This burr was barely visible, but could
be detected by feel as it dragged slightly on the fingernail. Next came a discount-store leather belt and
fifty alternating strokes. A moment later, and much to our surprise the instructor began shaving his
beard with this primitively sharpened instrument. Mouths agape we watched in horror. Something
intrigued me enough at that moment to spark a fascination in sharpening things from chisels to chef's
knives. The take away was that it doesn't require sophisticated machinery or expensive tools to make a
razor edge, rather a knowledge of materials and some basic technique and a steady hand. I have since
sharpened and honed knives with terra cotta plant pots, saucers, sand paper, glass, cotton t-shirts,
newspaper, jeans and just about anything that offers even the mildest of abrasive properties. Experiment
with what you have around you. You just may be pleasantly surprised.
Stay sharp.
Dan Comeau"
Chief Custodian at D. Comeau Custom Knives
Dan's Blog

Review - Beowulf
Book
Harriss
Chris
Now I don’t pretend to be anything I’m not. Except sober. I’ve pretended to be
sober a few times! So in writing this article I’m not pretending to be an authority
on classical literature, which Beowulf is. Neither am I pretending to be an
authority on Wootz and Damascus. And what the heck has classical literature got
to do with knives anyway? Well it all started at Brisbane airport when I decided I
needed something to read on the plane home. There was nothing in the trendy
coffee-shop-come-bookstore that interested me. I’d either read it, it didn’t interest
me, it was too pooncey or too expensive. Now I’ve never been accused of being a
poonce but I have been accused of being a tight arse! Anyway the tight arse in me
settled on the Penguin Classics - Beowulf. It was $12.99, my flight was being
called and I thought “How bad could it be? It’s a classic!” So I grabbed it.
Beowulf is sometimes described as the oldest surviving poem in Old English. The story is thought to have been
first committed to writing between 700 to 1000 AD, but the actual tale is apparently much older. After sailing from
Geatland (an area in southern Sweden) in the sixth century, Beowulf leads a band of warriors to assist Hrothgar,
King of the Danes who is being monstered in his mead-hall (boozer) by a troll. Grendel-the-troll keeps sneaking
into the boozer at night and eating the drunks that have crashed there. Every time he does it, he leaves a mess!
There’s blood all over the place and it’s not real good for business.
So Beowulf and his boys land in Denmark, there’s some introductions and a good old Viking booze up in the mead-
hall, which the Danes call Heorot. After everyone’s smashed and the speeches are over, the drunks all crash for the
night. Meanwhile old Grendel’s been watching from afar and when everything’s quiet thinks “You bewdy! Time for
a feed!” and scarpers on down. But Beowulf was just playing possum, so when Grendel rocks up, Beowulf jumps up,
grabs him and just like Aunty Jack (Google her if you’re too young!) rips his bloody arm off! Grendel cracks the
sads and feeling pretty armless, racks off and dies. Next day everyone reckons Beowulf is a bloody good bloke.
They all have another big booze up and crash in the mead-hall again with Grendel’s honking big arm hanging as a
trophy above the door.
When Grendel’s mum finds out what befell her boy, she goes absolutely spak and surprise, surprise attacks the
boozer. She kills the King’s favourite thane (nobleman) “…clutched him to herself” and flees into the night.
Beowulf then has to track this “water hag” to a pool tinged with blood, the entrance to her lair. So wearing armour
Beowulf decides he’s going to dive in and sort the witch out. In one translation, the sword Hrunting was loaned to
Beowulf before he dives in and was described thus.
"And another item lent by Unferth
at that moment of need was of no small importance:
the brehon handed him a hilted weapon,
a rare and ancient sword named Hrunting.
The iron blade with its ill-boding patterns
had been tempered in blood. It had never failed
the hand of anyone who hefted it in battle,
anyone who had fought and faced the worst
in the gap of danger. This was not the first time
it had been called to perform heroic feats”
1. Seamus Heaney, (trans., 2002). Beowulf: A Verse Translation (Norton Critical Edition, NY, W.W. Norton, 2002) page 39.

life” (carks it).
Alexander, Michael, Beowulf: a verse translation Penguin Books, 2001, page 54
2
Ian G. Peirce, Ewart Oakeshott. Swords of the Viking Age. p. 145.
3
In another translation, before diving into the pool, Beowulf provides instructions should he “be sundered from
"Let Unferth have the blade that I inherited - he is a
widely known man - this wave-patterned sword of rare
hardness. With Hrunting shall I achieve this deed – or
death shall take me.”2
So at this point we have a story written between 1017 to 1317 years ago (but much older) that describes a
sword that in 500 AD was variously:
“rare and ancient sword… with … ill-boding
patterns… tempered in blood” and
“…wave-patterned … of rare hardness”
This sounds exactly like the knives that won Best in Show, Best Damascus and Best Everything Else at
Sydney in August! No seriously – how cool is that! We have an ancient description of what could be either
Wootz steel or Damascus, but which type? Wootz, also known as the “True Damascus” was an ancient way of
producing patterned steel, the technique of which is long forgotten. Wootz is distinct from the pattern
welded/laminated steel we call “Damascus” today. Both steels however were known in ancient times and were
around at the time the story was set in the 6th century. Denmark, the setting for Beowulf has been described as
the spiritual and historical home of the Vikings. As intrepid traders, they established the Volga trade route
from the 5th century which stretched from Sweden to Iran and beyond. Wootz steel is acknowledged to have
been worked by smiths from China to Scandinavia, spread via the trade routes. The Vikings were also fond of
laminated or pattern welded steel 3 which:
“…is known to have existed as early as 500 BCE as it is found in some Celtic swords from that era.”4
So which steel is described in Beowulf? I’m not going to venture an opinion. In my view, it’s impossible to
know and in any event it hardly matters. So there you have it! That’s how classical literature fits with knives.
Anyway Beowulf wasn’t able to kill Grendel’s mother with Hrunting, but not through any flaw in that sword.
He did defeat the water witch with a sword or part thereof but you’ll need to buy the book and read about it
yourself. Beo later goes on to slay a dragon with another “excellent ancient sword”, Næġling.
Anyway Beowulf is a rollicking good read, if somewhat a little heavily at times due to the archaic language.
As the oldest surviving poem in Old English and given the subject matter, in my view, it’s the original story
that inspired the multitude of sword and sorcery tales ever since. Finally it provides a handy tip on how to
temper a blade if you want to take out the Sydney Knife Show – blood!
4 David J. Atkinson. Atkinson Collection: Swords and Knives, Pattern Welding.

Review - Procreate
Software
Harriss
Chris
Procreate is a natty little app for your ipad that will enable you to
have some fun designing your next blade and help you to sketch
out your latest and greatest etching and engraving ideas.
"How's it work?" - Well here's a little video I did soon after I got the app.
The layer feature really appeals to me. I have taken a photo of an antler in my shed, inserted
that image onto my canvas and then proceeded to sketch the knife blade to suit.
Save you design as a PDF or an image, print and you're ready to go back to the shed and use
it to cut out your knife blank. You can do all sorts of other things, the only limitations - your
time and imagination. I can see a whole new range of Damascus patterns emerging - maybe.
Anyway for about thirteen bucks, the cheaper side of me approves!

We'd love to hear from the maker of this knife,
Phil Edwards. There's a story there somewhere.
If you'd like to contribute to Australian Blade
drop us a line at qldfossicker@bigpond.com or
catch us on Facebook.
Apologies for any errors or omissions and
thanks for reading!