The Knife Edge: One Man, So Many Knives©: Artistic Interactions

One of the thing not described in
most descriptions of the Blade Show are the interactions with artists.  Yes, artists.

I was so busy looking at knives I
didn’t recognize Sandra Brady selecting beautiful warthog ivory-handled knives
from Arno Bernard. https://arnobernard.com/

Arno Bernard lives in South
Africa and makes amazing knives.  These will
become Sandra’s canvas.  Sandra Brady is
a fantastic scrimshaw artist.  I have, or
rather my wife has, one of her pieces and it is stunning.  https://sandrabradyart.com.

I asked her if the Bernard knives
were part of a project, and she said no, she wanted them for future
commissions.  Her display held a wide
subject range of scrimshaw art.

“What’s your favorite subject to
work on?”

After a moment, she told me, “I
like doing eagles and hawks, but I love a challenge.”

The Green Man

To demonstrate she showed me a
Dozier knife with a Green Man on it. 
Drawn only in black on white the intricate man was made of plant leaves.  The Green Man is a legendary being belonging
to many cultures worldwide and across time.  He has his roots, in the symbolic rebirth of every
spring.  I vaguely remember him
associated with the Arthurian legend from college studies.

I asked the price and Sandra told
me $1350.  You might think it’s a lot of
money for a knife, but I think it’s reasonable for art.