Neo-Tribal made

One

Banned
Overall length- 17-½ inches
Blade- 13 inches, 1095 with rainbow quench line
Fittings- Sterling silver
Handle- Brazilian rosewood

Sheath by Chuck Burrows, (AKA Wild Rose)

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Tai, that is one incredible work of art (and craftsmanship, of course)! The lines flow perfectly and your handle work is exquisite! Chuck's sheath completes a beautiful package. Thank you for sharing it with us.
 
Wow im not sure it should be in neo looks like it could go in customs or something,very nice work Tai.

Hah! Given that Tai came up with Neo-Tribal Metalsmithing, I reckon he knows if it is or if it isn't. :)

Neo-Tribal isn't just about the forge finishes; it's a technique, a philosophy, and a style.

Gorgeous work, Tai. You are indeed a master craftsman and an artist.
 
Thanks!

James is right on! Neo-Tribal can be defined in several ways,... process, product, philosophy etc. Although it doesn’t look “tribal“ in styling, it adheres to other aspects of the movement, mainly methods of fabrication, technique, tooling,... stuff like that.

Lots and lots of hand work went into it. :)
 
man tai that rainbow quench is great how in the world did you get that? multiple quench, or furnace cement? great work way ahead of its time i think.
 
Thanks, it's a single quench in canola oil with no clay. I use a modulated rate of submersion into the quenching medium, edge goes in quick, then slows down and by the time the back gets submerged it's at/near a black heat. It works together with the wedge shaped geometry of the blade, and sort of chases the heat out of the blade incrementally. I’ve had the best results with wide blades that are fairly thin in cross section.
 
Tai, Thanks for sharing how you did that. I'm going to try that and see how she turns out. Think it would work with 1/8 inch thick, 1 1/2 wide with a flat grind?
 
On a good day, I can make a knife. You make functional art. Beautiful work.
 
Good to see you here Jeff, hope you stick around and thanks!

I think you under rate yourself as a designer. Your knives are just so clean and elegant. You just might be the Brancusi of knifemaking.

Brancusi:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Brâncuși

(If you all haven't looked at Bush Monkey's knives yet, scroll down the index page and check them out.) :)
 
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The rainbow quench line really sets it off (Canola I presume:)
 
not sure how I missed this one when it first posted. Another brilliant piece Tai.
I would also have said it didn't look all that neo-tribal myself. Interesting that you classify it that way. I learned something today about what defines neo-tribal.
Did you sand cast the sterling fixtures?
 
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