I so much enjoy the variety of your compositions, and flawless cutting! The close up shows such precision, and for me the modest yet well chosen overlap into the border is one of the best I have seen. Did you first cut, and then carve this lovely design that inflects to Art Nouveau, and have you any tips on how one achieves such a completely flat gold background?
Great knife Brian,
I just love the way you get that light/shadow contrast from one direction. I can only imagine it's cut and blackened......nicely done.
Rod
Brian, another masterwork. When you say "its all flush inlay, so no problems with leveling it." How thin is this inlay and how do you pound the inlay into place without making a "hammered look" surface. You must spend a great deal of time re-smoothing the gold.
Hi Mark. When I say flush inlay I mean that the gold is at the same level as the steel. The depth and sculpted form is just an illusion created by dot shading.
Brian, you sneaky little devil! Now that you said it, I went back to the photos and really studied them and NOW I can see how effective you were with the shading. I'm even more impressed with the work and would really love to see it in person! I've always wanted to try this technique, but was afraid of wear on the soft gold. It would only work on these ultra-fine collectors knives, which are loved and cared for like the precious works of art they truly are.