The New Year issue of Knives Australia (completed at Christmas) we consider to be the most significant in the year and perhaps the most challenging to compile. Colloquially referred to as the ‘silly season’, it’s the time for winding down and most Aussies take a well-earned, end-of-year break from regular and serious activities. For us, however, it is precisely the time when the magazine must be finalised in readiness for printing shortly after New Years Day. The Festive Season is meant to engender goodwill from one to another, a time to favourably interact with fellow family members and good friends and strive to help the truly needy in society. It is also a time to plan for the ensuing year and in accordance with tradition, make a few New Year resolutions, like “I’m going on a diet”, which we hope not to break.

Cover Pic: 
'King' Keith Ryall of Kryal Castle, Warrenheip, Victoria

That is the question which I have to answer. Let me explain.
Recently, I visited Mr. Miyazaki Shihan, a Master of Iaido (fast drawing sword techniques from a sitting position), Batou (similar to Iaido, but standing) and ‘live’ cutting of Wara (the straw covering for tatami mats). The Wara is rolled tightly and soaked in water for a few hours before use, which makes the Wara of similar density to that of a human body. The cutting of Wara was the method adopted for testing a sword’s cutting ability after the Japanese ceased testing the cutting ability on people - usually criminals.
Now you may think that given the sharpness and superior cutting ability of a Japanese sword that it would be fairly easy to slice through water-soaked Wara. Not so. While sword design and sharpness are obvious advantages, it still comes down to the skill of the person swinging the sword.... cont.  page 4

RODD’S ROLE IN 100TH BIRTHDAY.

It is truly a privilege to participate in someone’s 100th birthday celebration, particularly when the recipient is ‘as good as gold’, except for being a bit ‘shaky on their pins’. In this case the ‘birthday girl’ was Nana Garner, the grandmum of KA’s publisher, Joan Renton-Spencer. We celebrated the big day in Albany on the south coast along with other descendants of Nana, including her son and his family from London. 

...cont. page 4

SHEFFIELD CLINGS GRIMLY TO TRADITIONS 

In a rapidly changing age when most big American knife firms are engaging the services of mass-manufacturers in Asia to ensure their survival or ongoing success in the global marketplace, the smaller, more specialized English producers of cutlery continue to turn  out traditional  tried and proved quality cutlery that is ‘homegrown’. I mean centuries-old patterns of pocketknives, trade knives, tableware and kitchen knives that work as well today as they ever did – all affordably priced, wherever in the world you buy them. 
Established Sheffield knife patterns that have stood the test of time, spanning say three centuries, are perceived by some purveyors of bladeware to be old fashioned and boring, compared to a massive flood of trendy new varieties that are mostly designed in America and manufactured overseas, mainly in Asia. The American firms slog it out in a dog-eat-dog effort to win sales and brand acceptance around the world, rather than concentrate on the preservation of particularly American patterns in fixed blade and folding knives.

.... cont. page 5

KA-BAR DOZIER $49 FOLDERS

What do you want in a factory-made folding knife? In addition to fulfilling its intended purpose, having an ability to hold an edge, feeling comfortable to use and being easy on the eye, it’s a bonus when the knife represents good value-for-money. In other words, you got a bit more than you paid for – a good deal, if you like. The forty nine-dollar Dozier folder from the house of Ka-Bar (USA) delivers the goods as outlined.
Offering value-for-money folders can be fraught with danger, because ‘under-pricing’ a product could send the wrong message to consumers; that maybe there are shortcomings in the product’s quality, the reason for it being so attractively priced. On the other hand, knife manufacturers need to spread their brand around as much as possible and one way of doing this is to produce a series of very serviceable knives at very competitive prices. Volume-selling Ka-Bar $49 Doziers are prime examples of very practical brand-name spreaders.

...cont.  page 5

THE W JNO BAKER STORY.
Researched and written by Derek Wells.

 Several years ago, as part of a ‘swap’ for some old blacksmith tools, I acquired an unusual little single blade knife, obviously well made, with horn scales over brass liners. It languished in a drawer with several others knives until one wet afternoon I went over it with a magnifying glass and read ‘3 Hunter Street Sydney’ stamped on the tang. Curiosity aroused, I went in for a closer, more thorough look and began a journey that took me to Hunter Street, the Mitchell Library, the Internet, Dubbo and Killara (Sydney); along the way the story of W. Jno Baker started to take shape. 

My first musings were that this was some sort of promotional give-away knife from the early 1900’s, perhaps from a mercer for it’s about the right size to fit in a fob pocket. However, it’s not a particularly slim design like a traditional gentleman’s penknife and on the other hand, it didn’t seem big or robust enough to serve a regular ‘working’ purpose.Part of the tradename on the carbon blade is obscured due to pitting with age; however, the Hunter St address and ‘Made in Sheffield’ are quite clear. At that time the pile of magazines in my ‘Loo-brary’ happened to include the Spring 2003 edition of Knives Australia magazine and upon reading it for the umpteenth time, I spotted a small article describing a Sheffield-made one-arm knife sold in Australia by W.JNO Baker (circa 1940); so now I had the full name.

At this point I could have picked up the phone and asked Keith Spencer about W. Jno Baker but that would have been logical and too easy. Sometimes the thrill & challenge of discovering these things for you is where the fun is… or do I just have strange masochistic tendencies?

... cont. page 6

ONE TIME ABORIGINAL MARKETPLACE
 by Keith Spencer

It was wet and wild the day we left Warrnambool on the south west coast of Victoria, steering inland toward the old goldfields and Ballarat, the place best known for the famous (maybe infamous) Eureka Stockade of 1854. Joan (publisher) and I had just spent four days on the ‘Shipwreck Coast’ from Portland via Port Fairy to Warrnambool. In addition to gathering some knife-related stories, the trip also afforded me the opportunity to further research the activities of sealers who worked this section of fascinating coastline in the early eighteen hundreds. Over the years I’ve compiled lots of interesting information concerning ‘Sealers of the Southern Ocean’ – it should make a good read one day when I get time to put out a book on the subject.

The weather was typical of south coastal Australia - four seasons in one day, as they say. At Portland we got wind-burnt wearing Akubras and lightweight shirts. A couple of days later at wild swept Warrnambool we broke out the winter woolies and wore beanies...and it was practically November! 
For us, however, there’s no such thing a good weather or bad weather, only the weather that prevails at any given time. Whilst it was pleasant to sashay about on sunny spring days around Portland, I also relished the chance to snap photos of a savage sea smashing into the craggy shore of Warrnambool’s aptly named Thunder Point; something that would have kept sealers 200 years ago huddled in their rough huts until it passed. A time to sharpen their sealing knives, which along with clubs, were the principal tools of their bloody trade.

...cont. page 8

BRODZIAK BRILLIANCE

David Brodziak’s trophy cabinet is graced with knifemaking awards, mostly relating to the sensational art knives he creates, many of which travel overseas into the display cabinets of discerning knife collectors with disposable incomes that most of us can only dream about. Having said this I must hasten to add though, that David is at great pains not to neglect Australian collectors and users that for two decades have been loyal supporters of his outstanding blademaking. 

...cont. page 9

THE SPANISH NAVAJA
by Chris Evans In Spanish the word `navaja' means a folding knife, anything from a pen knife to a large clasp knife and is a derivative of the Latin `novacula'. The context is what usually defines the type being referred to, as well as additional adjectives.The Spaniards claim that they invented the clasp knife in response to the weapon bans enacted at the beginning of the 18th century. Later, its manufacture was spread to other parts of the world by their exiled cutlers. Whilst there are some who dispute this view, the great Spanish authority on the subject, Forton (A), is adamant that the navaja could not have made its debut any earlier on account of the far better weapons then being readily available to the masses. Those who disagree have the difficult task of justifying their viewpoint, for it is impossible to find a reliably dated clasp knife that predates the 18th century and the early specimens from other nations all bear a striking similarity to the Spanish designs of the same era.

In the wake of the bans knives, being an essential tool in an agricultural society, remained an intractable problem for the authorities. The bans did not extend to barber's razors and the cutlers, seizing upon this oversight, extended the basic concept into working knives; hence, the navaja was born!  Of course, such folders were at best only partially satisfactory and the next obvious improvement was the need to lock the blade when opened.

... cont. page 10

Exceptional blademaking blacksmith, Dave Robinson of Mudgee, has a new apprentice named Christine Corner, a veterinary nurse specializing in animal behavioral training, who also has a bent for smithing. She has been steadily accumulating blacksmith tools in readiness for setting a forge at home. 

...cont. page 11

THE THINGS THEY DISCONTINUE

The current marketing practice of many American knife manufacturing companies is not to leave new models on the market for too long. Instead, they discontinue them as quickly as it takes corroborative custom knifemakers to design and advance new prototypes of something different to tempt knife collectors and users. 
Clearly, this is a great idea for American knife firms primarily servicing a domestic market of around 300 million people, plus a few million more living nearby USA borders. However, for distributors that service far-flung global markets it can be a veritable nightmare at times, when no sooner than they begin to sell new products that arrive into their stores, they are then declared by USA knife firms to be discontinued models.

...cont. page 11

KRYAL CASTLE OF WARRENHEIP
by Keith Spencer

They say a man’s house is his castle, but few of us seriously consider living in one – that is, a castle. I once thought about constructing temple of contemplation out of stone, but instead learned the art of contemplating on my feet in broad daylight with my eyes open. It works well, saves time and you avoid building costs, although I don’t recommend the practice while driving in traffic or abseiling down a 60-metre cliff face. 

Victorian Keith Ryall, however, built himself a fair dinkum 16th century style castle on 48 acres of up-sloping land at the base of Mount Warrenheip on the outskirts of Ballarat. Now that’s a house! Keith called it Kryal Castle, a re-arrangement of his name. Joan and I bunked overnight in the castle and stayed for a couple of days to ‘get the feel’ of living and working in and around the faithfully replicated English-style castle. During trips to the United Kingdom we’ve ‘roamed the ramparts’ of a number of ancient castles, which means we’re a bit familiar with the layouts and workings of real medieval castles. We reckon ‘King Keith I’ got things pretty right at Kryal, Australia’s only ‘real’ castle.

... cont. page 12

TOP END TAFE TEACHES KNIFEMAKING

Knifemaking courses are now in full swing at the Casuarina Senior College in Darwin under the tutorage of long-term full-time blademaker, Simeon Jurkijevic, the best credentialed bladesmith in Australia.  Simeon, now well into his sixties, was apprenticed during the 1950’s to Bela Bernad, a Hungarian Master and board member of the Guild of Exotic Crafts in Subotica. Before immigrating to Australia, Simeon was employed on restoration work on castles in Eastern Europe. Simeon also holds Australian trade certificates as a 1st class fitter & turner and welder and worked for several years in the trade around the Northern Territory, before setting up as a professional knifemaker, originally at Acacia Hills. 

... cont. page 14

During 1968/69, after military service, my life took a change of direction and I became a semi-professional ‘roo shooter in far-west Queensland. At the same time I also worked part-time with a Queensland Railways line repair gang. The railways used the largest round nose shovels for digging the sleeper trenches and part of my job was to cut the sides off to match the width of the sleepers. Well, these beautifully curved, good quality steel off-cuts made the best ‘roo skinners you could get, so I had a ready market for all I could supply. Unfortunately, I didn't keep any of these knives, reckoning that I could always remake them if need be. I kept my hand in making various working knives for lot's of folks and started forging blades when I was at a place called Cape Flattery; the local indigenous people had many uses for steel that performed well.
Over the past couple of years I’ve only made a few knives, with the Legacy Knife (pictured) being one of them. With the drought and associated farm work I am flat out, so knife making lays in waiting. I hope to catch up by next winter, when working the forge will be again be a joy. 

...cont. page 15

The week-end of the Knife-Show was a busy time for Adelaide. On at the same time was the International Horse Trials, the Annual Christmas Pageant and numerous Produce Markets and Craft Fairs through-out the city and surrounding hills towns. According to the show organizer, Peter Bald, the Knife Show was a huge success, with approximately 500 visitors to the Knife Show and 28 tables of Knife-makers and traders in attendance. Six weeks before the event all of the available table space for exhibitors had been sold and there was a waiting list for table space, but fortunately (for some) there were a few late cancellations for the show and everyone on the waiting list got a table. The Show will be run again at the same time of the year in 2007.

...cont. page 16

FIRST KNIVES OF NOVICE MAKERS

Novice knifemakers are always urged to share with us their first born bladeware. These two blokes, one hailing from the top of the continent (NT) and the other from the bottom (SA) took notice and featured here are their first-made knives for us all to admire. Thanks fellas.

Noel Hancock from Nhulunbuy in East Arnhemland customized a couple of ‘finished’ knife blanks, then launched into building his first custom made piece, a chunky, flat-ground belt knife that is ideally suited for use in the outback. 

Down the track in Adelaide, Gary Odgers bench-made a set of three drop-point skinning knives with hollow grinds out of American 154CM stainless steel. Gary elected to fit ivory, burgundy and cocobolo scales from durable (synthetic) Micarta handle material and red spacer material between the tangs and scales to improve bonding and enhance the appearance of his hunting knives. 

..cont. page 17

HOT IRON MUSTER
- by Helen Ball

A journey along the “Road to Damascus” started in Logan Village QLD for participants in Hot Iron Muster 2006. The focus of this year’s event was Pattern Welding, the age-old art originally used in forging swords, knives and spears. It is thought that weapons displaying intricate patterns started to spread to Europe from the East through the city of Damascus, the centre of the trade routes around the time of the Crusades.  Now commonly referred to as “Damascus steel”, patterned metal is still enormously popular for making blades, cutlery, jewellery and decorative features.

Visiting instructor Brent Bailey from Orland, California USA first enthralled an Aussie audience with his effortless demonstrations of forging patterns during Hot Iron Muster 2003. Having fielded many requests for more opportunity to learn these skills, event organiser Alan Ball was happy to again entice Brent out to Australia for a dedicated workshop. Since its inception in 2000, “The Muster” each year draws blacksmithing enthusiasts from all over the country to Alan’s smithy in Logan Village just outside Brisbane. “Although there are many talented smiths in Australia, few opportunities exist to see them at work” Alan explains. “Inviting international instructors who enjoy sharing ideas and different experiences gained in other countries adds diversity and depth to our own creative talents.” 

...cont. page 18

I was contacted by a gentleman from Far North Queensland asking me to make a sheath for his Sykes Fairburn dagger the model number escapes me at this time. After much deliberation, I accepted the job and he posted the knife to me. The original sheath had gone to god due to shear age.I shall call the gentleman Jim to protect his identity. Jim sent me some photos of what the original sheath looked like plus all the details he could think of.
Once I received the knife I purchased some 3 mm shoulder leather and started marking out all of the parts that were required. I should point out the original sheath material was only about 2mm or less thick, this was probably due to the fact that leather was in short supply and is was easy to sow this thickness on a machine.

...cont. page 19

It pays to advertise. A man of the land at Portland in Victoria responded to an advertisement we placed for Rabbiter’s Kits in a regional publication that lobbed in his letterbox. Curious about our organisation, John Murphy got on the ‘dog & bone’ and talked to Joan about what else we had on offer. We learned a bit about John too, who in his day had broken-in and shoed horses, shorn sheep and was a dab hand at droving, yarding and selling cattle on behalf of stock agents. 

I rang him later and learned that John had also bought and sold a fair swag of rural properties in the south west corner of Victoria and what really got my attention was his extensive knowledge of local coastal history. It’s no secret that I have a bent for researching the activities of sealers in the Southern Ocean circa 1790-1840) and John Murphy owns coastal land in the Bridgewater area of Portland, the first place settled in Victoria by sealer William Dutton in 1829. ... cont. page 20

Those who collect knives know that you go through periods of collecting certain types of bladeware that you find fascinating. Generally, after a time, the mood passes and your attention is captured by some other type of knife and so on, so that you can look back on the phases of your life according to the things that ‘switched you on, at certain times. 
I went through what I call my ‘poniard period’...not daggers per se’, but particularly medieval style poniards, the long, slender knife meant for thrusts by the hand not wielding the sword in combat. Given the knight or swordsman was right-handed, the poniard was held in the gloved left hand, ever-ready for deft and opportunistic thrusts to exposed parts the enemy’s body in between strokes of the sword. 

... cont. page 21