Thanks all. Very kind words.
Casino -
1. Daggers without guards are very common, and can be more interesting in terms of design challenges. Consider the following...
2. Daggers with guards are designed for open combat, where the guard is used to lock up an opponent's blade or block it and protect one's hand. Both users and targets are combatants.
3. Daggers without guards assume a certain level of skill in the user...and perhaps a more covert use...exhibiting a bladeform less likely to snag on clothing, etc. Here, only the user is aware of the circumstances...in other words, a silent thing. That's the reason they call it 'cloak and dagger'.
4. Daggers without guards ARE rocket shaped. I can't imagine this knife with a guard...from tip to butt there being five seperate forward pointed arrow or "V" shapes...a guard would break that flow up totally.
It's in the details. There's actually a lot going on there to make it right. I haven't even mentioned these aspects to AJ, but here goes. When you put your hand onto the handle you know exactly where you've grasped it due to its tapered and faceted shape. The thumb and index finger terminate in the finger indents, large cutouts on the sides. The blade is left unsharpened nearly an inch and a half at its base. To paraphrase a line from "The Game of Thrones"...this is like a sword, you stick someone with the pointy end and they bleed, a lot. So, it's not a slasher like a Bowie or a Persian...it's a poker, like a Rapier or an Epee.
Aside from all that, there's one thing I want to mention. The copper liner. As I was thinking about the design of this one, bout a month ago, I was playing James Taylor stuff, due to the Carolina connection. One of his newer pieces, "Copperline" stuck with me. Hence the copper liners under the Redwood Lace. I've done this before...and always try to do it over file working. With the metal liners in place, right over the file cut pattern, both above and below it...it mirrors the pattern...reflecting the copper color in the facets cut into the Damascus handle. So you have to hone the steel til it shines and polish and buff the copper...and have it and the wood finished to their exact final dimensions prior to attachment. It's very exacting, but it really, really looks cool...all glinty and facety like a jewel.
Now, one of my next projects (up for grabs, BTW) is a dagger similar to this one, but designed to be made with a guard...and I have a matching one of the same Damascus steel.
