Amber Across America (AAA) – A Fitting Tribute To Ivoryman

[bestgear]

Please allow me to introduce Amber Across America (AAA) which is a knife pass-along program where a special knife originates at one All About Pocket Knives (AAPK) member, stays there for 1 month and then gets passed-along to another AAPK member for 1 month. What makes this knife pass-along program unique is that the knife is our 2025 AAPK club knife that our friend Brian Sorensen (Ivoryman) pre-ordered before being called home on June 15th and sadly never took possession of. The 2025 AAPK club knife is a GEC model #922225, a Eureka Jack that is 3.625" closed with a 1095 steel long-pull spear point blade dressed with premium amber carved stag bone (ACSB) handles, a favorite of Brian’s. This knife is affectionately known as “Amber”.

Brian’s widow Cindy has approved the use of Amber for AAA which is scheduled to end when Brian’s son Donovan ships Amber to Quintus Gwynn (QTCut5), who was Brian’s best man at his wedding and best friend. A written journal has been started by me and will accompany Amber throughout her journey and is intended to be a lasting memento of Amber’s trip across North America. The goal of AAA is to be a year-long reminder of the loss of our friend Ivoryman who was an important thread in the fabric of the AAPK forums. AAA is an attempt to keep the memory of Ivoryman alive by allowing all AAPK members and visitors to track the stops during the pass-along and witness the experiences that Amber has along the way through this forum topic.

On Tuesday of this week I started to carry, use, and photograph Amber. On Monday 11/10/25 I will package up Amber and the written journal and ship her 443 miles to Charlie Noel (Sasquach) who will have until the end of November to carry, use, and photograph Amber while at the same time recording the experience in the same written journal that I started. This process continues until Amber makes her way to the Big Island where she will remain forever. Each of the participants has been encouraged to post in this forum topic so that everyone can comment about Amber’s travels and watch her travel across North America. Choosing the participants of AAA was done with great consideration and in consultation with Brian’s wife and closest friends on AAPK on an invitation-only basis. These are the participants that have accepted the invitation to participate and Amber's travel schedule:

The sequence of the trip across North America was planned to be the shortest route possible with 6,659.56 land miles and approximately nautical 2,706 miles for a grand total of 9,365.56 total miles traveled. This is an image of the journey that Amber will take over the next year:

Thanks for coming along for the ride, this should be fun for both the participants and the AAPK members alike. Please allow me to introduce.........Amber:

[Railsplitter]

Very thoughtful, Tom. This will be fun to follow along with. Thanks for doing this.

[QTCut5]

This is such a cool idea Mahalo for spearheading it, Tom Also...Eeeeeeexcelent photos!!!

For the record, I think it should be noted that initially part of the plan included having Amber engraved with "Ivoryman 1967-2025". Tom worked very diligently and put in a lot of hours to make this happen; however, due to logistical reasons, in the end it just wasn't feasible. Nevertheless, all the planning and organization that Tom did to set this whole program up is evident and sure to make it a successful endeavor and an interesting experience for all.

I am excited to follow Amber's journey and read about the members' experiences. The only downside is that I have to wait an entire year for my turn!

[dlr110]

I am in awe of the great people on this forum. You all continue to inspire and bless my soul daily with your kindness and caring for one another.

Tom this was such an excellent idea, and I hope that those that participate will be blessed and share their memories of Brian. As the knife travels across America I look forward to reading some posts from those that have the knife and some pictures we can all admire.

Thank you Tom for such a wonderful tribute to Brian and may God richly bless 12 special people and finally I hope Cindy will cherish this one knife for many years.

[OLDE CUTLER]

Hope it doesn't get lost shipping it 12 times. lol
Great tribute!

[edge213]

This is a great idea.
I look forward to hearing about Amber's experiences and seeing the pictures.
Good work guys!!

[rea1eye]

This is such a novel idea. It will be very interesting to see the
photographs as the knife travels across the U.S. Hopefully
some will share with us what you have written in the journal
before you pass it on.

Tom you obviously spent a lot of time on this and it turned
out very good. I especially like the map trail.

This idea obviously shows that this forum is more than just
talking about knives. What a great group of people who like
the idea of having fun while enjoying the knife hobby.


Bob

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Thanks Tom, this is a wonderful idea. I’m looking forward to my time with this knife. It’s such a beautiful knife. I know I will never use the AAPK club knife I have coming so this is exciting to be able to use one of these knives for a while. Thanks again for including me on this journey.

[knifeaddict1965]

Please allow me to introduce Amber Across America (AAA)...

Thanks Tom, this is a wonderful idea. I’m looking forward to my time with this knife. It’s such a beautiful knife. I know I will never use the AAPK club knife I have coming so this is exciting to be able to use one of these knives for a while. Thanks again for including me on this journey.

Ditto what Mark said and thanks again, Tom, for all the time and energy you put into this adventure and managing the club knives again this year.

[bestgear]

One of our FLOTUS said “It Takes A Village” and AAA exemplifies that notion. To pull this off I had all the support I needed from the participants to assist in hopefully making AAA a success. As the club knife coordinator I knew that I’d have to do something with Ivoryman’s knife and after a few exchanges with the key principals, AAA was conceived.

Pass-alongs were once commonplace at AAPK; maybe this will serve as a stimulus for their return They are fun for both participants and observers.

[Sasquach]

Good to know! Maybe someone in the process of Amber's travels can have the engraving done. Find out if anyone in the chain knows a quality engraver. Just a thought. When I was still working I gave retirees a gift knife at their retirement party. I had the knives engraved with their names and dates by a place Called "Things Remembered" but I don't know if they are still in business.

[Sasquach]

One of our FLOTUS said “It Takes A Village” and AAA exemplifies that notion. To pull this off I had all the support I needed from the participants to assist in hopefully making AAA a success. As the club knife coordinator I knew that I’d have to do something with Ivoryman’s knife and after a few exchanges with the key principals, AAA was conceived.

Pass-alongs were once commonplace at AAPK; maybe this will serve as a stimulus for their return They are fun for both participants and observers.

IMG_0415.jpeg

She is a beauty!

[1967redrider]

Very cool. It will be nice to see if Amber develops that trademark Ivoryman patina as she travels along the country.

[FRJ]

A terrific idea!
Looking forward to the year long progression.

[BuckSharp]

I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in AAA and I am looking forward to starting a new year with Amber in my pocket. I enjoyed chatting with Brian and following his posts and pics here at AAPK. If I were looking for someone to head up my logistics department, Tom would be my pick! But then again, I’d have to have an actual logistics department and Tom would have to agree to work for peanuts…in the shell

[bestgear]

.... to work for peanuts…in the shell

I like peanuts Bryon so keep me in mind!

[rea1eye]

One of our FLOTUS said “It Takes A Village” and AAA exemplifies that notion. To pull this off I had all the support I needed from the participants to assist in hopefully making AAA a success. As the club knife coordinator I knew that I’d have to do something with Ivoryman’s knife and after a few exchanges with the key principals, AAA was conceived.

Pass-alongs were once commonplace at AAPK; maybe this will serve as a stimulus for their return They are fun for both participants and observers.

So what were those pass-alongs like?

Bob

[bestgear]

So what were those pass-alongs like

here's one from 11 years ago Bob: https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... lit=violet

[bestgear]

Well today is the day that Amber starts her journey across America. While my time was short with her, getting her started on her journey outweighs my desire to spend more time with her. I know that she will touch the hearts of many during her travels and I wish her only good at each of her stops. Thank you Amber, now move on down the road and prepare for your time with Sasquach who I'm sure is looking forward to giving you a whirl! Peace.

[Sasquach]

I am anxiously awaiting Amber's arrival. It would be nice if she could stay longer with me but it is an honor that she stops to see me at all. I will be thinking of Ivoryman every time I look at her, use her, drop her in my pocket and hope the next in the chain will be as happy as I am to be a part of her travels.

[bestgear]

I am anxiously awaiting Amber's arrival.

Amber is out for delivery today Charlie. She was mailed on 11/10 @ 9:12am, I never would have guessed that it would take 4 days to travel 443 miles but that's our postal service

[Sasquach]

I am anxiously awaiting Amber's arrival.

Amber is out for delivery today Charlie. She was mailed on 11/10 @ 9:12am, I never would have guessed that it would take 4 days to travel 443 miles but that's our postal service

Yep, I've been tracking her and will be waiting for the mail carrier to show up. USPS has made some improvements but they still aren't the fastest service around. I have a birthday party for my granddaughter to attend tomorrow so Amber will no doubt be cutting some ribbons, cake, and sharpening some weenie roastin' sticks.

[Sasquach]

Billy and I had just returned from our walk as the mail carrier made the delivery. Amber has arrived! Everything was in perfect order.

Here's a pic straight out of the box.

[bestgear]

Everything was in perfect order.

enjoy your time together Charlie and scratch a few sentiments in the journal. Peace

[Sasquach]

Amber wen along on a walk with me and Billy. I thought I had posted this here yesterday but I must have forgot.