All About Pocket Knives

Nice use of the background materials at hand, fellows. I am just guessing that lava is pretty common on a volcanic island, and I know for certain that fallen tree trucks and fungi are common in Southeastern North America. Great photos!

Here is a shot from my garden back in the spring.

Dinadan wrote: ↑Fri Dec 05, 2025 12:04 am Nice use of the background materials at hand, fellows. I am just guessing that lava is pretty common on a volcanic island, and I know for certain that fallen tree trucks and fungi are common in Southeastern North America. Great photos!

Here is a shot from my garden back in the spring.
GEC11.jpg

Nice patina . ... say... that turtle looks familiar... ... I just can't quite place where I have seen him before.....

Sasquach wrote: ↑Thu Dec 04, 2025 11:50 pm

GSPTOPDOG wrote: ↑Thu Dec 04, 2025 9:07 pm

Sasquach wrote: ↑Thu Dec 04, 2025 3:52 pm From our walk yesterday.

How did the mushrooms taste after you finished taking the pictures?

I don't know but when I regained consciousness I found out my spirit totem is a one eyed badger with a bad attitude.

Yeaaahh .... Sas... Watch out, ... I had some bad experiences in the past with a pretty shady spirit totem ... sounds a lot like the one I ran into.... he wasn't wearing a pirate hat by any chance was he?

Dinadan wrote: ↑Fri Dec 05, 2025 12:04 am Nice use of the background materials at hand, fellows. I am just guessing that lava is pretty common on a volcanic island, and I know for certain that fallen tree trucks and fungi are common in Southeastern North America. Great photos!

Here is a shot from my garden back in the spring.
GEC11.jpg

Nice picture, Mel. Great looking whittler.

GSPTOPDOG wrote: ↑Fri Dec 05, 2025 1:14 am

Sasquach wrote: ↑Thu Dec 04, 2025 11:50 pm

GSPTOPDOG wrote: ↑Thu Dec 04, 2025 9:07 pm
How did the mushrooms taste after you finished taking the pictures?

I don't know but when I regained consciousness I found out my spirit totem is a one eyed badger with a bad attitude.

Yeaaahh .... Sas... Watch out, ... I had some bad experiences in the past with a pretty shady spirit totem ... sounds a lot like the one I ran into.... he wasn't wearing a pirate hat by any chance was he?

Dinadan wrote: ↑Fri Dec 05, 2025 12:04 am Here is a shot from my garden back in the spring.

Very nice photo, Mel What struck me first about your photo is the multi-hued rock with colors that complement the colors of the turtle's shell. The black handle of the knife contrasts sharply giving it prominence against the muted background tones; nevertheless, I found my eye drawn to the turtle's little face peering out from under his shell. I think a good photo tells a story but when it is also thought-provoking and engages the viewer's curiosity like yours does, that's just brilliant!

Dinadan wrote: ↑Fri Dec 05, 2025 12:04 am Nice use of the background materials at hand, fellows. I am just guessing that lava is pretty common on a volcanic island, and I know for certain that fallen tree trucks and fungi are common in Southeastern North America. Great photos!

Here is a shot from my garden back in the spring.
GEC11.jpg

I agree with Q, your photo is eye catching and interesting. Q describes it much more eloquently than I can so "what he said".

It just so happens that I have a turtle shot in my archive. I originally took this photo to show the snapper I found in my front yard. I picked it up by the tail and put in in a box, then I took it down by the creek and turned it loose. That's when I took the picture and I wanted to get something in the pic for scale and of course I used a knife. So the pic qualifies for this thread.

Cool knives and photos, Mel and Charlie!

Thanks, fellows.

Charlie, that is a tough looking snapper: great shot! Actually, I spotted my little turtle in the street while I was walking, I released him in my back yard where he would not get run over. So I guess we both qualify as turtle friends.

Here is another little friend from years back. I was kayaking at work and spotted this turtle floating on the surface of the creek I was mapping.

Although I have seen plenty of turtles around where I live (green sea turtles), unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of them to keep the turtle theme going. Cool Steel Warrior two-blade Wharncliffe Whittler, Mel

Took my Aquarius Mini Trapper down to the beach this morning to look at the waves. Took a lot of pictures but didn't get any very good ones due to the iPhone's background/foreground focus issue So, I decided to work on blade and bolster reflection photos back at home in my garden instead.

Dinadan wrote: ↑Fri Dec 05, 2025 6:05 pm Thanks, fellows.

Charlie, that is a tough looking snapper: great shot! Actually, I spotted my little turtle in the street while I was walking, I released him in my back yard where he would not get run over. So I guess we both qualify as turtle friends.

Here is another little friend from years back. I was kayaking at work and spotted this turtle floating on the surface of the creek I was mapping.
Steel_Warrior14.jpg
Steel_Warrior12.jpg

Sweet pic and knife Mel.

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 05, 2025 9:30 pm Although I have seen plenty of turtles around where I live (green sea turtles), unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of them to keep the turtle them going. Cool Steel Warrior two-blade Wharncliffe Whittler, Mel

Took my Aquarius Mini Trapper down to the beach this morning to look at the waves. Took a lot of pictures but didn't get any very good ones due to the iPhone's background/foreground focus issue So, I decided to work on blade and bolster reflection photos back at home in my garden instead.

Mission accomplished.

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 05, 2025 9:30 pm Took my Aquarius Mini Trapper down to the beach this morning to look at the waves. Took a lot of pictures but didn't get any very good ones due to the iPhone's background/foreground focus issue So, I decided to work on blade and bolster reflection photos back at home in my garden instead.

You did capture some cool reflections and effects, especially in the third photo.

Great pictures all!
I caught Santa getting into the safe earlier and it didn't surprise me when he went straight for the Red Stag Wharnie. Gotta admit, the big guy has good taste in cutlery.

knifeaddict1965 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 06, 2025 3:17 am Great pictures all!
I caught Santa getting into the safe earlier and it didn't surprise me when he went straight for the Red Stag Wharnie. Gotta admit, the big guy has good taste in cutlery.


Santa with a Wharnie.jpg

Is that reindeer stag? Great seasonal pic!!

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 05, 2025 9:30 pm Although I have seen plenty of turtles around where I live (green sea turtles), unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of them to keep the turtle theme going. Cool Steel Warrior two-blade Wharncliffe Whittler, Mel

Took my Aquarius Mini Trapper down to the beach this morning to look at the waves. Took a lot of pictures but didn't get any very good ones due to the iPhone's background/foreground focus issue So, I decided to work on blade and bolster reflection photos back at home in my garden instead.

Whatever you were trying to accomplish it came out absolutely beautiful. The beach shot with the surf crashing in the background is very nice and the garden shots are outstanding. I love the handle material, is that Corelon? With a dusting of snow on my lawn, I can't deny a certain amount of envy for that garden of yours.

Very seasonal Santa shot, Kevin.

Here is a dark and blurry photo from my home on this December morning.

knifeaddict1965 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 06, 2025 3:17 am I caught Santa getting into the safe earlier and it didn't surprise me when he went straight for the Red Stag Wharnie.

Not sure if that's whimsical or threatening, Kevin. The inscrutable expression on Ol' St. Nick's face as he brandishes that blade is concerning I can only wonder how much more The Salvation Army bell ringers would collect during the holidays if they all wielded a knife like your Santa effigy

Dinadan wrote: ↑Sat Dec 06, 2025 7:37 pm Here is a dark and blurry photo from my home on this December morning.

Once again you've managed to capture much more than the mere image of a knife, Mel, your photo is literally oozing with nuance and narrative. What you call a "dark and blurry" finish actually creates atmosphere the same way cinema uses a "soft focus" effect to elicit a particular emotional response from the audience. The tone is set by the cat in the background stretching languidly on the rug before a cozy fire burning in the hearth. The knife in the foreground, being slightly out of focus, is presented as a part of the bucolic scene, not in contrast to it. An aspect reinforced by the cat's relaxed, unconcerned demeanor and closed eyes. I can practically imagine an entire story about that knife just by looking at your photo.

Thought I'd experiment with some props and lighting today.....

Sasquach wrote: ↑Sat Dec 06, 2025 3:20 pm Whatever you were trying to accomplish it came out absolutely beautiful. The beach shot with the surf crashing in the background is very nice and the garden shots are outstanding. I love the handle material, is that Corelon? With a dusting of snow on my lawn, I can't deny a certain amount of envy for that garden of yours.

Mahalo, Squach Yes, it's Corelon....normally, I tend to avoid synthetic handles, prefer natural materials, but the swirling blue & green colors of the Aquarius Corelon really caught my eye and is reminiscent of an ocean wave to me. I spend a lot of time watching ocean waves and have taken hundreds of pictures of them over the years. As you can well imagine, they're pretty tricky subjects to photograph, though. Capturing a wave is all about timing and requires a great deal of patience and luck. Here's one of my favorite (and best) photos of a wave taken earlier this year just down the street from my home at Kealakekua Bay.

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 07, 2025 3:08 pm

Sasquach wrote: ↑Sat Dec 06, 2025 3:20 pm Whatever you were trying to accomplish it came out absolutely beautiful. The beach shot with the surf crashing in the background is very nice and the garden shots are outstanding. I love the handle material, is that Corelon? With a dusting of snow on my lawn, I can't deny a certain amount of envy for that garden of yours.

Mahalo, Squach Yes, it's Corelon....normally, I tend to avoid synthetic handles, prefer natural materials, but the swirling blue & green colors of the Aquarius Corelon really caught my eye and is reminiscent of an ocean wave to me. I spend a lot of time watching ocean waves and have taken hundreds of pictures of them over the years. As you can well imagine, they're pretty tricky subjects to photograph, though. Capturing a wave is all about timing and requires a great deal of patience and luck. Here's one of my favorite (and best) photos of a wave taken earlier this year just down the street from my home at Kealakekua Bay.

That is a great shot. Caught the wave breaking just right. Back when we used film and mechanical cameras that would be an exercise in shutter speed and fast film.

"A date that will live in infamy."

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 07, 2025 6:19 am Thought I'd experiment with some props and lighting today.....

Thanks for the kind words, Q.

The fractured gestalt of that knife handle does go very well with the fractured gestalt of the vase. Very well done. And that knife is pretty special, too. Shape and materials are unique. I do not see many knives with Damascus bolsters.

I do not photograph waves much, but I agree that the timing is tricky. I usually press the button just a little too late. Its like photographing porpoises: I have plenty of shots of the swirl of water where the porpoise just breached and submerged. You certainly did well with that wave down at Kealakekua Bay.

Sasquach wrote: ↑Sun Dec 07, 2025 6:26 pm "A date that will live in infamy."

A very good set of photos for this date, Charlie.

Mahalo, Mel I was hoping the glass fragments and the abstract etchings on the antique perfume vial might work well with the fractured look of the Mammoth ivory handle (great word, "gestalt", love it )

Sasquach wrote: ↑Sun Dec 07, 2025 6:26 pm "A date that will live in infamy."

Perfect knife to post today, Squach


Of course, I had to give my freshly won November GAW knives a test drive today. Had some good ideas for photos, but unfortunately, once again, my artistic vision was stymied by equipment limitations I really wish the brilliant engineers at Apple could figure out how to make an iPhone camera with an adjustable focus that would simultaneously capture both the foreground and the background fields in sharp focus. The Old Hickory pic came out OK because everything is the same distance from the camera lens. But, for the Canoe pics I had to choose one field to be in focus between the knife in the foreground or the scenery in the background. Not ideal, but after taking approximately one zillion shots from every conceivable distance, these are the ones that I feel turned out the best.

Here’s my attempt to turn my Sasquach canoe into a Hawaiian surf canoe