M.Gregory Knives/Matt Parkinson, JS Collaboration Blade

Matthew Gregory

Matthew Gregory

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This was a pretty nifty project, with yet another good friend and absurdly talented guy. Several months back I had dinner with Matt Parkinson of Dragon's Breath Forge while he was teaching at the Arc & Flame Center in Rochester, NY (a VERY cool place, if you haven't heard of it, and not all that far from my house). After a marginal meal of pho thai improved upon with good conversation, he handed me a small chunk of his damascus steel. It was a scrap section cut from the tip of an experimental sword he was working on, and even through the forge scale it looked to be interesting, so I took it home and tried to determine how best to make use of it.

This is what I came up with, once again captured flawlessly by SharpByCoop SharpByCoop :

Gregory_Parkinson_190709-X3.jpg



The 5 inch blade of Matt's damascus is 1084 and 15N20, hollow ground, and with a small dropped edge. I love how that bit of mono steel peeks out at the tip like a lick of flame. Overall length is 10-1/2 inches.

The simple oval guard of black G10 and stainless steel spacers are gently concave, and blend seamlessly into a drop-dead gorgeous bloodwood handle. I got this piece of wood from my buddy Don Andrade, and used it because that dramatic red really added a touch of drama to the piece without competing with the damascus. The handle is a delicate oval shape, but all of the surfaces except the butt are concave, akin to the flare of a trumpet, only much much less flare. It's subtle, but the effect is to coax your hand into the center of the handle as you grip it. The cotton cord improves overall grip while providing a chance to retain the beautiful gold plated sterling silver peacock menuki.


Thanks for looking!
 
It’s raining blades from Gregory-ville lately! Another nice one Matt. :thumbsup: Really like the way the front end comes out clean, emerging from the Damascus. Whole lotta details in there.
 
Wonderful Matt - I'm a fan of bloodwood.....it's plain yet elegant stuff. The mono steel tip adds an interesting element. Nice work bud. :thumbsup:
 
Such a beautiful piece, with all of the finely finished elements flowing together to make a perfect whole. Something that could easily be in the Smithsonian but really should be in someone’s hand. Love this one! Mike
 
I saw the WIP on this and it is stunningly fine....outstanding Damascus and, of course, your incredible eye for design and style.

A great collaboration and always exceptional photography from Coop... :cool:
 
Very cool project, that came out excellent. Blood wood is some really nice wood to work with I used it in some of the hand planes I’ve made.
 
there's a lot to like about this knife, but the first thing that catches and holds my eye is the faceting and contouring of the butt of the handle. Really nice activity going on there, but pretty understated at the same time
 
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