myArmoury.com - By-Knife and Picker A&A

Posts: 186 Location: Staten Island & Andes NY

Fri 06 Feb, 2009 1:55 pm

By-Knife and Picker A&A

Hi Everybody

Just thought I would post a picture of the By-Knife and Picker that Craig Johnson of Arms & Armour just made for me. I had these made to compliment The Knecht i have on order from Albion. the only problem is no Knecht. so i have a great by-knife set and no sword.

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Nathan Robinson

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Posts: 11,553 Location: San Francisco

Fri 06 Feb, 2009 2:24 pm

That looks absolutely fantastic! I would like to get something similar :)

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Brian K.

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Posts: 727 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

Fri 06 Feb, 2009 4:04 pm

Those do look well crafted. Excellent work by Craig. Congrats Michael on your new by-knife & picker.

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M. Eversberg II

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Posts: 1,435 Location: California, Maryland, USA

Fri 06 Feb, 2009 4:15 pm

It will go well when you do get the sword in. Until then, go forth and prick things!

M.

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Scott Kowalski

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Posts: 818 Location: Oak Lawn, IL USA

Fri 06 Feb, 2009 4:24 pm

Congratulations Michael. That is a great looking set you have there and should look awesome with the Knecht. How long ago did you order it out of curiousity?

Scott

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Michael Ahrens

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Posts: 186 Location: Staten Island & Andes NY

Fri 06 Feb, 2009 6:20 pm

Scott Kowalski wrote:

Congratulations Michael. That is a great looking set you have there and should look awesome with the Knecht. How long ago did you order it out of curiousity?

Scott

Scott

i ordered mine May 25, 2007, so 20 months. i have contacted Albion the first of every month since November 2007, and have been told every time that they are working on the problem. the only good thing is that i know there are people waiting longer then me. in some cases twice or longer.

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Scott Kowalski

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Posts: 818 Location: Oak Lawn, IL USA

Fri 06 Feb, 2009 6:55 pm

Ouch. :cry: Well I expect Albion will get it sorted out and delivered. Looking at the by-knife and pricker I have to say I just love the work Craig and the gang at A&A do. Even on their standard catalog items. I cannot wait to see all three together.

Scott

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Craig Johnson

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Posts: 1,422 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA

Fri 06 Feb, 2009 9:14 pm

Thanks Guys

Scott Kowalski wrote:

... Looking at the by-knife and pricker I have to say I just love the work Craig and the gang at A&A do. Even on their standard catalog items. I cannot wait to see all three together.

Scott

Well thank you guys, I feel a bit out of sorts as everything in our shop is a group effort with all hands to the oars when life gets rough so I do not want to take any credit for these as a personal endeavor. In fact there where at least four of us involved in making these items and much of the heavy lifting, if that applies to a by-knife and pick was done by Chris.

They did turn out very nice and in fact we had a moments hesitation when it came to shipping them off that maybe we should keep them. But that is our goal with every order :)

May the serve you long and well Mike!

Best
Craig

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M. Eversberg II

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Posts: 1,435 Location: California, Maryland, USA

Sat 07 Feb, 2009 2:06 am

What kind of metal is it? Did you grind or pound it out? How hard is it, and what kind of sharpness does it take to?

M.

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Michael Ahrens

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Posts: 186 Location: Staten Island & Andes NY

Sat 07 Feb, 2009 4:56 am

Brian

thank you very much. now just start thinking about how they will be incorporated into the scabbard. :)

Brian K. wrote:

Those do look well crafted. Excellent work by Craig. Congrats Michael on your new by-knife & picker.

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C. Gadda

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Posts: 135

Sat 07 Feb, 2009 9:19 am

Michael Ahrens wrote:

Scott Kowalski wrote:

Congratulations Michael. That is a great looking set you have there and should look awesome with the Knecht. How long ago did you order it out of curiousity?

Scott

Scott

i ordered mine May 25, 2007, so 20 months. i have contacted Albion the first of every month since November 2007, and have been told every time that they are working on the problem. the only good thing is that i know there are people waiting longer then me. in some cases twice or longer.

Weird. I had the complete opposite experience when I ordered my Valkyrja back in mid August last year. I was originally told to expect it in December, but it arrived towards the end of September, perhaps 5-1/2 weeks after I ordered it. And mine had a custom green dyed grip as well. The sword arrived SO early, in fact, that I had to hide it up in the attic from my wife for awhile... (don't worry, it's on display now)

Albion is a great outfit, so I can only surmise they are having sincere difficulties of some sort, but what those are I do not know.

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Jean Thibodeau

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Posts: 8,310 Location: Montreal,Quebec,Canada

Sat 07 Feb, 2009 6:14 pm

C. Gadda wrote:

Weird. I had the complete opposite experience when I ordered my Valkyrja back in mid August last year. I was originally told to expect it in December, but it arrived towards the end of September, perhaps 5-1/2 weeks after I ordered it. And mine had a custom green dyed grip as well. The sword arrived SO early, in fact, that I had to hide it up in the attic from my wife for awhile... (don't worry, it's on display now)

Albion is a great outfit, so I can only surmise they are having sincere difficulties of some sort, but what those are I do not know.

Once one of their swords in in full production the delays seem reasonable and sometimes ordered swords arrive earlier than promised, but with the swords still only a drawing or in early prototype stages the delays do seem long and unpredictable.

I think that Albion is trying to do it's best but having so many sword models in production and many in design stages some long awaited models are stuck in some sort of cue limbo ! The current economy is probably slowing things down as cash for development of new product has to be prioritized to keeping the company going !? ( Anyway, just speculating here as I don't have any insider information here ).

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Nathan Robinson

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Posts: 11,553 Location: San Francisco

Sat 07 Feb, 2009 6:26 pm

The Albion Knecht was pulled from production to re-tool its design. I believe there were only a couple made using the "original" methodology. This accounts for the delay. I would imagine people with outstanding orders on the item would be informed of the issue.

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Scott Kowalski

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Posts: 818 Location: Oak Lawn, IL USA

Sat 07 Feb, 2009 6:30 pm

Re: Thanks Guys

Craig Johnson wrote:

Well thank you guys, I feel a bit out of sorts as everything in our shop is a group effort with all hands to the oars when life gets rough so I do not want to take any credit for these as a personal endeavor. In fact there where at least four of us involved in making these items and much of the heavy lifting, if that applies to a by-knife and pick was done by Chris.

They did turn out very nice and in fact we had a moments hesitation when it came to shipping them off that maybe we should keep them. But that is our goal with every order :)

May the serve you long and well Mike!

Best
Craig

Craig,
Of course you are correct. In no way did I mean to slight any of the other people who work with you in the Land of a 1000 Lakes. All I know is that I am very happy with the items I already have from you guys!

Scott

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Craig Johnson

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Posts: 1,422 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA

Sat 07 Feb, 2009 9:28 pm

Re: Thanks Guys

Scott Kowalski wrote:

Craig Johnson wrote:

Well thank you guys, I feel a bit out of sorts as everything in our shop is a group effort with all hands to the oars when life gets rough so I do not want to take any credit for these as a personal endeavor. In fact there where at least four of us involved in making these items and much of the heavy lifting, if that applies to a by-knife and pick was done by Chris.

They did turn out very nice and in fact we had a moments hesitation when it came to shipping them off that maybe we should keep them. But that is our goal with every order :)

May the serve you long and well Mike!

Best
Craig

Craig,
Of course you are correct. In no way did I mean to slight any of the other people who work with you in the Land of a 1000 Lakes. All I know is that I am very happy with the items I already have from you guys!

Scott

Evenin Scott

No worries no slight given by your comments. Just like to put that out here in discussions of this type when I can. I am very proud and honored to work with the guys at the shop and they deserve loads of praise for all there hard work and efforts. Especially in the current conditions of the economy. It is a team effort to make it work and they are the best.

Have a great weekend

Craig

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Craig Johnson

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Posts: 1,422 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA

Sat 07 Feb, 2009 9:36 pm

M. Eversberg II wrote:

What kind of metal is it? Did you grind or pound it out? How hard is it, and what kind of sharpness does it take to?

M.

The blade and pike are 6150 the pieces are hand forged and ground. I would guess the hardness is in the upper 40's Rc (do not have a Rockwell tester). The knife blade twangs a bit when its locked down and you are working the finish :)

Its pretty dang sharp. Thats an official shop term. It goes something like this.

Rebatted edge
Dull edge
letter opener
kind a sharp
got some bite
historical
decent
watch it
pretty dang sharp
snicky snack
and "Oh geese, get a bandaid, quick!"

Best
Craig

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