Hi All,

Well this was a strange one for me, but as it was a really interesting piece I leapt at the chance.

This is a Tlingit dagger; a Native American tribe of the Pacific Northwest. These daggers are curious in that they definitely have a front and a back, so the front is decorated and fullered in a complicated fashion and the back is plain.

They had access to silver and copper so these featured in their designs. Originally the blades were copper and when they started to have trade links with Europeans or the Americans they started to use steel for the blades.

This knife is a monster with a 40cm blade. The pommel is made from copper and silver and the 'guard' plate is copper. The inlays are abalone. The tang forms the grip which is then simply wrapped in leather with a leather wrist loop.

I love the multi fullered blade (which was very tricky) and I particularly like the way the pommel looks like a wolf when it is upside down.

I subcontracted out the repousse, but all other work is by me.

I hope you like it.

Tod

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Very nice.
I don't think I'd call the Tlingit Innuit. North west coast, not Arctic at all.
mark

Holy smokes! What a masterpiece. I really like seeing oddballs like this and I can understand why you were excited for this project Tod! The fullers are outstanding. I love the whole thing! Just plain great. No sheath?

I'm inclined to agree with Mark here.

As for the blade itself, though,it looks phenomenally crafted, and absolutely gorgeous. Lovely work!

Thanks for the compliments and the correction.

I have now corrected my reference to Tlingit being Inuit.

Apologies

Tod

Tod, I love the work you have done on this!
Beautiful!

Never seen a contemporary version of one of these. To me they seem to be weapons with one leg in reality and the other in myth. Powerful.
Your work also express power.

Bravo!

Very uncommon and striking piece Tod. You managed the blade especially well - and I've learned something today as I had never heard of the Tlingit before.

Cheers!

J

Beautiful! There are early examples of NW coast 'knives' that are stone. Pointy clubs, really.

This is a great piece of work Tod.
Yet another piece that expresses your talent and versatility (and I'll be honest here, pulling this off takes Balls)
Is the back flat or convex?
Seeing this makes me want to see a "Tod" deep fullered cinquedea with all the trimmings.....
A fine piece Tod.

An extant Tlingit dagger and Athabascan-style sheath:
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http://nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/infinityofnati...35601.html[/quote]

This i need to make!
Love western coast culures

wow, not something you see every day. without your description I would have thought it was a fantasy piece.

Wow, I received the dagger today. Photos do not do it justice. It is a magnificent piece of work, thanks Tod!

This beast is the size of small sword! I love it! I'll post photos of the dagger in hand tomorrow to show you how big it is.

Please be sure to post again when you make the sheath! Also, some in hand photos are always appreciated! Congrats!

Here it it. The Tlingit had some big daggers.

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Wow. That dagger also looks pretty thick. I'd imagine that it's a substantial piece--and it looks great!

I keep coming back to look at this one, I am very happy to see someone making such a fine rendition of these fascinating knives. Well done man.

This was amazing. Tod, you really captured a strong feeling and made a great object for a compelling culture. I lived in the pacific NW for a while and really enjoyed the arts and crafts of the coastal peoples.

The Wolf/Whale pommel seems very appropriate. It's been a long time since I read his book, but Bill Reid, master artist of the Haida people (very near and somewhat related to Tlingit) wrote of the double-faced quality of a lot of this art. Depending on your perspective, a motif could contain several other motifs, such as eggs containing people or what have you. I think you got this really nicely in the piece. Halfway down this page, under the Style heading, there is a little more info that puts it better.

Makes me miss the museums in Seattle and Vancouver! But I'm really jealous of Harry. Great job picking out a style. I like the sheath in the picture, I was not aware of those connnections. It will be nice to see what you make.

As a fellow artist I just have heaps of appreciation for such a fine and carefully rendered piece of work. Bravo!

Beautiful design and execution! And a really interesting blade as well. Reminds me of middle bronze age daggers...