The embossing in the scabbard looks like multiple " Fleurs de Lys " on the pict: That would work well for me as I'm a French
Québéçois with ancestors mostly from Normandy and Brittany with a touch of German and Scottish on the other side of the family.

The new Ballock also looks very promising but more daggerlike than the " multipurpose " previous one. The blade looks very sculptural ( A good thing. :D ) The handle is Hummmm. nice but a little closer to the more ....... embarrassing, leaves nothing to the imagination " Ballock " daggers. Also interesting but I can understand why the " Victorians " called these kidney daggers in polite company. :p

Hi Jean,

Very good. I am glad you like the scabbard. Here is an update of the more sculptural ballock.


Regards,

John

---

 Attachment: 120.04 KB
[ Download ]

I absolutely LOVE that sample you posted and am thrilled that you've used it to base a new model on. Nice work.

Here is another ballock in progress. The blade is hollow ground from 7/16 o1 tool steel with a thick diamond reinforced tip and has just been heat treated. The grip is pomelle sapelle and is quite long. Overall length is 18.5 inches and the blade is 13". This will have a very decorative bronze guard and pommel. I wil post more pictures of all of these different ballock daggers as i finish them.


Regards,

John

---

 Attachment: 98.36 KB
[ Download ]

Here is the above dagger with the rough parts added and loosely assembled.

---

 Attachment: 42.74 KB
[ Download ]

Very nice and what a difference a little more work makes ! The first pict of this one seemed promising or at least I thought it would be once finished.

The guard furniture: Do you know if it served a specific practical function or is it just a traditional style used on many but not all ballock daggers. On some it might be useful in parrying when in wider versions leaving a bit of a space on each side of the blade. Or does it help make a more secure fit in a scabbard so that the blade wont fall out easily ? Finally, is it just decorative ?

Oh, I wonder about the similarities between some ballock dagger blades and some rondel dagger blades.

The single edged ones with somewhat wider blades seem to be more functional as general purpose knives as well as selfdefense weapons and remind me mostly of early dirks. I like both kinds by the way and I'm only commenting on the variety of blade shapes, if I could afford it I would order one of each. ;)

Looking forward to mine though. :D ;) ;)

Here's an in-progress photo of a ballock dagger that will quite probably find its way into my collection in the near future. The overall length is fifteen inches.

[ Linked Image ]

This is being made by John Gage: www.extremebladeart.com

John discovered a crack in the wood pictured here so it's being replaced with a piece of thuya burl, a reddish wood. The dagger will also come with a scabbard and I'll post further photos when they're completed. John worked for Albion for a time and I met him during my last visit up there. John's now doing his own thing and seems to be doing it pretty well from what I can see. He's a relatively unknown talent right now but I expect that to change in the future.

I've long wanted a knife/dagger of this type as it's such a classic form from the medieval period. For various reasons this particular item has been very hard to obtain, in spite of several close calls with various production companies and custom makers it just hasn't happened. I've also been looking for a companion piece for my incoming Albion Svante. When I saw the above photo I fell in love with the overall shape and proportion of this dagger and I think it will fit that role very well.

WOW you got that one! I saw a pic of that guy somewheres and was really impressed with it. I think its a combo of the waisted ricasso and the the swell out the the double fullers and the sharp angular form of the hilt. Nice addition to the collection!

Patrick;

Great looking. :cool: :cool: :cool: I have a ballock on order from John on order myself, although it's a single edged more
proto-dirk kind.

I guess I could go for one like this also but I'm way over spent in advance for my toy budget this year.

This ballock is ALL good: Love the handle and furniture and the blade bevels are "DROOLALISHES " . ( spelling ? )

I'm glad my ballock is close to finishing and ALL paid for before John's work becomes better known. ;) ;)

Nice guy, too, had fun talking to him on the phone. :D

That dagger paired with the Svante will be a wicked combonation. The Svante is going to throw off your all black grips though :!:

Kenton

Thanks guys,

When I saw this one I fell in love with the design. I love the way the hilt and the blade flow together and the styling of the ricasso area is a neat detail. I've been looking for a ballock dagger for a long time and when I saw this photo I knew this was it. I'm eager to see what John does with the scabbard.

Unfortunately this acquisition will neccesitate the sale of something else but in the end this was one of those things I couldn't pass up.

Hi Patrick,

Here is an updated picture of the ballock with the start of the new hilt. I am redoing the pommel as well which has not been added yet. Let me know what you think. I hope your back feels better. :)


John

---

 Attachment: 118.86 KB
[ Download ]