[Patrick Kelly]

[Bob Burns]

Wow! Patrick you should be happy! You got a museum piece!

Bob

[Clyde Hollis]

That is a real nice looking piece.

Clyde

[Bob Burns]

Sir John Gage, thou art truly a gifted bladesmith! This ballock dagger is "Masterfull"!

Most Sincerely,

Bob

[Patrick Kelly]

Here's a few photos of this outstanding piece of work.

[ Linked Image ]
[ Linked Image ]
[ Linked Image ]
[ Linked Image ]

[Geoff Wood]

Patrick
That really is a lovely looking piece! Someone has no doubt said it already and I've missed it, but despite the obvious associations of the name it is more reminiscent to me of something botanical with the blade/bud emerging on a short stem from the sepals of the guard. The in-hand photograph gives a good idea of size, which is somewhat more petite than I'd imagined from the some of the earlier development pictures.
congratulations
Geoff

[Patrick Kelly]

Thank you Geoff. I hadn't imagined the botanical comparison but now that you mention it I agree, that's an interesting perspective. It is indeed far smaller than I had originally imagined. However, this is a good thing. For this particular piece I didn't want a huge military style weapon but rather an everyday belt dagger that could double as a weapon if needed. John nailed it.

[Jean Thibodeau]

Just got mine this morning at the post office and if you go to the first few pages of this Topic there are some pics of it.

I don't currently have a digital camera ( Been talking about getting one for more than a year but buying more swords keeps getting priority ! )

To make it easy for you guys here is a link to the web page on John's site, mine is the one on the left:
http://www.extremebladeart.com/medieval_knives

The pic is a bit dark and some neat things are hard to appreciate at their full measure just using this pic ( Some of the early ones in this topic are clearer: Go find them to see a bit more what i mean. )

The wood grain of the cocobolo is very VERY nicely figured wood and the Renaissance wax really brings out the contrast.

The knife has a lot of small subtle details like flats on the edge of the pommel nut. The peened pommel is nicely rounded and blended into a rounded ball at the end of the nut: A sphere with the top third being the peened tang and the rest being the bronze nut all blended together as one smooth shape with only the contrasting colour of the steel showing the border of steel and bronze.

The wood handle is smooth and comfortable with the forward grip and with the reverse ice-pic grip: Spinning from one to the other is fast easy and sure. ( Assuming one is used to doing these transitions. ) With the ice pic grip the tang and the tang nut don't get in the way as the flat of the pommel is wide enough that the thumb can be placed there without interference by the tang. The point of balance is a fingers width from the guard.

Overall, I'm very impressed by the workmanship and feel: Hard to not spend hours fondling it ! Yes I am fondling my Ballock Dagger. :p And you would have to fight to get take this knife from me. ( Well, I am joking ...... almost joking. )

This knife does look bigger in pics if a hand is not shown for context: As Patrick said this is of a companion dagger size and not a large Anelace or Dirk closer to a short sword than a knife.

What it feels like is like having a 10" long pointy pointy metal finger that would make a " pointed " impression as a natural extension of the hand. Also very Gothic spire or metal icecle in feeling ! Hard to find the right words but sleek elegance and purity of function is what comes to mind.

The blade is shallow hollow ground and satin finished the edge swells subtely before bevelling to the very cutting edge.
The back of the blade has a central ridge running down the centre that is deliberately slightly rounded instead of crips and this was intentional and seems to make it feel more period to me than a sharp line. As well the organic feel of the whole design make this just feel RIGHT. ( Can't quite explain it but it does ! )

The leather work is also great with embossed Fleurs-De-Lis outlined panels, subtle accents. The Bronze chape is also very elegant.

So did I say that I like it enough? :lol: Also a very good buying experience. :cool:

[Travis Canaday]

Damn Patrick… that is one sweet dagger. The woodwork, the hollow-ground blade, the scabbard… I love everything about it. Just elegant and cool…

Congratulations!

[Jay Barron]

Wow! That dagger definitely falls into the category of pieces that transend weaponry and become art.

[Patrick Kelly]

Thanks Guys. John conned me into writing a review so there should be more on that in the future. His work is truly impressive, especially when you consider how few pieces he's actually made.

Jean,

I particularly like the tooling on your scabbard. The ensemble has that "less is more" look that I like very much.

[Jean Thibodeau]

[John Gage]

Hi guys,

I am very happy that you both really like the daggers that you have recieved from me. Making them is great, but the response from the customer is the best part for me. Alot of effort goes into making these knives, in design, function, and feel in the hand, etc. so when that is noticed and stated publicly it really makes my day. I know that my price point is a bit higher, but I feel it is worth the time and effort, I will not and cannot make steel on a stick. They need to look the part as if they were from the period. I also really enjoyed seeing Patrick in his kit with his dagger included, it just seemed to blend in nicely. So to both of you I thank you for your feedback, your freindship, and being such great customers.

Thanks so much,

Happy Holidays everyone,

John

[Jean Thibodeau]

[Henrik Bjoern Boegh]

John,

That dagger has turned out beautyful! I love the look of it!

Cheers,
Henrik