Tollen & Sons: My damascus knife collection

Sunday, May 20, 2007

My damascus knife collection

Here are a couple of shots of the knives that have been chosen to be displayed in the "Edge -n-Knife" a knife shop here in Eugene. Although they are on display for sale in the shop you may still purchase them via the web page.
I made a knife this weekend that I have always wanted to make but was always to stingy with my Damascus, I used the last piece of billet I had left to make a fully Damascus fighter. I hardened the entire knife which effected the pattern ...It doesn't show up like my other blades, It turned out really cool... check it out

....At the bottom of the page is our certificate of authenticity, it will help explain about damascus and why our knives and our artwork is special and one of a kind.

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About what we do

I will share some personal history out the artist and the artwork to help with the appreciation. I Have been a Saw mill millwright for over eighteen years, I have 3 sons and all of them enjoy the arts from our studio shop in western Oregon, on the foothills of the coastal mountain range. Each piece is built totally by hand one at a time making it unique. It takes up to twenty hours to complete one of the larger mountain sculptures, and twenty to thirty hours to complete a knife. All of the pieces are forged and hand hammered on our anvil that is over one hundred years old. We make all of our art from materials salvaged from a large log saw mill, materials from the double cut band saws that were used on the head rig and thirty inch circle saws are my primary media. For creating the damascus I use the 7/8" cable that pulls the head rig carriage back and fourth. These materials are very hard to work with, the colors that are produced by heating is awesome and cannot be achieved using other medias. You will find on each piece of art work that I complete there is a saw tooth hidden inconspicuously that authenticates my work, sometimes the small circles on the tooth will be left this is a swedge mark left from the filing process. Mark Patrick Tollen

Tollen and Sons certificate of authenticity:

Congratulations You Have just purchased an authentic hand hammered wire Damascus knife built by Tollen & Sons “the Knife Maker” I will share some history about the builder and the knife to help with the appreciation of the quality and craftsmanship that this knife is built with. I have 3 sons and all of them enjoy the art of knife making from our shop in western Oregon on the foothills of the coastal mountain range. Each knife is built totally by hand one at a time making it unique. It takes up to thirty hours to complete one knife. The anvil we use is well over a hundred years old. We make our wire Damascus from 7/8” cable salvaged from a sawmill head rig carriage in western Oregon. The guards, pommels and other misc. parts are all from recycled materials. You will find that Damascus cuts flesh very well this is because the hard carbon lines and the darker less hard lines act as a very fine serrated edge. The building of the knife consists of forging & hand hammering a solid Damascus billet from the cable, hammering out the knife shape, hand polishing, etching, hardening and tempering the blade. Each blade built is tested for hardness and flexibility prior to putting the handle on to insure the finest quality and finally building the custom case. Care: 1. This knife is high in carbon therefore it will rust quickly. Keep the blade lightly oiled at all times. Linseed oil works well. 2. Wash it with warm soapy water after use (especially with blood) dry with a soft cloth, oil it immediately 3. The knife can be sharpened by using a fine stone or for best results use a hard steel. Guarantee: Tollen and Sons guarantee this knife to be built as I have specified above. Tollen and Sons guarantee this knife free from manufacture defect for thirty days. Tollen and Sons will gladly repair replace any knife found by Tollen and Sons to have a defect. Tollen and Sons will not repair or replace any knife that was misused, abused or not cared for as instructed. Disclaimer: This tool is not a prying tool, screwdriver etc. It is however a weapon and Tollen and Sons will take no responsibility for the actions of others accidental or otherwise doing bodily injury to themselves or others up to and including death, property damage, or any unlawful act performed using a Tollen and Sons knife or tool. Mark Patrick Tollen “The Knife Maker”