Tollen & Sons: "A Better Place"

Saturday, June 9, 2007

"A Better Place"

Here is a Mountain sculpture that I made for Linda Prefontain as a donation for a silent auction for Multiple Sclerosis. I will link the preview website as soon as I have it. I added some trees to the back ground and this really works for me. I have an idea on a different style of branches on the trees that I will try on the next mountain scene. This piece is much like the one That I did for Matt Whitmyer he gave it to his father as a wedding gift.

***Update*** Linda called me this morning to let me know that the "A Better Place" went for $450 in the silent auction. Congratulations! Linda on a very worthwhile Charity event.

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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”