My customer liked my previous piece, The Dagger of Light, and thought it would be a good starting point for a pair of daggers. I suggested the day and night theme, and he gave me the go-ahead with the concept. I decided to make each knife essentially the same but with different materials that would convey the idea of each knife. Night would be dark with stars in the sky and a stream of water to reflect the starlight. My carving is organic in nature, so the plant life would be dark. Day would be bright with light clouds in the sky, and the stream would reflect the sunlight. The handle would be light and represent plants growing in the day time. To accomplish these elements I used a carbon damascus with bright nickel dots swirled in the sky. The stream of water is the fuller that has a rippling surface finish. All of the steel was blued to darken it. African blackwood was chosen for the handle material. For Day I used a stainless damascus with a light random pattern to make the wispy clouds in the sky, and the fuller has the same rippling surface finish. The fittings on Day are stainless steel. I chose fossil mammoth ivory for the handle. The green represents plant life, and in carving it I cut through the green outer layer to reveal the creamy inner part of the ivory. There is an asymmetrical aspect to the carving of the handles, and they are opposite each other on the handles to represent the opposites of day and night. Both blades measure 12” in length, and are made from Del Ealy damascus. Overall length is 17 1/4”. All work was performed in my shop from the raw materials of damascus, stainless, and carbon steels, as well as African blackwood and mammoth ivory.

Professional photography by Chuck Ward http://www.flickr.com/photos/chuck_ward_photography/