A Gentleman's Knife
work by Ralph Bone

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 Published in: 2009 Archives Share

Ralph Bone was a man with an excellent and remarkably broad skill set.

He made knives, engraved and customized firearms, and taught many people what he had learned. He passed away in 2006. This stainless steel Buck knife is about 2.8" long (blade closed). Ralph engraved it as a gift. He put a nicely styled gold line inlay around the outside to frame the scrollwork, which is nice but not overdone.

Ralph's shading technique is worthy of some study. It is fine shading, but doesn’t go too far. He makes good use of all his shade lines and their placement is quite strategic. Also note the small engraver's signature "R. BONE" in simple block letters. These five letters mean almost everything to the owner of this knife especially since 2006.

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