BLADE Staff

The knife-designer and artist Virgil England, who lives in Anchorage/Alaska, is a visionary in several respects. As a talented artisan and smith he creates unique knife-and weapon objects which, at the same time, are perfectly interwoven with figurative allusions and details. All his works are part of the environment of a fantastic place which he calls “Het Lands”, a place sometime in the universe where an archaic civilisation is confronted with the apparition of the “Seth Daemon”.

But also actual antique eras inspired him to these fantastic ideas and to exactly these pieces of work.

In 2004, he designed the “Empire Sword”, a series of Yatagan swords with reference to the powerful ancient Iranian kingdom of the Achaemenidic kings Cyrus and Darius, approximately 2600 years ago.

Since the 1970’s, Virgil England worked as a knife maker and started to increase his interest in intricate, multipartited projects of art. However, he never abandoned the knife blade. The famous American Damast smith, Daryl Meier, delivered the material for Virgil England’s blades. Now, for the first time, Virgil England will be introduced in a “personal show“. This was only possible through the generous loans of collectors of his works from the USA and also from Germany.

About 45 works by Virgil England – knives, swords, daggers, axes, a helmet, a shield and pieces of jewellery – were put together in a collection by the German Blade Museum, additionally, sketches and detailed drafts in colour can be seen.

“I wanted something that used the techniques of the past but allowed me to skew the civilization and its history to fit my scenario. The result was the creation of the “Het Lands”, a place sometime in the universe where an archaic civilization is faced with the appearance on their world of the “Seth Daemon”.

From the beginning the purpose has been to make real items, not movie props. The pieces are made utilizing techniques that were being used in ancient armouries on our own world. (The history may be fabrication but the physics are not.) Everything is hand made. Whether it is steel or woven fabric care is taken that each piece is a one-of-a kind item. With the assistance of fellow artisans in woodcarving, glass blowing, potting and weaving I continue to flesh out the history of the “Het Lands” with items of everyday life.” (Virgil England)

Press conference

Thursday 10 June 2010 at 12.00 pm at the German Blade Museum in Solingen. Virgil England will be present.

Opening
Friday 11 June 2010 at 6.00 pm

Buck Knives had the honor of being a supporting sponsor for the first ever Generation Next Awards Banquet in which the Boone and Crockett Club® recognized youth hunters who took record worthy animals during 2007 to 2009.

The Club® hosts an Awards banquet every three years honoring both trophies and fair chase hunters, followed by the release of its latest records book. This year, for the first time, young sportsmen and women were recognized at an Awards event. CJ Buck, President of Buck Knives, was the Master of Ceremonies for this year’s youth event.

“I was proud to be a part of this, and am pleased to see that a good number of youth hunters took trophy animals and are being taught the principals of Fair Chase,” said Buck. Buck had the honor of introducing each hunter and telling a bit of their story that led them to becoming a record holder.

Over the past three years, 73 young men and women (ages 16 and under) have taken B&C qualifying trophies. One youth took the largest non-typical mule deer recorded in 36 years. Another included a massive Alaska brown bear.

For two years now Buck Knives has been working closely with the Boone and Crockett Club to help support and promote the principals the Club was founded upon. Buck has developed a line of Limited Edition knives to honor the Club and sales from these knives help support the causes of this non-profit conservation organization.

In support of the 27th Big Game Awards, Buck created one-of-a-kind limited edition fixed blade knife featuring the 27th Big Game Awards logo on the blade and a beautiful wooden handle with a Malachite inset. The knife is worth $1,000 and was well received during the auction, raising $1,650.00 for the event.

According to information provided by the Club, the Boone and Crockett system of scoring big game trophies originated in 1906 as means of recording details on species thought to be disappearing because of rampant habitat loss and unregulated harvest. Science-based conservation efforts led and funded by license-buying hunters brought those species from vanishing to flourishing.
Scoring records remain a classic gauge of habitat and management programs. In addition to its prestigious history and tradition, the Boone and Crockett Club’s scoring system is strongly associated with the highest tenets of fair chase and hunting ethics.

The new record book will be released in the fall of 2010.