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Tony's interest in carving was sparked as a result of living in New Zealand
in the late 1970's but it wasn't until nearly twenty years later that he
started to actually carve. Wood and bone were the early mediums of choice,
followed later by mammoth ivory and fossil walrus ivory, the former being
found in the Yukon by the placer gold miners.
Tony's designs are influenced by traditional Maori carving and his love of
uncluttered, flowing shapes that are easy on the eye and feel good in the
hand. Tony will also carve free standing pieces and netsuke.
Everyone of Tony's pieces is unique given the varied depth and colour of
fossil ivory and his work can be found in select galleries in the Yukon and
Alaska.
His interest in knife making started as a result of making his own carving
knives. He now hand-makes all his knives using the stock removal method,
working with a variety of different steels such as O1, ATS 34, S30V, D2 and
when he is lucky enough to get some, Brian Lyttle damascus.
Tony will hollow, flat or convex grind depending on the knife design. He
finishes all his knives with hand sanding and does all his own heat
treating, resulting in a knife that is started and finished without leaving
his studio.
A variety of exotic and stabilized woods are used for handle material aswell
as horn, antler, fossil bone and ivory, micarta, G10 and carbon fiber. Each
knife comes with its own custom fit, vegetable tanned, leather sheath that
Tony makes with the same high standard as his knives.
Tony is a full-time carver and knife maker but when not in the studio he can
be found outside, back-country or cross-country skiing during the long Yukon
winter, running and cycling in the summer or exploring the vast, empty
wilderness of the Yukon with his family.
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