MURRAY CARTER x CUNNINGHAMMER Cocobolo OKCA Collab

Murray Carter is the 17th generation Yoshimoto bladesmith, a lineage that traces back to the Samurai. His story is an incredible one, and he is widely revered as one of the Living Legends. He generously supplied ten blades to the Oregon Knife Collector's Association to be handled by ten respectable makers for a competitive fundraiser and it was a humbling honor to be selected amongst them. The blade is Carter's famous s-ground Hitachi White san mai, and is *scary* sharp. With some of the brute to forge in place, I thought a forced patina would make for a nice finish and I executed with gun blue and a light steel wool rub. I then selected premium cocobolo for this build and cross-cut the grain so to aesthetically play with the lines of the blade spine. Thick copper accents for the guard and buttcap gave it a visual pop and also a nice weight in the hand. This project prompted me to call up Mr. Carter himself and I enjoyed getting to connect with such an icon. This item will be auctioned at the OKCA show in Eugene, Oregon April 11-13 2025.

I'd like to thank Steve and Susan Goddard in particular for their belief in me and the Cunningham Custom Shop. The Goddards have been a wonderful pair to work with and are just one more reason why I love doing business in my home town.