File work

[Quartermaster James]

It seems to be in vogue for blade-makers to do "file work" these days.

Is this a new avenue of artistic expression or is there historic, specifically GAoP, precedent?

I don't recall seeing many, if any, period blades so "decorated".

To my mind, it's one of the fastest ways to muck up the otherwise clean lines of a nice blade, but I understand tastes vary.

[William Brand]

It seems to be in vogue for blade-makers to do "file work" these days.

Is this a new avenue of artistic expression or is there historic, specifically GAoP, precedent?

I don't recall seeing many, if any, period blades so "decorated".

To my mind, it's one of the fastest ways to muck up the otherwise clean lines of a nice blade, but I understand tastes vary.

Filing is period down through many ages, though a good sailor's knife favors simplicity in almost all cases. Many period weapons show 'after market' additions from the owners themselves, as embellishment or taste differ from user to user and alteration helps to identify personal ownership. Of the many alterations I've seen on knives of the period, most of these tend to be on the handle and not the blade. Most of the knives I'm speaking of are confined to the West of course, because as you go further East, especially from Africa Eastward, you get oodles of filing. Almost every knife is altered and unique in these parts of the world.