The Great Knife Auction!

Please forgive me. It's been a while since I've posted, but please understand that with only 1 more day until I leave for the Philippines and the WEKAF 10th World Championships, I am soooo busy! Please keep bidding and keep posting. I appreciate all the bids, the donations, and your words of hope, advice, and good luck. I haven't been able to post as often as I'd like to but it is important for you to know that I appreciate all of my friends and the regulars to my blog!

Finally! I am very very blessed to have the support and encouragement of so many awesome people. Chuck Pippin and Ian Robbins are the best and I hope, because they put so much into this beautiful treasure that will soon be someones new best friend, that you will all carefully consider making a nice bid. This knife is THE BOMB! AND, for the record, one day when I make a million, I'm going to want it back! Thanks Chuck and Ian, I appreciate you trying to help me out and your hard work is not unnoticed!

The highest bid for the great knife auction is up to 500.00. And, theres a twist! Master Bobbe Edmonds of Edmonds Martial Arts academy has added a bonus! Here is what he had to say!

The Quickest way to a man's heart...
..Is directly under the ribcage.

Mariah Moore is defending her title of world stickfighting champion in Cebu soon. She has promised me a gift basket comprised of the asses she intends to kick there. I need all of you to help make my dream a reality!

Mariah needs no introduction, she has been a feature on Thick as Thieves for over a year now. You all know who she is and what she’s about. You have read my articles about her, seen the video. She’s ready to walk it like she talks it, in the birthplace of Kali, Eskrima and Pangamot: The Philippines.

But she’s gonna need a little push to get there. So Tribal Edge Knifeworks have created a one-of-a-kind blade to auction off in support of Mariah’s trip.

I have a few Tribal Edge knives, and I will say this without reservation: The boys do blades the way the Colonel does chicken. They put their heart and soul into their work, and every knife is both a high function blade and a wall-worthy showpiece. The blades are quality work to the core, and you would be hard-pressed to find a knife of equal value and use. I have trained with blade masters all over Southeast Asia, constantly handling various razor-edged weaponry. Nothing is more difficult than getting a custom piece out of Asia for training here in America. I gladly endorse Tribal Edge Knifeworks explicitly, they have gone above and beyond the quality of blade I usually get in Jakarta, or Cebu. Chuck and his group are currently developing some Silat-specific weapons to my specifications as well, you can look for an update on that later next month here.

The custom knife we are auctioning off is called “The Eskrimadora” in Mariah’s honor.

This is a Bowie-style blade, and is an elegant piece for the serious knife trainer, aficionado or collector. The retail value is well over $1,000.00, and has been appraised as a collector's item. The current bid is $350.00.

The blade was hand forged by Ian Robbins from W2 high carbon Tool Steel. It was clay heat treated (like a Japanese Katana) to create a differential temper with a visible hamon line in what we call the Great Lakes Cloud pattern. This gives the knife a soft back, a springy middle and a very hard edge.
After the tempering process, the blade was turned over to Chuck Pippin who hand finished and etched the blade to bring out its full beauty. Chuck gave the blade a matte finish which shows the blade off to its best advantage. Chuck then fit the full profile handle with Amboyna Burl slabs, which comes from the Pterocarpus indicus tree and is one of the most striking of the exotic hardwoods.The slabs are fixed to the handle with three Mosaic pins which were hand made by Ian Robbins. The wood is finished with many coats of a special oil to stabilize it and protect it from moisture.

The blade is hand sharpened to a razor edge.

To finish off and complement the knife a custom sheath was crafted by Chuck, who is our master scabbard maker. The Sheath was first form fitted with oak tanned leather which was then hardened to the blade. Chuck added 2 heavy-duty Neodymium Rare Earth Magnets, implanted between two layers of leather to protect the blade, to provide positive retention without a retaining strap. The sheath was then dyed and given several coats of Carnauba wax as a moisture protectant. When the knife and sheath were finished they were signed (and the signatures etched into the blade) By Mariah, Chuck and Ian.

The winner of this knife will get many years of use out of it, and all Tribal Edge knives come with a lifetime guarantee.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

In addition to the knife, Science Fiction author and martial artist Steve Perry has offered a rare autographed set of bound, uncorrected-proof galleys of his Venture Silk duology, Spindoc and The Forever Drug to the winning bidder.

To further sweeten the deal, I am offering a special dual-DVD of my teacher, Bambang Suwanda, performing Pencak Silat Ulin Suliwa and Pencak Silat Cipecut, with entries, locks, takedowns and knife work, as well as some Kembangan. This is produced by me with footage from Indonesia, you cannot get this anywhere else. The winning bid gets the whole ball of wax!

...Ummm, and a knife, two books and a double-DVD set.

The proceeds of this auction go to support Mariah Moore’s participation in the WEKAF World Championships this year in Cebu, Philippines, where she will defend her titles for the American team. Mariah is one member of a small group representing this country in the Philippines, with competitors coming in from Germany, Poland, Australia, Taiwan, and Japan. Mariah is representing US, and needs our support to get there.

To bid on the knife send an email to: stickgirrl@gmail.com

Please include your name, address and a phone number with your bid. Each bid will be verified.