Van Barnett Custom Knife Sole Authorship 1997 W.W. Cronk Award Winning Dagger

The following is a direct quote from Van Barnett: I made the knife in 1996 it was one of the first early gold washed blades, which is 22kt gold over 1095 and pure nickel Damascus. The only person who had done gold washed blades before that that I know of was Jerry Fisk and Anatoli ??? (Can't remember his last name) From Russia in a collaboration it was publicized in Blade magazine. I did this one the winter before my first Guild Show in Las Vegas in 1997 the first year they moved the show. I was a probationary member, and this knife won the first of my two W.W.Cronk awards for best of Show at the guild show, the very first time a probationary member ever won the award at their first guild show. That win also allowed me to meet a beautiful little redhead who was set up directly across from me, as she (Dellana) congratulated me on winning the award, and the rest of that is history... it also attracted a lot of attention because it was so different from anything most had seen at that time. The blade is my Damascus, 1095 and pure nickel with 22kt gold wash over the nickel. The guard and pommel are hot blued mild steel with 24kt gold inlay on the guard (engraved by me) the gold parts are actually gold vermeil which is 22kt gold over silver. The handle is stone gold pyrite and jet cut and formed by me. That dagger was one of 4 totally new and unique daggers I had at that show. I also had two folding knives, one was called Golden Arrow which was the first heavily 3D carved Damascus folder that most had ever seen, it got tons of press at that time because it was so different, and fully carved folders started being seen more often, that folder also was all done with all gold washed parts. All of the knives I had that first year at the Guild Show were totally new and really got a lot of press and notice and started people watching all the new things I would create for shows. I had always done a few elaborate art knives each year but never got the publicity before as I did after that dagger won the W.W. Cronk award....so it was a life changing knife to say the least...and yes I still have the award on the wall of the shop. The Guild Show was my first major show I had done outside the Blade Show as I only did local shows all the years before and the Blade Show which I started attending of and on in 1995.