Buster Warenski

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Buster Warenski
Born	(1942-06-05)June 5, 1942 Kimberly, Nevada, United States
Died	July 31, 2005(2005-07-31) (aged 63) Richfield, Utah
Occupation	Knifemaker, bladesmith
Spouse(s)	Julie Warenski

Buster Warenski (June 5, 1942–July 31, 2005) was an American custom knifemaker from Kimberly, Nevada who made "Art Knives" utilizing gold and other precious metals. Warenski is best known for making a reproduction of King Tut's dagger with a cast blade; over 32 ounces of gold were used in the construction of the dagger, making it one of the most valuable knives made in recent years.^[1]

Knifemaking career

Warenski began making knives as a hobby in 1966 after seeing a picture of a knife made by Gil Hibben.^[2] Warenski made his first knife from a file and took it to show Hibben; after seeing Hibben's finished knives, he toured Hibben's shop and learned some basic techniques from him. In June 1972 he was hired by Harvey Draper to grind blades and assist him at Draper Knives, but the operation went bankrupt by December of the same year. Warenski became a full-time knifemaker in 1975. He was a president of the Knifemakers' Guild for 2 terms and a Blade Magazine member of the Cutlery Hall of Fame.^[3]

Warenski made knives of all types prior to 1975, specifically hunting knives and skinners, but became famous for his "Art Knives" which he made exclusively after 1975; particularly what became known as his "Legacy Knives". Warenski built a recreation of the gold dagger found in King Tut's tomb. Making the knife took five years and it contained 32 ounces of gold including a blade cast from gold and specially heat treated. This knife was a stand-alone project, but became the first of his "Legacy Knives". He followed this knife with a knife he called "The Gem of the Orient", which incorporated 153 emeralds totalling 10 karats and 9 diamonds with a total weight of 5 karats. These gems were set to accent the gold filigree which overlaid the jade handle. It took Warenski 10 years to make this knife and it was sold for $2.1 million (US). The third knife in this series was named "Fire and Ice"; this knife contained 28 ounces of 18K gold, 22 rubies totaling 4.25 karats and 75 diamonds totaling 7 karats. The handle for this knife was constructed of quartz, accented with red enamel. A fourth knife was planned, but not finished.^[4]^[5]

With the exception of any damascus steel used in the knives, which Warenski ordered as a blank from an ABS Mastersmith and ground himself, all of his knives were sole-authorship, meaning he made and finished every part of the knife including making sheaths and engraving. After 1986, his wife, Julie Warenski, aided him with the engraving and gold embellishments.^[5]

Warenski died in 2005.^[6]

References

↑ Winter, Butch (1989). "The Art of the Knife". Popular Mechanics (Hearst Magazines) 166 (3): 86–88. Retrieved 2011-03-10.
↑ Baker, L.V. (1976). "Buster Warenski: Profile". The American Blade 3 (2): 4.
↑ Pacella, Gerard (2002). 100 Legendary Knives. Krause Publications. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-87349-417-5.
↑ Shackleford, Steve (2010). Blade's Guide to Knives & Their Values (7 ed.). Krause Publications. p. 445. ISBN 978-1-4402-0387-9.
↑ 5.0 5.1 Darom, David (2005). Art and Design In Modern Custom Fixed-Blade Knives. Saviolo. pp. 74–92. ISBN 965-07-1337-9.
↑ "Warenski, Buster". Retrieved 31 August 2011.

External links

Buster Warenski (1942-2005)

v t e Knives and daggers

List of daggers List of blade materials

Types of knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boning Boot knife Bowie Bread knife Cane knife Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Dagger Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Electric knife Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Grapefruit knife Gravity knife Gunong Hunting dagger Hunting knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kīla Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Mezzaluna Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Nakiri bōchō Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pocket knife Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Rondel dagger Sabatier Sami knife Santoku SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Tomato knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Warrior knife X-Acto Yanagi ba Yatagan

Types of daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh nakh Baselard Bichawa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Hachiwara Hunting dagger Janbiya Kaiken Kalis Kard Katar Khanjar Kris Mark I trench knife Ocean Edge Knife Parrying dagger Poignard Push dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife Tantō Marine Raider stiletto V-42 stiletto Yarara Parachute Knife Yoroidōshi

Knife manufacturers	Aitor Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Bear MCG Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Caber Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Cutlery DOVO Solingen Dexter-Russell Eikhorn Ek Commando Knife Co. Emerson Knives Erizo F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Füritechnics Gerber Legendary Blades Global Golok Hanwei Imperial Schrade J. A. Henckels KA-BAR Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives MercWorx Microtech Knives Morseth Murphy Knives Ontario Knife Company Opinel Pro-Tech Knives Randall Made Knives Ranz Rigid Knives Rösle SOG Specialty Knives Sabatier Aîné & Perrier Spyderco Strider Knives Survival Aids TEKNA Thiers Issard Victorinox W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Walther arms Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Windlass Steelcrafts Wüsthof Yarara Ltd

Knifemakers	A.G. Russell American Bladesmith Society Rex Applegate James Black Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Phill Hartsfield Bill Harsey, Jr. Gil Hibben Knifemakers' Guild Zanjan Knifemakers Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless Bob Lum William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Walter Doane "Bo" Randall, Jr. Chris Reeve Jody Samson William Scagel Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler

Book:Knives and daggers Category:Knives / Daggers

Persondata
Name	Warenski, Buster
Alternative names
Short description	Custom knifemaker
Date of birth	September 4, 1942
Place of birth	Nevada, United States
Date of death	July 31, 2005
Place of death	Richfield, Utah

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