Neumond

March 16, 2015. That's when I finished this knife. I wrote about it, too, and then just let it languish in my drafts. Reinbeast.com got more love because there are so many shows and t-shirts to write about, and so many other things to do in life. I just got work done early, which is very rare, and I'm suddenly finding myself with a free hour. The same happened last week and I decided then to start Stranger Things. What a fantastic decision. That show was a spectacular gem.

But I'm here to talk about a knife design, not TV. I haven't done much with that lately. Life just keeps getting in the way. If these sudden free moments are any indication, someday soon I'll be able to get back to it. I seem to be getting more efficient at my job and things are running more smoothly. So, here's what I wrote about this weapon in early 2015, with a few edits. I thought I lost this, but I just found it in my Dropbox.

It has been so long since I posted one of my designs, or any real knife, that I nearly forgot I used to do this. I was far too busy with a second job, maintaining multiple blogs, learning domaining, trying to study German, and lamenting wasted opportunities. But the biggest reason I basically stopped drawing for the second time in my life (the first was after high school) was that my iPad became unreliable. Some apps started constantly crashing and others couldn't be used at all until they were updated to versions that only ran on iOS 6, which my old first gen didn't support. I eventually bought a refurb Air, in November (2014). I thought I could get back to it, but since then I've had so much to do, and my mother's health to worry about for the first half of this year.

What finally brought me back here is this crescent moon shaped weapon that I actually finished in December 2013. For a long while, I thought I had already published it. I guess work, Christmas preparations, and a time consuming 30 Day Blacklist Challenge on Tumblr (fun but a waste for how few read it) put it completely out of my mind. At the same time, I was also working on Red, a tribute knife for The Blacklist about the main character, played by the remarkable James Spader.

Even with everything going on, I had a post written and the name picked out: Elatha. I wanted something to represent the moon, but I never liked "Luna." I looked for other words that meant moon or were related in some way. I found a list and chose Elatha because it stood out. Then I looked it up again months later, when I discovered I never posted it, to make sure nothing changed, and it seems the page I had originally found it on made a mistake or I read it too quickly. It's really the name of a sun god. I couldn't find or think of anything better, so I decided to keep Elatha, especially after finding out it was the name of a planet in Mass Effect, one of my favorite game series. Maybe that's why I gravitated towards it, because I had heard it before.

Okay then, Elatha it is, I thought. But not so fast. See how the title is not that? When I last worked on this, I had another thought. At the time, I was making up for having missed Joachim Witt's new album, "Neumond." It is such a spectacular, heartfelt, beautifully sung, deep and melodic masterwork that I couldn't go a day without it. All this time later and I still think about it, and listen to it, quite a bit. If I had to pick a single album to listen to for eternity, even considering all of the others I have loved, I think "Neumond" would have to be the one. Though this weapon was designed long before, it just felt right to pay tribute to the album that I can't live without.

If I've got you curious about Joachim Witt now, here's the first song I heard off of "Neumond."

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12 Days of Deals at Shop Blade

It's been a hell of a long time since I've published anything to this site. That's the problem with owning too many blogs, having too much work, constant chores and maintaining of the house, and trying to start a business, along with drawing and learning (very slowly) not only bladesmithing but also the German language, logo design and font design and... You see how I can get distracted. It's just me here, and I have no time for anything, really, that isn't on my main site. I've even written a hundred or so articles for my little video game site that have never seen the light of day.

But I come to you today with Blade Mag shop's 12 Days of Deals. Use the codes below at checkout. I will be updating this post for the next 11 days. Let's see if I can get back into the habit.

December 12 - LASTDEAL50

It's the final day for Blade's sale. Just use the code above to get 50% off your order.

Well, this was a fairly disappointing 12 Days of Deals. Kind of reminds me of Amazon's massively underwhelming Prime Day, but only a little. I spent so much time sifting through all the items that weren't eligible for additional discounts, because Blade couldn't be bothered to have a section specifically for the deals or a filter that would show only items that coupon codes could be used with. And that's why after searching over 200 items this morning, I gave up and bring you only two. Remember, though, that all the books I already found the other days are eligible for discounts, so just check below if you have these already or they don't interest you. And don't even bother looking at any knives. Every single one I have seen is excluded from further discounting.

Bladesmithing with Murray Carter, $7.00
Knives 2015, $9.99

After the discount and with the lowest cost shipping of $4.98, these two books come to a total of $13.47. I would get them, because this is an extreme discount, but at some point I have to say no and curb my spending. Have to be able to afford my next car payment. If it's after December 12 and you missed these deals but still want the books, you can of course check their current prices at Blade or eBay, or you can support this site and shop on Amazon...pretty please. :)

   

December 11 - $1.99 Back Issues

Oops, I almost forgot today's deal. It's been a bad day. Messed up my leg somehow, so I've been dealing with trying to get comfortable all day long. But there's still time for you to get most digital back issues that are available for $1.99 a piece.

December 10 - 10OFF35

Today you can get $10 off when you buy $35 worth of merchandise. That would bring your total down to $25 and you'd also be eligible for free shipping. Since so many items (more than 50% of their stock at least) are not eligible for additional discounts, I've gone through again and found some that you can use this discount on. Unfortunately, they are all ebooks. I would much prefer a physical copy. I find that I tend to forget about ebooks that I've bought, but maybe you have a different opinion on that.

You cannot combine coupons, but if you spend a bit more than $35, try coupon code KERTZMAN20 for 20% off your order.

eBooks:
Best Custom Knives of Blade's First 40 Years
Best Factory Knives of Blade's First 40 Years
Knives 2012
Knives 2013
Knives 2014

If you missed Blade's sale, you can buy all of these on Amazon.

   

       

The Knives 20xx ebooks are also available in paperback editions through these links, with many at lower prices from third-party Amazon marketplace sellers.

December 9 - 50% Off Clearance

There are only 6 deals in the clearance section today, including the Incendor Knife for $27.50, Forging Mosaic Damascus DVD for $15, and Blade 1997 to 2007 DVD for $20.

If you missed the sale, I found two of these products on Amazon.

   

December 8 - 50% Off Select Best-Sellers

They mean books, mostly. But you're sure to find something here that you've been wanting, like Collecting Case Knives for just $15 or the Iconic Knifemaking Book Collection, which includes "How to Makes Knives, "The Wonder of Knifemaking," and "Wayne Goddard's $50 Knife Shop" for just $35.

If it's after December 8 and you missed the deal but still want the books, you can check their current prices at Shop Blade, maybe find a better deal on eBay, or support this site and buy on Amazon.

           

December 7 - $10, $20, or $30 Off

Completely missed the Blade email announcing today's deal and, therefore, completely forgot I've been doing this. I've been way too busy to be bothered to do such a thing as remember. Only updating for completeness, unless you can shop lightning quick. Just 6 minutes left.

December 6 - Shizuka Noh Ken Knife

Save 29% off retail on this knife designed by James Willliams. Just $99.99 and shipping is free. The Shizuka Noh Ken is excluded from additional discounts, so you can't use the KERTZMAN20 code I mentioned in the December 5 entry, but it will still work on any other items that also aren't excluded.

December 5 - FREESHIP

Well, I missed a day already in the 12 Days of Deals. I apologize, but I was busy decorating for Christmas and I was writing a post for Reinbeast.com about Doctor Who because last night was the finale of an amazing season. It wasn't a special day anyway for Blade. The coupon was only for free shipping, which is normally just $3.99 and was free for U.S. customers a day or two earlier, even though that wasn't the deal of the day.

I do have a make up offer, though. I found a coupon in my email from the middle of November takes 20% off any order. I tried it and it still works. With KERTZMAN20 I got $2 off Knives 2015. That's the only thing I want right now or else I could have saved far more than the $3.99 of the lowest cost shipping.

December 4 - 50% off Books and eBooks

There are 80 books available in the store, many of which are half off today only. No code required. I have gone through and picked some that I haven't already mentioned below.

Book:
Knife Laws of the U.S.

eBooks:
Best Custom Knives of Blade's First 40 Years
BLADE'S First 10 Years Digital Download
BLADE'S Guide to Knives and Their Values
Knives 2010 - This one is just $5. Knives 2004 - 2009 downloads are also the same super low price.
Mosaic Damascus Knives
The Wonder of Knifemaking

December 3 - BOGO on Books

Unfortunately, it's not any two books, but only two books. Still, it's a spectacular deal. The email I got said buy Knives 2016 for $23.99 (retail $32.99) and get 101 Knife Designs (retail $29.99) for free. I put them in the cart to see if the deal was working and it turned out Knives 2016 is now on sale for $16.50, 101 Knife Designs is $15.00, and somehow the total came to just $11.97. There is no question that I have to take advantage of this. Of course, shipping is only free at $25, so I'm going to spend all day deciding whether to pay for that or find another heavily discounted item or two that will get me free shipping. And even though the site said free shipping for orders of $25, standard shipping is free for U.S. customers!

If it's after December 3 and you missed the deal but still want the books, you can check their current prices at Shop Blade, maybe find a better deal on eBay, or support this site and buy on Amazon.

   

December 2 - 12DEALS40

This code will take 40% off throughout (some of) the store.

A lot of products are already discounted and are not eligible for this sale. So, I spent time gathering a basketful of items that do qualify. I checked a number of different knives and it seems the code will not work for those.

BLADE Digital Back Issues:
April 2015
November 2012
July 2012
June 2011

DVDs:
Blade: 1997 to 2007

Books:
Art of the Knife eBook
How to Make Knives
Knives 2016
Knives 2015 (already at the insanely low price of $9.99)
Wayne Goddard's $50 Knife Shop
Spirit of the Sword eBook

December 1 - KITSAVE15

This code is for 15% off kits and collections.

Available products are the Iconic Knifemaking Book Collection, FAMARS USA SRT Survival Knife Value Pack, BLADE'S Knife Values Bundle, and BLADE Military Knives 2010 and 2011 Value Pack Download.

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Red Alpha

It's my birthday today, so I decided I had to finally complete this as a present to myself. I named it Red Alpha because I was finishing it while watching Richard Hammond drive a red Alfa Romeo 4C in the second episode of the 21st season of Top Gear.

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Red ~ Inspired by The Blacklist

This has to be both the shortest and longest it's ever taken me to design a knife. One morning I woke up very early because of a particularly freaky dream and couldn't fall back asleep.

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Eviscerate

The weapon I never wanted to finish. The weapon I have hated to look at, even though I quite like it. If I didn't then I wouldn't be sharing. I've drawn many things that looked far better in my head than what ended up on paper, but this was one of the few that just worked immediately.

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Reassemble

Phil Coulson's death in The Avengers was a beautifully-done, shocking moment, and cemented it as one of my favorite movies. It might seem a little cruel then that I drew a knife, since Phil was stabbed, but this is how I commemorate. This is how I contribute.

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North Star

Unlike most of the blades I've posted, I don't have a story for North Star. It wasn't inspired by a TV series, movie, or life event. I was finished with it in maybe an hour. It just came together very quickly, which was great because most of them take quite a while. I even came up with the name in a few seconds. But when it came time to turn it into a vector, it was too plain. I always put off designing a pattern, and I got stuck on the original handle wrap for weeks and always got bored with it. After a few minutes I would move onto other things, like writing about The World's End and The Wolverine and the endless parade of great shirts from TeeFury and RiptApparel. Eventually I realized the wrap was not worth the effort. When I make the real thing one day, then I'll know what works.

Original: September 20, 2007

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Brave New World

Woohoo, it's finished! At least on paper and digitally. This is my second knife for Almost Human, a new JJ Abrams show premiering in November on Fox. Yes, I am already a fan. Why? Because it was created by Joel Wyman, a showrunner and writer for Fringe, an all-time favorite. In fact, the name Brave New World is in tribute to it, not to Aldous Huxley. I should probably read that book sometime.

The hardest part of this by far was the lettering. I was originally trying to come up with some of my own and had done something similar to the A and L. While I was trying to figure out the O, S, and U, I got my answer in the first official trailer. Except for the T and H, the lettering comes directly from Almost Human. I had to reshape those two, because you can't have a Wyman show without heart.

Side note: This made me very happy. Joel is always sweet.

@Reinbeast Nice! Sensational!!!

— JOEL WYMAN (@JHWYMAN) June 13, 2013

Over the last two months I've had pages of ideas from which I may be able to scrape together a third knife for this show. But I need a bit of a break. The last two out of three projects have taken just too long. This one I was obsessing for days over the letters being exact, even though the half millimeters of difference would be seen by no one at 600 pixels wide. So for right now I'm going to work on shiny dangerous things I've already designed. Eventually I'll create something for Supernatural or Game of Thrones, shows where weapons like this make more sense, or another for Fringe, which I've been wanting to do since last October. Hopefully, they won't take all my time.

Alternate colors version. I had three others, but this was the best.

Original: May 27, 2013

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