Kemal Knives (Don Fogg & Murad Sayen)

During the 80's and 90's two of the knife making world's greatest artists, Don Fogg and Murad Sayen, came together to create some of the most remarkable art knives ever conceived. The small amount of work they did together was call Kemal. Murad Sayen began making one-of-a-kind collectable 'art knives' in 1977 , he retired from knifemaking in 2005 with long list of awards and is represented in museums and private collections around the world. Since that time Murad has been painting full-time. Don Fogg is among the grand old men of custom blades. He began his professional career in 1979, when he attended his first show in Birmingham, Ala. Before that Fogg operated his own blacksmith shop, but always was interested in swordsmithing. He estimates that there are fewer than a dozen professional swordsmiths working in the U.S. Fogg moved from New England to set up shop in rural Jasper, Ala., to be near his friend and mentor, Jimmy Fikes. It also helped that Alabama's cost of living was more attractive and the climate more inviting than New England's. In 1981 he received his Master Bladesmith accreditation from the American Bladesmith Society.