02/18/2026
What's on Ryan's bench?
Some projects speak to you when you are creating them, this is one of those. Last summer my father in law Ralph gave me this knife. This is not just any knife, this belonged to his older brother Richard. This is the knife he carried in the Korean war. This Knife fought at the Chosin Reservoir. To a soldier, a knife is more than just a tool. It is an extension of you. You use it for everything, to open your mail, cut your food and when the bullets run out, it is your last line of defense . It literally becomes part of you.
When Richard gave it to Ralph it didn't have a sheath, so Ralph made one from an old pair of Army boots. Not perfect but got the job done. Tonight I put all of that all on the bench. At first the leather worker in me started making a new sheath that would be worthy of this knife. Then I saw the sheath Ralph had made and I remembered that the knife and sheath had been together for over 60 years. I couldn't bring myself to separate them. The old combat boot leather was in pretty sorry shape, so I couldn't make it from the old leather. I made the new sheath body and sewed the old leather on top.
When your artist mind takes over you think differently. I thought about how Richard must have cared for Ralph to give such an important part of him. Also how much Ralph thought of Richard to keep it for all of these years. Suddenly I realized I was holding something way more than a knife, I was holding the bond between two brothers.
At first I felt small, then I realized that Ralph had given me the knife, trusting that I would always take care of it. Now I truly understand how much Ralph thinks of me.
I made something that if taken care of will last for another one hundred years easily. As long as I'm alive the bond remains. When gone I will leave it to someone who understands the significance of it and they will keep it alive.
This is the way of Brothers and Soldiers, I am Honored to be part of that.
