So this idea...
A new design, a brass pendant with a Tritium core. Yeh that will be cool.., so I got on with designing it whilst watching the Terminal List on Netflix.
By the time it came to put my logos on, I'd kinda fell in love with the Winkler Knives Sayoc tomahawk, the tomahawk designed by Master Bladesmith Daniel Winkler (who made all the blades in the epic film "The Last of the Mohicans") in collaboration with Sayoc Kali martial arts trainer Rafael Kayanan. Pretty damn epic! So I dug a bit deeper...
So it turned out that The Terminal List was an adaptation of a book written by a New York Times Best selling Author, Navy SEAL Sniper and outdoorsman, Jack Carr. And his logo? two crossed Winkler Sayocs... Cool as!! This now had my full attention.
So, after reading up on Mr Carr, and the fact he had the crossed hawks logo which I just loved, I decided to make him a couple of pieces, with absolutely zero clue of how to ever get them to him, but an absolute belief that I would.
Now to get one thing straight from the off, I am never going to sell anything with Jack's Logo on, It's his trademark, and these were for him and him alone. So please, no requests because the answer will disappoint you.
I tried the usual suspects, social media and generic email addresses, but given Jack has quite a few followers, many of whom would probably be contacting Jack, I wasn't expecting a reply, and that's ok. There's only so much time in the day, and a man must set priorities and live his life.
So with a head full of belief, never just hope, I kept up with the law of attraction thing, visualized and trusted it would happen somehow.
Then, one day totally out of the blue, I get a message from a guy wanting a commission piece done. It sounded like a really cool job, which led to a few phone calls back and forth.
I mentioned in passing that I was trying to find a way to get this thing I made to this guy called Jack Carr in America. The answer kinda blew me away 'I might be able to help you with that' were the words that came through the earpiece ! 'I'm reading one of Jacks books right now. You know the Winkler Sayocs Jack has in his logo?' , 'YES", Well, I've had a few custom builds from Daniel Winkler, and I've had a few Sayocs too. I could call him and see if he'd maybe help out?'
I was kinda speechless for a minute, I took the phone away from my ear and just looked at it, this was actually happening, what were the chances of that! Now if this wasn't freaky as f**k I don't know what is! (actually I do, I've had a few kinda profound moments like that in life, one which very much saved my life through sitting next to a thoracic surgeon on a plane from Doha to Birmingham on the way back from Nepal... But that's another story.)
So then the journey really began!
But then, a spanner in the works! After doing my due diligence (Tritium is radioactive, minuscule amounts, but all the same) it turns out the USA are touchy about items containing Tritium being imported. They have to have a 'Legitimate use' firearm optics, no worries, but a pendant... Nope!! Crap!! So I just cracked on and made another, but this time out of Hallmarked Sterling Silver, with no Tritium tube. So it didn't glow in the dark, but I was really happy with how the heavily oxidized and 'worn' look came out. At least I could send this one!
Back in the game!!!
A few emails back and forth, with Daniel including a presentation on the pieces, which included a piece for Daniel Winkler too, and we were away! Jack confirmed that he's be happy to receive them! And Daniel and Kaela were in too! We were go! (Kaela is Daniel's office manager, Kaela's HANG 6 piece was bought for her by the legend who put me in touch. and was going out in the same package.) This was turning out to be an even more remarkable part of the HANG 6 journey than I could have expected! Loving it!!
Now for the packaging...
I reached out to InvictusMorale, and said I had this idea based on the wallets they made for me, which was totally stoked with the quality and finish of! I'd already 3D-designed it the way I'd like it, a nice pocket to keep the wristwear and pendant in, a usable bit of packaging. I also insisted that they put their logo on these, too for doing me an absolute solid on this. One for Jack, one for Daniel. (Daniel's piece shown in the final wallet packaging in the image above.) The lads did an amazing job as always, I was over the moon with it! So with presentation sorted, it was time for the scary bit, putting this lot in the post!
So off they went. I've never been so nervous about a package getting lost before. I had to have a word with myself and remind myself that this was all good! Just trust that this idea will come to fruition! Now i wasn't expecting to be mentioned on the podcast or anything like that. I mean these are pretty small things , so the visual impact from the other side of Jack's crossed Sayov desk would be fairly small. The objective was just to get the pieces in his hand, after hat it was in the wind, zero expectations.
So to date, Daniel and Kaela have received theirs, and I've had a really kind reply from Daniel saying that they're both really happy with their pieces, which I'm really stoked about! And Daniel said to pop in and say hello if I'm ever out that way. That put a big old smile on my face too! So there's a new destination plan for the future ;)
Now, my package to Jack may well be in a pile of other unopened stuff that Jack must receive on a regular basis. If you watch the Jack Carr Danger Close Podcast or follow him on Instagram, you'll see that Jack gets sent a whole lot of very cool stuff...
Let's see what happens next!
It's all about the tasks I set for myself outside of my normal day to day, the connections made, and the difference made. This is what fuels the fire. It's an important thing to do in life generally.
So the journey continues!
Again, these were gifts for Jack, and only sent after Jack confirmed that he was happy to receive them. They are not for sale, unless Jack thinks they're crap, then he might flip them ;)
But hey, a cool story right! Thought I'd share.
Take it easy, and remember to believe in your dreams always, go get em!!
Stay awesome all!
Update! Below, we have Kaela, the Winkler Knives Sales Manager with the Iconic RnD Sayoc hawk, and her HANG 6 commissioned piece.
