Sonny
Umpad’s Carvings
These images are all taken from ten inches of carving Sonny did for me on one stick years ago. He carved thousands of items in his career, an astonishing body of work that included sticks, training knives, handles on real weapons and more. Anything he got his hands on became a functional work of art, and always with a fit and feel that was better than original.
Sonny and a wall of weapons in his home
Sonny’s first USA stick from his mom
Carved inlaid handle, live blade
This next knife was carved for me out of a block of delrin that I gave to Sonny around 1994. After he finished, he said plastic was too tough and that he’d never do that again. I used to bring it to classes but then it disappeared about 1-1/2 years ago. Exactly two weeks after he passed away, I just randomly dug into the bottom of a box buried in a closet, and there was the knife on the bottom!
Black knife – detail guard and blade
Black knife – guard detail other side
Black knife – detail top of handle
Black knife – detail butt of handle
