Introduction:​

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After 1227,5 hours of work it is finally done, after inspiration from Yusaku Maezawa 前澤友作 's initiative Dearmoonproject which unfortunately was canceled only yesterday - I decided last year to create a work of art based on the mission statement even though I was one of the many who did not make it through the selection process.

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Ambition's Edge is the embodiment of a dream as well as a desperate plea not to limit one's ambitions simply to that which is within one's immediate grasp - but to extend one's grasp beyond it and seize the future through the acceptance of both risk and suffering.

Mankind has struggled against the tyranny of gravity since time immemorial, and from my Norse perspective, I think of the fearless seafarers of old battling the open sea in nothing but open wooden boats, under the constant threat of gravity pulling them down into that dark and cold abyss.

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Through the lenses of mathematics and physics we have been able to momentarily break free from the shackles of gravity but the future still lies ahead. We must not lose momentum, but push through that great divide, where the stars are not merely reflections upon the waters, but lighthouses showing us the way.

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The past reaches for the future, and likewise the future reaches towards the past. Somewhere in the middle lies our commonality - our bridge, our springboard, that which will catapult us towards our common destiny.

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The Ambition's Edge is accompanied by a 70 page hand bound book, containing 9 chapters - each preceded by a poem. Each poem describes a step in the Ambition's Edge's journey from being a mere thought to setting sail towards that great unknown.

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Description - blade:

The blade is forged in i 3 layer laminate of pure 4,5 billion years old meteorite iron with a core of pattern welded truck shaft and 15n20 nickel steel.

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The full tang is forged from a piece of locally sourced historical railroad steel.

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The blade is heavily engraved with inlaid 24kt gold and copper with a Viking longship protruding from a gravity well on one side, and SpaceX's Starship protruding from a gravity well on the other.

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On the boat side I've chosen to engrave Archimedes' principle of buoyancy - while in front of Starship I've engraved my own little twist on the mathematical formula for calculating escape velocity. I find that even though these two mathematical equations are far distant from each other in terms of time, they both share a mutual adversary; gravity.

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On both sides of the blade - near the tip - I've set a 0,03ct natural yellow diamond.

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Hardness at edge: 58 HRC

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Description - handle:

The handle is a full tang handle, composed of a laminate consisting of approx. 5000 year old bog oak from Jylland in Denmark combined with black vulcanized fiber linings. At the front and rear of the handle - on both sides - there are deep relief sculptures. One of a Norseman reaching towards a Lunar meteorite suspended in epoxy resin in the middle of the handle, and a future Astronaut reaching back towards the Moon from what I imagine to be Mars orbit.

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The Lunar meteorite is framed by a compass ring forged out of 300 year old bog iron, inlaid with 24kt gold on each side - depicting the Elder futhark Runes for the letters N,S,A,V - symbolizing the four cardinal points and the names of each of the dwarves who to this day hold up the skull (sky) of the primordial giant Ymir. their names are Norðri, Suðri, Austri, and Vestri.

Thus I combine our Norse ancestors as well as our future spacefarers in their mutual struggle against the fetters of gravity and unite them in their shared desire for exploring new frontiers.

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furthermore the relief engravings are heavily set with 24kt gold, 0,03ct natural white diamonds symbolizing stars, blue sapphires symbolizing Earth and red rubies symbolizing Mars.

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All along the tang I have engraved the following:

Extend your grasp - per spatium (Latin, "through space")

Beyond Ambition - per tempus (Latin, "through time")

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I have chosen to combine modern day English with Latin, seeing as Latin is not only the language of the ancients - from whose scientific discoveries we've much benefited - but also the language of science and medicine to this day.

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Description - sheath:

The sheath consists of the same laminate, being Bog Oak from the same tree that fell 5000 years ago in Jylland, Denmark, laminated with black vulcanized fiber around a steel frame forged out of historical railroad steel.

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All along the frame I have engraved the following words:

From the ashes of the past Per periculum (Latin, "through risk")

Future's flowers will grow Per dolorem (Latin, through pain")

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Near the tip of the sheath, front side - I've engraved and sculpted a deep relief of the view from a Viking longship sailing out towards the open sea - with the moon (0,03ct white diamond) above the dark horizon.

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On the opposite side - I've engraved another horizon - that of the Lunar surface itself - with the Red Planet front and center.

On the front of the sheath, in the middle - I've engraved and inlaid Ambition's Edge's monogram into black lip mother of pearl, which in return is inlaid in 300 year old bog iron, which in return is inlaid in 5000 year old bog oak.

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Along the sides of the steel frame is inlaid 24kt gold pattern, with the occasional 0,03ct natural white diamond.