Knives Illustrated

Transcription

Knives Illustrated

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JAN/FEB 2013 • DISPLAY UNTIL: 02/26/13
VOLUME 27, NO. 1 • $5.99 U.S.
knivesillustrated.com
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YES, IT’S GENUINE STAG.
ALL DRESSED UP.
How do you make a hand-crafted Case knife with our signature India Stag
handle even more beautiful? You dress them up with elegant new features
like slanted and fluted nickel-silver bolsters and a glistening Case Arrowhead
shield. As always, trusted Tru-Sharp™ surgical steel blades assure you’ll
be ready for any task. So before you leave for that elegant dinner party
or friendly get-together around the campfire, try on a Case genuine Stag
pocketknife with slanted and fluted bolsters. It’s sure to look good on you.
Stockman
#32068 (5347 SS)
Humpback Half Whittler
#32062 (52046 1/2 SS)
Small Texas Toothpick
#32063 (510096 SS)
Visit us online
www.wrcase.com
Peanut
#32065 (5220 SS)
Muskrat
#32066 (MUSKRAT SS)
Join the Case Collectors Club
www.wrcase.com/join
Medium Stockman
#32067(5318 SS)
Like us on Facebook
www.facebook.com/wrcase
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Visit our new website today!
www.BowandArrowHunting.com
The ultimate magazine for
today’s hunting archer
s3UCCESSFULDEERHUNTINGTACTICSs)NSIGHTFULEQUIPMENTHOWTOS
s#OMPREHENSIVE'EAR2EVIEWSAND&IELD4ESTS
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
VOLUME 27, NO. 1
www.knivesillustrated.com
70
COVER STORY
44 The Art Knife Tactical Maker — John W. Smith
An Art Knife Invitational maker whose tacticals are just as nice!
By Les Robertson
FEATURES
14 New King At Queen
The inside story on how the oldest knife factory in
America ended up with a new owner
By J. Bruce Voyles
18 Wolfhawk: A “Drop Kit And Git” Knife
TOPS’ latest—designed for soldiers
By Jim Weiss and Mickey Davis
26 A Multi-Feature Approach To Sharpening
52
New Guided Field Sharpener from Work Sharp!
By KI Staff
28 Function Without Frills
Ontario’s Blackbird is a true survival knife
By Jim Weiss and Mickey Davis
36 CAS Hanwei Rock Creek Folders: Practical Tactical
Heavy-duty folders that do double duty as practical and tactical
By Abe Elias
40 New Twist On Metal Handles
Boker’s Minos is titanium a different way
By KI Staff
52 Half-Tangs, Loveless And Al Capone
Supplying Loveless knives to sportsmen and Thompsons to gangsters
26
By John Denton
57 Internet Directory
The best of the Net when it comes to knives
By J. Bruce Voyles
70 When It Hits The Fan
What knives do you have in your worst-case kit?
By J. Bruce Voyles
KNIVES ILLUSTRATED (ISSN 0898-8943) Vol. 27, No. 1 is published 9 times a year, January/February, April, May,
June/July, August, September, October, November and December, by Beckett Media, LLC, 22840 Savi Ranch
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KNIVES ILLUSTRATED • FEBRUARY 2013
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In Every Issue
You Will Find…
• Information on the latest
technological advancements
of men’s oldest tool, the knife
• In-Depth Articles, the Latest
Industry News, and Product
Reviews
• The Hottest Knives and Latest
Innovations In Steel and Design
• Hard Testing of Knives and the
Unvarnished Results
• Knives for Use by Military,
Emergency Personnel, and
Other Tactical Applications
17
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81
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013
Volume 27 • Number 1
EDITORIAL
Editorial Director: Doug Jeffrey
Editor: J. Bruce Voyles
Managing Editor: Jeffrey Rick
Art Directors: Tracy Powell, John Bernikow
Cover Design: Eric Knagg
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
James Batson, Abe Elias, B.R. Hughes, Mac Overton,
Clint Thompson, Doc Wacholz, J.B. Wood,
Les Robertson—Custom Knife Field Editor
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COLUMNS
8
KNIVES ILLUSTRATED (ISSN 0898-8943) Vol. 27, No. 1 is published 9 times a year, January/February, April, May, June/July,
August, September, October, November and December, by
Beckett Media, LLC, 22840 Savi Ranch Parkway, #200, Yorba
Linda, CA 92887. Periodical postage paid at Anaheim, CA, and
additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes
to Knives Illustrated c/o Beckett Media, 5430 LBJ Freeway, Ste
1200, Dallas, TX 75240. Return undeliverable Canadian
addresses to: PITNEY BOWES, INC, P.O. Box 25542,
London, ON N6C 6B2 GST#855050365RT001 © 2013 by
Beckett Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any
material from this issue in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.
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Points Of Interest
What’s new and happening in the world of knives
By KI Staff
Guess The Maker
Your chance to win a subscription if you know this maker
By Jim Cooper
80
Shows
Upcoming shows and events in the world of knives
81
Tips: Leave It Alone
Just how clean does a knife have to be?
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Q&A
Albert Baer — Adaptable Cutlery Genius
82
On The Edge: Spring Cleaning In The Fall
By J. Bruce Voyles
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On The Cover: John W.
Smith’s flawless tacticals
are true works of art.
(Photo by Terrill Hoffman)
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6
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Q&A
ALBERT
BAER:
1958—
Adaptable
Cutlery
Genius
BY J. BRUCE VOYLES
Q: What do you consider one
of the important moments in
cutlery history when the knife
industry was fundamentally
changed?
A: The Switchblade Act of 1958 is
the moment. Albert Baer and how he
adapted is the real story.
Albert Baer had left his Camillus
Cutlery sales job to purchase Ulster
Knife Co. He made plenty during
WWII associating with Imperial, taking
advantage of Imperial’s fine blanking to
produce wartime knives. He brought
Schrade into the deal at war’s end.
Schrade’s big thing was switchblades,
8
A mainstay of
Schrade’s business was their
patented switchblade—until 1958
when the U.S.
government
banned the
knives.
“THE FIRST GOOD KNIFE I EVER BOUGHT”
A Schrade Old Timer was the first good knife I ever bought with
my own money. I think it was $4.75 at my cousin’s family grocery
store. It was a 34OT.
A few years later that same store stocked a new knife with staglooking handles (but still plastic), a shield that said, “Uncle Henry,”
and a certificate inside that said if I registered the knife and lost it
within a year, they would replace it free.
“They must be crazy,” I thought. “Everyone will send this in and
have two knives for the price of one.”
It was perhaps one of the most brilliant moves in cutlery history,
and Uncle Henry became the very popular stainless alternative to
the carbon steel Old Timers.
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“
Imperial-Schrade was the
second largest cutlery company in
the world, topped only by
Victorinox’s Swiss Army knife, a
position they held throughout the
remainder of the 20th century.
bone-handled switchblades, and they
didn’t just make them for themselves.
Prior to WWII, Schrade had also made
switchblades for Case, Remington and
the major hardware brands.
But in 1957 things began to change. A
group of New York do-gooders concerned
about youth violence, as depicted in “West
Side Story” and “Rebel Without A
Cause,” in which the villainous delinquents were armed with switchblades,
decided that if they could get such knives
out of the hands of teenagers they would
solve the youth gang problem. (We can
see today how that actually worked out—
but once a law, always a law. Just because
do-gooders envision an idiotic concept
does not stop the idea from being idiotic.)
To add insult to injury, Camillus,
Albert’s former employer, had hired a
lobbyist and testified before Congress
on behalf of the proposed switchblade
ban. It became law in 1958.
In one day, Schrade’s market share, its
hold on the switchblade market—held
with patents, customers and good
designs—went away like a poof of
smoke. The people at Ulster and
Schrade still needed to eat.
So what did Albert Baer do?
He adapted. He combined the operations of Schrade in Walden with their
Ulster plant in Ellenville. And by 1960,
Steve Moskell of Crown Plastics had
handed the bosses at Schrade samples of
their knives handled in a new material—
Delrin—a plastic that would have less
breakage, no import laws, and was cheaper, a lot cheaper. Bye-bye, bone handles.
It was not much later that Henry and
”
Albert Baer were driving back to New
York City from Ellenville, and Henry
tells Albert, “You know, what this country needs is a knife like our granddads
had.” Before the trip had ended, the Old
Timer line was born. It was a raging success in its wood-grain boxes, bone-looking handles and inexpensive price.
So what did Albert Baer do when
his number-one selling line was outlawed?
He adapted.
He started another new line, and
another, and by the 1980s, ImperialSchrade was the second largest cutlery
company in the world, topped only by
Victorinox’s Swiss Army knife, a posi-
tion they held throughout the remainder of the 20th century.
With the passing of the Baer brothers, the driving genius that built
Schrade was gone. In the 9/11 attack
backlash, it was no longer possible to
carry even a small pocketknife in some
restricted areas, and companies that had
given knives as premiums and favors
fled the market. It was the beginning of
the end, and in 2004 Imperial/Schrade
closed their factory and the trademarks
and intellectual properties were sold to
Taylor Brands, LLC.
However, the genius and adaptability
of Albert Baer remains an inspiration to
anyone involved in cutlery. KI
KNIVES ILLUSTRATED • FEBRUARY 2013 9
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Points Of
INTEREST
GERBER
RECALLS
PARANG
he U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission and Health
Canada, in cooperation with
Gerber, has issued a voluntary recall of
the Bear Grylls parang.
Consumers should stop using recalled
products immediately unless otherwise
instructed. It is illegal to resell or
attempt to resell a recalled consumer
product.
The Gerber
parang has been
sold individually
and as a part of
their Apocalypse
Survival Kit. The
Consumer
Product Safety
Commission
recommended a
recall based on
24 reports of
breakage out of
119,000 knives
made.
T
119,000 KNIVES—24 INCIDENTS PROMPT RECALL
There are estimated to be 119,000
Gerber Bear Grylls parang machetes in
circulation. The reason cited for the
recall is a weakness in the area where
the handle meets the blade, which can
cause the handle or the blade to break
during use, posing a laceration hazard.
Of the 119,000 knives, Gerber had
received 24 reports of breakages, including one report of a laceration injury in
Canada, which did not involve stitches.
PARANG—CURVED BLADE
MACHETE
The parang is a curved-blade
machete with an overall length of 19.5
inches and a blade length of 13.5 inch-
“
es. The handle is dark gray with a textured rubber grip, orange trim, stylized
“BG” logo and it comes with a wrist
lanyard. The blade is marked with the
Gerber trademark and a stylized Bear
Grylls trademark. The machete comes
in a black nylon sheath with orange and
gray trim.
The machetes were sold separately or
as one of the products in Gerber’s
Apocalypse Survival Kit. The model
numbers are on the package. Model
numbers are: 31-000698, which has
“Survival Series” printed on the package; and 31-001507, which was sold
only at Walmart. Model number 300006010 is for the Apocalypse Survival
Kit, which includes a parang machete
among other items in a foldable black
cloth case with “Gerber” printed in
orange on the inside right.
SOLD FOR A YEAR
AND A HALF
The knives were sold at sporting
goods stores nationwide and online
from January 2011 through June 2012
for about $43 for the individual parang
machete and $349 for the Apocalypse
Survival Kit. The knives were manufactured in China.
SEE GERBER FOR
REPLACEMENT
Consumers should immediately stop
using the recalled parang machetes and
contact Gerber Legendary Blades to
receive a free replacement. For additional information contact Gerber
Legendary Blades toll-free at (877)
314-9130 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
PT Monday through Friday, or visit the
firm’s website at www.gerbergear.com.
Of the 119,000 knives, Gerber had received 24 reports of breakages, including one
report of a laceration injury in Canada, which did not involve stitches.
10
”
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New Bear & Son 510D
Damascus—Special
he new 510D Sideliner from
Bear & Son provides a full range
of features that make it a special
knife. From the handsome genuine
India stag bone handle to the Damascus
steel blade, it has a distinctive look. And
the smooth Sideliner locking system
makes it so easy to use.
With Bear & Son's ball bearing
action, the 3-inch modified spear-point
blade opens easily with one hand and
locks securely open for safe use. It folds
neatly into its 4 1/8-inch handle, perfectly contoured for comfortable feel.
For convenient carry and ready for use,
the 4.5-ounce 510D has a belt clip.
T
SPECS
Bear & Son is the only commercial
knife manufacturer offering knives with
Damascus blades. And it's a very special
416-layer, high-definition Damascus
steel, made in Alabama. It combines
steels of different properties to produce
blades with extraordinary toughness and
edge-holding ability.
Beyond their distinctive look,
Damascus blades have unique qualities
that set them apart from other steels.
The cutting edge has tiny saw-tooth
carbides, formed by forging in a coal
fire. This enables the blade to cut even
when it feels dull to the touch. Every
piece of Damascus steel is as unique as
Bear & Son 510 Sideliner
Closed: 4 1/8 inches
Blade: 3 inches
Steel: 416-layer Damascus
Weight: 4.5 ounces
a thumbprint.
As is the case with all Bear & Son
knives, the 510D Sideliner is made in
the USA, and has an MSRP of
$159.99. For more information about
the Sideliner or any Bear & Son knife
visit www.bearandsoncutlery.com.
CRAWFORD
NECK KNIFE
his new neck knife from Pat
Crawford is modeled after their
folder, the Stealth Folding
Fighter. The Stealth Fighter neck knife is
made of 154CM stainless steel, and is
tungsten DLC-coated, the best coating
available. It is 7 1/2 inches long overall
and the blade is 2 7/8 inches long. It
comes with a Kydex sheath with a “stainless steel” ball chain. It’s decorated with
holes, slots and thumb serrations that
makes this a unique neck knife. The first
25 will be numbered.
T
SPECS
CRAWFORD STEALTH NECK KNIFE
OVERALL: 7 1/2 inches
BLADE: 2 7/8 inches
COATING: Tungsten DLC
SHEATH: Kydex with a ball chain
RETAIL: $170
KNIVES ILLUSTRATED • FEBRUARY 2013 1 1
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NAVAJO ARTISAN DAVID
YELLOWHORSE ADDS GUN
AND KNIFE SET
ommemorating the epic Battle of
the Little Big Horn, Native
American artisan David
Yellowhorse has created the US 7th
Cavalry Custer’s Last Stand Gun and
Knife Set.
The knife, made by Bear & Son
Cutlery, is a traditional American-made
12-inch Bowie, with an 8-inch blade,
forged from high-carbon stainless steel,
then beveled, heat treated, tempered and
fitted with an engraved brass guard.
Yellowhorse has added his signature and
logo to add to the set.
The handles are inlaid with
C
turquoise, black jet with gold web,
white bone, orange spiny and nickel silver. After these channel inlays were
applied, the sterling silver images were
added. The handle has been polished to
a high luster.
The revolver is a .45 caliber stainless
steel Ruger Vaquero, a modern version of
the traditional single-action pistol. A
fully functional working firearm, it’s built
from highly polished stainless steel. It
features the most modern internal safety
features and performance engineering,
while maintaining the rich traditional
look of the gun that won the West.
The Vaquero has a 5 1/2-inch barrel
and weighs 43 ounces. The frame of
each pistol is stippled by hand and then
polished to a mirror finish. David
Yellowhorse has marked each gun with
his logo and signature. The grip area is
channel inlaid with sterling silver, black
jet with gold web, turquoise, white bone
and orange spiny. The image of Custer’s
horse and the US 7th Cavalry designation in nickel silver are inlaid into the
handle.
Only 25 of these gun and knife sets
will be built, and they will be sequentially numbered from 01 to 25. Serial number allocation is done on a first-come,
first-served basis. The set comes in a
handsome hardwood display case. A certificate of authenticity is supplied with
each set. They’re priced at $6,000. To
order call (870) 236-0133.
THE FAST
CUDA
he new Camillus Cuda bolt
folding knife is a folder that features a lightweight aircraft aluminum alloy body with a black G-10
bolster, pocket clip and a quick-release
blade for ease of opening with one
hand.
The 3 3/4-inch AUS-8 steel blade is
then super-hardened with non-stick
Carbonitride Titanium (see description
at right) molecular bonding.
The Camillus Cuda bolt is priced at
just $56.99. Contact Camillus Knives,
60 Round Hill Road, Fairfield, CT
06824, 800-835-2263,
www.camillusknives.com. KI
T
12
SPECS
CAMILLUS CUDA
OVERALL LENGTH: 8 3/4 inches
BLADE LENGTH: 3 3/4 inches
BLADE MATERIAL: Japanese AUS-8
BLADE SAFETY LOCK: Liner lock
HANDLE MATERIALS: Black G10
and aircraft alloy aluminum
CARBONITRIDE
TITANIUM
Camillus Carbonitride Titanium bonded
steel is patent pending technology and creates one of the hardest surface treatments
containing titanium--it’s harder than even
carbide or chrome!
The process of bonding takes place at
the molecular level, forming a complex crystalline structure which protects the blade
surface against wear, staining and damage,
and it will not flake, blister, chip or peel.
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Guess The
MAKER
SCORE
Guess The Maker, And You Can Win
A Free One-Year Subscription
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JIM COOPER
The knife featured in the November
issue was offered with the hint that the
maker was originally a vintage knife
collector. The knifemaker—who’s best
known for adding his unique twists to
modernizing vintage patterns—is Tony
Bose.
The first correct answer came from
Dan Skean, Jr. of Albion, Michigan.
The random drawing was won by Mike
Rochford. KI
Now for the next “Guess The Maker”
Two hints: He’s new and he’s going places. Send your entries
to bvoyles@beckett.com.
We’re adding a new rule to
the contest. If you enter, please
include your full name and mailing address (not just your email
address). It makes it much easier
to mail a magazine to you when
we have your mailing address!
HOW WE DRAW The method we use to determine who wins among the correct entries: The entries are placed in
numerical order, and a random number is generated by a random number-generating website (www.random.org).
WHAT YOU WIN, HOW TO WIN
• The first winner for each knife will receive a one-year subscription to Knives Illustrated. If you
already receive KI, you can have your choice of extending your subscription or receiving a oneyear subscription to one of our sister publications (Gun World or Bow & Arrow Hunting).
• Among the correct entries, we will also draw for a second winner. So be sure to enter, even if you
are not the first one to respond.
• Send your guesses to bvoyles@beckett.com
• Please mention promotional code AD23L011-FEBRUARY
• Winners are limited to one win every 12 months
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The first new knife
out of the gate at
Queen Cutlery under
the new owners is
an olive drab canvas
Micarta-handled
Mountain Man pattern, with a heavier
saber-ground blade,
combining tactical
and practical in a
single pattern.
NEWKing
at Queen
THE INSIDE STORY ON HOW THE OLDEST KNIFE FACTORY IN
AMERICA ENDED UP WITH A NEW OWNER.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY J. BRUCE VOYLES
There is a new king at Queen.
Knife factories rarely change
hands—but the oldest operating knife
factory in America did just that in
September of 2011.
Ken Daniels of Daniels’ Family
Knives purchased Queen Cutlery
Company from the Servotronics
Corporation, which will continue to
14
own the Ontario Knife Company.
The significance of the transfer of
ownership at Queen is best demonstrated by a quick look at the companies making knives in the U.S. in the
recent years. Western Cutlery, Schrade
and Camillus did not transfer ownership of their factory—the factory shut
down and the trademarks were sold.
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Page 15
The heavy standard lockback and
a useful brass-lined
lanyard hole combine security and
function.
The moment knife history changed—Ken Daniels signs
the documents to purchase Queen Cutlery.
Arrowhead Cutlery was a start-up
near Knoxville, Tennessee, and again,
when it closed, there was no one to buy
the factory. Buck Knives moved their
entire operation to Idaho, and the El
Cajon factory ceased to produce knives
altogether. But making history at
Queen Cutlery is nothing new!
building in 1914, when Schatt &
Morgan Cutlery constructed the building and started producing knives there.
In the 1990s, Queen registered and
revived the Schatt & Morgan name,
and once again Schatt & Morgan
knives were coming from with the factory in Titusville.
The day-to-day management of
Queen will fall to new president Jennie
Moore, marking the first female in the
U.S. to be named the president of a
major knife company. (See related sidebar in this story). Daniels’ son Ryan is
sales manager for the company.
NEW PATTERNS
HISTORIC SITE
WHAT’S NEXT FOR QUEEN
The current resident of the Titusville,
Pennsylvania, factory is Queen Cutlery
Company, which has produced knives in
that facility since the 1930s, but knives
were first turned out in the historic
When asked what would be different
at Queen, Daniels’ first response was,
“For the first time in many years,
Queen will have a knife-man in
charge.”
KEN DANIELS,
KNIFE COLLECTOR FIRST
Queen Cutlery owner
Ken Daniels recalls as a
child going to the monthly
trade days at Washington
Court House, Ohio, with
his grandfather to exhibit
and sell knives. “I recall
buying my first knife when
I was five,” he says.
He never stopped. Over
the years he has been a
Believing in the “if it’s not broken do
not fix it” theory, Queen will maintain
their/its traditional knives, but they are
also looking to the future, with a
rumored line of G10 and Micarta-handled knives, and carbon-fiber handles.
ducing short-run special
factory knife orders, which
regular at most major
were made for him by
knife shows, and at one
Queen Cutlery. From this
time was the market
contact Daniels met Bill
maker for Case stag-han- Howard, and in 2006 the
dled knives, at the same
two men formed Great
time building a successful Eastern Knife Company,
international tire business. also located in Titusville.
When his son
Daniels sold his interest
Ryan began showing
in Great Eastern in 2011
more interest in the newer and returned to producing
knives, Daniels began pro- special factory order knives
under the “Tuna Valley
Cutlery Company” name,
and again Queen made the
knives for him. In one of
his visits at Queen in conjunction with his special
factory order knives he
learned that the company
might be for sale—and he
began an almost yearlong
pursuit of Queen, culminating with the official purchase in September.
12/12/12
9:06 PM
Page 16
Few companies make traditional folders as well as Queen Cutlery, as
evidenced by this amber bone gunstock pattern.
THE BACK STORY
The story of Queen really
begins with two men in the
cutlery business before the
turn of the 20th century, C.
B. Morgan and J. W. Schatt.
The two had worked for
other cutlery companies,
and decided to import
knives under the New York
Cutlery Company name.
(The largest knife company
at the time was New York
Knife Company, and it’s
likely the two hoped to cap-
16
italize on the confusing of
the similar names.)
When U.S.-imposed tariffs
restricted import knives, the
new company was forced
into producing their knives
at home, and Schatt &
Morgan Knife Company was
formed, first in Gowanda,
New York, and in 1914 moving to their new building in
Titusville—the same building
that houses Queen Cutlery
Company today.
DID YOU
KNOW?
Among its more noted innovations, Queen pioneered the use of
stainless steel in pocket cutlery,
and has been at the forefront of
preserving the production of traditional pattern knives.
According to legend, with
the coming of the Great
Depression, five Schatt &
Morgan employees, most of
them upper management in
the small factory, began to
run parts in the S&M factory
afterhours. Later in their
free time, they would get
together and assemble the
knives under the Queen
City name, taking the name
from the nickname of
Titusville, site of the first oil
well that started the
Pennsylvania oil boom.
When their moonlighting
was discovered, the five
were released from Schatt &
Morgan, and a couple of
years later when Schatt &
Morgan ran into problems
with the slow economy (and
the loss of five of their key
employees), the company
was purchased by the same
five former employees
under the Queen name.
12/12/12
9:06 PM
FIRST LADY
PRESIDENT
JENNIE MOORE
Ken Daniels has taken the out-ofthe-norm step in naming long-time
Queen employee Jennie Moore as
Queen Cutlery Company president.
This makes her the first female cutlery company president in history.
Moore has worked at Queen
Cutlery for 25 years, starting as a
drill punch operator and working
her way up to plant manager for the
past five years.
The family aspect of Queen is
Page 17
Jennie
Moore,
the new
president
of Queen
Cutlery.
highlighted by Moore’s three-generation history. Her mother worked
at Queen until her retirement, and
her father began working for
Queen after his retirement. Moore’s
daughter, Ashley Wright, also
works at Queen.
These two extended-bolster folding hunters handled in stag and jigged
bone will be featured in a
short-run limited edition.
Note the double pulls on
the stag hunter at top.
We understand they are in discussion
with several name knife makers for collaboration knives.
THE COVER KNIFE
One example of Queen’s bridging the
tactical/practical field is what at first
glance appears to be a traditional Queen
Mountain Man pattern. This pattern
first appeared in cutlery as a one-blade
lockback in the Remington line in
1925, one of the legendary Bullet patterns. Closer examination will reveal
this new Queen model is handled in
olive-drab canvas Micarta for durability,
and the blade is saber ground, giving a
mass of steel for strength to the blade.
A maroon Micarta-handled version is
also in the planning stages, as well as
G10 versions. Suggested retail on the
new Micarta-handled Mountain Man
pattern is $105. KI
ONE KERSHAW AT A TIME
CRYO 1555TI
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÷LQEODGHOHQJWK
CONTACT
QUEEN CUTLERY COMPANY, P.O. Box 408, Titusville, PA,
16354, 814-827-3673, jmoore@queencutlery.com, www.queencutlery.com
,&34)"8,/*7&4$0.t'"$&#00,$0.,&34)"8,/*7&4
KI-1302-WOLFHAWK_v2-final.qxp
12/11/12
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Page 18
The polymer
sheath’s edges
were a little
rough, but since
it was made for
use on a
Picatinny rail,
Paul Granger
didn’t feel it really mattered.
18
12/11/12
10:21 PM
Page 19
WOLFHAWK
A “Drop
Kit & Git”
KNIFE
TOPS’ LATEST—DESIGNED FOR SOLDIERS.
BY JIM WEISS AND MICKEY DAVIS / PHOTOS BY THE AUTHORS
hen it comes time to “drop
kit and git,” no soldier leaves
his rifle. Now with the
TOPS Wolfhawk his knife will not be
left behind either.
W
NON-TYPICAL DESIGNER
Unlike many other knife designers,
Kelly Van Orden, the president and
designer of Battle Blades Knives, is not
a custom knifemaker, nor a military
man, nor a martial arts person. He’s a
retired Rocky Mountain rancher with a
small workshop.
He shoots his guns daily, and just as
often uses knives. He’s the type of guy
who wants to give back, donating guns
to returning soldiers. Making a profit
isn’t important to him. But designing a
knife that fits the soldier’s needs is
important.
“
If the knife and
its sheath were
designed with input
from our troops, for our
troops, then who am I
to determine their
functionality in the
sandbox?
12/11/12
10:21 PM
Page 20
QUICK
FACTS
OVERALL: 7 ¾ inches
BLADE: 3 ¼ inches
THICKNESS: 5/32 inches
STEEL: 1095 high
carbon RC 56-58
HANDLE: Black linen
Micarta or paracord
BLADE COATING: Black
traction coating
WEIGHT: 3.8 ounces
WEIGHT WITH
ATTACHMENT: 5.2 ounces
MANUFACTURED BY: TOPS
Knives (Idaho Falls, Idaho)
SUGGESTED RETAIL:
$169.95
DESIGN ORIGINS
Van Orden talked with the returning
soldiers from active duty in combat
zones to get their input concerning
what they felt were the necessary features of a usable tactical knife. He
learned that the soldiers commonly
carry their knives in their kit.
Sometimes they have to dump their
kits, but they never dump their rifles.
Knowing this, Van Orden began to
design a special knife with our military
in mind, a knife that soldiers wouldn’t
lose. This knife would fit on a soldier’s
rifle, the one item he keeps with him
always.
Van Orden spent about a year of his
time and money designing the TOPS
MP4 Wolfhawk, beginning with crude
prototypes. The resulting knife is one a
soldier or user can count on, and one
Van Orden thinks his father (see sidebar) would have liked.
ENTER TOPS
In mid-project, Mike Fuller of TOPS
Knives was approached and became an
asset, offering much help. The knife was
first designed to have a spear point, but
Fuller talked him out of that design.
Van Orden also at first wanted to go
20
Mark Allen Prince is
shown here with his
Wolfhawk mounted
on his tactical rifle’s
Picatinny rail.
12/11/12
10:21 PM
Page 21
Kelly Van Orden’s assessment of our troops' needs
(with their input) and their
equipment, was that if an
operator needed to “dump
kit and git,” they never left
without their rifle, so why not
design a knife that traveled
with the rifle at all times?
with stainless steel, but Fuller encouraged him to use 1095 carbon steel,
something Van Orden considers sharpens well and holds an edge, as well as
resists corrosion.
Van Orden had some issues while
working on a design with a swivel for
the sheath, and he’s still improving a
sheath for better belt carry.
TWO BLADE STYLES
The Wolfhawk knife is offered in two
blade styles: a “hunter’s point” and a
tanto blade. Van Orden said he calls the
drop-point style a hunter’s point because
as a big game hunter, he knows about
hunting and skinning, and the hunter’s
point serves a hunter’s purposes.
Van Orden designed the grip of the
handle to do work. It’s designed to be
drawn from the sheath and instantly be
able to cut or slash in any direction. As
to the jimping (finger and thumb horizontal grooves) on the handle, he felt
that jimping and scalloped grooves work
well with the user’s hands and fingers,
with or without gloves.
PARACORD OR MICARTA
HANDLES
There are two handle versions offered
for this knife. Van Orden prefers the
black linen Micarta version himself, but
survivalists and people in the preparedness movement favor the version with
the paracord handle. They like it
because they can unravel the paracord
for other uses and then rewind it onto
the handle. The paracord has about a ½ounce difference from the black linen
Micarta, but locks into the sheath the
same way. Sales are about 50/50
between the two.
Van Orden also wanted his knife,
designed to be carried on the
M4/AR15-type rifle or other military
rifles with Picatinny rails, to be light
enough not to weigh down a rifle the
way other items mounted on a Picatinny
rail tend to do.
The TOPS MP4 Wolfhawk, in addition to being offered in the two different blade styles, also comes with either
black linen Micarta or paracord handles.
Kelly Van Orden showed a prototype at
the 2012 Shot Show.
And our review team takes a look at it
here.
REVIEW FROM A
KNIFEMAKER’S ANGLE
Custom knifemaker Paul Granger
examined the Wolfhawk tanto-blade
review knife, first cautioning that he
couldn’t comment on the rifle-mounting setup as he was not a rifleman, nor
owner of a rail-system rifle. His commentary for this article would be
reserved to the knife itself, one he
described as “the little rifle knife.”
Right off the bat, as he removed the
Wolfhawk knife from its sheath, he was
impressed by the clever locking system;
a thumb release that locks the knife into
the sheath. He said it took a while to
get used to the lock, but felt it was a
great feature and the knife deploys easily once the operator has experience with
it. This locking feature will especially
appeal to anyone who has ever lost a
knife in the woods.
TACTICAL
TRADITION
Kelly Van Orden, designer of
the Wolfhawk, is the son of Sgt.
Rulon (Rudy) Van Orden, an
infantry sergeant with the 94th
Infantry Division, who served in a
machinegun squad at the Battle
of the Bulge.
Shown is the Wolfhawk
mounted on Picatinny rails.
12/11/12
10:21 PM
Page 22
The polymer sheath’s edges were a
little rough, but since it was made for
use on a Picatinny rail, he didn’t feel it
really mattered. If the knife had been
developed for belt use, Granger would
file off the rough edges. (The blade is
advertised as being able to be belt
mounted). There’s a good drainage hole
in the sheath.
THREE-PIECE KNIFE: BLADE
AND TWO HANDLE SLABS
There is jimping at both
ends of the handle: near the
butt, top and bottom as well
as at the front end of the
handle inside the finger
grooves at the top and bottom of the small double
guard. The jimping is deep,
coarse and effective.
This is a three-piece knife: the metal
tang blade and the two sides of the
handle. Granger said the Wolfhawk fits
relatively snugly in the hands, and is
equally snug and comfortable in all four
grip positions. The balance is good.
There’s jimping at both ends of the
handle: near the butt, and top and bottom as well as at the front end of the
handle inside the finger grooves at the
top and bottom of the small double
guard. The jimping is deep, coarse and
effective.
The guard is just right for its size and
purpose. There are also two scallops and
four grooves on the face of each side of
the handle, which is nice, especially if
the knife is used for horizontal slicing.
A full tang runs through the handle,
but the butt itself is not useful for hammering or tasks of that nature. Granger
would probably add a lanyard hole at
the butt.
The tanto blade he examined was
thick with a shallow grind, not particularly good for detailed work, but sturdy
and probably valid for military use such
as shredding wood for tinder. Japanesestyle tanto blades are excellent for piercing, and are the choice for Samurai
swords and other stabbing weapons.
The shallow grind of this knife renders
it ineffective for outdoorsman tasks like
hunting and skinning; a high, flat grind
or hollow grind would be better for
that. The blade is made of 1095 steel, a
carbon steel commonly used by TOPS.
The company lists it as being high carbon with an RC of 56-58. Its finish is
described as “black traction coating.”
This coating will totally protect the
blade from rust except for the edge.
Sharpening the blade would remove any
such rust.
The review knife did not arrive sharp
out of the box. It had a black linen
Micarta handle, an excellent knife handle material. TOPS’ ad for this knife
indicates that the buyer may choose to
order it with either a paracord handle or
a black linen Micarta handle.
MARK ALLEN PRINCE’S
REVIEW
The Wolfhawk arrived on a rather
hot and humid summer day in August.
My writing pals introduced this knife to
me as something different. When I was
able to give it the time it was due, I
found them to be correct. First, the
PAUL GRANGER-REVIEWER QUALIFICATIONS
Custom knifemaker Paul Granger (www.palehorsefighters.blogspot.com) specializes in making fixed-blade knives
of his own unique design as well as in traditional patterns. He has created a line of lightweight, non-metallic, nonceramic knives currently in use by the American and Canadian Military, multiple police departments, and both the
FBI and the CIA.
22
KI_1302_23
12/10/12
4:30 AM
Page 23
Visit our new website today!
www.KnivesIllustrated.com
The premier knife magazine
s4HEHOTTESTKNIVESANDLATESTINNOVATIONSINSTEELANDDESIGN
s4HELATESTNEWSVIEWSANDREVIEWSs(ARDTESTINGOFKNIVESANDTHERESULTS
12/11/12
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Page 24
“ ”
If an operator needed to ‘dump kit and git’ they never left
without their rifle, so why not design a knife that traveled with the
rifle at all times?
MARK
ALLEN
PRINCE,
USDOE SRT
OPERATOR
Mark Allen Prince is a professor
of Law Enforcement Technology/
Special Operations at Central
Ohio Technical College, a former
USDOE SRT operator, and spent
18 years in local law enforcement
special operations and training.
He has developed and teaches
courses in homeland security and
special operations for military,
state and local special operations
personnel and organizations. He’s
an instructor trainer certified by
the late Colonel Rex Applegate.
knife was not as large as the fixed-blade
knives I had been evaluating of late.
Second, the knife came with an interesting scabbard. Third and finally, its
mission was not the same as all the
other knives I had evaluated recently.
Kelly Van Orden, the designer of the
Wolfhawk created this knife to support
our troops overseas. It was not designed
with the specific intent of any task
other than to be a back-up tool for the
military. Through his assessment of our
troops’ needs (with their input) and
their equipment, it was ascertained that
if an operator needed to “dump kit and
git” they never left without their rifle,
so why not design a knife that traveled
with the rifle at all times? As a result,
TOPS Knives produced the Wolfhawk
and the scabbard that would attach it to
the rail mounts of an M-4 style rifle.
The knife itself was at first rather
plain to me. It appeared to be a “mini
tanto” with a straight spine and rather
simple Micarta grips. Not really large
enough to be a fighting knife, or a bush
or survival knife, I thought perhaps it
was just a novelty due to its scabbard’s
design to hang off of a rail. But then I
began the field evaluation.
WITHSTANDS 400
HAMMER BLOWS
The Wolfhawk easily withstood the
400 strikes delivered from the steel claw
hammer. One hundred strikes were
delivered to each side except the edge. I
observed only slight deformation on the
spine from the 100 strikes delivered
there. The sides of the blade showed
only slight cosmetic disfigurement, and
the tail end of the grip showed none!
The black traction coating is tough,
tough, tough. The hammer test
removed only a bit of it on the 90degree angle of the left side of the
spine.
As the knife is often a tool more so
than a weapon, I used it as such. I pried
a board from a pallet with more than a
little effort (mostly because the little
knife lacked the leverage of the larger
blades); this caused no damage to it at
all. Although the knife is not big
enough for outdoor chores like batoning
wood for a fire, or hacking large
branches for making a shelter, it worked
well in duties that included carving
wood, peeling apples and general
kitchen duties.
PIERCES STEEL JEEP BED
Van Orden, the Wolfhawk’s designer, talked with the returning solders to get their
input concerning what they felt were the necessary features of a tactical knife they
could use.
24
The high-carbon steel, 5/32-inch thick
blade is 3 1/4 inches long. As a result, it’s
not best for heavy chopping. As the blade
reviewed is a tanto style, it does lend
12/11/12
10:21 PM
Page 25
A drop point and enough
belly for skinning makes the
Nyala useful in a multitude of
applications. The integral handle and
blade is sturdy and practical.
According to custom knifemaker Paul Granger, the tanto blade he examined was
sturdy and probably valid for military use such as shredding wood for tinder.
itself to powerful piercing, however. I was
surprised when I was able to penetrate
the steel Jeep bed. The little Wolfhawk
blade penetrated the thick steel over an
inch in depth each of the six times I
thrust into it. And there was only a
minor chip—about 1/8-inch from the
tip—when this test was finished. This
was easily fixed with a little work from a
coarse stone and the kitchen steel.
The jimping on the thumb indentations provide a strong purchase for
thumb and finger, but proved to be too
painful in the part of the evaluation
where I coat the knife with canola oil
and stab the ol’ poplar stump violently
(this is normally completed using a
“saber” type grip). It’s important to note
that this activity became ideal when I
put on a pair of GI leather gloves and
commenced stabbing operations.
The icepick or reverse icepick grip
with thumb over the butt on this knife
really shines when desiring to penetrate
an object. Also, I found the knife
worked well for cutting and slashing
when I “choked up” on the grip and
placed my thumb on the backside of the
blade beyond the thumb indentation
and guard. I would recommend the grip
of the knife to be a bit larger so that it
would fill the non-gloved hand better if
possible.
I must admit I took a shine to the little knife after handling it for a few
weeks. If the knife and its sheath were
designed with input from our troops,
for our troops, then who am I to determine their functionality in the sandbox?
FIRST CHOICE TO ANYTHING
THAT FOLDS
As an American peace officer who
spends time in harm’s way hunting
monsters, I don’t see the need to attach
the knife to my rifle rails. But I do see
this little fixed blade as a first choice to
anything that folds and that any knifemaker calls “tactical.”
The cost of the knife for a field troop
is a bit high at $169.95 (MSRP), but I
can attest to the knife’s quality and its
performance in our field test and give it
an excellent rating.
If I needed a knife and had to choose
from any “tactical” folder or Kelly Van
Orden’s creation, the TOPS MP-4
Wolfhawk rifle knife would do my bidding hands-down, anytime and every
time. KI
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A Multi-Feature
APPROACH TO
Sharpening
NEW GUIDED FIELD SHARPENER
FROM WORK SHARP!
BY KI STAFF
The Guided Field
Sharpener from
Work Sharp takes
a Swiss Army
approach to
sharpening, combining diamond
hones, ceramic
rods and even a
leather strop in a
single package.
he Work Sharp Guided Field
Sharpener 2.2.1. is made by
Darex LLC in Ashland,
Oregon, the same people who produce
the Drill Doctor brand of drill bit
sharpeners.
“Our compact, five-stage, angle-guided field sharpener quickly and easily
restores a sharp edge onto a blade with
repeatable results,” says Darex president
Hank O’Dougherty. “It provides diamond plates, ceramic rods and a leather
strop so you can perform any knife
sharpening, honing or stropping task
with one, compact and easy to use
sharpener.”
T
26
A look at some of the features of the Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener.
KI-1302-Work_v2.qxp
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Page 27
The diamond hones are
held in place with magnets, and are removable.
KEN ONION IS IMPRESSED
WITH IT
A unique feature
to the hone is a
leather strop for
the final stropping; ideal for the
razor edge purist.
WORKSHARP GUIDED
FIELD SHARPENER
CONTAI NS:
Two sharpening angle guides
Serrated sharpening rod
Three-position three-grit ceramic rod
Leather stropping strip
Coarse and fine diamond stones
Broadhead wrench
Retail: $34.95
Legendary knifemaker Ken Onion
said of the Guided Field Sharpener, “I
am impressed with the clever details,
like the magnetic plate holders, angle
guides, round ceramics and strop, all in
a small easy to carry package. It’s by far
the best manual, portable sharpener I
have ever used.”
“I especially like the versatility of it,”
Onion continued. “I have used it on flat
and re-curve blades as well as fishing
hooks and leather punches and it performed well. Something for everyone in
this little package.”
COMPLETE PACKAGE
The Work Sharp Guided Field
Sharpener ($34.95) comes with two
diamond plates (coarse and fine), two
ceramic rods (coarse, fine and fish hook
groove) and even a leather strop. All
Work Sharp products are designed,
engineered and assembled in Ashland,
Oregon. KI
“”
It’s by far the
best manual, portable
sharpener I have
ever used.
—KNIFEMAKER/DESIGNER
KEN ONION
CONTACT
DAREX LLC
210 E. Hersey St., P.O. Box 730
Ashland, OR 97520
800-597-6170, www.worksharptools.com
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FUNCTION
Without Frills
ONTARIO’S BLACKBIRD SK-5 IS A TRUE SURVIVAL KNIFE.
BY JIM WEISS AND MICKEY DAVIS / PHOTOS BY THE AUTHORS
28
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Page 29
The Blackbird is
shown with the nylon
sheath that comes
with the knife and
the aftermarket
leather sheath.
Designer Scheiter
developed the knife
with the goal of
achieving maximum
function delivered
through pure simplicity. “I believe that the
less complicated a
product is, the better
it will perform when
your life depends on
it,” said Scheiter.
T
he SK-5 designation for the
Ontario Blackbird sums it
up—Survival Knife with a 5inch blade. Designer Paul
Scheiter developed the knife with the
goal of achieving maximum function
delivered through pure simplicity.
“I believe that the less complicated a
product is, the better it will perform
when your life depends on it,” said
Scheiter. He feels the Blackbird is comfortable to use, has ideal cutting geometry, and is durable—all desired features
necessary for the most demanding
wilderness survival tasks.
Scheiter is also the owner of the
well-known sheath company, Hedgehog
Leatherworks (www.hedgehogleatherworks.com), which produces an aftermarket leather sheath for the Blackbird
SK-5. According to the Ontario Knife
Company (www.ontarioknife.com), the
Blackbird has proven itself to be an
invaluable tool for survivalists, soldiers,
hunters and outdoorsmen.
Our reviewers, Paul Granger and
Mark Allen Prince, said, “We’ll see
about that.” What follows are their conclusions after testing.
12/11/12
10:53 PM
Page 30
Fast
Facts
OVERALL LENGTH:
10 INCHES
BLADE LENGTH: 5 INCHES
BLADE THICKNESS:
0.13 INCHES
STEEL: 154 CM
ROCKWELL HARDNESS:
58-60 HRC
HANDLE: MICARTA
SHEATH: NYLON
According to Ontario Knife
Company, because of its
emphasis on function with
no frills, the Blackbird has
proven itself to be an
invaluable tool for survivalists, soldiers, hunters and
outdoorsmen. The
Blackbird is shown with one
of Heckler & Koch’s new
MR762A1 match rifles.
30
12/11/12
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Page 31
According to Mark Prince,
“After a very long weekend
of spending many hours
keeping the Bass Islands of
Lake Erie safe for democracy, I began my field evaluation of the Blackbird on a
Sunday afternoon.”
STARTING
WITH THE
SHEATH
BY PAUL GRANGER
REVIEW 1
KNIFEMAKER PAUL
GRANGER REVIEW
Granger noted that since Paul
Scheiter is known for his Hedgehog
Leatherworks sheaths, he would begin
his review with the Blackbird’s sheath.
(It’s important to note that the nylon
sheath that comes with the knife is not
manufactured by Hedgehog
Leatherworks).
SHARP OUT OF THE BOX
As to the Blackbird knife itself, its
thin blade is very sharp out of the box.
It’s readily applicable for tasks such as
cleaning pan fish or field dressing small
mammals like squirrels or rabbits more
than large, thick-bladed survival and
tactical knives. Why people would sell a
person a dull knife is beyond Granger,
perhaps because of liability issues, but
that is hardly the case with this keenly
edged blade.
BLADE IS SPEAR POINT
The knife has a good blade length for
both utility and tactical work. While
spear tips are not particularly common
in America, this blade comes together
nicely at its centered point. Its spine is
good for forward use as well as for more
blade control in doing finer work. There
is a flat/full grind all the way to the
spine.
The sheath accompanying the
knife used for Granger’s review
was nylon. Granger liked it and
thought it was very clever. The
oblong metal link in the retention
strap that fits over the knife’s handle falls back to the side, out of
the way, when this strap is
opened. This innovation greatly
reduces the chance of the strap
being accidentally cut when the
knife is removed from the sheath;
an occurrence that can happen,
especially with leather sheaths.
Granger felt this metal link built
into the retention strap is an excellent feature.
Whereas some sheaths have
pockets, the Blackbird’s nylon
sheath has useful MOLLE loops on
the front that allow for varioussized items, such as a survival kit
or radio, to be attached to the outside. Granger said such MOLLE
loops are significantly better than a
pocket because the sheath’s user
has many more choices as to what
can be carried on it.
A MOLLE strap on the back of
the sheath runs its full length,
offering versatility in how it’s worn.
The grommet-reinforced drain hole
is a good addition. There’s also a
Kydex—a high-performance,
durable plastic—blade liner built
into the sheath.
12/11/12
10:53 PM
Page 32
in all four basic holding positions: forward, reverse, inverted and icepick. The
three-piece knife’s recessed screw holes
are kind to the user’s hand; nonrecessed screw heads can be irritating if
the knife is used for a while.
Ontario Knife Company's ads call it a
finger groove, but Granger feels that
might be a bit of a stretch; it’s more of a
finger “recess.” A true finger groove lets
the user know exactly where the finger
or fingers are.
The handle is made of scaled, canvas
Micarta, which is slightly more “grippy”
than linen Micarta. There’s a small,
two-dimensional belly swell of 1/4 or
5/32 inches on the blade side of the
handle. The front and back handle panels of this three-piece knife are flat.
Another nice handle feature is the
expanded lanyard slot.
DESIGN BASED ON
OUTDOOR USE
This Blackbird is shown on
the hull of an M42 40mm
self-propelled anti-aircraft
gun called a Duster. It’s an
armored light air-defense
gun on display at Camp
Perry, Ohio.
The Blackbird blade is made of
154CM steel, a premium grade stainless
steel. Developed in the United States,
this particular knife steel is probably
one of today’s top three knife steels.
Granger thought he would bevel the tip
of the blade’s guard a little as it’s a bit
sharp. If the blade is used for slicing
sideways, this guard tip might be an
infrequent problem.
HANDLE FILLS THE HAND
Very effective and simple, the handle
fills the user’s hand well, with nothing
flashy and nothing to break off.
Ergonomically, it has a comfortable grip
BEST OF
THE BEST
WINNER
32
Paul Scheiter is known for his
Hedgehog Leatherworks and his camping expertise. The 28-year-old Scheiter
began his interest in camping by going
into the deep woods at an early age in
the company of his uncle. These experiences in Missouri evolved into a passion
for the outdoors and experimenting in
hill and woods survival skills.
Scheiter saw a need for a survival knife
that bucked the trend of some knives,
which seemed to be more and more
about featuring gimmicks. In developing
the Blackbird-SK5, he and his staff were
looking for knife characteristics that
were time-proven in the realities of what
really works well. Instead of thinking
about what they could add, they worked
at what they could take away.
ROUNDED GRIP
Blackbird’s basics include a handle
Field & Stream magazine's “Best of the Best” award is one of the most prestigious in the outdoor gear industry. Each year expert field testers at Field & Stream
evaluate hundreds of the best new outdoor products, narrowing them down to the
most outstanding equipment across several categories. In 2011, the Ontario Knife
Company's Blackbird SK-5, designed by survivalist Paul Scheiter, was awarded
“Best of the Best” in the knife category.
“
12/11/12
10:59 PM
Page 33
$9.95/100FT
Ontario Knife
REVIEW 2
Company's ads call it a
MARK ALLEN PRINCE WORKS
finger groove, but
THE BLACKBIRD
Granger feels that might The Ontario Knives Blackbird SK-5
at the “castle” in an unassuming
be a bit of a stretch; it is arrived
brown cardboard box. Along with the
blade came a very basic but nice and
more of a finger
functional single-retention-strap and
earth tone, Cordura/MOLLE-capable
‘recess.’
”
that’s rounded for a comfortable grip;
three recessed stainless steel Allen
screws securing the Micarta slabs to the
tang; and 154CM steel that’s known for
its toughness, edge retention, sharpness
and corrosion resistance.
Its center-lined spear blade has more
metal behind its point at the tip for a
greater degree of point strength. The
blade’s smooth spine is comfortable to the touch. For those
knife buyers adding the
Blackbird’s leather sheath from
Hedgehog Leatherworks,
there’s a 25-year warranty on
the rapid release sheath.
Hedgehog Leatherworks will
be making future modifications
on it.
scabbard equipped with a hardened
protective insert.
After a very long weekend of spending many hours keeping the Bass
Islands of Lake Erie safe for democracy,
I began my field evaluation of the
Blackbird on a Sunday afternoon. As
this is the day in which I carve and
cook flesh on the grill over seasoned
indigenous chunks of local hardwoods, I
commenced fire preparation operations.
First, I began ribboning long strips of
Genuine 550 lb. Type III, 1/8" diameter
nylon Paracord with a seven strand core.
46 colors available.
PC101 White
PC102 Black
PC103 Olive Drab
PC104 Coyote Brown
PC106 Charcoal
PC108 Burgundy
PC116 Colonial Blue
PC118 Neon Orange
PC123 Solar Orange
PC127 Desert Camo
PC128 Foliage Camo
THE KNIFE AS A
SPEAR TIP
Though Scheiter is not a fan
of turning a knife into a spear,
there can be real and psychological field advantages for doing
so, such as a tool for protection
from animals, etc. Keeping this
in mind, the Blackbird’s handle
ends in a flat, level butt. Those
individuals turning the knife
into a spear should rest the butt
alongside a carved, flattened end of a
sapling and attach the knife. This gives
better support to the knife rather than
sticking it onto the end of a pole and
relying on securing it by lashing.
5
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Durable plastic side release buckles
used to complete paracord bracelets.
Available in 3/8” and 5/8” sizes.
According to Paul Granger, the knife is
very effective and simple, and the handle fills the user’s hand well, with nothing flashy and nothing to break off.
Ergonomically, it has a comfortable grip
in all four basic holding positions: forward, reverse, inverted and icepick.
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knifemaking.com
12/11/12
10:53 PM
Page 34
WHO IS
PAUL
GRANGER?
cardboard. The Blackbird’s factory edge
was found to be sharp, sharp, sharp.
Next I began to baton hard chunks of
maple wood. As I was groggy from
fatigue, I slipped and carved a third of
the way through my left index finger.
Once again, I found the Blackbird to be
sharp, sharp, sharp!
Luckily my wife, who’s a nurse by
training, helped to put my finger back
together so that I could continue grill
operations. No kidding, the factory edge
on this knife, even after completing the
oftentimes blade-dulling task of cutting
cardboard, was still dangerously sharp.
The near amputation of my appendage
is an excellent testimony to the knife,
albeit a bit painful.
MONTH-LONG EVALUATION
Throughout the course of a month, I
completed the standard field evaluation
that included the steel hammer test
(pounding each non-edge side of the blade
100 times), hammered the knife into the
ol’ poplar stump like a spike (I took a
Custom knife maker Paul Granger (www.palehorsefighters.blogspot.com)
specializes in making fixed-blade knives of his own unique design as well
as in traditional patterns. He has created a line of lightweight, non-metallic,
non-ceramic knives currently in use by the American and Canadian military,
multiple police departments, and both the FBI and the CIA.
small chunk of the Micarta off the left
scale doing this), coated the handle with
cooking oil and stabbed violently underhand, then overhand or “icepick” style into
the ol’ poplar stump with 100 repetitions.
I carved beefsteaks, both rib-eye and strip,
carved corn off the roasted ear, and drilled
holes in wood. I also batoned a bunch of
wood with this knife during this time and
carried it many, many days.
BASIC AND BEGUILING
When at first you look at the knife,
you see a very, very basic design that
includes a 5-inch, spear-pointed blade
with an integral finger guard and basic
grip with a lanyard slot. The blade is
shiny and stainless. The knife’s appearance is beguiling.
Its performance is amazing—it’s sharp,
lithe and incredibly comfortable. Its design
for survival cannot be emphasized enough.
So many survival knives are complex in
their design. The Blackbird is, in designer
Paul Scheiter’s words, “less complicated,”
and will “achieve maximum function
In 2011, the Ontario Knife Company's Blackbird SK-5, designed by survivalist Paul
Scheiter, was awarded "Best of the Best" in the knife category by Field & Stream.
34
“
The near
amputation of my
appendage is an
excellent testimony
to the knife, albeit a
bit painful.
”
delivered through pure simplicity.” I could
not explain the Blackbird SK-5 any better
myself.
AFTERMARKET HEDGEHOG
SHEATH A WORK OF ART
An additional treat delivered to the
castle was the Hedgehog Leatherworks’
leather sheath, custom built by Paul
Scheiter’s crew in St. Louis, Missouri.
This sheath is a true work of art. It’s the
equivalent of a custom-built pair of
boots designed specifically for the
Ontario Knives Blackbird SK-5.
Seriously, this leather sheath is amazing! The sheath is designed “function
first,” and can accommodate any
Blackbird knife exterior carry needs. It
comes in two different options starting
at $225. On top of all this, the company
boasts a 25-year warranty. It’s important
to mention that Paul Scheiter owns this
company as well.
The price of the knife is right down
any operator’s alley. It shows at $117.95
at the Ontario Knife online store, and
$122 at Hedgehog Leatherworks. I
highly recommend the Blackbird SK-5
to anyone who desires a highly functional and simplistic tool for wilderness
survival tasks. KI
KI_1302_35
12/10/12
10:35 PM
Page 35
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KI-1302-CAS.qxp
12/12/12
12:01 AM
Page 36
THE THREE COMPARED
CASCADE
Blade: 3 3/8 inches
Overall: 7 5/8 inches
36
PECOS
Blade: 3 inches
Top to bottom: the
CAS Hanwei
Cascade, Tortugas
and Pecos.
TORTUGAS
Blade: 3 inches
KI-1302-CAS.qxp
12/12/12
12:01 AM
Page 37
PRACTICAL
Tacticals
BY ABE ELIAS
PHOTOS BY ABE ELIAS
an tactical and practical be combined
for dual purpose? Maybe.
C
I am always interested in finding a strong
EDC (every day carry) knife that can double in
a pinch as a semi-tactical. CAS Hanwei’s
Cascade, Pecos and Tortugas models looked
like they might fit that bill. I decided to take
these three brethren out for a spin.
The different
blade styles
provide for a
range of preferences.
THE CASCADE
The Cascade has a hollow-ground clip point
blade measuring 3 3/8 inches with an overall
length of 7 5/8 inches. For carrying, the
Cascade has a single-position pocket clip that
holds the knife in tip-up position on right-side
carry only.
I wanted to see what the pivot point set-up
was on the knife to check if there was any
KI-1302-CAS.qxp
12/12/12
12:01 AM
Page 38
TOP (L TO R) CAS Hanwei fit the folders with beefy pocket clips. | These Rock Creek folders use innovative material for the
scales: stabilized leather with a checker pattern. | The Cascade and Pecos models have the lockback release toward the rear of
the knife. BOTTOM (L TO R) A thumb stud is provided to open the blade with one hand. However, it’s right-handed only. | There
is no pocket clip on the Tortugas model, but a traditional-style heavy bail. | An aggressive tip is formed with the clip point profile
of the Pecos’ blade.
room for adjustment. I unscrewed the
scales, and I will tell you, my friends,
there’s something else holding those
“bad boys” on besides the screws. They
were solidly attached. There’s a checkered thumb stud to open the Cascade,
but it’s right-handed only.
THE PECOS
On the Pecos model, CAS Hanwei
uses a hollow-ground drop point pattern for the blade and it too has a righthanded thumb stud. The blade measures 3 inches with an overall length of
6 3/4 inches. A full hollow grind on
this knife makes for a thin blade.
The Pecos is sharp right out of the
box and, with just a little extra “TLC,” I
brought it to the next level. It makes a
great cutter and, as of this writing, it’s
been holding its edge. A pocket clip is
38
provided with the Pecos, and like the
Cascade it’s positioned for blade-up
right-side carry.
THE TORTUGAS
The Tortugas blade design is flat
ground and of typical Chinese influence. The overall length of the Tortugas
is 7 1/8 inches long with a 3-inch
blade. For opening, they provide a
right-handed thumb stud as in the
other two models (I always bring this
up because of my sympathy for the lefties).
The handle profile is narrow, but
because of the gentle arch it tends to
feel like a larger handle than it is. It’s
comfortable, manipulates well in the
hand, and the flow of the whole knife
just has that catch-your-eye appeal.
Even though the blade is broad, it’s still
ground thin enough that it slices
through materials with ease.
The full round belly design makes
these blades excellent little choppers in
a folder. As you rock your hand
upwards, you can still get a long enough
run of the blade’s edge to chop without
slamming your knuckles, while the
design of the Tortugas aids in draw cuts
and slicing motions.
The full leaf-like blade profile has
more to offer than merely a differentlooking design. The Tortugas doesn’t
come with a pocket clip, instead it
comes with a traditional bail at the rear
of the handle. I suppose you could say
it’s ambidextrous.
A NEW LOOK—LEATHER
HANDLES
What is a new twist on this line is
KI-1302-CAS.qxp
12/12/12
12:02 AM
Page 39
“
The flow of the whole knife just has that catch-your-eye appeal.
the use of stabilized leather for the handle scales. That’s right, they use stabilized leather for the scales, and to top it
off, the leather scales have a checker
pattern. The outline profile of the handles is nothing earth shaking, although
they actually use a solid, straightforward
profile on all three models. The frame is
made of stainless steel. All three knives
are lockback design, with a mid-handle
release for the Tortugas, and a more traditional rear lock for the Cascade and
Pecos.
HWK-2K STEEL
All three knives use CAS Hanwei ‘s
HWS-2K steel. To be truthful, I don’t
have any information on this material
except it would be considered a stainless
steel from the limited description, and
the blades are set up with a Rockwell of
58 on the C scale. CAS Hanwei refers
to it as “high alloy steel.” To date, the
edges have held up fine with no rusting,
rolling or chipping.
DIFFERENT APPEALS
The three Rock Creek series knives
have different appeals and styles. The
use of stabilized leather really gives the
handles the look of a wine-colored
wood. I enjoy using them. KI
”
CAS
HANWEI
CAS Hanwei is best known for
its contribution to the sword
world by providing a number of
different fighting arms from various cultures. They recently put in
an effort to bolster their knife
offerings and have been adding
models to their Rock Creek line.
A bold knife. A killer price.
The A. G. Russell™ Orca - not to be toyed with.
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© Copyright 2013 A.G. Russell Knives
KI-1302-LAST.qxp
12/11/12
11:59 PM
Page 40
NEW TWIST
On Metal
Handles
BOKER’S MINOS IS
TITANIUM A
DIFFERENT WAY
BY KI STAFF
PHOTO COMPLIMENTS
OF BOKER USA
Just when we ask, “How many more
ways can someone make a metal-handled knife and make it look different?”
someone comes along and does it. In
this instance, it’s Jens Anso, who’s
graced Boker USA with a variety of
innovative and different knife designs.
His latest creation is called the
Minos. Boker calls the knife, “A new
dimension titanium frame lock.”
TITANIUM IS THE CORE
SPECS
BOKER USA
MODEL: Minos 110629
DESIGNER: Jens Anso
BLADE LENGTH: 3 ⅛ inches
OVERALL LENGTH: 7 ½ inches
WEIGHT: 6.5 ounces
SUGGESTED RETAIL: $389
additional screws were added to the
scales, eliminating any potential weak
points. The deep-milled grooves provide
a high level of grip.
A BELLIED BLADE
The bellied blade provides excellent
cutting and skinning capabilities with
its slight hollow grind, and features a
special finish which harmonizes with
the anodized titanium handle to provide
a unique appearance. KI
Anso designed the Minos to provide
maximum stability, with solid .157-inch
(4mm) titanium plates and a .197-inch
(5mm) blade thickness. The blade is
made of N690BO steel, while the pocket clip, spacer and thumb rest are also
milled of titanium.
To prevent torsion inside the handle,
40
CONTACT
BOKER USA, 1550 Balsam St.
Lakewood, CO 80214-5917
303-462-0662
www.bokerusa.com
JENS ANSO
Jens Anso is a Denmark-based knifemaker and industrial designer who
has been making knives full time since 2001. His state of the art website is
www.ansoknives.com.
KI_1302_41
12/17/12
9:47 AM
Page 41
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KI_1302_42
12/10/12
10:42 PM
Page 42
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KI_1302_43
12/10/12
4:54 AM
Page 43
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KI-1302-LES.qxp
12/12/12
12:40 AM
Page 44
The
Art Knife
Tactical
MAKER
John W. Smith …
BY CUSTOM KNIFE FIELD EDITOR LES ROBERTSON
Fourteen exhibitor tables.
That’s what I walked into at a knife show in North
Carolina 18 years ago. I didn’t have much hope, initially, for
this show, but sometimes what appears to be a bad show at
first glance turns out to be an excellent show. That certainly
was the case for that one.
The highlight of that particular show was meeting a new
knife maker attending his first show, John W. Smith.
With me, however, (as usual in those days) was my late
friend Bob Neal, who had an exceptional eye for custom folders. Bob was significantly impressed, so with his recommendation, I bought several knives from John. I continue to do
so. John enjoys taking an idea or concept and through his
abilities seeing the knife come to fruition.
44
ENGRAVED MOSAIC
BLADE: My high-contrast ladder-cut “W” pattern
Damascus hot blued, 18K gold thumb stud with
bezel-set diamond, inlaid in 24K gold with 24K gold
inlay on the spine. SPACER: My high-contrast ladder-cut “W” pattern Damascus hot blued, file worked
in a rope pattern with 24K gold inlay on the exterior
and interior. FRAMES: 416 stainless steel mounted
with internal screws (I make the screws and wrench).
Inlays: long sunrise with gold lip pearl sun over sea
snail, black lip pearl and white pearl rays separated
by 18K flat wire. ENGRAVING: Scroll and vine pattern with 24K gold inlay (all my work). LINERS:
Jeweled 6AL-4V titanium with vine file work.
KI-1302-LES.qxp
12/12/12
12:40 AM
Page 45
KI_1302_46.qxp
12/14/12
10:59 AM
Page 46
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KI_1302_47.qxp
12/12/12
4:20 AM
Page 47
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KI-1302-LES.qxp
12/12/12
4:09 AM
Page 48
ENGRAVED AUTO
BLADE: My high-contrast ladder-cut “W” pattern Damascus hot
blued, scrollwork inlaid in 24K gold with 24K gold inlay on the spine.
SPACER: My high-contrast ladder-cut “W” pattern Damascus hot
blued, file worked in a rope pattern with three pearl inserts and 24K
gold inlay on the exterior and interior. FRAMES: 416 stainless steel
mounted with internal screws (I make the screws and wrench).
INLAYS: long sunrise with 18K gold sun over sea snail, black lip
pearl and white pearl rays separated by 18K flat wire. ENGRAVING:
Scroll and vine pattern with 24K gold inlay (all my work). LINERS:
Jeweled 6AL-4V titanium with vine file work. BAIL: Carved 18K gold
with solid 18K gold screws. MECHANISM: Button-release automatic
with button incorporated into the engraving.
PROFESSIONIAL ARTISAN
Several things impress me about John
and his knives. First is his professionalism. While John is truly an artisan, he’s
also a businessman; a rare combination
in the custom knife market. He does his
very best to build exactly what his client
orders.
John’s communication skills are
exceptional. If there’s a problem, John
will contact you. If you contact him
with a question you can rest assured he
will return your phone call or email; a
skill set that seems to elude many of
today’s makers. As John says, “I’m
responsible for the outcome. If something goes wrong I only have to look in
the mirror to place blame.”
Next are his abilities to incorporate
all aspects of the custom folder. John
says, “When I design a knife, whether a
tactical or a $10,000 collector piece, my
first goal is to make a functioning tool
with an edge that can maintained in the
field if necessary.”
SD-3
A 3 ½-inch S35-VN blade with
hand-rubbed finish, ceramic beadblasted bolsters and satin finish
Lightning Strike carbon fiber scales.
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CHRIS SMITH PHOTO
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AKI BLACK LIP
SOLE AUTHORSHIP FOLDERS
John’s art folders are truly sole authorship. He creates all
aspects of the knife, including doing his own gold inlay,
engraving, file work, bluing and lapidary work. He even
makes his own Damascus, gold screws and thumb studs.
Given his mastery of so many aspects of folder making,
it should come as no surprise that John is the only tactical
folder maker who’s also part of the prestigious Art Knife
Invitational. This show is held every other year in San
Diego, California. The show features 25 of the world’s
best knife makers.
While John’s favorite handle materials are black lip
pearl and mother of pearl, he also uses an assortment of
ivory and stone. My favorites of John’s art knives always
BLADE: My high-contrast laddercut “W” pattern Damascus hot blued,
18K gold thumb stud with bezel-set
emerald, inlaid in 24K gold with 24K
gold inlay on the spine. SPACER: My
high-contrast ladder-cut “W” pattern
Damascus hot blued, file worked in a
rope pattern with 24K gold inlay on
the exterior and interior. HANDLES:
Presentation-grade black lip pearl
carved in a diamond pattern with
solid 18K gold screws. BOLSTERS:
My carbon “W” pattern Damascus hot
blued with 24K gold inlay and solid
18K gold screws. LINERS: Jeweled
6AL-4V titanium with vine file work
and anodized gold.
TACTICAL FOLDERS
START AT $500 AND
RUN UP TO $10,000
The price range for John’s tactical folders is $500
to $600. His hybrid folders will be more depending
on the features you choose. His art folders start at
$4,500 and can run up to $10,000 and possibly
more, depending on the options you choose. His
current delivery time for tactical and hybrid folders
is six to eight months. The delivery time for his art
knives is 18 to 24 months. John attends three
shows a year: the New York Custom Knife Show,
the East Coast Custom Knife Show and the Art
Knife Invitational.
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opener or flipper.
John is currently using CPM-S35VN
steel for his tactical and hybrid folders.
Handle materials are G-10, Micarta,
carbon fiber and Lightning Strike carbon fiber for the tactical folders. For
what he calls his “dress tacticals”
(hybrids) he prefers selected hardwoods
and stag. These knives will generally
feature a hand-rubbed satin-finished
blade and titanium bolster.
There’s only one problem with John’s
knives: they’re so nice that you almost
hate to use them!
LAY DOWN THE MONEY
When I asked John what he likes
best about making his knives, he
replied, “It’s very rewarding to work
with a collector to create what they
have envisioned, whether it’s their idea
of the perfect utility knife or an all-out
engraved art piece. I think the best
award a maker can receive is when
someone appreciates it enough to lay
down their hard-earned money.”
F-5
A 4-inch S35-VN
blade with hand-rubbed
finish, ceramic beadblasted bolsters and
bead-blasted olive drab
canvas Micarta scales.
seem to either feature jade or lapis
lazuli. John only builds three or four of
these a year because, as he puts it, to
“help preserve his sanity.” These knives
take between 100 and 200 hours (sometimes more) to finish.
FLAWLESS TACTICAL FOLDERS
Last but not least are John’s tactical
folders. When you hold one of John’s
knives in your hand the word that
comes to mind is “flawless.” John builds
both liner locks and frame locks featuring a choice of an ambidextrous wheel
50
“
When I design a
knife, whether a tactical
or a $10,000 collector
piece, my first goal is to
make a functioning tool
with an edge that can
maintained in the field
if necessary.
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ENGRAVED SUNRISE
BLADE: RWL-34 stainless with
2,000-grit hand-rubbed finish and
18K gold thumb stud. SPACER: RWL34 stainless file worked in a rope pattern on the exterior and engraved
with 24K gold inlay on the interior.
FRAMES: 416 stainless steel mounted with internal screws (I make the
screws and wrench). INLAYS: Sunrise
with gold lip pearl sun, black lip pearl
and white pearl rays separated by
18K flat wire. LINERS: Jeweled 6AL4V titanium with vine file work.
ENGRAVING: Scroll and vine pattern
with 24K gold inlay (all my work).
ONE OF THE FINEST
No matter what category of folder,
John W. Smith is one of the finest folder makers in the world, regardless of the
type of custom folders you use or collect. If you do not already own one of
John’s knives, you owe it to yourself to
obtain one!
Bumping into John W. Smith at a
knife show is enough to make even a
small show a success. KI
How to reach him:
John can be contacted
via email at:
jwsknive@mrtc.com
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Half-Tangs,
LOVELESS & A
52
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VAN LENGERKE AND ANTOINE SUPPLIED LOVELESS KNIVES TO
SPORTSMEN, AND THOMPSONS TO GANGSTERS.
BY JOHN DENTON / PHOTOS BY HIRO SOGA
AL CAPONE
VL&A
Van Lengerke and Antoine (VL&A) was a
store in Chicago formed in 1891. In the early
20th century, VL&A competed with
Abercrombie & Fitch for being known as the
greatest sporting goods store in the world. (In
those days, such sporting goods legends were
one-stop outfitters for everything from a
Teddy Roosevelt Amazon expedition to
Ernest Hemingway’s African safaris.)
One of the legendary moments in knife
history was when Bob Loveless went into
Abercrombie & Fitch in New York and sold
them the first Loveless knives with the
“Delaware Maid” mark. The fact that VL&A
was bought by Abercrombie & Fitch in 1938
opened a door for Loveless to walk through
years later.
The rarest logo to come out of the R.W.
Loveless Delaware Maid period was a small
group of knives stamped Van Lengerke &
Antoine.
“
Few such small
knives have felt so good.
The blade begs you to cut
something.
”
A Loveless knife is one of the most desired handmades in the world. And one of the most desirable
Loveless logos? The early Delaware Maid mark.
12/12/12
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Page 54
Dimensions
of the VL&A
model
OVERALL: 7 ½ inches
BLADE: 3 ¼ inches
HANDLE: Walnut
STEEL: Unknown,
possibly a car spring
The Van Lengerke and Antoine marking on these two knives make them two of only three known to survive. The other is in the
Randall Museum in Orlando.
SUPPLIER TO CAPONE TOO!
Chicago in the 1920s had a tough
guy hanging around the town. His
name? Al Capone. VL&A was in the
“neighborhood” run by Capone, and he
and his gang would need certain goods
that the store sold. If you look back in
the history books and the gangs of
Chicago, you may remember reading
about the 1929 “St. Valentine’s Day
Massacre.” Apparently two of the
Thompson machine guns that were
used in the massacre had been delivered
to VL&A, and sold.
When this became public knowledge,
it was the start of hard times for the
“
store, eventually forcing the 1938 sale to
A&F. While the ownership changed,
the store remained open until the
1960s.
Loveless studied at Chicago’s
Institute of Design in 1948, and later,
when selling to A&F, he took an order
to make six knives and stamp them
“Van Lengerke & Antoine.”
VL&A KNIVES
These little knives were made with a
wood handle, 2 ¾-inch blade and,
something strange for Loveless at the
time, they were all half-tang construction. (This means that only half of the
metal was used to make the handle.)
It was a light knife, and you can see
from the photos that metal is exposed
half way down the butt of the knife. We
don’t know if the design was so ugly
that they never ordered anymore;
Loveless would not say why only six
were made.
A MYSTERY SOLVED—WHERE
THE KNIVES ARE TODAY
Three were lost in a hunting expedition in South America, and never
found. One is in the Randall Knife
Collection in Orlando, Florida. Where
are the other two knives? Did they even
In pursuit of those knives, Williams told my father, J.W. Denton, and me, ‘I
will give you my new minivan if you find one’.
54
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THE CHICAGO
CONNECTION
OF LOVELESS
exist or did Bo Randall have the only
remaining one?
This was the question that A.L.
Williams wanted to know as he sought
to assemble the largest Loveless collection in the 1990s. In pursuit of those
knives, Williams told my dad, J.W.
Denton, and myself, “I will give you my
new minivan” if you find one. The van
was about $21,000 at the time. Since
J.W. was a former racecar driver, and
nothing would have bored us to death
like driving a minivan, we just laughed
and said, “Run some ads in newspapers
around the nation.”
One of those ads is pictured in one of
the shots accompanying this article.
Williams’ goal was a complete collection of the various Loveless logos, and
it was the only logo he did not have. He
meant to get it, minivan or not. And,
“by golly” as Al would say, someone
called him up and said, “I think I have
what you want.”
The knife was sent to Loveless for
verification, and Loveless said, “This is
my knife. Not much on looks but it sure
can cut. To a professional this is a very
desirable piece of equipment.”
Loveless knew of VL&A because when he got out of WW II, he
studied in Chicago, and certainly would have been in the store in
the early 1950s. Only three of these knives exist today—one is
located in the Randall Knife Museum in Orlando, Florida, and the
other two reside in the Denton Loveless collection.
The deal was that Loveless would
make the man a new knife, and Al
would get the VL&A. So, Al did not
have to give up his minivan; he got the
knife that he had been trying to find for
many, many years. Al would eventually
find the second VL&A.
We now own two of the half-tang
VL&A knives. It took some time for
this knife to grow on me, but when you
pick it up, the magic’s there. Few such
small knives have felt so good. The
blade begs you to cut something.
NOT THE END OF THE
HALF-TANG STORY
These VL&A knives were the first
Loveless half-tang knives. They were
not the last. In 1985, knives were slow.
Loveless came to the Blade Show in
Knoxville, Tennessee, brought 27 knives
and took home 21 knives. Many makers
were talking at the show about making
a cheap version of their knives; some
that would be faster to produce and
maybe help lagging sales.
George Herron and Corbet Sigman
said they were going to make some
half-tang knives. Loveless thought this
The ad in the background of this photo
was run by famed Loveless collector Al
Williams in pursuit of a VL&A Delaware
Maid knife. It worked, resulting in his
obtaining the knife shown.
“
My dad, J.W.,
said to Bob, “Don’t do
it, don’t lower the
quality of your knives.
Your name is too big
and you’ve always
stood by your product.
Just don’t make them.”
Bob made them
anyway.
”
might be the ticket. My dad, J.W., said
to Bob, “Don’t do it, don’t lower the
quality of your knives. Your name is too
big and you’ve always stood by your
product. Just don’t make them.”
Bob made them anyway, but he only
made 15-20 of them in all. They were
Micarta for the most part, belt finished,
some were drop-point, semi-caper, and
a few with the duplex-grind were to go
on to fame as the Riverside Pro Hunter
design.
Back in the 1950s, Loveless had
already done his first half-tang, and
then 30 years later tried it one more
time. The knives are now hard to find,
very collectible and very valuable. Once
again, Bob makes a collectible trying to
make a usable knife. We could all use
that sort of problem. KI
Contact John Denton
boblovelessknives.com,
jwdenton@windstream.net
KI_1302_56
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KI-1302-DIRECTORY057,068Q7.qxp
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BEST OF
THE NET
YOUR GUIDE TO ONLINE KNIFE SITES
BY J. BRUCE VOYLES
ollowing is the shortcut to the
best of knives on the Internet.
These are sites we have visited,
enjoyed and want to pass along.
We have not included knifemakers for
a couple of reasons. First there are several
thousand knifemakers, and second, the
significant knifemakers will usually be
reached via one of the organizations to
which they belong: the Knifemakers’
Guild, the American Bladesmiths Society,
the Professional Knifemakers Association,
and others. Each of these organizations
maintains lists of their current members,
and we do have the URLs of those
association sites.
This is not a complete list by any
means, but it is a list of our favorites.
If you have a favorite site that we’ve
missed, please pass it along to us for
updates in our annual listing and on
our recently redesigned website at
www.knivesillustrated.com.
TERRILL HOFFMAN
F
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MANUFACTURERS/
IMPORTERS
A.G. Russell Knives
A.G. Russell Knives is the oldest mail-order
knife company in the world, in business
since 1964. They’ve been instrumental in
the founding of the Knifemakers’ Guild, as
well as the former owner of Bertram (Hen
& Rooster), and in the forefront of the knife
business for years.
www.agrussell.com
Alcas Cutlery
(Cutco Cutlery Corp)
Page 58
Bear & Son Cutlery
Buck Knives
Bear & Son Cutlery of Jacksonville,
Alabama, is an American cutlery manufacturer with a rich tradition that includes
being the largest manufacturer of knives
with Damascus steel blades.
www.bearandsoncutlery.com
Buck Knives dates it history back more
than 100 years to the handmade knives
made by Hoyt H. Buck. Today, in their
Idaho factory, Buck manufactures and sells
pocket, folding and fixed-blade knives, and
multiuse equipment. It also offers pocketknives, folding, fixed and fillet knives,
and accessories such as sheaths, scissors,
saws and axes.
www.buckknives.com
Benchmade Knife Company
Founded in 1988 by Les de Asis,
Benchmade Knife Company was built on
the premise of designing, manufacturing
and delivering the highest quality
sporting cutlery.
www.benchmade.com
Founded in 1949 in Olean, New York, Alcas
Corp changed its name to CUTCO
Corporation, the largest manufacturer of
kitchen cutlery in the United States and
Canada. They have also made on contract
for other manufacturers some of the best factory-made folding hunters and pocketknives.
www.alcas.com
Blackhawk
Al Mar Knives
Today’s Boker Knives descend from the
Boeker tool factory in Remscheid, Germany.
Boker has two major knife factories, one
in Solingen, Germany, and one in Buenos
Aires, Argentina. Boker Knives makes
quality cutlery for kitchen, pocket, military,
law enforcement, collecting, and hunting.
www.boker.de/us/
Since 1979, Al Mar Knives has been
creating unique designs. Each Al Mar knife
features flat-ground blades for strength
and superior performance.
www.almarknives.com
Atlanta Cutlery Corp.
The Atlanta Cutlery Corp. is a seller of
unique and hard to find knives, cutting
tools, antique firearms, military swords and
adventure gear. Atlanta Cutlery also sells
knife-making supplies. You can also purchase military replica guns.
www.atlantacutlery.com
Blackhawk was founded in 1993 by former
Navy SEAL Mike Noel. Blackhawk’s gear is
now the choice of many Special Op units
worldwide. Their knife line is but a small
part of their tactical product line.
www.blackhawk.com
Boker Knives, USA
Browning Knives
Browning knives are specifically
designed with the needs of the outdoorsman in mind, in a wide variety of designs
and categories.
www.browning.com
Bulldog Knives
Bulldog Knives has been one of the
favorite work and collectible knives for the
last 25 years. In 1990, they started running a mail-order knife service to several
hundred people. Now, they sell on eBay
and their website. Their knives are made
in Germany.
www.bulldogknives.org
Busse Combat Knives
Busse Combat Knives came into existence
in the late 1970s when Jerry Busse started
selling custom knives out of a small cabin.
Today, the company is a retailer of knives
for combat, outdoors survival, law enforcement, fire, rescue and military personnel.
www.bussecombat.com
Camillus Cutlery
Company
While the manufacturing company of
Camillus ceased operation, the trademarks
were purchased by a new company that
has emerged as a serious player in the
knife industry, with a variety of designs
and a unique blade coating.
www.camillusknives.com
Canal Street Cutlery
Taking the street name that fronts a 100plus-year-old knife factory (both Ulster
and Schrade have inhabited this same
building), Canal Street Cutlery blends the
old and the new. CSCC has a wealth of
knife-making experience and technical
knowledge. It supplies knives that are
100-percent hand assembled and finished.
www.canalstreetcutlery.com
CAS Hanwei
CAS Hanwei is a leading manufacturer
of swords and historic replica weaponry.
Their catalogue boasts the finest in
hand-forged, authentic and battle-ready
Japanese swords and Samurai swords.
www.casiberia.com
Chris Reeve Knives
Chris Reeve Knives came into existence in
1987 when Chris manufactured the first
Sebenza. This folding knife has become
one of the standard knife designs. The
pioneering frame lock designed by Reeve
is one of the more notable design accomplishments in recent cutlery history—and
is a design copied by a wide variety of
other manufacturers.
www.chrisreeve.com
Coast Cutlery
Coast Cutlery has been setting the standard for quality products since 1919, and
while they veered into the lighting field
58
12/12/12
4:06 AM
Page 59
where they became a leader, in the recent
years they’re making a stronger push back
into the cutlery business, led by long-time
Gerber alum Doug Hutchins. Among their
designers is the legendary Ron Lake.
www.coastportland.com
Columbia River
Knife & Tool
Columbia River Knife & Tool is an American
knife company established in 1994 and
based in Oregon. It produces a wide range
of knives, tools and associated accessories.
These include both fixed blades and
folding knives along with multi-tools.
They also produce sharpeners and different
carrying systems. They boast the largest
group of professional knifemaker/ designers, most of whom have contributed a
variety of designs to the company.
www.crkt.com
Condor Tool and Knife
Condor Tool and Knife traces its history
back to 1787 when it was founded in
Solingen, Germany. Today, the company
offers high-quality designed tools for the
outdoor enthusiast. Their line of fine
machetes, axes and knives are made to
the highest technical specification.
www.condortk.com
Dark Ops Knives
Dark Ops Knives are made from a proprietary hybrid alloy of chromium, cobalt,
tungsten, vanadium and molybdenum
with surgical-grade stainless steel.
Variants include tactical knives, military
knives and combat knives.
www.darkopsknives.com
The idea of Diamond Blade was conceived
in 2003 when two quail hunters stood
up to the challenge of building an
advanced blade. Today, Diamond Blade
has made technological advances that
take manufactured knife-edge performance
to another level.
www.diamondbladeknives.com
Emerson Knives, Inc.
“The #1 Hard Use Knives In The World” is
the slogan for Emerson knives. Company
head Ernest Emerson is a noted trainer in
knife combat, and his knives are carried by
people ranging from entertainer Zac Brown
to U.S. Navy Seals.
www.emersonknives.com
ESEE Knives
This line of extra heavy-duty tactical and
extreme outdoor knives is designed by a
team that also teaches survival training in
South American jungles.
www.eseeknives.com
Frost Cutlery Company
This major import company is perhaps best
known as the producer of knives for the
cable channel knife sales shows.
www.frostcutlery.com
Gerber Gear
Gerber is a maker of consumer knives and
multi-tools headquartered in Oregon.
AMERICAN BLADESMITH SOCIETY
Diamond Blade
NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL OF METALWORK
AUBURN, MAINE
2013 BLADESMITHING CLASS SCHEDULE
DATE
CLASS
INSTRUCTOR
Feb. 6-9
Mar. 4-15
June 17-28
July 12-14
July 15-19
Aug. 19-23
Nov. 4-15
Damascus
Intro to Bladesmithing
ABS Symposium
Handles & Guards
Quillon Dagger
Kevin Cashen
Tim Potier
Greg Neely
Mace Vitale
James Crowell
Kevin Cashen
TBA
ABS Hammer-In Director: Mace Vitale, 203-457-5591
ABS Website www.americanbladesmith.com
Contact Dereck Glaser, School of Metalwork
Phone: 207-777-3375
Fax: 207-784-5383
12/12/12
Gerber was established in 1939 by Pete
Gerber, and has a reputation for making
quality knives with innovative designs by
famous knifemakers.
www.gerbergear.com
Great Eastern Knives
Great Eastern Knives is located in
Titusville, Pennsylvania, and they
specialize in highly collectable and
premium-quality usable pocketknives,
hunting knives and kitchen knives.
The company is noted for its American
craftsmanship and traditional hands-on
manufacturing methods.
www.greateasterncutlery.net
Grohmann Knives
A small Canadian family business that
came into existence 45 years ago,
Grohmann Knives have won more than 25
international honors, including a place in
the prestigious New York’s Museum of
modern Art.
www.grohmannknives.com
Hallmark Knives
This important company’s brands include
Robert Klauss Kissing Crane knives and a
new line of tactical knives.
www.hallmarkcutlery.com
Hogue, Inc.
Primarily a custom pistol grip producer,
Hogue has expanded into a line of efficient
1:22 AM
Page 60
and sturdy tactical knives designed by
knifemaker Alan Elischewitz, who has also
served as a Recon Marine.
www.hogueknives.com
KA-BAR Knives, Inc.
Manufacturer of military, law enforcement,
hunting, sporting and outdoor knives since
1898, with current designs that include
Zombie knives and the Becker Knife & Tool
line of Ethan Becker.
www.kabar.com
Kershaw Knives
Started by ex-Gerber Blades salesman Pete
Kershaw, Kershaw Knives designs and
manufactures a range of knives, including
kitchen cutlery, pocketknives and outdoor
knives. Currently owned by the Japanese
KAI Group, Kershaw is headquartered in
Tualatin, Oregon.
www.kershawknives.com
KutMaster Knife & Tool
For nearly 90 years, KutMaster of Utica,
New York, has been a leading manufacturer of top quality knives and specialty tools
for outdoor and household use. Through
the years, they’ve continued to produce
innovative products that meet the demanding performance requirements of serious
outdoorsmen, DIY handymen and professional tradesmen around the world.
www.kutmaster.com
Lansky Sharpeners
& Knives
Since 1979, Lansky Sharpeners & Knives
has been recognized as the world leader in
sharpening technology. In recent years,
they have added knives to their offerings.
www.lanskysharpeners.com
Leatherman
Founded in 1983, Leatherman is a producer of a top-of-the-line range of multi-tools
and knives. Company founder Tim
Leatherman invented the folding pliers
knife. One of Oregon’s most reputed companies, Leatherman caters to both tool and
knife connoisseurs, and DIY handymen.
www.leatherman.com
Lone Wolf Knives
Lone Wolf Knives was founded by Jim
Wehrs with the goal of producing fine
semi-custom knives, and became a part
of Benchmade Knives in recent years.
www.lonewolfknives.com
Mantis Knives
Mantis Knives provides its customers with
something that no other knife company is
providing: new product innovations by
rejecting the constraints of conventional
ideas.
www.mantisknives.com
Meyerco
Designed by Blackie Collins and Bill Meyer,
Meyerco is the original assisted opening
mechanism knife company. The first
Meyerco knife was called the “Strut’N’Cut”
and it won the 1997 Blade show’s “Most
Innovative American Design” award.
Strut’N’Cut is today the slickest and sleekest automatic around.
www.meyercousa.com
MIL-TAC
Knives & Tools
Craig Sword had a background working
with other knife companies before he
launched this company specializing in tactical knives, with addition products that
include tactical pens and pistol grips.
www.mil-tac.com
Mission Knives
A knife company with a tactical knife bent.
www.missionknives.com
Mora of Sweden AB
Mora of Sweden AB was founded when
two knife companies, K.J. Eriksson and
Frost’s Knife factory, merged. This company is a manufacturer of cutlery, tools and
general hardware. The company supplies
professionals with premium quality cutting
tools that are designed with advanced
ergonomics in mind.
www.moraofsweden.se
OKC-Ontario Knife Co.
Situated in Franklinville, New York, Ontario
Knife Company produces a wide-ranging
product lines, and is best known as the
primary U.S. government contractor for
their armed forces standard issue knives.
www.ontarioknife.com
Pro-Tech Knives
Pro-Tech Knives is a family-owned knifebuilding company. Each Pro-Tech knife is a
blend of the finest materials available and
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built with the most current high-tech
manufacturing processes that include CNC
machining, wire EDM, laser cutting, etc.
www.protechknives.com
Puma Knife Co., USA
Puma is the eighth oldest trademark in
Germany. Puma has been distributed in the
United States for more than 50 years and
has established a strong reputation for
sharp, high-quality hunting knives.
www.pumaknifecompanyusa.com
Queen Cutlery Company
Located in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Queen
Cutlery is now owned by Daniels Family
Knives. A well-known maker of finely
crafted pocketknives, their products have
won awards from Blade Magazine, the
American Blade Collectors Association and
the National Knife Collectors Association.
www.queencutlery.com
Remington Cutlery
Remington Cutlery began manufacturing
top-quality pocketknives in the early
1920s. They stopped producing knives
at the beginning of WWII and reentered
the knife market in 1982 with limited
editions and eventually expanded into
a full line of knives, including many
American-made designs.
www.remington.com
Sebertech
Brett Seber’s company offers unique
designs from keyring knife tools to a heavy
duty folder with ratchet points in the
opening, allowing a variety of cutting
positions.
www.botachtactical.com/sebertech
Sheffield Tools
A hand-tool manufacturer since 1919,
Sheffield Tools is a manufacturer of quality
multi-tools, knives and lockback utility
knives.
www.sheffield-tools.com
SOG Specialty Knives
SOG Specialty Knives is a Washingtonbased company producing fixed
blades, folding knives and multipurpose
tools, many created by SOG founder
Spencer Frazer.
www.sogknives.com
Spartan Blades, USA
A knife company that produces tactical
knives and is owned and operated by
retired Special Forces vets. Real deal
knives designed and produced by real
deal vets.
www.spartanbladesusa.com
Spyderco Knives
Founded in 1978 by Sal Glesser, Spyderco
Knives is a manufacturer of quality knives
and sharpeners. Backed by more than 30
years of R&D to find the right steels and
handle materials, often utilizing some of
the world’s top designers and knifemakers
for collaborations, these knives are
ergonomically designed to open easily and
fit comfortably in the hand.
www.spyderco.com
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Stone River Gear
TOPS Knives
This company imports new designs
based on ceramic blades and carbon
fiber handles, among other designs.
Principals in the company are former
Schrade Cutlery alums.
www.stonerivergearl.com
Founded by Oliver James Bailey, TOPS
Knives has a 12-member knife-design
team that makes sure that the company’s
knives remain “hard to the core.” TOPS
fixed-blades are designed and handcrafted
at their own facility and are the choice of
many Special Ops teams.
www.topsknives.com
Strider Knives
Strider Knives is an American company
producing a line of popular tactical
fixed-blade knives and folders.
www.striderknives.com
Taylor Brands
The trademarks of Smith & Wesson,
Schrade Cutlery, Old Timer and Uncle
Henry are just a few of the brands
produced by this company.
www.taylorbrandsllc.com
United Cutlery
United Cutlery covers a full spectrum
of products, from knives to swords to
novelty items.
www.unitedcutlery.com
Victorinox
The producer of Swiss Army knives.
‘Nuff said.
www.swissarmy.com
Timberline Knives
Wild Boar Blades
Timberline Knives is the knife company
arm of Gatco sharpeners. They produce a
line of heavy-duty sportsman knives.
gatcosharpeners.com
In 1995, Ray Simonson opened a company
called Kopromed and started selling Polish
Kopromed Knives. The name changed to
Wild Boar Blades in 1998 and Simonson
branched out to Linder, Okapi and River
Trader knives as well as custom knives.
www.wildboarblades.com
William Henry Knives
Founded in 1997 by Matthew William
Conable and Michael Henry Honack,
William Henry Knives today manufactures
fine upscale production folding knives, and
are often marketed in fine jewelry stores.
www.williamhenryknives.com
Wilson Tactical
A newcomer to the knife field, Wilson
Tactical has added tactical folders to their
offerings of tactical gear.
www.wilsontactical.com
Winkler Knives 2
An offshoot of Daniel Winkler’s handmade
knife operation, this line of tactical knives
came into prominence when Navy SEAL
Mark Owen described in his book on the
Bin Laden mission that he had carried a
Daniel Winkler knife—proof positive what
some Navy SEALs really carry.
www.winklerknives.com
W.R. Case & Sons
W.R. Case & Sons is an American manufacturer of premium, handcrafted knives.
Case’s offerings include a wide variety
of knives that fit virtually any need, from
convenient folding pocketknives and fixed
blade sporting knives to limited edition
commemoratives and collectibles.
www.wrcase.com
ONLINE KNIFE
FORUMS
All About
Pocket Knives
The All About Pocket Knives (AAPK) project
began in 2004. This is the leading forum
for vintage knives, knife shows, and that
segment of the market.
www.allaboutpocketknives.com
Blade Forums
With more than 20,000 members and
one-million posts, BladeForums.com
is one of the largest knife forums, and
with those numbers comes a large share
of opinions.
www.bladeforums.com
JerzeeDevil
One of the liveliest online knife forums,
populated with members with strong opinions and a low tolerance for vapid bull.
Some not-safe-for-work sections directed
to this primarily male audience.
www.jerzeedevil.com
The Knife Network
Many phases of knifemaking, sheath
making, technical repair, usage and
embellishment are covered from fixedblades to folding knives. Access online
tutorials, miscellaneous shop tips and
equipment usage.
www.customknifedirectory.com
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Knife Dogs
A family and business friendly forum all
about knives and the knife industry. “G”
rated and a no drama policy.
www.knifedogs.com
Knife Enthusiast Forum
Knifeforums.com is a forum where knife
enthusiasts can meet and discuss online
their industry, politics and personal experiences in a sensible and non-aggressive
way. A part of the Blade Magazine segment
of the market.
www.knifeforums.com
Usual Suspects
Discussion Board
The Usual Suspects Guild Forum Index
includes a knife discussion board with topics and posts centering on tactical knives
and related subjects.
www.usualsuspect.net
ORGANIZATIONS
The American
Bladesmith Society
Established in 1976, The American
Bladesmith Society works towards promoting and advancing the art and science of
the forged blade and other implements.
And also to inform and educate people
about bladesmithing, metal forging and
heat-treating processes, knife and tool
design and fabrication, and related arts.
www.americanbladesmith.com
Knifemakers Guild
Started in 1970 by A.G. Russell, the
Knifemakers Guild now has more than 300
members. The Guild's mission is to promote
custom knives, to assist the knifemaker
technically and to encourage ethical and
professional business conduct. Members
meet once a year to showcase their products and elect office bearers at the annual
Knifemakers Guild show.
www.knifemakersguild.com
National Knife Collectors
Association
The National Knife Collectors Association is
a not-for-profit organization, established in
1972, to promote the hobby of knife collecting and preserve all aspects of the history of cutlery and cutlery related items.
www.nkcaknife.org
Professional Knifemakers
Association
The Professional Knifemakers Association
is a nonprofit organization with members
spread the world over. The primary requisite for all members of the PKA is to have
achieved the highest possible level of professionalism in their craft or service.
www.proknifemakers.com
American Knife & Tool
Institute (AKTI)
Representing the entire knife community
since 1998, AKTI is the nonprofit
organization protecting knife rights for
all. Learn how AKTI is proactively
assuring reasonable and responsible knife
laws and educating lawmakers and law
enforcement on your behalf.
www.akti.org
Knife Rights Advocacy Group
The Knife Rights Advocacy Group is a
foundation dedicated to encouraging safe
and responsible use of knives and edged
tools; educating knife owners, public officials and the general public about the history of knives and knife-related laws.
www.kniferights.org
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STATE ORGANIZATIONS
Knifemaking Organizations by State
Arkansas Knifemakers
Association
The Arkansas Knifemakers Association
brings together the finest craftsmen in the
region and provides an opportunity for
enthusiasts to discover and admire their
work. The association also has members
from surrounding states and highlights the
art of knifemaking in Arkansas.
www.arkansasknifemakers.com
California Knifemakers
Association
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Montana Knifemakers
Association (MKA)
Founded in 1994, the Montana
Knifemakers Association is a non-profit
educational organization to further the art
of knifemaking in the state. Its members
are custom knifemakers dedicated to perfecting their craft and providing their customers with quality products. These members are highly proficient, and emphasize
the highest quality in both their workmanship and in their business ethics.
www.montanaknifemakers.com
North Carolina Knifemakers Guild
Formed by Bob Loveless in 1981, the
California Knifemakers Association was
formed to improve knifemaking in the
state. Goals of the association are to promote California knives and their makers, to
help California knifemakers improve their
work, and to put on a great knife show at
least once each year.
www.calknives.org
Founded in June 1992, the North Carolina
Knifemakers Guild has four fundamental
purposes: to promote the craft of custom
knifemaking, to seek to constantly improve
the craftsmanship of its members, to provide an educational resource to anyone
interested in the craft, and to encourage
new makers and provide a forum for
their training.
www.ncknifeguild.org
Florida Knifemakers
Association
Ohio Knifemakers
Association (OKA)
The Florida Knifemakers Association,
home of fine custom knives, is dedicated
to the preservation of knifemaking in all
its forms in the state. It was founded in
1997 to promote and advance the craft,
art and science of knifemaking, and to
improve the overall quality, performance
and value of knives, edged tools, cutlery
and related products.
www.floridaknifemakers.org
Ohio Knifemakers Association is an organization dedicated to increasing public
awareness and further the art of knifemaking by promoting Ohio knives, their makers
as well as other businesses related to the
art of knifemaking in the state of Ohio.
www.geocities.com
Texas Knifemakers and
Collectors Association
Established in 1999, the Texas Knifemakers
& Collectors Association primarily promotes
handmade knives in the state and the
craftspersons who make them. It also,
among other things, introduces handmade
knives to more of the buying public and
encourages the productive use and collection of handmade knives.
www.tkca.org
RETAILERS
Blade Connection
Blade Connection.com has assembled
one of the world’s largest collections of
every-day carry knives. The secure
website features both production and
handmade knives.
www.bladeconnection.com
Blade Gallery
BladeGallery.com is one of the oldest purveyors of custom knives in the world. Visit
BladeGallery either online or at their retail
gallery in Kirkland, Washington.
www.bladegallery.com
Custom Knife Gallery
of Colorado
Gallery of custom/handmade knives led by
proprietor Bob Glassman.
http://customknifegallery.com
Cutlery Shoppe
Located in Meridian, Idaho, Cutlery
Shoppe is a retailer of name brand cutlery,
sharpeners and tools. It specializes in
German and American fine cutlery and
dinnerware products.
www.cutleryshoppe.com
Deadwood Knives
The USP (unique selling proposition) of
Deadwood Knives is “confidence in the sale.”
www.deadwoodknives.com
Epicurean Edge
Providing household cutlery to the world at
the lowest possible price, they also offer an
assortment of knife storage, accessories,
cutting boards and sharpening tools.
Ordering is easy, fast and safe.
www.epicedge.com
Knife Cave
Knife Cave offers all major fantasy blades
for every function imaginable. Fantasy
items from swords, anime, movie replicas,
gauntlets, martial arts, self-defense and
more. A division of the Smoky Mountain
Knife Works organization.
www.knifecave.com
Knife Center
Created in 1995, Knife Center is the original online cutlery catalog. Offers a wide
selection of knives and cutlery.
www.knifecenter.com
Knives Plus Retail
Cutlery and Cutlery
Accessories
KnivesPlus.com has been in the retail
cutlery and cutlery accessories business
since 1987. They carry thousands of
new production knives, representing
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most major knife or knife accessory
manufacturers.
www.knivesplus.com
knivesshipfree.com
They claim to have the best selection of
Bark River Knives and everything’s in
stock. Free shipping.
www.knivesshipfree.com
Knife Zone
The Knife Zone is Canada’s premier online
knife store that sells knives and swords.
www.knifezone.ca
La Bottega Del Coltello
Italian Knife Shop
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features today’s market leaders and those
who will be in the future. They feature
exclusive designs, limited editions and
expertise provided with regards to investing in fine custom knives. Robertson is
also the Custom Knife Field Editor for
Knives Illustrated.
www.robertsoncustomcutlery.com
Sarge-Knives-Store.com
Sarge-Knives Store is the world’s largest
online source for Sarge products. They
offer a wide range of types, styles and
sizes of knives.
www.sarge-knives-store.com
Shepherd Hill Knives
La Bottega Del Coltello was founded by
Tarcisio Ambrosioni who started out as a
scissors manufacturer and later, along with
his wife, Anna, ventured into knives. In
2008, the group launched an online store
selling custom knives, kitchen knives, outdoor knives, scissors and shears, woodcarvings tools, home tools and a lot more.
www.bottegadelcoltello.it
Shepherd Hills Knives started in 1972
when Ida Reid opened a store in Lebanon,
Missouri, with just one employee. Today,
this 100-employee company is the largest
case knives dealer firm in the country with
seven stores across America.
www.shephills.com
New Graham Knives
Beginnings in 1970 when Kevin Pipes and
John Parker started selling pocketknives at
flea markets, Smoky Mountain Knife Works
today offers all major knife brands for
every function imaginable. More than
1.2 million customers visit their retail
showroom annually.
www.smkw.com
The New Graham Knives website features
Smith and Wesson knives, clothing and
collectible items not found anywhere else.
www.newgraham.com
One Stop Knife Shop
One Stop Knife Shop, in operation since
1998, boasts all major brands of cutlery. It
stocks more than15,000 knives, switchblades, butterfly knives, automatic knives,
kitchen cutlery and military knives.
www.onestopknifeshop.com
Paragon: The Finest Sports
Specialty Store
Since 1908, Paragon Sports has been the
leading specialty sports equipment retailers
in New York City.
www.paragonsports.com
Plaza Cutlery
Plaza Cutlery, a family-owned business, is
one of the finest cutlery stores in the
world. It sources new knives as soon as
they are available and is always well
stocked. In addition to factory-made folding knives, fixed-blade and specialty
knives, Plaza Cutlery also carries a large
selection of custom knives.
www.plazacutlery.com
Redhill Cutlery
Starting from humble beginnings in the
late ’90s when the Basham family started
with a single-panel case knife display that
held six to eight knives, Redhill Cutlery,
established in 2004, is today Kentucky’s
largest cutlery dealer and showroom.
Redhill sells the best knives at the best
prices with service that sets them apart
from the competition.
www.redhillcutlery.com
Robertson’s Custom Cutlery
Expert in the world of custom knives with
25 years experience, and offering an excellent selection of in-stock knives with an
emphasis on “value” pricing, Robertson’s
Smoky Mountain
Knife Works
Sonoma Cutlery
Sonoma Cutlery distributes the highest
quality knives, cutlery, chef tools and scissors to the United States. It’s the largest
cutlery, knife and gift store in California.
Sonoma has every chef tool and gadget,
quality cookware and specialty items that
cannot be found find anywhere else.
www.sonomacutlery.com
The Blade Shop
Established in 2001, The Blade Shop is a
family owned business, which brings to
you the highest quality and selection of
knives. Due to the success of their website,
they only sell knives on the Internet.
www.thebladeshop.com
Yellowhorse Collectibles
One of the largest distributors of
Yellowhorse knives and collectibles in the
U.S., with more than 700 Yellowhorse
knives, money clips, lighters and other collectibles. Many one-of-a-kinds or very low
runs by David, Brian and Ron Yellowhorse.
www.yellowhorsecollectibles.com
SHARPENERS
products are designed and made in the
USA using the highest quality materials
and workmanship.
www.dmtsharp.com
DMT Diamond
Machining Technology
Great American
Trading Co.
DMT® Diamond Machining Technology has
been an innovator and producer of the
world's finest diamond knife and tool
sharpeners for more than 30 years. DMT
manufactures a full range of precisionengineered diamond and unbreakable
ceramic sharpeners and honing cones. All
Great American Trading Co. offers
sharpeners, knives and related items.
www.gatco.com
Lansky Sharpeners
& Knives
Since 1979, Lansky Sharpeners & Knives
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has been recognized as the world leader in
sharpening technology. In recent years
they’ve expanded with knives, too.
www.lanskysharpeners.com
Smith's: The Edge Experts
Today, Smith's has a broad line of knife,
tool and scissor sharpeners, ranging from
electric sharpeners and manual sharpeners
to accessories. All information and education on knife sharpeners and sharpening is
available on their website.
www.smithsedge.com
Warthog Sharpeners
The V Sharp is the world’s first adjustable
(17°, 20° and 25°) freehand precision
knife sharpener that sharpens your knife
at a consistent angle every time. Two
high-quality, 325-grit natural diamond
rods sharpen the blade on both sides
simultaneously.
www.v-sharp.com
SUPPLIERS
Alabama Damascus
Source for Damascus in a variety of
configurations
www.alabamadamascussteel.com
Blacksmiths Depot: Kayne & Son
Custom Hardware
Blacksmiths Depot is known worldwide for
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its professional quality forging tools and
equipment. They strive to give the best
customer service and quick turnaround on
your orders.
www.customforgedhardware.comwww.blac
ksmithsdepot.com
Sheffield Knifemakers Supply
Established full line knife suppliers.
www.sheffieldsupply.com
Texas Knifemakers Supply
Burl Sales
Complete knifemaking supplies for the
professional and hobbyist.
www.texasknife.com
Dealers in burl woods.
www.burlsales.com
Uncle Al
Great Lakes Waterjet, Inc.
High-quality knife blank and knife-related
cutting and parts.
www.greatlakeswaterjetinc.com
Al Lawrence’s knifemaking supply store.
Hosts a knife get-together the second
Thursday of each month at his DeQueen,
Arkansas, store.
www.riversidemachine.com
Hawkins Knifemaking Supply
Run by Knifemakers Guild member
Rade Hawkins.
www.hawkinsknifemakingsupplies.com
Jantz Supply
A full-service knifemaking and hobbyist
supplier.
www.knifemaking.com
Knife & Gun
Finishing Supplies
WHOLESALERS
Blue Ridge Knives
Blue Ridge has been in business for more
than 30 years and provides expert assistance and quality service. Their catalog
lists more than 20,000 items and 375
brands, and if clients prefer the convenience, they also offer online shopping.
www.blueridgeknives.com
Southwest-based supplier with a long
history within the knife industry.
www.knifeandgun.com
www.kniefandgun.com
Koval Knives
Full line of knifemaking supplies.
www.kovalknives.com
Midwest Knifemakers
Supply, LLC
A full-line knife-making supply house.
www.USAknifemaker.com
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Cut Knife Distribution Inc.
Cut Knife Distribution is a Canadian
multi-brand wholesale distributor for
cutlery, swords, knives, battle axes, other
decorative weaponry, sharpeners, medieval
replica armor and collectibles.
www.cutknifedistribution.ca
Moteng Knives and Tools
Moteng Knives and Tools is a trusted,
one-stop resource for dealers and resellers
offering cutlery, lighting, camping and
outdoor products, public safety products,
apparel, and other popular items. With
an inventory of more than 50,000 products, Moteng is dedicated to providing an
outstanding online shopping experience
with exceptional services and benefits to
their customers.
www.moteng.com
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BEST OF
THE NET
YOUR GUIDE TO ONLINE KNIFE SITES
TERRILL HOFFMAN
We update this website
listing regularly.
Please send any updates
or your recommendations to
bvoyles@beckett.com.
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WHEN
IT HITS
THE FAN!
WHAT KNIVES DO YOU HAVE
IN YOUR WORST-CASE KIT?
BY J. BRUCE VOYLES / PHOTO COMPLIMENTS
OF THE MANUFACTURERS
Seventy-two hours.
That’s all you need. FEMA recommends you have food, water and gear to
hunker down for 72 hours, because
that’s the maximum time it should take
for them to get to you. Or so they say.
Of course, that doesn’t count if you
live in a suburb of the largest city in the
United States of America. Hurricane
Sandy has reinforced the lessons we
should have learned after Katrina—
there are times that the cavalry bugle is
heard in the distance in the way of
speeches and photo ops—but the wagons rolling in with the supplies are
going to be late.
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SPYDERCO SPECS:
OVERALL OPEN
6.94 inches
CLOSED
4.06 inches
BLADE
2.94 inches
STEEL
CtsBd1
HANDLE
Glass fiber-reinforced
co-polyamide
ORIGIN
Golden, Colorado
RETAIL
$55.96
SPYDERCO
UK PEN KNIFE
A quick surfing of travel sites lets us know
quickly that what is legal and acceptable for knife
carry here in the U.S. may not be legal in other
countries. At the same time, it’s important to carry
as much legal knife as one can when traveling.
Sal Glesser of Spyderco is a world traveler and
understands the need of a reliable knife that could
serve in a self-defense role if required. His solution
is the UK penknife.
The knife has a round thumb hole, quick-opening design and no lock. That’s right—a legal knife
for places like England and France where the
lockback is illegal. The finger groove is cut so that
your index finger blocks the blade from closing.
It’s my standard knife in my overseas travel kit.
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TERRILL HOFFMAN PHOTO
BECKER KNIFE & TOOL
MODEL BK7
OVERALL 12 ¾ inches
BLADE 7 inches
STEEL 1095 epoxy powder coating
HANDLE Grivory or Micarta
WEIGHT 12.9 ounces
SUGGESTED RETAIL $120
COMMENT Extreme heavy-duty
construction, .188 inches thick.
KA-BAR KNIVES, INC.
200 Homer St.
Olean, NY 14760
716-372-5952
www.kabar.com
MY LIST
FIXED
BLADES
WINKLER II KNIVES
There are disasters that are bigger
than even a large government can
handle effectively, despite government’s claims otherwise.
WE DO NEED A 72-HOUR KIT
For our basics, we do need a 72hour kit. No argument there. But we
need to be prepared for longer, too. If
we are in a cold climate, we need to
be prepared to provide our own heat.
In a hot climate, food preservation
and shade can be a concern.
When it hits the fan, when it goes
beyond a mere disaster, when it all
goes to crap—depending upon our
proclivities, we might want to consider being prepared for the worst.
DEPEND ON YOUR
FELLOW MAN?
The degree of preparation is a personal choice. If you have confidence
72
that in a critical situation you can bet
your life on the good nature of your
fellow man—especially if you have
food and your fellow man has not
eaten in four days—that’s your choice.
I suspect the only thing separating the
supposed civilized man from becoming a total savage is about five days of
food.
Mark Owen, in his book “No Easy
Day,” described gathering his gear for
the SEAL Team Six mission to take
care of Osama Bin Laden. His knife
choice was a Daniel Winkler. If there’s
a better endorsement for a tactical knife
than SEAL Team Six, I do not know
what it is. Throw in that Daniel is constantly improving his designs and methods of testing, such as becoming a competitive cutting competition participant
to explore cutting edges and handle
geometry, and it’s a comfortable choice
for my kit.
SPARTAN BLADES
THERE’S ALWAYS
BETTER GEAR
My personal kit is an ever-evolving
affair. I’m always looking to improve
with better gear when I find it.
When it comes to knives I have
spent an inordinate amount of time
reviewing, handling, using and
researching the knives available on the
market.
Here are some of the knives I pick
for my own kit.
I once heard the Spartan team
described thus, “You’ve heard of the real
deal? Those guys are the real real deals.”
The principals are retired Special Forces
sergeants, still living near Ft. Bragg and
active in military related events there.
Does that make them the final word on
knife design? Not necessarily. But
they’ve been there. Consider the flat
handles on many of their knives—all
the better to lie flat against a vest with
PALS strapping. I yield to their expertise on a combat knife.
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POINT SEVEN PHOTO
“
I used to question the need to carry
a pair of folding pliers,
until I carried a
Leatherman tool for
a week.
”
careful not to say a former Marine as
there’s no such thing—once a Marine,
always a Marine). The knife also feels
right in your hand. The affordable price
in comparison to a lot of knives doesn’t
hurt. It will fit in any prep kit.
BUCK HOODLUM
It has the length, but more than that,
it has the feel. Few big knives can boast
the balance on this knife. Chop, cut or,
if in a face-off, utilize that lovely balance to be quicker than your opponent.
It’s almost like an extension of your
hand.
BECKER KNIFE & TOOL BK 7
HOGUE
WINKLER KNIVES
MODEL WK2 S.A.R. Knife
(Search and Rescue)
HANDLE Rubber or Micarta
STEEL 154cm
COMMENT Glass breaker pommel
RETAIL $465
DANIEL WINKLER
P.O. Box 2166
Blowing Rock, NC 28605
828-295-9156
danielwinkler@bellsouth.net
www.winklerknives.cominklerknives
While Hogue specializes in firearms
grips, since they combined with Allen
Elishewitz to produce a line of heavyduty tactical knives, the result are knives
that not only look right, but also feel
right and perform right.
Also, I’ve been in a lot of knifemaker’s shops. Allen’s Texas shop is
absolutely the cleanest, most efficient
that I’ve ever seen. He even has a small
room just for grinding to keep the dust
away from everything else. This precision shows in his knives, as well.
COLUMBIA RIVER
KNIFE & TOOL
Also designed by Allen Elishewitz,
who has served as a Recon Marine (I’m
Ethan Becker stunned the knife community when he debuted ¼-inch thick
sharpened pry-bars. No one else was
doing it. Once others discovered that in
many tactical situations these beyondheavy-duty knives were needed and
worked, almost overnight a great many
knifemakers and manufacturers were
copying his design.
He didn’t stop with one design, and
is constantly refining and streamlining
his knife designs. This is perhaps the
toughest knife of all those listed here.
ONE KNIFE—ONE
EMERGENCY?
If you follow the one knife, one
emergency credo, it’s best you hope and
pray that that one knife is the best one.
I prefer several.
No knife man who knows his stuff
believes there’s a single one-knife solution for every task. My recommendation
is at least two tools that have stood the
test of time.
KI-1302-BUYERS.qxp
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LEATHERMAN
MODEL Charge
CLOSED 4 inches
BLADE 2.9 inches
HANDLES 6061-T6 Hard
anodized aluminum
RETAIL $119.95
COMMENT 17 tools
LEATHERMAN TOOL GROUP, INC.
12106 N.E. Ainsworth Circle
Portland, OR 97220-9001
800-847-8665
www.leatherman.com
SWISS ARMY
MODEL SwissChamp
CLOSED 3.6 inches
WIDTH 1 inch
HANDLE Cellidor, polished
WEIGHT 7 ounces
RETAIL $199
COMMENT 33 implements
VICTORINOX SWISS ARMY, INC.
7 Victoria Drive
P.O. Box 1212
Monroe, CT 06468-1212
800-442-2706
www.swissarmy.com
74
KI-1302-BUYERS.qxp
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HOGUE-ELISHEWITZ
MODEL EXFO1
OVERALL 12 inches
BLADE 7 inches
STEEL A2
HANDLE Green G-mascus
WEIGHT 12.5 ounces
COMMENT
A torx wrench is tucked into the front handle to allow handle removal to access an
under-grip storage compartment.
Page 75
HOGUE, INC
P.O. Box 1138
Paso Robles, CA 93447
800-438-4747
www.hogueknives.com
ESEE KNIVES
MODEL Izula II
OVERALL 6.75 inches
BLADE 2.75 inches
STEEL Powder coated 1095
HANDLE Skeletal
COMMENT A compact skeletal
knife made to be light and
tough with a classic drop-point
design.
COLUMBIA RIVER KNIFE & TOOL
MODEL 2060
Designed by Allen Elishewitz
OVERALL 11.63 inches
BLADE 6.3 inches
STEEL SK5
HANDLE Textured Zytel
WEIGHT 10.8 ounces
SUGGESTED RETAIL $159.95
COMMENT Elishewitz’s experience
in martial arts and as a Recon Marine
has given him a strong background for
the tactical edge.
ESEE KNIVES
P.O. Box 99
Gallant, AL 35972
256-613-0372
www.eseeknives.com
COLUMBIA RIVER KNIFE & TOOL
18348 S.W. 126th Place
Tualatin, OR 97262
800-891-3100
www.crkt.com
KI-1302-BUYERS.qxp
12/12/12
12:46 AM
Page 76
“ ”
Chop, cut or, if in a face-off,
utilize that lovely balance to be
quicker than your opponent.
TOP
TOOLS
LEATHERMAN
I used to question the need to carry a
pair of folding pliers, until I carried a
Leatherman tool for a week. I have one
in my every-day carry bag, my camera
bag and my vehicles, and there’s a reason. On several occasions I have found
myself in a situation in which the only
functional tool a group of us had for a
quick repair was a lone Leatherman.
SWISS ARMY KNIFE
The SAK is the best-selling knife in
the world for a reason—it’s reliable,
and it works. At first glance, we might
think the wide array of tools and multi-
BUCK HOODLUM
MODEL 60BKSBH
OVERALL 15 ½ inches
BLADE 10 inches
STEEL 5160 with powder coating
HANDLE Black linen Micarta
WEIGHT 14.6 ounces
COMMENT Handle has a shock migration system. It points quickly.
BUCK KNIVES
660 S. Lochsa St.
Post Falls, ID 83854-5200
800-326-2825
www.buckknives.com
purpose blades are trinkets—until we
need to use one. Then much to our
delight we discover that that myriad
assortment of spring-backed tools actually work—and work well.
SKELETON KNIFE ESSE
There are a lot of skeleton and neck
knives. It’s always good to have a good
hideout knife, and a neck knife fits that
bill. The nice thing about the ESSE
Isuzu is it’s a terrific skeleton knife, but
with the attachment of optional
Micarta handles, it’s a dandy useful
hunting knife, too, and will serve tasks
beyond that role. KI
SPARTAN KNIVES
MODEL Ares
DESIGNERS Iovito/Carey
OVERALL LENGTH 10 1/2 inches
BLADE LENGTH 5 3/8 inches
BLADE THICKNESS 3/16 inches
BLADE STEEL CPM S35VN
BLADE HARDNESS 59-60 HRC
BLADE STYLE Fixed drop point—this
design allows for strength of the blade’s
tip by placing it in line with the user’s
hand while keeping the upward curve of
the cutting edge.
COATING SpartaCoat PVD—"flat black"
or "flat dark earth"
HANDLE MATERIAL CE canvas
Micarta—black, green or natural tan
WEIGHT 0.422 pounds
RETAIL $333
SPARTAN BLADES USA
P.O. Box 620
Aberdeen, NC 28315
910-757-0035
www.spartanbladesusa.com
76
KI_1302_77
12/13/12
9:54 PM
Page 77
When Disaster Strikes,
will you have what it takes?
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Page
A.G. Russell Knives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Meyerco USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46, 47, 84
American Bladesmith Society . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Niagara Specialty Metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Arkansas Custom Knife Show . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Olamic Cutlery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Bear and Son Cutlery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Paracord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Blue Line Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Southeastern Custom Knife Show . . . . . . . . .67
Blue Ridge Knives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63, 79
Spartan Blades USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Chris Reeve Knives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Tandy Leather Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
GreatEasternCutlery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
TOPS Knives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
HallMark Cutlery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47, 69
Tormach LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Jantz Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
John H. Davies Custom Knife Ma . . . . . . . . . .79
Wilson Combat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Kershaw Knives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
KI_1302_78
12/12/12
2:40 AM
Page 78
Find
At The Shops
Near You!
Plaza Cutlery
3333 Bristol St. Ste 2060
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 549-3932
dan@plazacutlery.com
Rivers Edge Cutlery
3977 Trueman Blvd.
Hilliard, OH 43026
(614) 777-8833
customerservice@riversedgecutlery.com
Harry’s Army
and Navy Store
691 Route 130
Robbinsville,NJ 08691
(609) 585-5450
markhmerkh@harris.com
A
R K A NSA S
CUSTOM KNIFE SHOW
LITTLE ROCK, AR
FEB. 16 & 17
Robinson Center Exhibition Hall
424 W. Markham (by DoubleTree Hotel)
Open to the Public
$10 Admission
DarkThreads.com
517 Halsey Ave.
Pittsburgh. PA 15221
(412) 351-6478
sales@darkthreads.com
18th Annual
S AT : 10-5 S UN : 10-3
FRIDAY NIGHT RECEPTION GRAND PRIZE
Joe Flournoy
Bill Miller
Heimerdinger
Cutlery Inc.
Burr King
Grinder
4207 Shelbyville Rd.
Louisville, KY 40207
(888) 267-9572
www.heimerdingercutlery.com
Attention Shop Owners: The
Direct Dealer Program Draws
consumers attention to your
business.
SIGN UP TODAY!
Call Dealer Sales at (239)280-2380
or email dealers@beckett.com
Donated Knives
to be given away at the show
DOUBLETREE HOTEL:
800/937-2789 501/372-4371
SPECIAL HOTEL SHOW RATE:
$112 SINGLE/DOUBLE $122 TRIPLE $132 QUAD
Ray Kirk
Mark Nevling
Mike Allen, TX
David Anders, AR
Karl B. Andersen, IL
Reggie Barker, LA
Jim Batson, GA
Bill Behnke, MI
Kim Breed, TN
Tim Britton, NC
Benoni Bullard, AR
Bruce Bump, WA
Bill Buxton, MO
Doug Campbell, MT
Dan Cassidy, CO
Joel Chamblin, GA
Jimmy Chen, Taiwan
Jon Christensen, MT
J. R. Cook, AR
Gary Crowder, OK
Jim Crowell, AR
Steve Culver, KS
Jesse W. Davis, MS
Bill Duff, OK
Fred Durio, LA
Lee-Linda Ferguson, AR
Tom Ferry, WA
Jerry Fisk, AR
Ronnie Foster, AR
Tommy Gann, TX
Gage Glisson, AR
Gordon Graham, TX
Bob Ham, AZ
Don Hanson III, MO
Douglas-Gail Hardy, GA
John Horrigan, TX
Gary House, WA
Alan Hutchinson, AR Bill Lyons, NE
Roger Massey, AR
Larry Inman, AR
Jerry McClure, OK
Lacy Key, AR
W. J. McDonald, TN
Harvey King, KS
Shawn McIntyre, AUS
Ray Kirk, OK
Robert Merz, TX
Bill Kirkes, AR
Bill Miller, MO
Knifeology, KS
Sidney Moon, LA
Jerry Lairson, OK
Gary Mulkey, MO
Ben Lane, AR
Keith Murr, AR
David Lemoine, AR
Mark Nevling, IL
Ken Linton, TX
Allen Newberry, AR
David Lisch, WA
Ron Newton, AR
John Lloyd, MO
Larry-Gail Lunn, AR Cliff Parker, FL
Logan Pearce, AR
Tad Lynch, AR
David Etchieson
501.554.2582
Knife Photos by:
Chuck Ward
James Scroggs, MO
Richard Self, TX
Ben Seward, AR
Butch Sheely, OH
Robert P. Smith, MO
Marvin Solomon, AR
Craig Steketee, MO
Douglas Stice, KS
John Perry, AR
Ed Sticker, MS
Bill Post, AR
Charles Stout, AR
Larry Pridgen, GA
Johnny Stout, TX
Mike Quesenberry, CA Tim Tabor, FL
Vernon Red, AR
Brian Thie, IA
Lin Rhea, AR
Brion Tomberlin, OK
Raymond Richard, OR Pete Truncali, TX
Ralph Richards, AR Art Tycer, LA
Ron Richerson, KY Thomas Upton, AR
Dennis Riley, AR
Terry Vandeventer, MS
Kyle Royer, MO
Gary Wheeler, TN
Michael Ruth, Jr., TX John White, FL
Mike Ruth, TX
Mike Williams, OK
Lyle Schow, MO
Joel Worley, OK
aka@alliancecable.net
ABS
Alabama Damascus
Ankrom Exotics
CKCA
Culpepper & Co.
Forrest Cases
Giraffebone, Inc.
Glendo Corporation
Green River Leather
Hog Abrasives
Knife World
Kochheiser Ivory
Ozark Knifemakers
Paul Long Custom Leather
Pop Knife Supplies
Riverside Machine
Rowe’s Leather
Charles Turnage
Chuck Ward Photography
Wood Lab
www.arkansasknifemakers.com
KI_1302_79
12/13/12
11:58 AM
Page 79
1. Publication Title: Knives Illustrated
2. Publication No.: 0898-8943
3. Filing Date: 10-01-12
4. Issue Frequency: Published 9 times a year, January/February, April,
May, June/July, August, September, October, November and December
5. No. of Issues Published Annually: 9
6. Annual Subscription Price: $21.95
7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication:
Beckett Media LLC.,
22840 Savi Ranch Parkway, Suite 200, Yorba Linda, CA 92887
8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General
Business Office of Publisher: Beckett Media LLC.,
9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher,
Editor, and Managing Editor:
Publisher Beckett Media LLC.,
Editor Bruce Voyles, Beckett Media LLC.,
Managing Editor Jeffrey Rick, Beckett Media LLC.,
10. Owner: Beckett Media LLC.,
11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders
Owning or Holding 1 Percent of More of Total Amount of
Bonds,Mortgagees, or Other Securities.: None
12.Tax Status (For completion by nonprofit organizations
authorized to mail at nonprofit rates): Not applicable
13. Publication Title: Knives Illustrated
14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: Nov 11-Oct 12 / Oct-12
15. Extent and Nature of Circulation:
A. Total No. of Copies (Net Press Run): 20,627 / 19,869
B. Paid and/or Requested Circulation:
1. Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions
Stated on Form 3541: 3,127 / 2,932
2. Paid In-County Subscriptions: 0 / 0
3. Sales through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors,
Counter Sales, and Other Non-USPS Paid Distribution:
5,646 / 5,102
4. Other ClassesMailed Through the USPS: 0 / 0
C. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 8,773 / 8,034
D. Free Distribution By Mail:
1. Outside-County as Stated on Form3541: 49 / 49
2. In-County as Stated on Form 3541: 0 / 0
3. Other Classes Mailed Through USPS: 0 / 0
4. Outside the mail: 240 / 234
E. Total Free Distribution Outside the Mail: 289 / 283
F. Total Distribution: 9,062 / 8,317
G. Copies Not Distibuted: 11,565 / 11,552
H. Total: 20,627 / 19,869
I. Percent Paid: 96.81% / 96.60%
16. Publication of Statement of Ownership: Jan/Feb 2013
17. Signature: Nick Singh
KI-1302-SHOWS_v2.qxp
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Page 80
SHOWS
UPCOMING
KNIFE
SHOWS
he shows listed here are knife shows and should not be
confused with “gun and knife shows,” at which a show
promoter may have thrown in the “and knife” in hopes
of luring a couple more tables of knife dealers.
Show locations and dates do change for a variety of reasons,
so we recommend contacting the show managers to confirm
the date and location before traveling. If you are producing a
knife show, please let us know at bvoyles@beckett.com. KI
T
January 4-5, 2013
HELSINKI, FINLAND
4th Annual Helsinki
Knife Show
Scandic Marski hotel
info@helsinkiknifeshow.com
www.helsinkiknifeshow.com
February 1-3, 2013
LAKELAND, FL
Gator Cutlery Club Show
Lakeland Center
813-754-3908
www.gatorcutlery.com
January 18-20, 2013
LAS VEGAS, NV
Las Vegas Invitational
Riviera Hotel & Casino
706-202-4489
www.antiquearmsshow.com
February 16-17, 2013
LITTLE ROCK, AR
Arkansas Custom
Knife Show
Robinson Center Exhibit Hall
aka@alliancecable.net
arkansasknifemakers.com
January 26-27, 2013
ST. LOUIS, MO
Gateway Area Knife Club
Cutlery Fair
Carpenter’s Hall
636-537-2975
Choakes10@yahoo.com
March 8-10, 2013
DALTON, GA
The Knife Roadshow
Northwest Georgia Trade
and Convention Center
423-238-6753
www.spiritofsteel.com
80
April 27-28, 2013
MYSTIC, CT
NCCA Extravaganza Show
Northeast Cutlery Collectors
Association
Mystic Hilton
401-596-6353
www.ncca.info
Lcliff1@verizon.net
March 8-10, 2013
PASADENA, CA
Pasadena Convention Center
Southern California
Blades Knife Expo
Knifeexpo2012@att.net
www.knifeexpo.net
March 22-24, 2013
JANESVILLE, WI
Badger Knife Show
Holiday Inn
Express/Janesville
Conference Center
414-479-9765
rschrap@aol.com
www.badgerknifeclub.org
May 31-June 2
MARIETTA, GA
Blade Show
Cobb Galleria Centre
877-746-9757
www.blademag.com
June 13-15, 2013
SEVIERVILLE, TN
Parker’s Greatest Knife
Show On Earth
Sevier Events Center at
Bridgemont
423-892-0448
www.bulldogknives.org
April 5-7, 2013
HARRISONBURG, VA
Shenandoah Valley Knife
Collectors Show
Rockingham County
Fairgrounds
540-828-0778
clubmail@svkc.org
www.svkc.org
July 12-13, 2013
BELLEVILLE, IL
Belleville Knife Expo
Belle-Clair Fairgrounds
618-889-2563
bvilleknife@yahoo.com
April 19-21, 2013
LEXINGTON, KY
Central Kentucky
Spring Show
Central Kentucky Knife
Club Show
Clarion Hotel
859-623-1419
thomp@adelphia.net
September 14-16, 2013
LOUISVILLE, KY
Knifemakers Guild Show
Seelbach Hotel
www.knifemakersguild.com
April 27-28, 2013
NOVI, MI
Wolverine Show
Rock Financial Showplace
586-786-5549
www.wolverineknifecollector
sclub.com
patrickjdonovan@wowway.com
KI-1302-TIPS_v2.qxp
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12:23 AM
Page 81
Quick
Tips
FOR KNIFE OWNERS
LEAVE IT
Alone
BY J. BRUCE VOYLES / PHOTO BY J. BRUCE VOYLES
“Just because it’s shiny doesn’t mean
it’s mint.” There was a time when that
was the first caution to a new knife collector.
Vintage knives were made in batches,
but in the final sharpening process the
knives would be sharpened one blade at
a time, so if one laid two apparently
identical knives side by side, on closer
examination there would be variations
between the two blades.
Enterprising dealers back in the day
assumed that if there was some minute
variation, were one to buff the used
knife to the original luster, resharpen
the blade, tweak a spot here and there,
then, presto, you would have a mint
knife—or at least a knife that some
dealers would call, “cleaned to mint.”
What that really meant was hopefully
the buyer couldn’t tell the difference
between a cleaned-up knife and an original mint model. The line was so blurry
that the cleaned to mint market price of a
knife was close to that of a mint knife.
“
PATINA IS IMPORTANT
For Bowie knife collectors, a cleanedup knife was abhorred. Cleaning a knife
was almost the kiss of death to collectors of expensive 100-year-old knives
whose collectors valued the original
patina sometimes as much as they did
the knife.
ENTER THE ANTIQUES
ROADSHOW
Suffice to say the vintage pocketknife
knife boys were behind the curve. But
then the “Antiques Roadshow” came
along.
While a Bowie collector might not
travel in vintage knife circles, it didn’t
take a Rhodes Scholar to see the crestfallen look on a hopeful show guest’s
face on the PBS show when their piece
of furniture was rolled in front of the
camera for a segment, and then in front
of a national audience when the
appraiser informs them that the quick
refinish job to get rid of that old black
Cleaning a knife was almost the kiss of death to
collectors of expensive 100-year-old knives …
Three knives in good shape: A mint
bone-handled Western barlow on top
(c. 1960), an IXL mint barlow on the
bottom (c. 1960), and in the center a
Hammer brand New York Knife
Company barlow with an unused but
spotted blade (c. 1932). One can
expect to find spots on a knife this old,
but clean it up as shiny as the two later
knives and it becomes suspect—and
in the end worth less to a collector.
varnish on that Chippendale had cost
them $100,000 in value.
Something clicked inside many vintage knife collectors. “Hmmmm. I wonder if vintage knife collectors might
someday think that way.” Originally
they didn’t. They do now. In my opinion, one would be better off leaving a
knife alone, other than a quick cleaning
with a polishing paste and a wiping
with a thin coat of oil.
THE GREATER FOOL THEORY
Of course, there’s still the occasional
old hand who still thinks that he can
shine up the used knife and vastly
improve the knife’s value. That’s a
“greater fool” theory—thinking there’s
always someone down the road who
hasn’t got the message, and thinks they
can clean it up better than you.
If you are a vintage knife collector
and have not heard this premise before,
consider this your personal message!
Don’t waste the time cleaning a knife.
KI
KI-1302-edge_v3-final.qxp
12/12/12
12:24 AM
Page 82
On The
EDGE
SPRING
CLEANING
IN THE FALL
BY J. BRUCE VOYLES
n a slow TV night the channel landed on “Hoarders,” featuring
the homes of poor souls who, usually because of some personal
trauma, pile up their houses head-deep in trash, junk, and if the
footage of the house is accurate, a supply of dead, crushed rats.
O
The problem that arose for me was near the close of the show when my
wife looked at me and declared, “Your knife corner in the basement in ways
looks like that.”
My defense was, “Yeah, but some of my stuff has value and is collectible.”
Talk about poor timing—at that instant the homeowner being interviewed on the show declared that her junk and trash was “valuable.” There
was no appeal at this point. My next Saturday would be consumed cleaning
out my knife corner.
INTO THE BASEMENT
That Saturday morning found me confronting a piled up corner of a table
and shelves, an empty file box to the side to hold the first of my rejects, facing several years of accumulated knife things on which I had been unable to
make a toss, keep or sell decision. I have to admit it was out of hand. So what
to throw away?
I pick up a used 60-knife salesman’s roll. I might need that sometime. It
goes back on the shelf.
A dusty Colt folder box from the 1970s? The knives are around, and all
I need is the knife in the sheath, then I can add the box and have a mint-inthe-box combo. No need to toss that.
Then there’s my box of old knife and gun show badges. I thumb through
them, some well-made hard plastic dated ones—each provoking memories
of the friends I traveled to that show with, or some fine knife I found while
there; too many memories here to get rid of that box.
I do have a collection of hotel pens. You know, the ones always lying by
the phone with a note pad. I sort through the rubber-banded bundle. Some
of the chains are no longer in business. I try one. It still writes. Now who
82
throws away a perfectly working pen? Not me.
I pull a box of leftover sheaths that I’ve been unable to match to a knife. I
slide it back under the table. I’m an optimist. There’s always the possibility I
can match one up.
This is a problem. I have rearranged several things on the shelf, but the
file box is still empty. I have to throw something away. I open the next box.
Voila! My box of old installation discs for computer software. The Windows
XP installation disc and book can go, and the FrontPage instruction book
and floppy discs. And the small box of unused floppy discs—no need to keep
them. I feel better now; there are things in the throw-away box. My wife will
be happy.
I have the stacks of old knife magazines sorted by title. Same way with
the knife catalogs. I resort them, and do toss a couple of catalogs away from
a company no longer operating.
A small drawer containing my cleaning stuff is next. I add a dried-out
tube of Semichrome to the file box. (I had left the lid off last time I had
cleaned a knife bolster).
I attack the biggest box under the table; antlers, lighters, playing cards,
rolled-up burlap, a leather shop apron, and a stack of vintage postcards. No
way I’d throw those things away—all are valuable photo props.
Then I turn to the smaller boxes filled things like broken knives, giveaway
items, trinkets from the SHOT show like a Glock key ring or a Remington
pin. We all know how sporting collectibles are rising in value, don’t we? Who
knows what they could be worth in a few years?
Perhaps I should go for some bulky items. It would look like I had really
accomplished something. The pile of old wood shotgun shell boxes are perfect for holding books, and they look good, and I saw in a sporting goods
catalogs that the repos cost $40 or so. Nope, they’re staying.
The small wood display cases with the broken glass? A quick trip to the
hardware store and I could fix those. And the pile of knife-related CDs and
those VHS tapes. My VHS player still works. Next time I have a free day
I’ll…” My eyes fall to my box of photos. A big box, older, predating the days
of digital photography. I removed the lid, and there on top is a group shot of
me, a much younger me, with a half dozen friends at a knife show. Three of
them are dead. One is no longer in knives. I replace the lid. Today is not the
day to delve into this box. Memories are not anything I care to clean out or
dispose of.
I step back from the shelves and table. Most of the items are now evenly
lined up with the edge of the shelf from my sorting. I sweep the space in front
of the table and shelves. It does look better.
THAT WAS FAST
I proudly pick up the file box with the bottom half-covered in throwaways, walk out the basement door to the trash cans and dump it inside,
striding back into the living room to my recliner where it’s just about time
for kickoff.
“Already done?” my wife asks.
“Yes, I got rid of more than I expected once I got going. I think it looks a
lot better.”
“I’m sure it does,” she says, with that knowing smile that lets me know she
has already been down to inspect my cleaning, figuring a 1/8th file box of
junk gone is better than nothing. KI
KI_1302_C3
12/18/12
11:42 PM
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KI_1302_C4.qxp
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11:43 PM
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Knives Illustrated

Transcription

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