The Tuxedo Fighter is a takedown combat utility knife by Tim Steingass. The takedown tool at upper right fits into the two tiny holes in the piece at bottom center, which is the linchpin for disassembly and assembly. At press time, Tim said he had so many orders he had closed his books. (SharpByCoop knife image)
The Tuxedo Fighter by Tim Steingass is a takedown combat utility knife the maker quipped is for guys “who like Tinkertoys®”—those who enjoy taking their knives apart and putting them back together.
As for the Tuxedo name, Tim said he got the idea for it from one of his customers for whom he made repros of three Bob Loveless small fighters.
“He got one with an ivory Micarta® handle and liked it so much he wanted a black-handled one,” Tim recalled. “I imagined he was going to wear it under his tuxedo and that gave me the idea for the Tuxedo Fighter.”
The fact that the fighter is small and fancy also seemed to fit the Tuxedo moniker.
“It’s not tactical, it has a shiny blade and beautiful, shiny handle, and all the fittings are polished and pretty and it comes with a horizontal, ambidextrous sheath,” Steingass added.
Made to be broken down and maintained, “the takedown is a great way to take care of a knife. It just shows the craftsmanship of the knife, frankly.”
See More Incredible Custom Knives at BLADE Show West
“Brian was among the first to use Damacore and has the most experience working in it up to now,” noted Damasteel’s Per Jarbelius, who also will participate in presenting the seminar. “As a very experienced knifemaker in general and with Damasteel, Brian will have valuable input to contribute.”
The presentation will be part of the show’s “Steel Day” of seminars, which also will include “Nitro-V: The New Super Steel.” Join Peter Bruno and Dale Cucos of New Jersey Steel Baron as they outline this hot new blade steel.
Complete BLADE Show West Seminar Schedule
FRIDAY, OCT. 5: GET SHARP DAY
1 p.m.-2 p.m.: “Knifemaking 101 Q&A”—ABS master smith Bruce Bump and bladesmith Mike Pierce will offer professional tips on how to get started making knives, including how to learn, classes to take, shop tips, tools to buy, the things to do and not do, and more.
3 p.m.-5 p.m.: “How To Sharpen With The Latest Sharpeners”—In back-to-back one-hour sessions, representatives of Work Sharp and Wicked Edge Sharpeners will demonstrate how to get a razor-sharp edge on a knife with the latest sharpener of their respective companies.
SATURDAY, OCT. 6: KNIFEMAKING DAY
11 a.m.-12 p.m.: “How To Put a Handle on Your Knife”—David Tuthill of Fire Horse Forge will demonstrate, with the help of a Burr King grinder and his own equipment, how to attach a wooden handle to a knife.
1 p.m.-2 p.m.: “How To Make a Flowed-In Guard”—ABS master smith David Lisch will show you how it’s done on a Burr King grinder outfitted with a small wheel attachment.
2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: “Custom Chef’s Knife Roundtable Discussion”—ABS master smith Bill Burke and Daniel O’Malley of Epicurean Edge will talk about one of the hottest genres of custom knives, including their hottest custom examples, how they’re made, how they’re used and who uses them—including professional chefs—and more.
4 p.m.-5 p.m.: “The Road to World-Class Custom Slip Joints”—Award-winning multi-blade maker Bill Ruple and two of his top pupils—award-winning makers Rusty Preston and Luke Swenson—will conduct a class on how they have come to be among the custom industry’s top makers of slip joints, including the mentor/pupil relationship, the keys to making the best slip joints and more.
SUNDAY, OCT. 7: STEEL DAY
11 a.m.-12 p.m.: “Damacore: Damasteel’s Hot New Blade Laminate”—Per Jarbelius of Damasteel will outline the performance, strength and beauty of Damacore, Damasteel’s new laminated knife blade material with a center made of high nitrogen steel.
1 p.m.-2 p.m.: “Nitro-V: The New Super Steel”—Peter Bruno and Dale Cucos of New Jersey Steel Baron will tell all about New Jersey Steel Baron’s Nitro-V, one of the latest high-performance blade steels being used by a growing number of custom knifemakers.
BLADE Show is Headed West to the “Knife Capital of the United States”
Join your friends at BLADE magazine and the knife industry at-large Oct. 5-7, 2018, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland for BLADE Show West.
It is the best place to engage expert knife handlers, precision craftsmen, and master knifemakers in one location. Explore your passion for knifemaking and knife collecting while checking out high-end blades and everyday gear.
Plus, learn a new skill during exhibitor demos and chat with your favorite knife and gear makers in-person.
200+ Exhibitor Booths and Tables
Find brand name knives, one-of-a-kind custom knives, edc gear and materials from industry leaders like Smoky Mountain Knife Works, CRKT, Kershaw, Benchmade, Leatherman, WE Knife and more.
Take your knife knowledge to the next level as you learn from industry professionals and see firsthand how knife legends craft, sharpen and forge their knives. Learn everything from how to grind a knife blade to all about Nitro V, the new super steel. All demos come free with the purchase of any BLADE Show West ticket.
See which exhibitor wins a BLADE Show West award, with separate categories for both custom and factory makers. Keep an eye out for the best “weird” knife, too!
About
BLADE Show West is brought to you by BLADE and Caribou Media LLC, hosts of the largest knife show in the world, BLADE Show, each June in Atlanta. After 37 years, BLADE Show is expanding to Portland for BLADE Show West.
Shaped like a dragon, bat and lion, menuki (handle charms) are tucked under the cord-wrapped stingray skin handles of a trio of tanto knives by RJ Martin. (SharpByCoop image)
In Japanese sword culture, menuki are handle charms, often tucked under the silk wrappings of stingray skin grips. Like all aspects of Japanese swords, the charms are handmade—fashioned one at a time, sculpted, carved and engraved. They are for decorative purposes only, though one could argue that, if appropriately shaped, they’d add palpability, and perhaps, if lucky charms, good omens for sword wielders.
Along with “Agyo” and “Ungyo,” two Japanese temple guardians, engraved on the VG-10 blade of the “Yari” spear, this knife by Glenn Waters also sports an ebony handle and a silver dragon handle charm.
Knifemakers being knifemakers, whether American, German, Nordic, Australian, Indian or South African, these little handle charms have not gone unnoticed. They’ve been adopted by knifemakers wanting to add more elements of intrigue to their knives.
A knife’s ability to perform the cutting chores for which it was designed is the first priority, but ask any knifemaker, and he or she will tell you that form follows function. And sometimes it’s the aesthetics of a knife that catches the eye of a potential buyer.
So knifemakers pay attention to the details. They add amenities, embellish the pieces and fashion handle charms. And knife collectors are charmed, we’re sure.
These four assisted opening knives sit at the intersection of value and performance. They’re proof you don’t need to spend a bundle for a knife you can enjoy day in and day out.
They might not look real, but the knife photos don’t lie. These fantasy knives, each made by a wizard of custom knifemaking, bring to mind sword-and-sandal TV shows and movies.
Aaron Schwartz
Some dyed zebra bone and Alabama damascus, and a tree came to life in the blue woods, horns protruding from its skull as it wreaked havoc on the land. (PointSeven image)
Josef Rusnak
You don’t see much antelope bone on knives, nor too many 440C blades shaped like the “Dragon Claw,” which, in turn, wears the skin of a stingray with pride.
Logan Pearce
The Valkyrie, with filed O1 wings and blue mammoth ivory body, chooses those in battle who may live and those who die. (Ward image)
Jeff Knox
The main tusks of the “Trandoshan Mount” are hollow-ground 440C bent at 30 degrees, the horns ground using 1- and 3-inch wheels and the body of white Corian. (PointSeven image)
Glenn Paul Smit
The integral “knuckle duster” guard of the “Myrlande Machete” would dust ’em off if the 18-inch tool steel blade didn’t take care of them first. Silver skulls embellish the purple swirled acrylic grip, and the skull pommel is carved bone with purple glass eyes.
Like “Weird” Knives? Come to BLADE Show West 2018
BLADE Show West is taking place Oct. 5-7, 2018, in the home of weird, Portland, Oregon. Expect high strangeness and masterful custom knife presentations. Details here.
Editor’s note: A long-time vintage knife enthusiast originally from England, Jim Taylor wrote a number of stories on antique knives for BLADE®, including this one on a knife that belonged to Abraham Lincoln and fetched almost $100,000 at auction in 1989. Help us celebrate BLADE’s 45th anniversary with his story from the July/August 1989 issue.
by Jim Taylor
The hammer fell. The auctioneer at Sotheby’s January 1989 auction in New York couldn’t get another cent. The buyer, an anonymous American collector, had bought a 4.25-inch pearl-handled pocketknife.
The facts reported above are true. The sums of money mentioned are certifiable. Add the 10 percent buyer’s premium and the knife’s new owner got back $175 change out of 100 grand! Yep, the net price was $99,825.
The knife in question was not one you’re likely to find on a dealer’s table. This one was special!
An “Historic” Knife for President Lincoln
On June 16, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln spoke at the Great Central Fair in Philadelphia. To mark the occasion, prominent Philadelphians presented him with what Sotheby’s catalog described as an “historic mother of pearl presentation ‘American Army’ multi-bladed pocketknife of slightly serpentine outline. Paneled with mother of pearl and inlaid with a gold plaque engraved ‘Abraham Lincoln,’ the pocketknife is fitted with polished steel scissors, nail file and five various blades, two of which are damascened (decorated with inlaid patterns of gold or silver) with foliated inscriptions.”
Accompanying the historic knife is the original presentation box, made of fitted oak and lined with velvet and satin. The inscription inside the lid states that the wood and iron used in the box’s construction came from the “Old Liberty Bell.” The lid is inlaid on the outside with a spread-winged eagle surrounded by 13 stars. The sale also included a handwritten letter of thanks from Lincoln. The letter, dated Oct. 17, 1864, states:
“I have received at the hands of the Hon. Wm. D. Kelley a very beautiful and ingeniously constructed pocketknife accompanied by your kind letter of presentation. The gift is gratefully accepted and will be highly valued, not only as an extremely creditable specimen of American workmanship, but as a manifestation of your regard and esteem which I most cordially appreciate.
Your ob’t serv,t A. Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln lived at a time when knives were carried by most everyone on a daily basis—not only as a convenient tool but because, quite simply, knives were indispensable for a wide variety of tasks and personal needs. And, back then at least, Lincoln apparently was no different than anyone else.
The inscription on the clip blade reads, “LIBERTY, July 4th, 1776. Abraham Lincoln, Jan. 1st, 1863 EQUALITY.” The blades all carry the tang stamps “J. Ward & Co., Bronxville, New York.” It also is apparent from the photograph—kindly supplied by Sotheby’s—that various implements are fitted behind the pearl handle, such as a tweezers, pick and more.
Ward originally made the knife to the order of Albert B. Justice, a Philadelphia hardware merchant. Justice presented the knife to the fair’s board of directors, of which he was a member. He then solicited some 130 wealthy Philadelphians to endorse its subsequent presentation to the president. When presented, the knife was accompanied by a document containing the 130 Philadelphians’ signatures.
The document is currently in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Other items sold with the knife include a bronze medal commemorating the fair, as well as photographs of the presentation document, photocopies of a publication called Our Daily Fair that described the fair, and the text of Lincoln’s address.
The Bronxville factory in New York was originally a grist and saw mill prior to the Revolutionary War, and the four-story building housing the factory came into the hands of James Swain circa 1849. Swain utilized the building for the manufacture of axles, among other things.
In 1880, James Ward bought the property solely for the manufacture of cutlery.
Ward, like so many of his countrymen of the day, sought the aid of qualified and experienced Sheffield cutlers, and he even advertised for them. One tiny fragment of a prospectus survives. It reads:
“Dear Sir,
The undersigned, Manufacturers of PEN AND POCKET CUTLERY, are now prepared to sell to the trade, a first class article, manufactured on the English system…”
Knives made by Ward in Bronxville are certainly not plentiful, nor are the records clear about how long the company lasted. The factory later became the police headquarters for the Bronx River Parkway before its eventual demolition circa 1959.
Editor’s note: The current location of the Lincoln pocketknife was unknown at press time.
As for the Tuxedo name, Tim said he got the idea for it from one of his customers for whom he made repros of three Bob Loveless small fighters.
