BLADE Staff

People’s Republic of China Tracks Knife Purchases with QR Codes

At least in some parts of the People’s Republic of China, authorities are matching knives to consumers with QR codes as part of an anti-terrorism initiative. What could go wrong? About everything you could expect from something as punitive as this. From Fast Company:

A knife shop owner in the midwestern city of Aksu told the Journal he had to spend thousands of dollars on a machine that turns every “customer’s ID card number, photo, ethnicity and address,” encodes the data as a QR code and lasers it into the blades of even the kitchen knives they buy. The Aksu policy, which was previously reported by Radio Free Asia, is intended to trace a knife back to its owner in the event it’s used to commit acts of violence.

And from Twitter comes this disturbing report from a Wall Street Journal reporter:

In Aksu, we interviewed a salesman at a knife shop that had to spend thousands of dollars on a machine that turns a customer’s ID card data into a QR code and laser-etches it into every knife they sell. pic.twitter.com/T1FMkhdnHR

— Josh Chin 李肇华 (@joshchin) December 19, 2017

If this doesn’t sound terrifying to you, you need to sit down and think about it some more.

Nothing similar to this is on the table in the United States, but the general technique is not unfounded. California’s “bullet stamping” initiative is one example.

Bill Loosening Switchblade Restrictions Introduced in Ohio

And now for something completely different.

Ohio law allows for the carry and possession of switchblades, but not the sale or manufacture of them. This quirk could soon be corrected, per Knife Rights:

Ohio State Senator Frank LaRose today introduced, Senate Bill 242, Knife Rights’ bill to repeal Ohio’s irrational ban on the manufacture and sale of “switchblade, springblade, and gravity knives.” Ohio statutes allow for the possession and carry of these knives, but they cannot be manufactured or sold in the state. Ohio loses out on jobs and tax revenue as Ohioans spend their money outside the state’s borders. Co-sponsors include Senate President Larry Obhof and Senators Joe Uecker, John Eklund and Kris Jordan.

Read more about this proposal here from Knife Rights.

Read the bill as written on the Ohio Legislature’s official site here. 

Why are So Many Bladesmiths from Arkansas?

It’s not your imagination. Many of the most renowned knifemakers call Arkansas home. The Magnolia Reporter went to find out why with a profile on Jerry Fisk.

According to Fisk, 10 percent of the world’s recognized master bladesmiths are Arkansans. “The first bladesmithing school (Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing) was started here in 1987,” he said. “People from all over the world would come here to learn the basics and get inspired as they do to this day.”

Good point. Read the full article here.

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Knife Used to Free “Cocaine Smuggler”

The United States Coast Guard is used to intercepting drug runners, but it wasn’t expecting a sea turtle shepherding cocaine bricks across the ocean.

During their 68-day Eastern Pacific counter drug patrol, the crew of USCGC Thetis rescued a large sea turtle entangled in $53 million worth of cocaine. Read here to learn more about this patrol: https://t.co/x9VCINZ25I pic.twitter.com/Zhddcb4lgg

— U.S. Coast Guard (@USCG) December 21, 2017

All joking aside, this is yet another reason to keep a knife handy. You never know what you’ll come across. Good job, Guardsmen.

How to Bone Out Venison Shoulders

You’ll never appreciate a sharp knife as much as when you’re butchering. This video from sister pub, Deer & Deer Hunting, shows why with a tutorial on boning out venison shoulders.

Save the neck for me, Clark.

Trendy Knife Blocks

Knife blocks don’t get much attention in the world of knives, but designers are nonetheless pushing forward with new takes. Perhaps this is overdue, as this article in Business Insider points out:

When you think of a knife block, you may envision the traditional, slanted wood block that sits on your counter. There are many excellent blocks in this style, but none of them made our list. The main problems we have with the classic block is that it is difficult to clean and you can’t readily view the type of knife you are grabbing for. There are plenty of modern styles that sufficiently address these issues.

Check out some of the knife blocks catching eyes here.

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City Shuts Down Knifemaking Operation in Garage

The first phase of a knifemaking business likely starts in the garage. If that sounds familiar to you, keep in mind that fire safety isn’t the only concern, as one knifemaker in Maine found out. City ordinances can hit in a hurry once you cross the line from “it’s just a hobby” to “making several knives per week.”

From the Sun Journal:

…city officials shut him down. Neighbors had been complaining about the noise and smell and his Auburn neighborhood wasn’t zoned for blacksmithing.

Read the full article here.

Knives as Status Symbols in the UK

Finally, a bright spot for knife enthusiasts in the United Kingdom. In a country saturated with imported knives, domestically made knives are becoming tokens of pride in certain pockets. This is especially the case with chefs and custom knives. 

From Big Hospitality:

Until just a few years ago, a British made knife was a rare sight in kitchens with German and Japanese-made blades favoured by most chefs.

But a small group of artisans are starting to change that, enabled by a number of factors including an increased interest in British handmade products and the marketing power of the Internet and social media.

See? Hipsters don’t always ruin everything. Read the full article here. 

Flying for Christmas? Here’s How to Transport Your Knives

Everyone’s favorite federal agency, the Transportation Security Agency, generally prohibits knives from being placed in a carry-on. Yes, there are stories of exceptions for this or that multitool, but it’s better to follow this guide from the TSA.

Here’s the quick rundown:

However, that chart goes only for knives you could stand losing. For transporting anything valuable (or, I suppose, invaluable), it may be better to ship it separately through a courier, such as FedEx or UPS. That way, you have a tracking code and know where your $75,000 work of art is hiding.

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Designer of Apple Watch Collects Rare Knives

You’ve probably seen Marc Newson’s work before, but the knife world may not know him by name. He’s designed Apple Watches and airplanes, but knives are his true passion. If you missed this CNN profile, be sure to watch the video here.

From the profile:

“The thing that really fascinates me about knives is that they’re man-made … They’re probably the very first tool that we made, so it’s a little bit like the wheel in a way, it’s a monumental invention and evolution.”

Read more.

Guide to Visiting NYC: Leave Knives at Home

Above the Law, a website covering the legal industry, recently published 5 Holiday Tips On How Not To Get Arrested In NYC. If you guessed that the loose definitions of “switchblades” would make an appearance, you guessed right.

From the article:

The size of the blade and how it opens could make carrying a knife criminal. If it’s a switchblade (opens by centrifugal force), it’s criminal. It doesn’t matter if you’re not using it, just carry it for work, or bought it legally. It’s still a crime.

Let that “centrifugal force” comment sink in, and hope you’re not working in a trade that requires turning one piece of something into two. Read the full article here.

Scouting Knives and School Safety

School safety is an important issue, but what happens when disciplinary policies can’t forgive honest mistakes?

Such is the case with a 13-year-old student in Massachusetts, who apparently didn’t intend to bring a Boy Scout knife to school. The district levied a suspension, although it denied that it has a zero tolerance policy for such items.

From the Patriot Ledger:

[The student’s parent] says the school overreached in its punishment of her son who never took the knife out of his backpack while in school and also objects to the classification of the scouting knife as a weapon.

Read the full article here.

Video: Using Balloons to Test Knife Sharpness

What to do with those leftover birthday balloons? Here’s one idea. If you can cut the plastic ribbon that hangs down after you let the balloon float to the ceiling, you’ve got yourself a nice edge.

Thanks to @bc_cutlery on Twitter for the demo.

pic.twitter.com/xpcEcv5dem

— BC Cutlery Co. (@bc_cutlery) December 18, 2017

Video: Knife Used to Save Raccoon

“Knives Save Lives” is a slogan you’ll hear often in stories about first responders, but what about raccoons?

This video made the rounds on social media depicting just that. Here’s a hint for the next time this happens: There’s no reason it has to take that long to cut through tarp. Time for a bigger knife, dude.

This guy found a raccoon tangled in his car tarp and choking to death. Most intense rescue ever! 👏 pic.twitter.com/uAa1C6FUzp

— The Dodo (@dodo) December 15, 2017

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How Much is a $75,000 Knife Really Worth?

Does it need to be said this $75,000 pocketknife is a William Henry? Because it is. It’s so pricey, Forbes featured it here.

Comments on social media asked how it’s possible to know the price of a knife before it’s sold. Who’s to say it isn’t $50,000? After all, it’s not like a $75,000 knife is mass-produced. It’s unique.

Three things:

• High-buck knives are usually commissioned before they’re made.
• The market-rate for the materials and labor are easy to price out.
• Something’s price is always what someone else is willing to pay for it. That someone else might not be you.

Disruptive Model Emerges for Financing Knife Start-Ups

Knifemaking start-ups face a tougher time securing financing because of backers’ leeriness toward “weapons.” Crowdfunding, where companies appeal directly to consumers for backing via pre-orders, is one way around this. Kickstarter is the best example of this approach.

Bolstering this business model are affiliate programs that dole out a cut of pre-order sales. This is sometimes disguised as editorial on news sites. This sort of backdoor marketing offers a pay-as-you-go approach that is appealing to start-ups with limited advertising budgets.

There’s nothing wrong with this approach. It’s just different, and worth considering if you’re starting a knifemaking business.

Here’s an example from Business Insider.

Quoting “Crocodile Dundee” Lands Restaurant in Lawsuit

You know the line, but here’s the clip anyway:

Best not repeat that line in formal marketing if you want to avoid legal trouble. Australian restaurant Grill’d allegedly used the famous utterance on its knife sleeves. From The Daily Telegraph:

Hogan claims the “knife line” — as it’s referred to in the claim document — is valuable because it has been “heard by the many consumers in Australia who have seen the Crocodile Dundee movie” and “has been featured, mentioned or referred to on television, in print, on the internet, and in popular culture”. He claims Grill’d has used the line “without the licence of either of Rimfire or Mr Hogan”.

Read the full story here.

United Kingdom Sentencing More Minors for Knife Possession Crimes

I’ll let this quote from The Guardian article do the talking. Read it carefully if you don’t get it at first.

The number of 10- to 17-year-olds cautioned or sentenced for knife possession offences has risen by 16% since this time last year.

Read the full article here.

Video: The Knifemaker Supplying the World’s Greatest Chefs

Business Insider profiled Chelsea Miller, a knifemaker cranking out blades for “name” chefs around the world.

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