Joe Kertzman

Take a couple of minutes out of your busy schedule to relax and participate in a spectacular tour of the National Knife Museum housed in Smoky Mountain Knife Works. It’s a well-done, albeit homemade, video set to a couple of catchy tunes, and will definitely renew your energy and give you a fresh outlook on life, whether it’s to start or end your day. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehSTQ03_ICE

On October 16-17, the Colorado Botanic Gardens will play host to 28 members of the Colorado Metalsmithing Assoc. displaying and selling their work. Knives will share space with monumental sculptures, and the setting is spectacular. Displays will include one-of-a-kind art jewelry, collectible custom knives by Jerry McClure and small sculptures by Travis Ogden and Pat Ryan.

The international Colorado Metalsmithing Assoc. members are some of the finest artists and teachers in their field.

“It’s the largest and smallest art forms that possess the most power.” —Henry Moore

This is pretty cool. Many of you know the American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI), a knife rights advocacy group working for the entire knife industry. Now it’s easy to support the AKTI, and get a neat gift item at the same time. The AKTI is offering bright red luggage tags labeled with the organization’s emblem, with every cent of the sales procedes going to support AKTI’s effort to protect your right to own and carry knives. You can put a luggage tag on every piece of luggage you own, making it easy to find your black bag among all those other black bags on the airport carousel; and it identifies your bag for the airlines if it is lost. Measures 4-1/4″ x 2-1/2″. Visit http://akti.org/ to learn more about AKTI and their efforts.

The December 2010 issue of BLADE Magazine is devoted entirely, from front to back, to our fighting men and women serving in the military. Find out what knives they’re using, how, where and why, learn about standard-issue military pieces, what makers are fashioning war knives for whom, which manufacturers specialize in the genre, and read real-life stories about our soldiers, interviews with our soldiers and stories written for our soldiers. They all like to tell about their favorite carry knives, and the photos of them on location “somewhere in Iraq, Afghanistan or …. ” are fascinating.

It’s the only knife magazine ever printed that is entirely devoted to the military.

It’s the best tribute BLADE could pay to our men and women in uniform, and the staff of BLADE Magazine was humbled to be able to do so. Here’s to our fighting men and women. See the December 2010 issue, on newsstands and hitting subscribers’ doorsteps on September 14th.

The ribbon was cut during the grand opening of Smith’s Abrasives’ new worldwide headquarters, warehouse and distribution center located in beautiful historic Hot Springs, Arkansas. A grand opening celebration was held on Friday, July 9, 2010 with a BBQ lunch for the employees following a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony.
“Due to considerable growth and success in the mass, sporting goods and housewares markets, we needed to expand our operations and chose to renovate this 35,000 square foot manufacturing facility. It was important for us to keep the business here in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where the company was founded over 124 years ago” , said Dan Glidden, CEO of Smith’s. “The completion of our new building is a big step in our company’s progress and it is definitely something to be celebrated!”
The new facility not only serves as a warehouse and distribution center, it also headquarters the US and International sales team, customer service, and in-house marketing and product development personnel for the Smith’s®, Edgeware™, Edgesport™ and new Edgework™ product lines.”
“At Smith’s we are committed to providing innovative new products to consumers at a great value. This new facility helps us stream line our process under one roof.” said Richard Smith, President. “We are excited by the companies continued success and look forward to the future opportunities this new location will help us develop.”
In support of their company value of operating in an environmentally sustainable manner, the facility features energy efficient lighting options throughout, as well as a unique, environmentally-friendly warehouse cooling system. In addition, Smith’s reused as much material as possible in the renovation process.

About Smith’s® and Edgeware™
Widely regarded as a world leader for sharpening tools since 1886, Smith’s® lays claim to the design and manufacture of the broadest line of knife and scissors sharpeners currently available. The company’s product offering includes both manual and electrical sharpeners ranging from the very simple to the sophisticated. It incorporates a wide variety of abrasive materials including diamond, carbide, ceramic, bonded synthetic abrasives and natural Arkansas stones. For more information about the complete line of Smith’s® products visit www.smithsedge.com.
Smith’s new Edgeware™ brand offers Housewares retailers high performance edge sharpeners for the most discerning consumers, and beginning in early 2010, high-end food preparation kitchen tools synonymous with exceptional value, Edgeware™ is a brand marketed towards the high-end specialty retail market. For more information about the complete line of Edgeware™ products by Smith’s®, visit www.edgewareproducts.com or contact the company at: [email protected] or +1.501.321 2244. For media inquiries or additional images, please contact Melissa Moore at Smith’s (800) 221-4156 ex. 610 or [email protected].