Steve Shackleford, Author at BLADE Magazine

Blue Ribbon Damascus: What Makes The Best Pattern-Welded Steel

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September 28, 2026

Blue Ribbon Damascus: What Makes The Best Pattern-Welded Steel

Cream of the custom crop rises to the top.

Along with all other things razor sharp, the BLADE Show attracts the cream of the international custom knife crop. Included are a wealth of the leading forgers of damascus steel, many of whom vie for the show’s Best Damascus Award, with the winner at BLADE Show 2026, Julian Antunes, a superlative example.

As with all things knife, damascus steel evolves, and a revealing way to observe examples of its evolution is to review some of the BLADE Show’s Best Damascus winners—in this case, from 2021 to 2025: Shayne Carter, Mike Quesenberry, CAS Knives, Ronmell Fernandes and Gabe Fletcher, respectively.

“All five of these knives are excellent examples of very fine damascus patterns. All are well thought out and executed with great control in the forging,” observed Devin “Hoss” Thomas, a BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® guru of carbon and stainless damascus. “Most of these pieces are forged to shape, which gives them that extra touch … All are very impressive. I would hesitate to pick one over the other.”

Cutlery Hall-of-Famer/mosaic damascus pioneer Steve Schwarzer, on the other hand, had no such reservations.

“All the blades that won Best Damascus are great examples of fine craftsmanship,” he agreed. “Two are head and shoulders above the rest. The Ronmell Persian Knife is a prime example of excellent design and embellishment woven into a master work. The blade pattern requires very controlled forging and construction. I give it a full ‘10.’”

Steve was just getting warmed up.

Ronmell Fernandes captured Best Damascus at BLADE Show 2024 for his Persian Knife in Turkish damascus. He gave it a 10 on the difficulty scale because of it being “the union of two damascus patterns in a single Turkish damascus bar,” adding it “was the best pattern I made because the composition was perfect between the black and silver of the steel alloys.” (Jocelyn Frasier knife image; image of Fernandes from The Art Knife Invitational)

“The Gabe Fletcher chef’s knife winner is, in my opinion, light years ahead of the other blades—not for the chef’s knife construction, which is very well done. It stands alone for the unique patterning technique* recently developed and the choice of blade materials. The difficulty in forging complex, unique pattern welding has eluded modern bladesmiths worldwide for as long as I can remember. This is a mosaic stainless steel construction using very new patterning sequences.”

Fletcher’s damascus “represents a breakthrough event in modern bladesmithing,” Steve continued. “On a 1 to 10 scale of difficulty for the blade material and construction alone, I give it a 12 … The current offerings by Gabe in this unique material and patterns are in my opinion at the pointy end of the spear.”

Forge Control

As each Hall of Famer noted, controlled forging is a common thread in the best damascus. According to Gabe Fletcher, it also was a major hurdle in the successful mixture of crushed W’s and S’s in his award-winning blade.

“The most difficult and one of the most important parts of forging this pattern and most mosaic patterns is forge control,” he related. “It’s so important that you etch the ends of the bars before you weld them together so that all of your lines line up. If you just stack them together, you will see the shift in the patterns where the weld boundaries are, and it doesn’t look like a complete piece. I know that’s not always easy, but that’s one thing I strive for when I make a pattern.”

Shayne Carter took home Best Damascus at BLADE Show 2021 for his gent’s bowie in a Fourth of July pattern. Noted Shayne, “In many ways, damascus has become a worldwide language. Techniques and influences now cross borders freely, creating a global community of makers.” (Whetstone Studio knife image)

Forging the bars very clean and to exact and even dimensions so the pattern is not lost when grinding the bars clean for the next weld is paramount for exceptional damascus. “If one end is thicker than the other, or taller, when you grind everything flat, your pattern is not going to mirror correctly and you’re going to see that big shift in the lines of the pattern,” Gabe explained.

Schwarzer pointed to the CAS Knives kukri in a mosaic damascus as another example of controlled forging. “The CAS blade is a great combination of elements that add up. It is not just the pattern. The pattern is very controlled, requiring precision forging … This blade stands out for finish and overall design and execution. I give it an 8.5.”

Quesenberry indicated forge control was key as well in the Turkish twist pattern of his award winner forge welded in alternating layers of 1080 and 15N20 carbon steels. “The billet is then twisted very tightly to resemble a machine-thread screw,” he stated. “It is subsequently stacked and forge-welded back together before being forged to its final shape.

“Making the pattern itself is not especially difficult, but maintaining control is the real challenge. You have to carefully control the dimensions, heat and uniformity of the twists throughout the process.”

Forth Of July

Shayne Carter usually doesn’t name his damascus patterns but indicated that if he had to name the one on his 2021 winner it would be Fourth of July. The first weld was a low-layer-count stack and the second one was low-layered W’s. “This pattern was forged on the bias, then four-wayed, four-wayed again, tile welded and finally forged into the blade,” he wrote. Steels: 15N20 and 1084.

TCAS Knives nabbed Best Damascus at BLADE Show 2023 for a kukri in a mosaic damascus pattern of 1095 carbon and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels Steve Schwarzer described as being very controlled and that required precision forging. Inset are Claudio and Ariel Sobral of CAS. (Jocelyn Frasier knife image)

“This blade was on the more difficult side because it required four to five welds,” Shayne explained. “Tile welding always adds another level of challenge. At that point in my bladesmithing career, I had not made many mosaic damascus patterns, so this project pushed my abilities.”

It can be difficult to keep track of a new pattern as it develops, so to keep track of his Fourth of July pattern he cut off a small piece of the billet after each weld. This enabled him to reference the size and appearance of the material before four-waying, tile welding and other operations. “Unfortunately, that process also results in a smaller billet,” Shayne noted. “That ultimately influenced the shape and size of the blade. The pattern turned out very well but the finished knife ended up on the smaller side.”

The biggest challenge was knowing when to stop forging. “After tile welding and surface grinding the billet, a quick edge reveal showed that I had something special. I wanted to open up the pattern slightly,” he recalled, “and I also wanted the tip to look intentionally forged rather than overworked.

“Many damascus patterns become over-forged, especially feather patterns. It is difficult to walk away from a blade when you have so much time invested in it, but restraint was important to preserving the integrity of the pattern.”

What’s Hot & Will Be

Shayne indicated that when he won the BLADE Show award in 2021, mosaics, especially in kitchen knives and those in the explosion pattern, were particularly popular. “Most makers producing hunters, bowies and fighters were still working with more traditional pattern-welded designs. Many smiths were actively trying to create and name new patterns,” he observed.

Mike Quesenberry took a different approach in forging the Turkish twist pattern for his BLADE Show 2022 Best Damascus winner. “Rather than fish-mouthing the billet, I forged it directly to shape,” he noted. “This method preserves and reveals the pattern differently throughout the blade. The fish-mouth technique has a more precise look to it, whereas the technique I use has a more organic appearance.” (Eric Eggly knife image)

“Feather damascus was extremely popular then and remains popular today. Variations on feather patterns, such as Dragon’s Breath and River of Fire, continue to attract attention, and many folder makers are especially fond of feather designs.”

Agreed Fletcher, “As far as a popular style, I think the feather damascus wins that title. The feather pattern is not my favorite but Josh Prince makes amazing variations of the technique, incorporating all kinds of elements like jelly rolls instead of just cutting W’s down the center.”

While the feather has been and seems to continue to be most popular, other patterns such as the Turkish twist remain hot as well.

“The Turkish twist has been a popular damascus pattern for many years,” Mike Quesenberry opined. “In my opinion, several makers from South America have elevated Turkish twist to an exceptional level. Most achieve the final appearance through a process commonly referred to as fish-mouthing, in which the twisted bars are manipulated and assembled to expose the pattern in a specific orientation.”

Mosaics in general also remain in demand. “Mosaic damascus has been elevated to an entirely new level,” Carter observed. “Latin American smiths are producing incredible Turkish twists, while North American makers are creating some truly remarkable mosaics.” Added Ronmell Fernandes, “The most popular patterns are mosaics because they are patterns that please a lot for their geometry.”

Hoss Thomas pulled the crystal ball from his 10-gallon hat and went full prognosticator. “I think that quilted mosaics will continue to be popular. I see more makers using plug-welded-theme patterns. I like that more makers are doing composite patterns, including Turkish twist. More guys are experimenting with gradient and fading patterns, which I find very beautiful. There are too many smiths doing great work to narrow it down to just a few,” he observed. He added the caveat, “I can tell you that there are many new makers making lazy damascus patterns, which I don’t care for. Too low in layers, not well thought out, etc.”

Further development and expansion into other patterns of the gradient element*, which Fletcher used in his BLADE Show ’25 winner, seem likely. “Created by Mareko Maumasi and Peter Burt, the gradient element will add a lot of dimension and pattern possibilities to almost any pattern ever made,” Gabe noted.

It’s anybody’s guess as to which patterns will rule and what advancements in damascus forging will emerge. At least one thing appears likely, though: whatever they are, they will be equal parts breathtaking and mindboggling.

“I believe the future of damascus is limitless,” Carter predicted. “New patterns will continue to emerge but there will always be a place for timeless classics such as twist, ladder, chevron and raindrop. Bladesmiths will always push themselves creatively, and the excitement of placing a blade into the acid and waiting for the pattern to reveal itself will always feel like Christmas morning.”

*The unique patterning technique Steve Schwarzer refers to and that Gabe Fletcher also mentions, the gradient element mixes the initial steel stack in such a way that the final damascus pattern graduates from light to dark in a kind of fading or shading effect instead of just mixing the steel in an even way. It also creates more depth of field in the pattern on the flat, two-dimensional surface of a damascus blade.

7 Join BLADE MagazineCutlery Hall of Fame®

BLADE Show

Steve Shackleford

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September 18, 2026

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7 Join BLADE MagazineCutlery Hall of Fame®

New inductees span the world of custom and factory knives.

A notable assortment of those who for many years enhanced or continue to enhance the overall improvement of the knife industry highlights the 2026 class of inductees into the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame®.

The new honorees include three living and four deceased members. Among the former are CRKT co-founder Rod Bremer and Anne Reeve, owner/president of Chris Reeve Knives, on the factory side, and American Bladesmith Society master smith Larry Fuegen from the custom realm.

The posthumous inductees are bladesmith/writer Ed Fowler, custom knife purveyor Nate Posner, knifemaker/knifemaking supplier Bob Engnath and ABS master smith Tim Hancock.

All were formally inducted in a special ceremony during the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame Breakfast the Saturday morning of the BLADE Show, June 6, in the Renaissance Waverly, the host hotel adjoining the Cobb Convention Center in Atlanta.

Rod Bremer

Along with partner Paul Gillespie, Rod Bremer started Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT) in 1994. The concept was to bring world-class-quality knives to the U.S. market in the designs of custom knifemakers—as of today, CRKT has used the designs of over 50 such makers—and innovation at a price that virtually all consumers can afford.

According to a nominator, Rod’s integrity qualifies him for the Hall of Fame, a good example being that “CRKT pays the makers/designers royalties for as long as the knife sells. To this day, Rod is still paying royalties to the estates of Ed Halligan, Jon Graham, Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Kit Carson and several others.” Added the nominator, “CRKT started the Forged by War program to help veterans and their charities. So far the program has donated over $500,000 to the charities of the veteran’s choice.”

Under Rod’s leadership, CRKT has won a number of BLADE Magazine Knife-of-The-Year® Awards. In the process, he helped enhance Southeast Asia knife manufacturing by teaching and demanding that the Taiwanese factories produce the highest-quality knives possible.

He has bolstered pro-knife initiatives through his work as an American Knife & Tool (AKTI) Board of Regents member, working on issues that benefit the knife industry. His resume includes: 1) Election to the AKTI Board of Regents (2009); 2) Playing an active role in the monumental defeat of U.S. Customs’ attempt to classify all one-hand knives as switchblades (2009); 3) Recipient of Knife Rights’ inaugural Freedom’s Guardian Award for his role in upholding knife rights industry wide (2011); 4) Elected AKTI vice president (2011); 5) Organized and hosted AKTI anti-counterfeiting round table and presented related seminars for BLADE University at BLADE Show 2013; and 6) Elected (2014) AKTI president, a position he held through 2016.

Anne Reeve

According to a nominator, in 1986, Anne Reeve joined the then-fledgling Chris Reeve Knives and quickly became an integral part of the company. Her partner, both in life and business, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Chris Reeve, was the craftsman, and a great one at that. While Chris’s forte was knife design, Anne’s strengths were administration and bookkeeping. Anne spent many of the following years lending a hand where she could, helping to build a company known for quality and excellence.

For most of the early years, Chris Reeve Knives was just Anne and Chris plus a handful of employees, which meant Anne wore many hats. As the company grew, Anne stepped more into working behind the scenes in administration and customer service. Her years of answering the phone and meeting customers, partnered with her determination to ‘do the right thing,’ laid the groundwork for the knife manufacturer’s international reputation for excellence. Today, the company has around 150 dealers worldwide.

On the knife legislation front, Anne showed support for both the American Knife & Tool Institute and Knife Rights with encouragement, donations of knives and cash, and attending and sponsoring related functions. She has been treasurer of the Idaho Knife Association since 2018 and is an active member of the organizing committee for the IKA’s annual show.

After a nearly 30-year partnership, Chris retired, and Anne took a massive leap of faith and bought Chris’s share of the company. With the help of their son, Tim, and a team of young, talented and enthusiastic leaders, Anne has trailblazed Chris Reeve Knives into new territory. As the nominator concluded, “Investment in equipment and employees has resulted in revenue more than doubling under her leadership, the quantity of knives produced each month continues to increase, the quality of those knives is better than ever, and demand continues to significantly outpace production. Her determination to keep the integrity of Chris Reeve Knives, coupled with the highest quality products and customer service, has set a standard in the knife industry.” Helping cap it off, Anne won the BLADE Magazine 2025 Industry Achievement Award for her many contributions to the craft and cutlery community.

Bob Engnath

Bob Engnath built his first knife in 1972 and went full-time in ’79, making kit blades, tantos, swords and assorted knives in carbon steel. His base of operations was Blades ‘N’ Stuff, a retail shop he ran in Glendale, California, that offered tools, supplies and materials for knifemakers, bladesmiths and swordsmiths.

He produced several editions of a comprehensive publication he also called Blades ‘n’ Stuff, a 70-or-so-page 8-by-11-inch “Catalog and Instruction Manual, featuring Handcrafted Blades by Bob Engnath and Knifemakers’ Supplies.” Sold for $5, it contained copious amounts of knowledge and instruction for anyone who wanted to make a knife or sword, including line art of his many patterns, knifemaking how-to’s with diagrams, tips and do’s and don’ts, and tons of sage advice on various steels, heat treating, knifemaking machines and materials, finishing, how to forge damascus, shop safety and other invaluable information. In addition to his catalogs, Bob also wrote the books The Scrimshaw Connection and The Second Scrimshaw Connection.

Engnath was a dedicated blade grinder and considered by many the best grinder of the time, providing blanks his customers could finish on their own. He gave many makers their start and dispensed an untold amount of knifemaking knowledge to anyone interested enough to listen, usually free of charge. According to one source, “Bob was a mentor to countless new makers through his knife kits, leaving a lasting legacy in the knife community.”

Summed up another source, Bob “was an excellent role model for any man in the knife business. He never said a bad word about anyone, took the knife business where it had not been before, his ethics were outstanding, his word was ironclad. I’d rather have had a handshake with Bob Engnath than a lawyered-up contract with any other knife name you care to mention. He was a hero and an example to a lot of people.”

Ed Fowler

Selling his first knife in 1962, Ed Fowler epitomized “the philosophy of the cutlery fabricator,” noted one nominator. Though not the first to use 52100 carbon steel for knife blades, Ed helped popularize it as it became a go-to material among today’s bladesmiths. He long performed and encouraged the multiple quenching of blades during heat treatment.

He wrote the monthly column “Knife Talk” for BLADE® for well over a quarter century. In BLADE’s reader surveys, along with Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Wayne Goddard, Ed completed the top one-two team of most popular BLADE writers year-in and year-out. Ed compiled his “Knife Talk” columns into two books: Knife Talk I: The Art & Science of Knife Making and Knife Talk II: The High Performance Blade. He conducted demos for many years on a variety of subjects at the BLADE Show, plus a class at BLADE University.

Formerly an ABS master smith, he went on to create the High Endurance Performance Knife Association, an organization dedicated to a greater understanding of the knives its members make, the steels they use, the process necessary for the knives to reach their maximum performance potential, and to share this understanding with any and all who seek it. He taught knifemaking to many, including more than a few who have gone on to become ABS journeyman and master smiths, including Audra Draper, Wade Colter, Shane Taylor, Bill Burke and Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Rick Dunkerley among the latter.

Wrote one nominator, Ed was “very passionate about what a knife should do. He indulged anyone who wanted to share time or debate ‘the concept of cut,’ as he called it.” Ed would pit his high-performance 52100 knives against all comers in what he called “real world tests,” cutting and doing things with the knives many consider abusive, until the knives failed. Ed continued using this testing regimen, observing that though you may never have to use a knife in such a manner, “What if you had to and the only tool you had at your disposal was your knife? Wouldn’t you take comfort in knowing that if ever push came to shove, you had a knife you could stake your life on?”

Larry Fuegen

Larry Fuegen started forging knives in 1975. According to a sitting Hall of Famer, from that time on all of Larry’s knives were sole authorship. He became a full-time knifemaker in 1987 and earned his American Bladesmith Society master smith rating in 1989.

“Since I’ve known Larry, he has been a unique person who made unique knives,” the Hall of Famer wrote. “He started making friction folders after meeting Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Jim Schmidt at an ABS hammer-in. Years later, Larry took those folders to a whole new level. For years, he did gargoyle-type carvings on them and later started doing other renditions, like his folder featuring the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes wearing a gold helmet and Larry’s carved face of his idea of what Cortes looked like. Besides these great folders, he made many ornate bowies, daggers and hunters that had carving, texturing and engraving done in a way to set his work apart from anyone else.

“For me, what stood out most were his push daggers. I believe if you Googled push daggers a picture of Larry Fuegen would come up. He not only crafted knives, he also did his own leatherwork, which was top quality. He also made some of the best bits and spurs anywhere. In addition to his quality work he designed and built the tools he needed to produce his knives, leatherwork, and bits and spurs.”

He was voted into the Art Knife Invitational in 1999 and every year thereafter until 2022. Circa 2008 another of his ornately done friction folders, entitled Alaric, King of the Visigoths, went on permanent display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Luce Foundation. He has been featured in many magazine articles and books, among the latter including Greatest Living Knifemakers by Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Steve Shackleford.

Larry passed his knowledge on, teaching at numerous hammer-ins and seminars around the country. He is very knowledgeable and is willing to share with anyone. He is the personification of the traits required for induction into the Cutlery Hall of Fame.

Tim Hancock

Teaching others how to make “the total knife” played a huge role in defining Tim Hancock. “He taught and demonstrated at many hammer-ins in the areas of embellishment, design, blade forging, grinding, heat treating and sheath making,” ABS master smith Larry Fuegen observed. “He wanted to share his methods and thoughts with others. He also gave private lessons in his shop to many aspiring makers. The influence of his recognizable style can be seen in the work of many makers. Just as [Cutlery Hall-of-Famers] Bill Moran and Bob Loveless influenced many with their designs, so did Tim with his work.”

Added knifemaker Michael Vagnino, “I suppose the most important thing I learned from Tim was integrity. The knife you make is in fact a part of you. How it turns out is more about how honest you were when making it. When Tim told me that, it really made me pause. From that moment on, I viewed making knives in a new light.”

Tim earned his ABS master smith rating in 1993 and won an impressive number of honors for his knives, including the 2010 W.F. Moran Award. He was known for his award-winning period bowies, including though not limited to dog-bone bowies. Dr. David Darom dedicated an entire hardback book, Tim Hancock: The Western Bladesmith, to highlighting Tim’s knives and knifemaking career, even his penchant for forging silver-mounted bits and spurs and other Western gear. From 2001 to 2015, Tim was a member of the Art Knife Invitational, an organization of the world’s 25 greatest knifemakers spearheaded by Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Phil Lobred.

Nate Posner

Nate Posner started the San Francisco Gun Exchange in 1948 and built it into what he called the “Firearms Center of the West.” It had most everything firearm related but it was his displays of custom and factory knives that pertain here.

Along with Cutlery Hall-of-Famers A.G. Russell and Dan Delavan and also Bob Gaddis and Dave Harvey of Nordic Knives, Nate was among the first custom knife purveyors. He was known for telling his customers that to get the best price, instead of buying custom knives from middlemen such as him, they should buy directly from the maker. Of course, if the customers wanted the handmade knife in question immediately, they often had to buy it from one of the few purveyors such as Nate to avoid spending what might be years on a waiting list. However, it was being up front that put Nate in good stead not only with his knife customers but the Guild, too—for both buying/selling the makers’ knives and treating what often were the makers’ customers/prospective customers in a professional manner.

At one time he had over 350 custom knives on display, with at least that many others in stock. Circa 1975, he ordered knives from dozens of makers, most active or past Guild members. Eventually he culled his list to about 25 or 30, including one of his favorites, D. E. Henry. Others included Tommy Lee, Jess Horn, Herman Schneider, Corbet Sigman, the then-team of Scott Sawby and Steve Mullin, and future Cutlery Hall-of-Famers Frank Centofante, Jimmy Lile, Bob Loveless, George Herron, Bo Randall and more.

Thanks to the high store profile he gave custom knives and their makers to knife and gun buyers alike, Nate was one of the most important custom knife promoters of his or any era. As a result, the honor the Guild gives annually to an individual who provides “Outstanding Service in the Promotion of Handcrafted Cutlery” is called the Nate Posner Award.

More On BLADE Show:

BLADE University: Knife Knowledge Honed
7 Join BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame®
Photo Gallery: BLADE Show 2025 in Pictures
2025 BLADE Show Recap: What Happened At The Edge-Stravaganza

Legendary knives that gave the U.S. military its edge

Steve Shackleford

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August 14, 2026

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Legendary knives that gave the U.S. military its edge

These knives formed the tip of the U.S. Military’s spear.

The 20th and 21st centuries saw some of the most iconic of military knives. From the World War I trench knives with the imposing knuckle-duster D-guards to today’s modern folders and fixed blades, a few, in no particular order, stand out above the rest:

USN Mark II/USMC fighting-utility knife*: According to Army Special Forces veteran and Spartan Blades co-owner Curtis Iovito, “The KA-BAR fighting/utility knife is arguably the most recognizable American military knife ever produced. Introduced in 1942 for the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, it solved a critical problem: troops needed a knife that could serve both as a weapon and a field utility tool.
“Marines used it for everything from opening ammunition crates and cutting brush to close-quarters combat. Its design struck a near-perfect balance between fighting knife and utility blade, and it has influenced military knife design ever since.”
“As an issue knife, the classic USN Mark II filled the same role as the Randall Model 1, but in a much more ‘democratized’ sense. Very few soldiers could get a Randall,” explained Army veteran and Spyderco Special Projects Coordinator Michael Janich, “but the Mark II/Ka-Bar was ubiquitous. Although it ultimately became best known as the Ka-Bar and most closely associated with the Marine Corps, it was manufactured by many other companies and widely issued. As a mass-produced item, it was—and still is—a very capable knife and continued to serve with distinction in many other wars after World War II.”
“The USMC fighting knife has not always been made by KA-BAR, and KA-BAR didn’t even make them first, but they made it their own,” noted Marine Corps veteran/knifemaker Les George. “It’s the stereotypical military knife in the western hemisphere.” Added Army 5th Special Forces veteran/BLADE field editor/knifemaker Kim Breed, “It is a multi-use combat knife used in one form or fashion in all branches of the service.”
V-42: As Janich noted, “The V-42 is not only one of the sexiest fighting knife designs ever created, it also has perhaps the strongest pedigree since it was designed for and by the First Special Service Force, aka The Devil’s Brigade, of World War II fame. Its unique design and signature sheath reflect the original mission of that unit, which is regarded as the predecessor of current U.S. Army Special Forces units and Canada’s Joint Task Force 2. This iconic design is also immortalized in many U.S. military unit insignia, though it is often mistaken for the Fairbairn-Sykes dagger.”
Randall Model 1: “Randall has done more to influence modern knife design language than most,” George wrote. “The Model 1 is what I think of as peak Randall. Its influence ranges from World War II to the unit-made SOG knives in Vietnam to the modern SOG knife company.”
“This iconic design epitomizes everything a military-style fighting knife should be,” Janich opined. “Its blade captures the spirit of the classic bowie knife, but in a leaner, more maneuverable form. The sharpened false edge allows it to back cut and penetrate with extreme authority, and its handle design allows for a grip that is both deft and secure. The fact that it continues to serve downrange in the same basic form to this day is a testament to the fact that it started out damned near perfect.”
Gerber Mark II: “The shortcomings of the original Fairbairn-Sykes and the many variations it inspired became very well-known both during and after World War II,” Janich wrote. “The Gerber Mark II addressed and corrected all of these to offer a superior fighting dagger design. Although it was a private-purchase item, like Randalls, it was much more accessible to servicemen and more widely carried. Its unique variations and its evolution over time also created its own rich history.” Janich added the fact it was the favored combat knife of Michael D. Echanis, decorated Vietnam veteran, accomplished martial artist and hand-to-hand combat knife writer and editor, enhanced its mystique and widespread appeal as well.

More Standouts

Any number of other U.S. military knives have stood out since the turn of the 20th century. Among them are the M3 trench knife, M1 bayonet, the Applegate-Fairbairn dagger and the Applegate-Fairbairn folder.

“The M3 was what the Army chose to issue in World War II,” George noted. “In purest terms, it also had a fairly short service life, but in real terms it is what became the M4 bayonet on down the line to the M7 bayonet that I used to run the assault course in boot camp in the ’90s. Its influence has been widespread.”

“The World War II-era M1 bayonet, designed for use with the M1 Garand rifle, played an important role in American infantry combat during World War II and beyond. I remember so many old World War II vets telling me stories about the bayonet,” Iovito recalled. “Shorter and more practical than earlier bayonets, the M1 reflected the changing nature of warfare where mobility and close-quarters fighting often occurred in tight environments. Many soldiers also carried the bayonet as a fighting and utility knife when not mounted on their rifles. Its durable construction and effective blade profile made it a reliable tool throughout several conflicts.”

One of U.S. Marine Les George’s teammates mounted an Ontario OKC-3S similar to this one on an M4 to help quell a tense situation on the streets of Fallujah. (Les George image)

The Applegate-Fairbairn dagger and Gerber A-F folder were named after Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Col. Rex Applegate and W.E. Fairbairn
of Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Knife fame.

“Another design that corrected the flaws of the Fairbairn-Sykes dagger was the Applegate-Fairbairn dagger,” Janich observed. “Designed during World War II by Col. Applegate and W.E. Fairbairn, it never got beyond the prototype stage before the war ended. Decades later, it finally saw production by several major knife companies. Although very noteworthy on its own, it also inspired a scaled-down folding version that set a new and different standard in folding and fighting knife design. The original A-F Folder design was a collaboration between Col. Applegate and consummate custom knifemakers Bill Harsey and Butch Vallotton.” Added Harsey, a Cutlery Hall-of-Famer in his own right, “The Gerber version of the folding knife was a long-running project, and I was told by Gerber that the Army ordered 50,000 pieces at one time for the troops, which were delivered.”

Few knives enjoy legendary U.S. military status as much as the SOG Bowie, which served as the inspiration for the name of today’s SOG knife company. “The Special Forces SOG Bowie is one of the most iconic knives associated with American special operations forces,” Iovito wrote. “Inspired by the knife carried by members of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group during the Vietnam War, the SOG Bowie reflects a fusion of classic bowie knife design with modern military needs. Its lineage connects directly to clandestine operations carried out in Southeast Asia, where unconventional warfare units often relied on rugged equipment that could handle jungle conditions and extreme use.”

Howard Cole was famous for making knuckle knives such as these three rare nine-pointers and one eight-pointer. A paratrooper named Clyde McClelland carried the center nine-pointer during World War II. (Image courtesy of Louis Chow)

Folding knives have never been so popular in the U.S. military as they have in the past 40 years, and at or near the top of that list are the Al Mar SERE, CRKT M-16 and Spyderco Endura.

“While many earlier military knives were fixed blades, modern soldiers frequently rely on folding knives for everyday field use. One of the most influential examples is the Spyderco Endura,” Janich began. “For me, the knife carries a very personal meaning. During Operation Just Cause in Panama, I found myself tangled in my parachute harness after landing while under fire. I used my Spyderco Endura to cut myself free from the harness so I could move and get back into the fight. That moment left an indelible mark on me and reinforced the reality that sometimes the most important piece of equipment you carry is the knife in your pocket. The Endura is lightweight, corrosion resistant and extremely functional, and its opening hole allows rapid one-handed deployment, even with gloves. Its reliability and practicality have made it a favorite among soldiers who need a dependable cutting tool for daily field tasks.”

In the fall of 1984, Harsey helped Al Mar do a run of just over 50 large folders for Col. Nick Rowe, who had been tasked by the Army to run the SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) School near Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “All modern Special Forces soldiers, aka Green Berets, and other high-risk military members including pilots undergo this training,” Harsey stated. “I finished my part of unmarked knives in time for Al Mar to get them on an airplane bound for Fort Bragg and into Col. Rowe’s hands for an important mission date. I never heard another thing about this project. Later this knife would become known as the AL Mar SERE folding knife.”

The Field Artillery Corps designed the Model of 1909 bolo for use by crew-served weapons during World War I. It was for clearing fields of fire to enable the limbers and horses to navigate the towed artillery into place. (Images courtesy of Frank Trzaska)

As for the CRKT M-16, its universality during the Iraq War guarantees its spot on the list. “I am not aware of this knife ever being issued but there was a time when you saw them everywhere,” George wrote. “Guys would buy them at the PX and clip them on the outside of their vests. They were everywhere, and they did everything!”

Standard Setters

The foregoing includes but a few of the knives that have served the USA and served it well over 250 years of saving the world from tyranny and oppression and setting the standard billions aspire to today. Other notable knives, in no particular order, include:

The M9, M11 and OKC-3S bayonets; Camillus Jet Pilot Survival Knife; Chris Reeve Yarborough; OSS Smatchet; Collins M1942 Machete; Swiss Army knife; Spartan Blades Ares, Difensa and Harsey Dagger; Randall Models 2 and 18; Gerber Silver Trident Knife and Mark I; G.I. four-bladed pocketknife; Schrade Mark II Paratrooper switchblade; G.I. Machete; Leatherman and Gerber multi-tools; and Western 49 Bowie.

According to Army Special Forces veteran Curtis Iovito, the Special Forces SOG Bowie reflects a fusion of classic bowie design with modern military needs. “Its lineage connects directly to clandestine operations carried out in Southeast Asia,” he wrote, “where unconventional warfare units often relied on rugged equipment that could handle jungle conditions and extreme use.” (Frank Trzaska’s knife and image)

Which ones are we omitting? Let us know. And while you celebrate the semiquincentennial of your favorite nation throughout the year, never forget: knives have played a monumental role in the success of the U.S. military and the building of the USA up to now and for the foreseeable future.

It doesn’t get much sharper than that.

*Though they are two different knives, the USN Mark II and USMC fighting/utility knife are grouped together for the purposes of this story because of their similarity in design and their across-the-board use by U.S. service personnel, especially during World War II. Also, the spelling of KA-BAR refers to the knife manufacturer that continues in operation, while Ka-Bar refers to the generic name service personnel gave the knife, a name that persists to this day.

Military Knives:

What U.S. Military Members Look for in a Knife
Combat Legacy: Modern Military Knives
Military Knives: Soldiers’ EDC From The Past 50 Years
U.S. Made Military Knives And Makers

Military Knives: Historic Star-Spangled Steel

Steve Shackleford

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July 17, 2026

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Military Knives: Historic Star-Spangled Steel

Few knives have served America more than those of the U.S. military.

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series on the most influential knives to serve the U.S. Military and explores some of the early influences on military knife design.

As what many call the greatest country in the history of countries approaches its 250th birthday, now’s a good time to salute some of the top knives that played pivotal military roles in the forging of the world beacon that is the United States of America.

It is, of course, impossible to recognize in one magazine story every single knife that played a crucial role in the many battles of the wars fought by the USA. However, with the help of some of the knife industry’s leading military authorities—including several of whom have seen the elephant in service to our nation—BLADE® will endeavor to touch on some of the more consequential knives of U.S. military history.

Before embarking on such a quest, the first task is to identify a basic group of the most indispensable knife types over two-and-a-half centuries of American land warfare. At the risk of omitting one or more, five stand out: bayonet, all-purpose utility fixed blade and/or bowie, dagger, machete/chopper and utility folder.

Michael Price recognized that to create a viable knife for self-defense and combat, form must follow function. His solution was to use the full-tang construction method, here on one of his classic mid-19th-century daggers. (Image courtesy of Louis Chow)

“These encapsulate everything that an infantryman used during the 250-year history of our country,” noted Louis Chow, a 24-year U.S. Army veteran who retired with the rank of major and is one of the leading collectors of the knives of BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bob Loveless. “The bayonet, of course, from the get-go, from the Revolution to today.”

Louis indicated the all-purpose utility fixed blade/bowie could include privately purchased knives such as the Randall Model 1 and, of course, double-guard bowie types like the USMC fighting utility knife, aka the Ka-Bar. He pointed to the mid-19th-century designs of Michael Price as highly influential on daggers through to today, and machetes such as those made by Collins used in the Spanish-American War and before to Vietnam as vital to U.S. war efforts. Though pocketknives were indeed carried by American patriots during the Revolutionary War, the utility folders to which Louis referred are more of the modern Leatherman/Gerber multi-tool type, not to mention the Buck 110, Al Mar SERE, CRKT M-16 and others. As Louis noted, almost every soldier, male or female, in the modern military carries a multi-tool folder.

Many knife enthusiasts know that bayonets are rarely, if ever, used in combat today, nor have they been for well over a century. “It’s hard to actually find someone who used one in combat,” Louis said. Probably the most legendary American bayonet charge was the eminently successful one by Union forces led by Col. Joshua Chamberlain against Confederate troops down a hill called Little Round Top, a major turning point in the Battle of Gettysburg and, of course, the entire Civil War. Ironically, as Louis noted, “the most famous bayonet charge of all was the last one.”

While bayonets have rarely been used in American combat for many decades, that does not mean they do not remain significant teaching tools in today’s U.S. military. “When I was a company commander in 1990, we trained with the bayonet,” Louis recalled. “There are established bayonet courses on every installation, such as Fort Hood in Texas and Fort Benning in Georgia, and we would go there and train with the bayonet.” The rifles and bayonets have changed over the years but the bayonet training techniques remain the same.
Throughout U.S. and nearly all other nations’ histories, governments have been responsible for the issuance of combat knives in the form of bayonets for their infantry fighting forces. During World War II, the USA issued all-purpose fighters and utility knives to many soldiers, sailors and airmen. However, as Louis noted, privately purchased edged tools and weapons have always been the mainstay of our servicemen. During the earliest American conflicts, including the Revolutionary through the Civil Wars, kitchen, utility, farrier-forged and European-imported cutlery were the sidearms of the multitude of militiamen and patriotic volunteers.

The original Applegate-Fairbairn Folder was a collaboration between Col. Rex Applegate and knifemakers Bill Harsey and Butch Vallotton. Harsey stated that a Gerber official said the Army ordered 50,000 of the knife at one time for the troops. At bottom is the original prototype and at top is a first-production Gerber version autographed by Applegate. (From the collection of Michael Janich)

The knife carried and made famous by Cutlery Hall-of-Famer James Bowie in the 1820s and 1830s was copied in various forms by makers worldwide and served as inspiration to any number of fixed blades carried in the U.S. military. Another large fixed blade that met with success in military circles was the Rifleman’s Knife made by the Ames Mfg. Co. circa 1860. Ames also made the Dahlgren Bowie Bayonet around the same time. Collins & Co. made a variety of bowies/machetes, the most famous probably being the No. 18, also incorrectly called the V-44 by many (according to D.E. Henry in his book Collins Machetes and Bowies 1845-1865, V-44 was the real name of a 1944 Case Survival Knife, not the No. 18).

Generational Blades

Circa the mid-19th century, Michael Price was considered one of the premier cutlers in the western United States. He was best known for exquisite presentation knives that incorporated marine ivory and a variety of beautiful shells. However, as Louis wrote, to create a viable knife for self-defense and combat, Price recognized that form must follow function. His solution was to use the full-tang construction method. And for a century and a half, some of the most notable American cutlers adopted the full-tang method that significantly improved a knife’s dependability and durability.

Early in 20th-century Michigan, Cutlery Hall-of-Famer William Scagel began forging axes and knives of various sizes and styles. He made most of his utility, hunting and bowie knives via the hidden-tang method. Though some of his combat knives were also hidden tang, many others employed the full-tang method.

“It was purported that the Scagel hidden-tang fighters with stacked leather washers were made for the European theater, while the full-tang fighters with wood-slab handles were made for the Pacific theater,” Louis wrote. “It was believed that stacked leather washers would be too susceptible to the humidity, high temperatures and salty air” of the applicable Pacific region. As a testament to Scagel’s outstanding craftsmanship and exceptional design, many of his fighters survived the war in good condition.

William Scagel’s hidden-tang fighters with stacked leather washers reportedly were made for the European theater during World War II, while the full-tang wood-slab fighters were made for the Pacific. The stacked leather washers were thought to be too susceptible to the humidity, high temperatures and salty air of the applicable Pacific region. (Image courtesy of Louis Chow)

In 1937, Cutlery Hall-of-Famer W.D. “Bo” Randall observed an older man scraping the bottom of a boat with a knife that appeared undamaged by the abuse. Intrigued by the improvised tool, Bo purchased it from the owner and contacted its maker, who just so happened to be Scagel. Randall eventually became Scagel’s student and soon opened his own shop, making Scagel-style knives.

“At the onset of World War II, Randall designed and produced some of the most recognizable combat knives ever made,” Louis stated. “Nonetheless, all were made with the hidden-tang method. It was not until the early 1960s that Randall introduced the full-tang Model 14-Attack and the Model 15-Airman combat knives.”
Continuing the generational theme, Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Bob Loveless read a magazine article about Randall knives in 1953. He corresponded with Bo and made his interpretations of Randall knives before experimenting with and then making his own full-tang models.

From the mid-1960s through the early ’70s, Loveless accepted many orders from service members awaiting assignment to Vietnam. He also received bulk orders from units stationed there. One bulk order in early March 1967 from a unit commander in the 1st Cavalry Division was for 37 fighting knives.

“The unit commander and his troopers were stationed in Saigon and were supporting Operation Junction City, one of the largest airmobile operations in the war,” Louis wrote. “As a patriot and former veteran himself, Loveless would temporarily halt all other orders and place top priority on knives destined for combat. As for those 37 fighters, he worked day and night and completed the order in less than a month. For the next four decades, the Loveless full-tang designs were copied and reinterpreted by countless knifemakers and knife companies in the United States and abroad.”

In addition to the foregoing cutlery legends, the full-tang method was also preferred by many other U.S. World War II knifemakers. Among them: Alfred Bimson, John Ek, Taylor Huff, A.R. Kephart, Kennedy Arms, Bob Riggs, Ernest Warther and Cutlery Hall-of-Famer M.H. Cole. Cole also authored the comprehensive U.S. Military Knives, Bayonets & Machetes series of books and has been dubbed the “Sage of Military Knives” by Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Bruce Voyles. Continuing Cole’s legacy is knifemaker/author Michael Silvey through his reproductions of Cole’s designs and his lavishly illustrated books on the knives of the United States military in World War II and Vietnam, and other works.

More On Military Knives:

What U.S. Military Members Look for in a Knife
Combat Legacy: Modern Military Knives
Military Knives: Soldiers’ EDC From The Past 50 Years
U.S. Made Military Knives And Makers

7 Join BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame®

Steve Shackleford

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May 2, 2026

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New inductees span the world of custom and factory knives.

A notable assortment of those who for many years enhanced or continue to enhance the overall improvement of the knife industry highlights the 2026 class of inductees into the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame®.

The new honorees include three living and four deceased members. Among the former are CRKT co-founder Rod Bremer and Anne Reeve, owner/president of Chris Reeve Knives, on the factory side, and American Bladesmith Society master smith Larry Fuegen from the custom realm.

The posthumous inductees are bladesmith/writer Ed Fowler, custom knife purveyor Nate Posner, knifemaker/knifemaking supplier Bob Engnath and ABS master smith Tim Hancock.

All will be formally inducted in a special ceremony during the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame Breakfast the Saturday morning of the BLADE Show, June 6, in the Renaissance Waverly, the host hotel adjoining the Cobb Convention Center in Atlanta. For ticket information email [email protected].

Rod Bremer

Along with partner Paul Gillespie, Rod Bremer started Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT) in 1994. The concept was to bring world-class-quality knives to the U.S. market in the designs of custom knifemakers—as of today, CRKT has used the designs of over 50 such makers—and innovation at a price that virtually all consumers can afford.

According to a nominator, Rod’s integrity qualifies him for the Hall of Fame, a good example being that “CRKT pays the makers/designers royalties for as long as the knife sells. To this day, Rod is still paying royalties to the estates of Ed Halligan, Jon Graham, Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Kit Carson and several others.” Added the nominator, “CRKT started the Forged by War program to help veterans and their charities. So far the program has donated over $500,000 to the charities of the veteran’s choice.”

Under Rod’s leadership, CRKT has won a number of BLADE Magazine Knife-of-The-Year® Awards. In the process, he helped enhance Southeast Asia knife manufacturing by teaching and demanding that the Taiwanese factories produce the highest-quality knives possible.
He has bolstered pro-knife initiatives through his work as an American Knife & Tool (AKTI) Board of Regents member, working on issues that benefit the knife industry. His resume includes: 1) Election to the AKTI Board of Regents (2009); 2) Playing an active role in the monumental defeat of U.S. Customs’ attempt to classify all one-hand knives as switchblades (2009); 3) Recipient of Knife Rights’ inaugural Freedom’s Guardian Award for his role in upholding knife rights industry wide (2011); 4) Elected AKTI vice president (2011); 5) Organized and hosted AKTI anti-counterfeiting round table and presented related seminars for BLADE University at BLADE Show 2013; and 6) Elected (2014) AKTI president, a position he held through 2016.

Anne Reeve

According to a nominator, in 1986 Anne Reeve joined the then-fledgling Chris Reeve Knives and quickly became an integral part of the company. Her partner, both in life and business, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Chris Reeve, was the craftsman, and a great one at that. While Chris’s forte was knife design, Anne’s strengths were administration and bookkeeping. Anne spent many of the following years lending a hand where she could, helping to build a company known for quality and excellence.

For most of the early years, Chris Reeve Knives was just Anne and Chris plus a handful of employees, which meant Anne wore many hats. As the company grew, Anne stepped more into working behind the scenes in administration and customer service. Her years of answering the phone and meeting customers, partnered with her determination to ‘do the right thing,’ laid the groundwork for the knife manufacturer’s international reputation for excellence. Today, the company has around 150 dealers worldwide.

On the knife legislation front, Anne showed support for both the American Knife & Tool Institute and Knife Rights with encouragement, donations of knives and cash, and attending and sponsoring related functions. She has been treasurer of the Idaho Knife Association since 2018 and is an active member of the organizing committee for the IKA’s annual show.

After a nearly 30-year partnership, Chris retired, and Anne took a massive leap of faith and bought Chris’s share of the company. With the help of their son, Tim, and a team of young, talented and enthusiastic leaders, Anne has trailblazed Chris Reeve Knives into new territory. As the nominator concluded, “Investment in equipment and employees has resulted in revenue more than doubling under her leadership, the quantity of knives produced each month continues to increase, the quality of those knives is better than ever, and demand continues to significantly outpace production. Her determination to keep the integrity of Chris Reeve Knives, coupled with the highest quality products and customer service, has set a standard in the knife industry.” Helping cap it off, Anne won the BLADE Magazine 2025 Industry Achievement Award for her many contributions to the craft and cutlery community.

Bob Engnath

Bob Engnath built his first knife in 1972 and went full-time in ’79, making kit blades, tantos, swords and assorted knives in carbon steel. His base of operations was Blades ‘N’ Stuff, a retail shop he ran in Glendale, California, that offered tools, supplies and materials for knifemakers, bladesmiths and swordsmiths.

He produced several editions of a comprehensive publication he also called Blades ‘n’ Stuff, a 70-or-so-page 8-by-11-inch “Catalog and Instruction Manual featuring Handcrafted Blades by Bob Engnath and Knifemakers’ Supplies.” Sold for $5, it contained copious amounts of knowledge and instruction for anyone who wanted to make a knife or sword, including line art of his many patterns, knifemaking how-to’s with diagrams, tips and do’s and don’ts, and tons of sage advice on various steels, heat treating, knifemaking machines and materials, finishing, how to forge damascus, shop safety and other invaluable information. In addition to his catalogs, Bob also wrote the books The Scrimshaw Connection and The Second Scrimshaw Connection.

Engnath was a dedicated blade grinder and considered by many the best grinder of the time, providing blanks his customers could finish on their own. He gave many makers their start and dispensed an untold amount of knifemaking knowledge to anyone interested enough to listen, usually free of charge. According to one source, “Bob was a mentor to countless new makers through his knife kits, leaving a lasting legacy in the knife community.”

Summed up another source, Bob “was an excellent role model for any man in the knife business. He never said a bad word about anyone, took the knife business where it had not been before, his ethics were outstanding, his word was ironclad. I’d rather have had a handshake with Bob Engnath than a lawyered-up contract with any other knife name you care to mention. He was a hero and an example to a lot of people.”

Ed Fowler

Selling his first knife in 1962, Ed Fowler epitomized “the philosophy of the cutlery fabricator,” noted one nominator. Though not the first to use 52100 carbon steel for knife blades, Ed helped popularize it as it became a go-to material among today’s bladesmiths. He long performed and encouraged the multiple quenching of blades during heat treatment.

He wrote the monthly column “Knife Talk” for BLADE® for well over a quarter century. In BLADE’s reader surveys, along with Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Wayne Goddard, Ed completed the top one-two team of most popular BLADE writers year-in and year-out. Ed compiled his “Knife Talk” columns into two books: Knife Talk I: The Art & Science of Knife Making and Knife Talk II: The High Performance Blade. He conducted demos for many years on a variety of subjects at the BLADE Show, plus a class at BLADE University.

Formerly an ABS master smith, he went on to create the High Endurance Performance Knife Association, an organization dedicated to a greater understanding of the knives its members make, the steels they use, the process necessary for the knives to reach their maximum performance potential, and to share this understanding with any and all who seek it. He taught knifemaking to many, including more than a few who have gone on to become ABS journeyman and master smiths, including Audra Draper, Wade Colter, Shane Taylor, Bill Burke and Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Rick Dunkerley among the latter.

Wrote one nominator, Ed was “very passionate about what a knife should do. He indulged anyone who wanted to share time or debate ‘the concept of cut,’ as he called it.” Ed would pit his high-performance 52100 knives against all comers in what he called “real world tests,” cutting and doing things with the knives many consider abusive, until the knives failed. Ed continued using this testing regimen, observing that though you may never have to use a knife in such a manner, “What if you had to and the only tool you had at your disposal was your knife? Wouldn’t you take comfort in knowing that if ever push came to shove, you had a knife you could stake your life on?”

Larry Fuegen

Larry Fuegen started forging knives in 1975. According to a sitting Hall of Famer, from that time on all of Larry’s knives were sole authorship. He became a full-time knifemaker in 1987 and earned his American Bladesmith Society master smith rating in 1989.

“Since I’ve known Larry he has been a unique person who made unique knives,” the Hall of Famer wrote. “He started making friction folders after meeting Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Jim Schmidt at an ABS hammer-in. Years later Larry took those folders to a whole new level. For years he did gargoyle-type carvings on them and later started doing other renditions, like his folder featuring the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes wearing a gold helmet and Larry’s carved face of his idea of what Cortes looked like. Besides these great folders he made many ornate bowies, daggers and hunters that had carving, texturing and engraving done in a way to set his work apart from anyone else.

“For me what stood out most were his push daggers. I believe if you Googled push daggers a picture of Larry Fuegen would come up. He not only crafted knives, he also did his own leatherwork, which was top quality. He also made some of the best bits and spurs anywhere. In addition to his quality work he designed and built the tools he needed to produce his knives, leatherwork, and bits and spurs.”

He was voted into the Art Knife Invitational in 1999 and every year thereafter until 2022. Circa 2008 another of his ornately done friction folders, entitled Alaric, King of the Visigoths, went on permanent display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Luce Foundation. He has been featured in many magazine articles and books, among the latter including Greatest Living Knifemakers by Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Steve Shackleford.

Larry passed his knowledge on, teaching at numerous hammer-ins and seminars around the country. He is very knowledgeable and is willing to share with anyone. He is the personification of the traits required for induction into the Cutlery Hall of Fame.

Tim Hancock

Teaching others how to make “the total knife” played a huge role in defining Tim Hancock. “He taught and demonstrated at many hammer-ins in the areas of embellishment, design, blade forging, grinding, heat treating and sheath making,” ABS master smith Larry Fuegen observed. “He wanted to share his methods and thoughts with others. He also gave private lessons in his shop to many aspiring makers. The influence of his recognizable style can be seen in the work of many makers. Just as [Cutlery Hall-of-Famers] Bill Moran and Bob Loveless influenced many with their designs, so did Tim with his work.”

Added knifemaker Michael Vagnino, “I suppose the most important thing I learned from Tim was integrity. The knife you make is in fact a part of you. How it turns out is more about how honest you were when making it. When Tim told me that, it really made me pause. From that moment on, I viewed making knives in a new light.”

Tim earned his ABS master smith rating in 1993 and won an impressive number of honors for his knives, including the 2010 W.F. Moran Award. He was known for his award-winning period bowies, including though not limited to dog-bone bowies. Dr. David Darom dedicated an entire hardback book, Tim Hancock: The Western Bladesmith, to highlighting Tim’s knives and knifemaking career, even his penchant for forging silver-mounted bits and spurs and other Western gear. From 2001-2015 Tim was a member of the Art Knife Invitational, an organization of the world’s 25 greatest knifemakers spearheaded by Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Phil Lobred.

Nate Posner

Nate Posner started the San Francisco Gun Exchange in 1948 and built it into what he called the “Firearms Center of the West.” It had most everything firearm related but it was his displays of custom and factory knives that pertain here.

Along with Cutlery Hall-of-Famers A.G. Russell and Dan Delavan and also Bob Gaddis and Dave Harvey of Nordic Knives, Posner was among the first custom knife purveyors. He was known for telling his customers that to get the best price, instead of buying custom knives from middlemen such as him they should buy directly from the maker. Of course, if the customers wanted the handmade knife in question immediately, they often had to buy it from one of the few purveyors such as Nate to avoid spending what might be years on a waiting list. However, it was being up front that put Nate in good stead not only with his knife customers but the Guild, too—for both buying/selling the makers’ knives and treating what often were the makers’ customers/prospective customers in a professional manner.

At one time he had over 350 custom knives on display, with at least that many others in stock. Circa 1975 he ordered knives from dozens of makers, most active or past Guild members. Eventually he culled his list to about 25 or 30, including one of his favorites, D. E. Henry. Others included Tommy Lee, Jess Horn, Herman Schneider, Corbet Sigman, the-then-team of Scott Sawby and Steve Mullin, and future Cutlery Hall-of-Famers Frank Centofante, Jimmy Lile, Bob Loveless, George Herron, Bo Randall and more.

Thanks to the high store profile he gave custom knives and their makers to knife and gun buyers alike, Nate was one of the most important custom knife promoters of his or any era. As a result, the honor the Guild gives annually to an individual who provides “Outstanding Service in the Promotion of Handcrafted Cutlery” is called the Nate Posner Award.

See More Award Winners:

Steve Shackleford: It’s Been a Whole Buncha Fun!

Steve Shackleford

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February 24, 2026

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Steve Shackleford: It’s Been a Whole Buncha Fun!

After more than 40 years at the helm, “Mr. Blade” hangs it up.

It had to happen sometime and that time is now. After over 40 years of writing for and editing BLADE® Magazine, it’s time for me to hang it up as BLADE editor.

If you had told me when BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bruce Voyles hired me in 1985 that BLADE would be the focus of my work life for the following four decades, I might’ve said, “Yeah, and Donald Trump will be president one day, too.” However, working for BLADE has been a blessing to my family and me, and I am most thankful for the privilege of having done so.

Why retire now? Last July, it hit me; at 72 I need to spend more time with my beautiful wife Susan and others who I love before I start leaking oil. So, my boss, Caribou Group Media Publisher Jim Schlender, and the rest of the BLADE brain trust started planning for the future of the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication. The result: Elwood “Woody” Shelton, who has been doing a standout job as our online editor, will be my replacement as BLADE editor—and we think he will be a most accomplished one.

For the past several years Woody also has coordinated the BLADE Magazine Knife-of-the-Year® judging at the BLADE Show, as well as the factory knife judging at BLADE Show Texas and BLADE Show West. In the process and along with his online duties, he has become well-acquainted with the knife industry and those who drive it. Besides, he is captivated by knives like the rest of us.

As for me, I will continue as a consultant for BLADE and chairman of the Cutlery Hall of Fame, coordinating the nomination and selection process of new inductees and serving as emcee at the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony during the BLADE Show, this year June 5-7 at the newly named Cobb Convention Center-Atlanta (formerly the Cobb Galleria Centre). As a result, I hope to see some of y’all there. I also hope to write on occasion for BLADE, as well as participate in other related projects.

What will I miss? Much more than I can cover here but the simple pleasure of opening each issue of BLADE I edited after it hits my mailbox will be one. Others will be all the great knives I have handled and written about and the thousands of fascinating folks I have met over the decades. Included among the latter are those knifemakers and their knives that I’ve helped shed light on by publicizing them in BLADE.

Among many knife VIPs the author has been privileged to know over the years include, from left, Ethan Becker of Becker Knife & Tool, BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Steve Schwarzer and custom knifemaker Bill Herndon.

The highlights for me have been many. A few include visiting the Boker manufactory in Solingen, Germany, and seeing the wonders of nearby Cologne with Ziggy Felix, wife of Boker’s Ernst Felix, as my tour guide; exploring the Alamo with Cutlery Hall of Famers B. R. Hughes and Jim Batson; spending hours interviewing Cutlery Hall of Famer Bob Loveless in his Riverside shop; and my inductions into both the ABS and BLADE Magazine Cutlery Halls of Fame.

In addition to Batson, Hughes and Loveless, four other unforgettable Hall of Famers who molded the industry by the sheer power of their work ethic and personalities and who were my privilege to know include: A.G. Russell, who influenced the collecting community and custom and factory knife industries like no other; Bill Moran, the father of modern damascus and the ABS—some resumé, eh?; Wayne Goddard and his ability to explain details about knives, how to make them, steels and more so that even I could understand them; Frank Centofante guiding the Guild so successfully while simultaneously providing a constant stream of one-liners; the list goes on. Oh, and Ed Fowler, his sheep-horn handles, lifelong search for Excalibur, his dogs and pet rattlesnakes, etc. Need I say more?

I will miss them and many more, including having the lasting honor and satisfaction of helping in providing you with the world’s best knife magazine for so many years. See you down the road and, in the immortal words of the Reverend Captain Samuel Clayton (Ward Bond) in The Searchers, “Watch that knife!”

More About And By Steve Shackleford:

Steve Shackleford Wins Latest Nate Posner Award
Knife Industry Wishes & Predictions: What the New Year Holds for 2026
The Late R. Lee Ermey: “I Was Basically a Stand-Up Comic”

Remembering Tim Britton: Rest Easy Marine

Steve Shackleford

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January 20, 2026

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Remembering Tim Britton: Rest Easy Marine

One of the last living links to knifemaking’s golden era is gone.

The knife community lost one of its last members from the golden era of knifemaking with the passing of George Miller “Tim” Britton, who died after a short illness on December 9. He was 85.

A veteran (1959-65) of the United States Marine Corps and known as North Carolina’s first professional knifemaker, Tim began fashioning knives in 1971. Early on he specialized in small personal and fancy boot-type knives and assorted fixed blades and wound up his career making all manner of classic slip joints.

He appeared in early ’70s issues of The American Blade and later in BLADE®. He learned about knives and how to make them from Jim Mustin of Cajun Knives and BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® members Frank Centofante and Blackie Collins. Other influencers were Tim’s knifemaking contemporaries such as Cutlery Hall-of-Famers Ted Dowell, Jimmy Lile and Bob Loveless and well-known makers Rod Chappel and Bob Dozier. Tim was an admirer of Chappel’s handles and those of Bill Luckett, too.

Britton’s career spanned the early days of O1, 440C and D2 for blade steels to today’s CPM grades.

Tim specialized in classic slip joints, this one in BG42 stainless steel, Fiji fire pearl and 24k-gold inlay. Closed length: 3.25 inches. (Eric Eggly/PointSeven knife image)

“I started with O1 in 1972 and Blackie Collins talked me into 440C,” he once told BLADE. “Peer pressure … Ted Dowell, Frank Centofante, Jimmy Lile and Bob Dozier had settled on D2. [Today’s steel] leaves them all in the dust.”

No matter the steel, its proper heat treatment and also edge geometry, not to mention comfortable handles, were of critical importance to Tim.

“Buying a knife from a reputable maker should be simple,” he once observed. “My questions would be steel type, Rockwell hardness and what kinds of tools the maker has in his shop. I’m a dinosaur.”

A colorful character known for speaking his mind, he spent time as a member of The Knifemakers’ Guild and the ABS.

“Forging is a macho trip,” he once stated. “I fancy myself a smithy in times past.”

He understood well the importance of effective marketing, regularly running one-third page color ads in BLADE, and he demanded the most in return from them. He also loved the BLADE Show and was a regular exhibitor along with Deb, his wife of 26 years.

Rest easy, Marine, and semper fi.

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