Known as The American Blade at the time, the magazine was traded by then-publisher Jack Marvich to Wally Beinfeld for a racehorse—or at least that’s what Beinfeld reportedly told one of his successors, former BLADE publisher and editor and BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Bruce Voyles.
The cover of the November-December 1974 issue of The American Blade.
Beinfeld ran what was probably the country’s premier antique arms show and, in part to help promote it, published a gun magazine called the Arms Gazette. The Gazette had a large editorial, graphics and production staff that was more than big enough to produce a second magazine. Hence, Beinfeld decided to add a knife publication—The American Blade—to his, ahem, stable.
However, there was one problem. Marvich and Beinfeld could not make a deal, even if, apparently, the racehorse was at least part of the payment.
“They were sitting there talking about it one day and the more they talked, the worse it got,” Voyles recalled Beinfeld’s version of what happened.
Beinfeld and Marvich were making no headway at all. Finally, Beinfeld stood to call the whole thing off and leave when in walked Marvich’s wife.
“Marvich looked at her and said, ‘Honey, the deal’s not going to go through, we just can’t come to terms.’ And she looked at him and said, ‘What about my racehorse?’ And in Wally’s words, ‘So I sat back down.’ From what I understand,” Bruce recalled, “I don’t know if the racehorse was just part of the deal or what, but I believe it was the entire deal. That was the way it was told to me.”
And, thus, Beinfeld bought The American Blade. Bruce said he can’t recall the horse’s name, which is understandable considering how long ago it was. Meanwhile, Mr. Beinfeld passed away a few years back, and we don’t know the whereabouts of Mr. and Mrs. Marvich.
As for the horse, here’s hoping he was put out to stud and lived happily ever after. (Insert your impression of a horse whinnying here.)
R. Lee “The Gunny” Ermey appeared on the cover of the April 2010 issue of BLADE.
Editor’s note: The following article is from the April 2010 issue of BLADE. At the time, R. Lee “The Gunny” Ermey had signed on as a spokesperson for SOG Specialty Knives & Tools. Here he talks with Steve Shackleford about knives and his career in films.
Ermey, best known for his portrayal as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, died April 15, 2018, at age 74.
The Gunny, the Knife Enthusiast
R. Lee “The Gunny” Ermey made frequent appearances at BLADE Show on behalf of knife companies.
Gunny comes by his love of knives honestly. He has over 100 custom and factory pieces in his collection, including his great grandfather’s pocketknife. First and foremost, though, he uses his knives.
“I’m a firm believer that the only thing a dull knife is good for is cutting yourself, because that’s exactly what you do with a dull knife,” he said. “I believe a man ought to be able to shave with that knife and after he shaves with it, he ought to be able to fold it up and then go chop a tree down.”
He also keeps up with the news and is outraged at the way knives are portrayed by the media.
“What really upsets me, I’ve seen this young Eagle Scout [Matthew Whalen],” Gunny began. “Because he had a knife, a little pocketknife in a survival kit in the trunk, they put him out of school. What the hell kind of a survival kit have you got without a knife? You’d be a dead man.
“When I grew up, I was probably 6 years old, I started carrying a pocketknife and I’ve carried one ever since. It’s a tool, you know. I grew up on a farm and I went to school and I can’t ever recall any kid pulling his pocketknife out at school and wanting to do harm to another kid. Times have changed. We need to start taking responsibility for our actions, we need to teach our children a bit of discipline.”
Gunny was just getting warmed up.
“My Swiss Army knife, what, they’re 2 inches long these little guys. I travel constantly, and I’ve had about 20 of those little knives taken away from me at the airport. I finally took one and just broke the knife blade off it and there’s still a big debate if I can go on board because there’s a scissors on it.
There’s a toothpick and a tweezers and I use those tools constantly. After a meal I have to use that toothpick. Society’s gone to the dogs as far as I’m concerned. They need to pull their heads out of their butts and realize that a Boy Scout carrying a pocketknife that’s got a spoon and a fork on it is just a tool, it’s not a weapon.”
A Standup Guy
Spencer Frazer (right), SOG founder and president, and Gunny go over the company catalog. (photo courtesy of Bill Rogin)
Gunny enlisted in the Marines in 1961 and was medically retired as a staff sergeant in 1971 for injuries incurred during his tours, which included 14 months active duty in the Vietnam War, and, as you might guess, as a drill instructor (at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego and Parris Island, South Carolina). In ’Nam he carried his issued Ka-Bar USMC fighting/utility knife, using it for everything from cutting threads off his uniform to opening “C” rations. He also carried a pocketknife and, of course, his trusty machete.
He said many of his fellow Marines bought their own fixed blades and folders in addition to the issue Ka-Bar.
Did he ever use a knife as a weapon over there?
“No. And I hope I never have to. I would just leave the area,” he laughed. “I would go get my gun. I don’t care for the up-close-and-personal stuff.”
Like most fresh out of the military, Gunny was unsure of what to do after his discharge, so it came as no surprise when he fell back on his Marine background.
“I didn’t have any formal training that would improve my lifestyle and I looked around and thought, what can I do, and I found out,” he recalled. “I was basically pretty much a standup comic when I was in the Marine Corps. I was an instructor, and in order to be a good instructor you have to be able to keep the troops awake. It’s almost like being a standup comic.
Gunny made a number of visits to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for the U.S. Navy Department of Morale and Welfare. Here he is with a group of Marines in front of Saddam Hussein’s palace in December 2008. (Rob Scott photo)
“So, when I retired, I wrote a couple of scripts and I went off to Hollywood. I did some of the comedy clubs and was pretty successful at it, and then I found out they were going to start shooting a Vietnam war movie in the Philippine Islands.”
Gunny boarded a military transport, flew to the Philippines where The Boys in Company “C” was being filmed in 1978, landed the part of a Marine drill instructor and his acting career had begun.
However, it was 1987’s Full Metal Jacket that, as Gunny put it, “kicked all the doors open.”
In it he established his onscreen persona as the gung-ho drill instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Hartman.
Not only did the role earn Gunny a nomination for a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor, it played a key part in his receiving an honorary promotion to gunnery sergeant from the Commandant of the Marine Corps. According to Wikipedia, it made Gunny the first retired military member in the history of the Corps to be promoted. Wikipedia, it seems, needs to check its sources.
Gunny carries a SOG PowerLock multitool. It includes a pliers/gripper, hard wire cutter, crimper, double-toothed wood saw, a partially serrated blade, three-sided file and more.
“I’m not just the first but the only,” retired member in Corps history to be promoted, Gunny noted with pride.
He continues to be active in supporting young Marines, making morale-building visits to Iraq and Afghanistan when he can, as well as Guantanamo Bay and Okinawa, Japan. In between comes his acting and promotional work.
“I spend 90 percent of my time working with the military,” he said. “The other 10 percent I have to do shows and movies and whatever it takes because I have to support the 90 percent.”
The new SOG spokesman would seem to have his priorities in order. And, luckily for his new employer, SOG is one of them.
Some say that Jim Bowie (upper left) personally gifted a bowie knife (above) to Edwin Forrest (lower right). Jim Batson, one of the world’s leading bowie knife authorities, shares his findings on the subject.Jim Batson
BLADE recently sat down for an extensive interview with Jim Batson, one of the leading bowie knife researchers in the world. The interview was recorded on video, which can be seen below, and consists of two parts.
Most significantly, Batson reveals what he discovered about the controversial Edwin Forrest bowie knife, claimed to be gifted to the 19th Century actor by James Bowie himself. That can be seen at 25:06 in the video.
Look below the video for further timestamps and summaries.
Batson Looks Back on 30
ABS master smith Jim Batson has been conducting his Batson Bladesmithing Symposium for three decades and just completed the 30th one April 8 at the Tannehill Ironworks near Bessemer, Alabama.
Join us for an exclusive interview with Batson as he talks about those 30 symposiums, the major industry changes he’s seen in his bladesmithing career, his induction into the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame in 2017 and what the future holds for this icon of the forge.
Use these timestamps to help you navigate the video.
ABS master smith Jim Batson has scoured the Bowie Trail from the Southeast USA to Texas for decades, researching anything and everything about James Bowie and bowie knives.
Watch the video above to see Jim recount the highlights of his research, including his book about the Sandbar Fight where the bowie knife legend was born, whether James Black really made bowie knives—including those in the Carrigan style—whether the Edwin Forrest bowie actually belonged to James Bowie and more in this exclusive BLADE® interview.
12:27 Contributions to bowie knife history research
15:01 Surprising finds
15:53 New facts about the 1827 Sandbar Fight
17:57 James Black controversy
23:14 The Carrigan knives 25:06 The Edwin Forrest “Gift” bowie knife 27:22 Where did the Forrest knife come from?
30:47 End
Near-flawless grinds, captivating materials, curvaceous lines, snug fit and finish, and slick mechanisms help ensure today’s hottest makers’ hottest custom knives are cool cutters to covet.
While determining such knives is almost impossible to do without at least a smidgeon of subjectivity, those who sell knives professionally have their finger on the pulse of who some of the makers are and which of their knives is hottest. If the sellers don’t, they won’t be in business for long.
We tapped four of today’s successful knife sales operations—purveyor Daniel O’Malley of Bladegallery.com, purveyor Les Robertson of Robertson’s Custom Cutlery, and Sako Rouchanian, owner of Recon 1, a retailer of knives and gear—for their opinions on the matter.
Meanwhile, don’t be surprised if one or more of the mesmerizing cutters they identify activate your salivary glands. Covet away!
Poison
(Claudio Sobral image)
Poison by Claudio and Ariel Sobral of CAS Knives offers up what purveyor Les Robertson calls the Sobrals’ signature style: big, bold and striking! The carved integral guard and sub-hilt are blued carbon steel.
Handle: Amber stag
Blade and overall lengths: 10 and 15.5 inches
Blade steel: Ladder pattern damascus
Maker’s price: $3,000
111
(Recon 1 image)
The Double Row Roller Bearing System used exclusively on such custom knives as Sergey Shirogorov’s full custom 111 flipper makes the knife’s action incredibly smooth.
“It flips open like a rocket,” stated Sako Rouchanian of Recon 1.
Blade and closed lengths: 4.37 and 5.25 inches.
Blade steel: Chad Nichols boomerang damascus
Handle: stonewashed titanium
Maker’s price: Auction only
Recon 1’s price: $12,000
Ronin
(Steel Addiction Custom Knives image)
Jim Burke’s Ronin is a compact tactical flipper folder with a unique pocket-friendly footprint. The modified tanto blade is Stellite® and pivots on ceramic bearings. The frame is milled Zircuti—zirconium and Mokuti—with blue anodized hardware. The clip is Zircuti, too.
Weight: 5.5 ounces
Blade and closed lengths: 3.25 and 4.25 inches
Maker’s price: $1,800
L51 Compact
(BladeGallery.com image)
As purveyor Daniel O’Malley observed, over the past couple of years tactical folder collectors who had gone by the creed of “bigger is better” have been opting for sleeker, lighter, thinner and more pocket-friendly versions for their EDCs. The L51 Compact by Andre Van Thorburn is such a knife.
The carbon fiber handle of Ray Laconico’s EZC flipper features a milled “speed hole” pattern.
“When it comes to building a handmade tactical flipper knife for everyday carry, Ray Laconico gets it,” noted Sako Rouchanian of Recon 1.
Blade and closed lengths: 3 and 3.87 inches
Maker’s price: $750
Recon 1’s price: $1,100
A2/A6
(Steel Addiction Custom Knives image)
The A2 framelock folder by South Africans Andre Van Heerden and Andre Thorburn has been hot for well over a year now and shows no signs of cooling off. The A2/A6 is their collaboration with Tashi Bharucha in a blade of polished Damasteel damascus, and hand-rubbed titanium frames in the Omega sign with silver lightning-strike carbon fiber inlays.
Weight: 4.9 ounces. Blade and closed lengths: 3 5/8 and 8 3/8 inches
Makers’ price: $1,500
Model 450 Ultra-Light
(BladeGallery.com image)
South African Des Horn’s Model 450 Ultra-Light gent’s flipper features a 2.75-inch blade of Damasteel stainless pattern-welded steel and a blue/silver carbon handle.
“It’s so slim and light [1.2 ounces] you won’t even know you’ve got it with you,” noted purveyor Daniel O’Malley. “With over 30 years making knives, Des Horn is one of the fathers of the South African knife industry, and his influence can be seen in many other makers’ work.”
Horn’s price: $600
BladeGallery.com’s price: $600
Hokkaido
(Recon 1 image)
“Arguably [featuring] the best grinds in the tactical market, John Barker’s Hokkaido is the hottest tanto design in the tactical world,” noted Sako Rouchanian of Recon 1.
The Small Hokkaido flipper features a contoured rosebud pattern Timascus handle.
Sault Daug is the latest folder from Lee Williams. Equipped with a linerlock, it comes in both the maker’s Kick Stop and stud opener (pictured) versions. Blade and closed lengths: 3.5 and 4.75 inches.
Blade steel: handrubbed CPM 154
Handle: Carbon fiber scales and titanium standoffs
Weight: 4.7 ounces
Maker’s price: $2,250
Open-bid show price: $7,500
Piuma
(BladeGallery.com image)
The brother of custom knifemaker Willem Steenkamp, Kosie Steenkamp offers up the Piuma flipper in red lightning-strike carbon fiber.
“The blade is perfectly centered with silky smooth action,” noted purveyor Daniel O’Malley, “and easily opened with one hand using the ambidextrous flipper toggle.”
Blade and closed lengths: 3.4 and 5 inches
Liners: Jeweled and anodized titanium
Pocket clip: textured and anodized titanium
Maker’s price: $575
BladeGallery.com’s price: $575
Doctor Death Junior Flipper
(Steel Addiction Custom Knives)
Tom Mayo has been making knives 35 years and all of his anniversary knives have his XXXV anniversary logo.
The Doctor Death Junior Flipper has a 3 5/8-inch blade of handrubbed CPM 154 stainless steel and operates on the Ikoma Korth Bearing System. The framelock folder weighs 4.6 ounces and is 5 inches closed.
Maker’s price: $1,600
See More Photos of Custom Knives
See beautiful, full-color photos of custom knives in Knives 2018.
From all indications, this folding fruit knife belonged to Abraham Lincoln. The legal papers in the background are from Lincoln’s presidential years. Note the similarity in his signature and the name engraved on the shield. (Inset) The hallmarks on the blade of folding fruit knives contain a language all their own. These particular hallmarks stand for the following, from left: Queen Victoria’s profile-duty stamp; the crown-made in Sheffield; the capital letter “MJ’-in this case, made sometime between 1855-56; the lionsilver blade; and JYC-made by John Yeomans Cowlishaw. (The Lincoln Museum, Fort Wayne, Indiana-a part of Lincoln National Corp., photograph by Scott Simpson)
Is This an Honest-to-Goodness Knife for Honest Abe?
A silver folding fruit knife owned by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln? It seems too good to be true. But there it is, bigger than life on display at the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
It all started with a letter to BLADE magazine from William Graves, Sr. He wrote that he’d seen a picture of the knife in Lincoln Lore, the official publication of the Lincoln Museum, a part of the Lincoln National Corp. All the signs seemed right; the hallmarks on the blade, the carved pearl handle, even Lincoln’s name engraved on the shield. But the question remained: Was the knife really Lincoln’s?
Abraham Lincoln’s Knives Can Fetch $100,000
Acting museum director Ruth Cook said the knife was bought by television executive producer Harry Ackerman at the auction of Oliver R. Barrett’s Lincoln collection in 1952. Ackerman’s discovery of the knife is a story in itself. He bought Lincoln’s legal wallet, inside of which, unknown to the seller or buyer, was the knife. A collector’s dream come true!
Cook said the Lincoln National Corp., subsidiary of Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., bought the wallet and knife from a dealer. She could not divulge how much was paid for both items, though she said the price was in the five-figure range. She said neither item is for sale. Another knife-a multi- blade pocketknife-that belonged to Lincoln sold alone at auction for $99,825 at Sotheby’s in New York in 1989, as reported in the August 1989 BLADE magazine.
Even though Cook said there is no documentation of when Lincoln received the folding fruit knife or who gave it to him, it reportedly has been authenticated. There are photographs of it in famed poet and biographer Carl Sandburg‘s Lincoln volumes and elsewhere.
History of Fruit Knives
One of the only books about fruit knife history offered a few clues. (image via Amazon)
But were the principals involved familiar enough with the special “hallmark language” of fruit knives to know if this particular fruit knife could have been made for Lincoln?
We decided to check with Bill Karsten, author of the only known book on the subject, Silver Folding Fruit Knives, to flush out the facts.
According to Karsten’s book, folding fruit knives first appeared in France in the 17th century. They often had blades made of silver or gold for corrosion resistance as stainless steel was not yet available. Men often gave them as presents to their wives or girlfriends.
In England, silver fruit knives flourished after the silver assay offices opened at Sheffield and Birmingham in 1773. The blades were hallmarked following assay (a procedure analyzing the blade’s silver content) in accordance with the system conceived in London during the early 14th century.
A series of five small stamped marks disclosed the city of origin, the maker’s initials, the year of assay, the sterling silver (92.5 percent) content and the duty stamp (Karsten said the latter was no longer carried after the duty was abolished in 1890).
How Lincoln’s Knife Measures Up
The hallmarks on the Lincoln knife blade are of a profile of Queen Victoria, a crown, the capital letter “M,” a lion and the initials “JYC.” Karsten said the “JYC” stands for the maker, John Yeomans Cowlishaw, who was so well thought of that a street in Sheffield, Cowlishaw Lane, is named after him.
Karsten said the queen’s profile means the duty on the knife had been paid indicating the knife was made pre-1896 the crown indicates the knife was made in Sheffield, and the lion means the blades are made of silver.
The Mysterious M Holds Key to Lincoln’s Fruit Knife
When you’re on the hunt for knife history, don’t discount books that aren’t explicitly about knives. A book about silversmithing contained another clue about Lincoln’s fruit knife.
But it was the “M” hallmark for the year of make that intrigues Karsten. He said the capital letter or uppercase “M” meant the-knife was made-either from 1855-56 or from 1879-1880. If it were made between 1879 and 1880, then the knife could not have been Lincoln’s since he was assassinated in 1865.
Moreover, Karsten said, Cowlishaw made his last knife around 1920, which indicates if he made a knife in the mid-1850s, his knifemaking career spanned six-and-a-half decades. If that’s true, it’s a remarkable record for working longevity at that point in history.
Some checking by Karsten in The Book of Old Silver: English, American, Foreign by Seymour B. Wyler revealed that Cowlishaw was admitted as a maker of silver folding fruit knives to the Sheffield Assay Office in 1854. So he could have made the knife in 1855-56.
However, Karsten said the “M markings on the knives made in 1855-56 are thinner than those made in 1879-80.”
“If I had to make a choice I would say the shape of the ‘M’ indicates the knife was made in 1879-80,” he said, but he could not be positive and would not discount that the knife could have been Lincoln’s on that basis.
Mistakes Don’t Necessarily Discredit Lincoln’s Fruit Knife
Learn more about knife history in this collection of BLADE back issues, dating back to 1973.
Next came a question about the order the hallmarks appear in on the blade.
Quoting from Wyler’s book, Karsten said on almost all fruit knives made from 1844-1921 the crown is the first hallmark to appear at the left. On the Lincoln blade the queen’s profile appears first at the left. However, Karsten said there is a picture of a Cowlishaw knife made in 1855 with the hallmarks in the same order in Karsten’s book.
Moreover, he said mistakes in the application of hallmarks were made and the Lincoln knife may be an example.
“They did make boo-boos,” he noted. “I’ve found several of them. They’re not normal but the mistakes don’t discount the knife’s authenticity, either.”
Simon Moore, a leading English authority on fruit knives, agreed with Karsten’s assessment.
“We do often get mistakes like that. There might be a whole batch of blades with marks jumbled up higgledy-piggledy,” he said. “They might go stamping away before they’d realized their mistake but by then they might’ve run off quite a few blades that way.”
As for the shield style and the engraved blade, Karsten said he had seen examples of neither on other Cowlishaw knives. Concerning the “A. Lincoln” engraved on the shield, Karsten said it was probably done some time after the knife was made. He said if the knife were made especially for Lincoln by Cowlishaw, Cowlishaw may have engraved the name on the shield later.
The Verdict for Lincoln’s Fruit Knife
Dr. William Rosenthal, a leading fruit knife authority who donated a huge collection of fruit knives to the National Knife Museum, said the shield was probably engraved after the knife came to America.
“The fancy shape of the handle, the engraved bolster, these sort of things say to me Cowlishaw well could have made the knife,” Karsten noted. “And the knife very well could have been Lincoln’s.”
Jim Sargent, long-time antique pocketknife dealer and knife retailer, passed away yesterday, Feb. 11.
Along with his wife, Jean, Jim founded J. Sargent Co. in 1968. Today, known as Sarco Pocket Knives and based in Florence, Alabama, the company specializes in new knives, antique knives, reference guides and imported knives from around the world.
Jim authored eight knife books, including several editions of the American Premium Guide to Knives & Razors, and articles on antique and collectible cutlery. He was past president of the National Knife Collectors Association and served on the NKCA’s board of directors. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the National Knife Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Schneider’s art knives remained among the most coveted in the industry right up to his passing. (SharpByCoop image)
Herman Schneider, one of the most talented of the pioneering custom knifemakers of the 1970s and beyond, passed away Jan. 26. He was 87.
Perhaps best known for the spiked dagger in the 1986 Sylvester Stallone movie, Cobra, Schneider made some of the cleanest knives anywhere. Among them were hunters and skinners in his early days to art knives and reproductions of 19th-century dress bowies in the style of Michael Price as Schneider’s style evolved.
Herman Schneider holds the spiked dagger he made for the Sylvester Stallone movie, Cobra. (image from K.L. Byrd’s Facebook page)
The workmanship of Schneider knives was second to none. As long-time knife collector and the headman of the Art Knife Invitational (AKI), Phil Lobred, once noted, “Herman Schneider’s knives lifted the industry up two notches in the fit-and-finish department.” Schneider was among the very first group of elite knifemakers to be invited to the AKI, and exhibited at the premier event for a number of years.
Of all Schneider’s impeccable knife creations, it was his art knives that stood out. “Herm Schneider built beautiful art knives,” observed Dave Harvey, owner of Nordic Knives retail knife store and coordinator of the biennial Solvang Custom Knife Show. “Many of his blades featured complex grinds that many of the most talented makers would not, or could not, pull off themselves.”
An interesting back story about the Tut dagger repro: As part of Lobred’s instructions for the making of the legendary knife, the blade had to be solid gold. Warenski struggled with finding a way to harden the all-gold blade. After repeated failed attempts, he enlisted the aid of Schneider and Jim Hardenbrook, and together they were able to harden the blade successfully.
In a poll of the greatest custom knifemakers from BLADE®’s first 15 years (1973-88), Schneider did not make the top 10, though he didn’t miss by much and made the honorable mention list. And in the Top 10 custom knives from the same time period, Schneider was the only maker Lobred mentioned for his entire body of work instead of just one piece.
An early member of The Knifemakers’ Guild, Schneider not only was a great knifemaker but was also close to many in the knifemaking and knife fraternity. Along with Buster and Joan Warenski, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer D’ Holder and Bob Gladstone, Schneider was instrumental in helping Dan and Pam Delavan get the first California Custom Knife Show up and running in the early 1980s. Many thought a lot of Schneider, not just for his knifemaking ability but for his friendship and kindness as well.
