Troney Troler of Knives Plus likes the Victorinox Trekker as a fish knife—and it also has a bottle opener for your favorite ale.
Opening your favorite beer will be on tap Thursday, Sept. 28, for National Drink Beer Day, and you can cap off the festivities with one of the latest in beer knives.
Boker’s Tech Tool takes the traditional bottle-can opener approach to beer knives.
There are a number of new beer knives, from the traditional combo bottle/can-opening tools on Swiss Army and other multi-implement knives, to the more recent trend toward knives with the bottle opener in the butt of the handle or otherwise incorporated into the body of the knife. Examples of the latter style include the TOPS Pit Stop 3 and F.O.R.K. IT, Timberline Javelin BOK, the Kershaw Shuffle, Hops and Malt, Boker Plus Toucan, Coast FX200, DPx Gear HEST 2.0, White River Knife & Tool GTI 2.5 and Knucklehead, and Buck Selkirk Firestarter, Examples of the former include the Boker Tech Tool, Victorinox Walker and Trekker, and Great Eastern Cutlery Beer Scout Knife (a tip of the hat goes to the latter for the title of the knife category).
Since it provided the fizz for the headline, let’s start with the Great Eastern Beer Scout Knife. It employs a bottle opener of 1095 carbon steel to accompany a highly utilitarian sheepfoot blade. Since it’s carbon steel, be sure to wipe your bottle-opening implement and knife down after use and corrosion should be held to a minimum.
The White River Knife & Tool Knucklehead makes a great beer knife with a bottle opener in the butt and has a blade of CPM S30V stainless.
While we don’t think White River Knife & Tool was trying to insinuate anything about beer drinkers in general with the name of its Knucklehead beer knife, we DO like the name—Moe Howard of Three Stooges’ fame problem would, too—and we also like both the Knucklehead’s 2.875-inch blade of CPM S30V stainless steel and the bottle-opener in the butt. As Curly Howard might intone, get yourself a Knucklehead and “whoop-whoop-whoop” on down to National Drink Beer Day.
The preceding two are but a sampling of the latest beer knives. Check out those herein and be sure to drink responsibly and let someone else drive on National Drink Beer Day!
The Kershaw Shuffle has the bottle opener in the butt of the handle for easy opening.The bottle opener on the TOPS Pit Stop 3 is on the handle spine and should be used when the knife is sheathed.The Timberline Javelin BOK has a long handle for great leverage in popping your top.Four beer knives, from left: the TOPS Pit Stop 3, Boker Plus Toucan, Kershaw Shuffle and Timberline Javelin BOK (Bottle Opener Knife).The Beer Scout from Great Eastern Cutlery has a traditional bottle opener and a sheepfoot blade of 1095 carbon steel.Cap off your day with the bottle openers of, from left, the Victoinox Walker, TOPS F.O.R.K. IT, Buck Selkirk Firestarter and White River GTI 2.5.KnifeCenter’s Jason Kunkler used the bottle opener on the blade spine of the DPx Gear HEST 2.0 while on vacation in Peru. He did not mention whether he opened a cold one at Machu Picchu, however.The Coast FX200 is one of the new breed of beer knives with the bottle opener in the butt.
Two of Shelley’s early favorite knives: the Hermes folder (right) and a Randall.
While there have been many celebrities in and out of show business embraced by the custom knife community, none embraced it in return and then some as did cutlery’s comic, Shelley Berman. Actor, comedian, writer, poet, professor and knife collector, Berman passed away quietly on Sept. 1 at the age of 92, but not before decades of touching the custom knife community like no one else.
Known worldwide beginning in the late 1950s as a top comedian, Berman recorded six comedy albums, including 1959’s Inside
Shelley Berman, the first non-musical recording to win a Grammy Award. Three of his comedy albums went gold and he was the first non-musical comedian to appear in Carnegie Hall. According to an Associated Press story, Berman was “a pioneer of a new brand of comedy that could evoke laughter from such matters as air travel discomforts and small children who answer the telephone. He helped pave the way for Bob Newhart, Woody Allen, Jerry Seinfeld and other standup comedians who fashioned their routines around the follies and frustrations of modern living.”
Shelley also starred on stage and in musicals on Broadway, had several film roles and continued acting into his mid-80s, appearing as Larry David’s dad on TV’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, and also on Boston Legal and Grey’s Anatomy, among others. He retired in his 80s after 20 years of teaching humor writing in the Master of Professional Writing program at the University of Southern California.
Shelley Berman was known worldwide for his comedy in the 1950s and won the first ever Grammy Award for a non-musical album—of comedy, naturally enough—in 1959.
of custom knives. All that changed when he was working in Las Vegas in the late 1970s.
It was there he saw his first custom knife at a knife show in the old Sahara hotel and casino. He wasn’t sure custom knives were for him until he subscribed to the American Blade magazine—now BLADE® Magazine. “When I saw [the stories in the magazine] I realized, my God, I’m not crazy, I’m a collector!” he said in an interview with Dave Harvey in the December 2009 BLADE. “I had all these knives in my drawer, so I ‘came out of the drawer.'”
But it was more than just the knives that attracted both Shelley and Sarah—it was the makers themselves. The Bermans admired the work of such cutlers as Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Buster Warenski, Warren Osborne and Larry Fuegen, to name a few. The Bermans also came to know the wives of the makers as well, such as Dorothy and Jim Ence, Betty and Ted Dowell and many more. The Bermans were regular visitors to the Art Knife Invitational, the California Custom Knife Show, the Solvang Custom Knife Show and other knife events. Each April during the Solvang Show there would be a barbecue, and for many years Shelley emceed the post-dinner awards ceremony. In 1996 he did a comedy routine to headline the banquet for the 25th anniversary Knifemakers’ Guild Show—now the International Custom Cutlery Convention (ICCE)—at the Marriott Hotel in Orlando, sparing no one from a comedic jab or two, including Cutlery Hall-Of-Famers Bob Loveless, A.G. Russell, Frank Centofante, D’ Holder and Dan Dennehy, Ted Dowell and others in the jam-packed ballroom.
Shelley and his wife for 70 years, Sarah, and their knives in the Berman home—including the photo of the Virtue knife signed by all the participating makers at top right.
During the 2000 Solvang Show, many of the show’s custom makers the Bermans had befriended over the years huddled and decided to make a special surprise knife that they would deliver unbeknownst to the Bermans at the following year’s Solvang Show. A work schedule was planned so the knife would spend the least amount of time possible in the mail between destinations. One of the biggest obstacles was getting the knife in and out of over 50 workshops in less than 10 months. Work began in July 2000 and the completed masterpiece arrived in Solvang just three weeks prior to the 2001 Solvang Show. The project began in Arizona and from there went to Nevada; Idaho; Washington; Oregon; California; Hawaii; back to Arizona; Utah; Colorado; New Mexico; Texas; Arkansas; Kentucky; Tennessee; South Carolina; North Carolina; Virginia; West Virginia; Maryland; Pennsylvania; New Hampshire; Quebec, Canada; Ohio; Minnesota; and Wisconsin.
The worry was that the knife, christened “Virtue: The 2-24-50 Knife,” would look as if 50 different makers had made it, which, of course, would not be the desired result. However, just the opposite occurred and the knife came out beautifully. Nothing quite like it has been attempted before or since.
As Dave Harvey, Solvang Show producer and owner of Nordic Knives, noted, one concern was that word of the knife would leak to Shelley before it was finished. However, the secret was kept and Shelley’s reaction made it abundantly clear that he was genuinely surprised and thrilled when the knife was presented to him and Sarah at the 2001 Solvang Show.
Shelley holds two of his favorite knives, the favorite being the Hermes folder. He was featured with it in the second installment of BLADE‘s “My Favorite Knife,” the forerunner to the magazine’s popular “The Knife I Carry” feature, in the October 1991 issue.
Shelley also wrote for BLADE on occasion, and even appeared in the second-ever installment of the magazine’s popular department, “The Knife I Carry,” which originally was known as “My Favorite Knife.” The knife was a Hermes folder and Shelley is pictured holding it on page 94 of the October 1991 BLADE.
With the permission of Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Jim Weyer, the March 1996 BLADE reprinted Shelley’s story “Symbiosis” from Weyer’s Points Of Interest Book IV. In the story about knife collectors and what makes them tick, Shelley nailed it perfectly when he wrote, “Since only the Good Lord knows what makes a collector a collector, it follows that only the Good Lord knows why a collector is after only a certain kind of knife on a given day. Even then, if one should ask the collector what kind of knife he has in mind, the collector may answer, ‘I’ll know it when I see it.'”
Likewise, the members of the knife community know a great collector and friend when they see one, and along with his wife Sarah, Shelley will forever fit the mold.
Over 50 makers working on the knife in shops in 24 states resulted in the Virtue knife for Shelley and Sarah Berman.
Bob Terzuola’s ATCF remains among the most iconic of tactical folders and is featured in the latest BLADE®.The Gunny shares his ample knife knowledge in the special military issue of BLADE®.
What are the top 5 U.S. military knives of all time? What’s it like to be married to the military, each other and knives all at the same time? Can the modern knife age be divided into two eras—before and after tactical folders? The latest issue of BLADE®, our special annual military issue, answers these questions and more, and is on newsstands and/or available in the digital editionnow!
The top 5 U.S. military knives of all time–wow, that covers a lot of ground, don’t you think? BLADE polled such military veterans as USMC Staff Sgt. R. Lee “The Gunny” Ermey, Special Forces MSG/BLADE field editor Kim Breed, Navy EOD Chief Petty Officer Rob Cude, Special Forces/Green Beret Mark Carey, USMC Sgt. Les George and others to determine the elite knife grouping. Find out the results on page 42.
Michael Zieba’s Trench Cleaver includes a handle from the iconic World War I Trench Knife in the latest BLADE®.
Army SFC Michael “Rod” Rodriguez (retired) of the 7th Special Forces Group and SFC Kelly Rodriguez and also CW3 Jeremy Valdez (retired) and Sgt. Rachel Valdez (retired) are respective husband-and-wife teams who saw action in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now design knives for CRKT in the company’s “Forged By War” series. Read how these military heroes served their country above and beyond the call and their connection to knives—including Rod, who forges knives and had his portrait painted by President George W. Bush for Bush’s book, Portraits of Courage: A Commander In Chief’s Tribute To America’s Warriors—and more in Erin Healy’s story, “On-Point With Love & War.”
Ever since tactical folders became the hottest knives of all in the 1990s, knife observers have predicted time and again that the folders had peaked and/or were on their way out. Now, about a quarter of a century later, tactical folders maintain their lofty position as being among the most popular knives anywhere. Get the complete story on the longest-lasting knife trend going in Mike Haskew’s “The Renaissance Knife.”
See how many of the Top 5 U.S. Military knives of all time you can pick in the latest BLADE®!
There’s much more in the latest issue but you’re going to have to buy it to find out what all that entails. Get your copy on newsstands or the digital edition, or subscribe to the domestic, Canadian or international print editions, or to the digital edition now!
BLADE® will make you sharper. How do we know? Because for almost 45 years now, BLADE has kept the world of knives abreast of all that cuts, slices, dices, severs, skivs, hacks, whacks, perforates and, yes, sharpens. That includes the latest knives, knife trends, knife events, knifemakers, collectors, cutting competitions, hammer-ins, knife awards and all else that stays on, around or anywhere near the edge.
You can subscribe to your choice of the print, digital, Canadian and/or international editions. It will, quite honestly, be the best bang for your blade buck anywhere.
Donate now to USA Knifemaker’s program to assist full-time makers’ shops flooded by Hurricane Harvey.
Help full-time knifemakers whose shops have been damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Harvey through a program initiated by the folks at USA Knifemaker.
A leading supplier of knifemaking equipment, materials, tools and other products used to make knives, USA Knifemaker’s assistance program is designed to help full-time knifemakers—and with floodwaters continuing to rage in and around Houston, Texas, the effort comes not one moment too soon.
“We would like to help our knifemaker brothers that have been wiped out to get back on their feet,” notes Tracy Mickley of USA Knifemaker. “This isn’t about advertising. This isn’t about making us look good. This is about doing the right thing and about helping people in need. If I could do this quietly I would, but I can’t. These guys need your help and I am going to bang the drum as loud as I can to get some help headed their way.”
USAknifemaker.com will match donations up to $2,000 in knifemaking supplies for full-time knifemakers that have lost their shops to the hurricane and flood. “If I can manage more I will but right now it’s the best I can do,” Mickley writes. “If public donations do not reach $2,000 for the match, we will still give out the full $2,000 in the form of gift certificates to USAknifemaker.com. I hope we can max this out to $4,000 plus.
“We will give $250 gift certificates to eight—at the minimum, we hope for at least 16 or more—full-time knifemakers that have had their shops destroyed by floods. It’s not enough to restock a shop. I get that. I also understand there are hundreds, maybe thousands of part-time makers that also have had tragic losses and I wish we could help everyone. Those makers that depend on knifemaking as their primary income can use our help as a community.”
If you know any full-time makers in the Houston area whose shops were damaged or destroyed by Harvey, you can help through USA Knifemaker’s assistance program.
Send a check, cash, use Paypal or a credit card. “We will cover the Paypal and credit card fees,” Mickley notes. “We will total up the donations and match up to $2,000 to be given out as gift certificates to eight full-time makers. If the total of public donations exceeds $2,000, we will compile the extra and give out as many $250 gift certificates as the funds allow. One-hundred percent of donations will be given out. We will recap all activity on Knifedogs.com for full transparency here.
“We are asking you to provide names and contact information of full-time knifemakers in and around the Houston area that you know who have lost their shop or had significant shop damage. We do not need a list of random names of makers in the area. We need to know who got hurt in this. We will have to filter out opportunists so we will require proof of loss in the form of pictures of their shop and a short description of damage. To be clear, we aren’t ‘covering’ any other losses. There are other agencies for that. We are trying to help those that lost their knifemaking shop.
“I am hoping for a lot of interest and support,” Mickley continues. “I will have a thread on Knifedogs.com to track donations, candidates and awards, and to keep this transparent. I welcome your input and suggestions on how the knifemaking community can step up and lend a hand. Post your comments and suggestions here.”
The world’s largest and most important knife event, BLADE Show 2018 will return next year at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta—and there’s no time like now to make plans to attend the annual edge-stravaganza that true knife enthusiasts can’t afford to miss.
Slated for June 1-3, BLADE Show 2018 will assemble thousands of knife exhibitors and knife enthusiasts from around the globe, and with international attendance increasing every year, it’s wise to make your hotel plans now.
If you have attended the BLADE Show before, you know how fast hotel rooms disappear–not only at the Renaissance Waverly, the host hotel, but at lodging anywhere near the Cobb Galleria. If you’ve never been to a BLADE Show, then you cannot know the mad rush that is BLADE Show planning time. Don’t learn the hard way and get left out–plan and make your hotel reservations now!
You’ve heard all about BLADE Show 2017 but you can get the inside scoop on the show’s hottest knives and knifemakers and what and who will be hot in the future as a result in BLADE®’s special 2017 BLADE Show Recap issue, on newsstands now! Or, if you prefer a digital copy, click here.
The world’s largest and most important knife event enjoyed its longest lines ever of patrons queuing up to get in, and the patrons packing aisles for much of the three-day event enjoyed the best knives and knifemakers the international cutlery industry has to offer.
Why was the show among the best if not the best ever? What were the demographics of the patrons who attended? What nationalities were represented most in
Wally Hostetter showed students how to do the Japanese handle wrap in his BLADE U. class during BLADE Show 2017.BLADE Show 2017 hosted its first-ever balisong competition coordinated by Blade HQ.
what has become a show teeming with knife enthusiasts from all corners of the globe? Did more women attend than ever before, marking a new, unprecedented wave of knife enthusiasts from the female side? How many patrons actually bought knives instead of kicked tires, and how much did they spend?
Speaking of knives, which patterns sold most? What sub-categories of exhibitors—knifemaking suppliers, acc-
BLADE Show 2017‘s BLADE University featured instruction for young and old, including Zander Nichols, 13, of Clovis, California.
essory makers and others—emerged in terms of high numbers of sales? And what does it portend for the future of the BLADE Show and the knife industry in general? These questions and others are addressed in “BLADE Show Stands Tall & Delivers” on page 12.
Of course, the BLADE Show is much more, including the BLADE Magazine Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards, the BLADE Show Custom Knife Judging Competition and the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame inductions. Get all the specs and fantastic images of the knives by new Official BLADE Show photographer Chuck Ward in the respective stories “Best Blades of Both Hemispheres” and “BLADE Show Custom Kingpins,” the latter including this issue’s cover knife, the CAS/Sam Lurquin Sub-Hilt that won the Hugh Bartrug Best In Show Award.
The announcement that Benchmade CEO Les de Asis and American Bladesmith Society master smith Jim Batson had been elected to the Cutlery Hall Of Fame was made earlier in the year, but why they were elected was revealed in detail during their official inductions during the BLADE Magazine Awards reception the Saturday night of the BLADE Show. Get the lowdown on their career accomplishments, their induction speeches during the reception and more in the special story on page 42.
The BLADE Show is also the place where factory knife companies introduce their latest knives, though this year’s show may have seen more new knife debuts than ever. Check out the fantastic array of production pieces in “All Blades Pointed to Atlanta.”
There’s more this issue, including a salute to Alfred Pendray, tests of locking folders and drop-point hunters, the new Case/Daniel Winkler collaboration, a retrospective of Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Michael Walker’s landmark linerlock that changed knife history forever and much more, all in the latest issue of BLADE.
