Steve Shackleford, Author at BLADE Magazine

Proper Knife Fit and Finish Defined

Steve Shackleford

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June 19, 2017

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good and bad plunge cuts — Plunge cuts should reflect each other in terms of symmetry on each side of the knife blade. The plunge cuts at left do so and the ones at right do not. (B.R. Hughes image)

Satin-finish symmetry — Note the symmetry of the satin finish flowing from the plunge cut to the tip of the blade on John W. Smith’s SD-2 tactical knife. (SharpByCoop.com image)

blade centered in handle — The blade should be centered in the handle when the knife is closed, as on Brian Nadeau’s folder. (SharpByCoop.com image)

correspondence of shapes and sizes — There should be a correspondence in shape, size and lines between both sides of the knife’s blade and handle, as on these fighters made by Charles Vestal for members of the Custom Knife Collectors Association. (SharpByCoop.com photo)

Fit and finish is a term used to identify the earmarks of a quality made knife. In a nutshell, fit and finish is an arrangement of balanced proportions and symmetry in the entire piece.

With the dividing line being the knife’s spine, there should be a correspondence in shape, size and lines between both sides of the blade and handle. The blade tip must be centered, as should the grind as it moves along the blade toward the ricasso. The blade must have no warping, nor should it exhibit bends where there should be none. The entire run of the blade’s bevel lines, whether primary or secondary, must be even and straight. There should be no flaws, imperfections, wrinkles, creases or cracks in the blade’s surface, nor, in the case of a forged blade, can there be any bad welds. The blade’s finish, whether bead blast, satin, mirror polish, stonewash or what have you, must be consistent throughout the area of the blade to which it is applied.

There should be no gaps between the handle material and the bolster, nor the blade and the guard. The handle sides must have equal thickness and be contoured evenly and smoothly. All materials should be rich and vibrant. For example, if ironwood, it must have nice striations instead of just being a blank piece of wood.

In addition to the above, if the knife is a folder there should be no gaps or differences in elevation between the backspring and the blade when the knife is open. There must be smooth opening and closing of the blade, and the blade should snap both open and closed—known as “walk and talk” among old-time pocketknife collectors. The blade must exhibit little to no vertical or horizontal wiggle, ride dead center in the handle when the knife is closed, and, if a multi-blade, the blades should not rub against each other upon opening and closing.

HOW to LOOK for PROPER FIT and FINISH

guard and blade fit — There should be no gaps in the knife’s joints, such as between the guard and blade. Mark Knapp’s fixed hunter exhibits a nice guard-blade fit. (SharpByCoop.com photo)

•A loupe/magnifier is unnecessary. Average eyesight is fine. Check the knife in standard light conditions;

•Rotate the knife slowly and study it from all angles;

•Examine folders with them in both the open and closed positions. Feel how smoothly the blade opens, closes and locks into place;

•Remember, no knife is perfect. Each one will have at least one minor imperfection. Learning to recognize the differences between such a knife and one with poor fit and finish requires attending knife shows and handling and studying as many knives—with each individual maker’s permission, of course—as you can.

Finally, while checking for proper fit and finish is a great way to identify a well-made knife, the fact that a knife has proper fit and finish does not necessarily mean that it will cut, feel right in your hand or even be all that attractive to you. The latter three are things you must be determine for yourself.

Can Fire-Steel Bushcrafters Take the Heat?

Steve Shackleford

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June 13, 2017

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Can Fire-Steel Bushcrafters Take the Heat?

BLADE and Bold Action — Bear & Son Cutlery’s Bold Action V is the cover knife for the new BLADE®, on newsstands now!

See if bushcraft knives with fire steels can take the heat, meet a Marine Corps vet who helps spread the good word of Zac Brown’s knives, learn whether paying knife deposits on custom knives is for you and more in the latest issue of BLADE®—on newsstands now!

BLADE field editor Abe Elias puts four new bushcraft knives, all equipped with fire steels, through a series of tests and critiques. See how they fare and what makes a good bushcraft knife—not what makes good hype—in “Bush The Envelope.”

Losing both legs from above the knee down would understandably destroy most people, but not veteran Marine Staff Sgt. Joey Jones. Fitted with prosthetic devices after the devastating effects of an IED in Afghanistan, he picked up the pieces in civilian life and has become a powerful motivator for individuals, corporations and charities. He also works with Zac Brown’s Southern Ground, which, in addition to the Southern Grind knife company, funds Camp Southern Ground for children, especially those with neuro-developmental disorders or in families with a parent deployed, wounded or lost. Erin Healy examines Jones and Brown’s Southern Ground in “Joined By Knives.”

Ordering a custom knife from a knifemaker and making a down payment—better known as a deposit—on the knife is something collectors have done for many years. But is paying deposits for you? Custom knife purveyor Les Robertson guides you through the do’s and don’ts of the practice in “Knife Deposits: Yea, Nay, Maybe.”

Casstrom bushcraft knife — Can Casstrom’s Woodsman bushcraft knife with fire steel take the heat? Abe Elias shows the way in the latest BLADE®,

Also in this issue of BLADE:

•The latest in factory automatics, including the cover knife, an entry from Bear & Son Cutlery’s first-ever line of autos, the Bold Action V;

•Learn how the super-lightweight Gerber LST folder changed knife history in “Father of the EDC?”;

•MSG Kim Breed, retired 5th Special Forces, puts a couple of heavy-duty camp knives through the ringer in “Is Bigger Better?”;

•James Morgan Ayres tests four of the latest factory tomahawks in “Tomahawk Toughies”;

•BLADE field editor Ed Fowler recounts his lifelong addiction to knives in “Just Say Yes!”;

•In “A Linerlock On Roller Skates,” Leroi Price describes a new approach to the linerlock developed by Jake Hoback;

•BLADE field Dexter Ewing concludes his three-part series on 12 of the newest knife sharpeners in “The Hone Zone”;

•Reload your knife with sharp blades or simply discard them in “The Replaceables” by Pat Covert, and;

•You can almost hear the mosaic damascus “snakes” on Greg Cimms’ chef’s knife blade hiss in “The Dubai Vipers.”

You get all this and much more in the latest BLADE. Click here for the download edition. To subscribe to BLADE, click here for the domestic print edition, here for the international print subscription, here for the Canadian print subscription and here for the digital subscription.

Knives Will Rule 36th Annual BLADE Show

Steve Shackleford

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May 22, 2017

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Sneak a peak at next week’s 36th Annual BLADE Show in all its sharpened glory in the latest issue of BLADE® Magazine, on newsstands now!

June 2-4 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, the world’s largest and most important knife show will feature over 1,000 domestic and international exhibitors of custom and factory knives and the people and companies who make them, thousands of worldwide knife fans and much more—and it’s all in the latest BLADE.

The hottest in factory debut knives, the world’s best knifemakers pitting their knives against one another in the show’s custom knife judging competition, the inductions of Jim Batson and Les de Asis into the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame©, the selection of the BLADE Magazine Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards, extensive knife and knifemaking instruction in the 4th Annual BLADE University, the BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competitions for both men and women conducted by BladeSports International, demos of knife grinding, knife throwing, Japanese sword cutting—all are but the tip of the iceberg of the 36th Annual BLADE Show.

New features include a balisong-flipping competition conducted by Blade HQ, a survival skills demo by one of the stars of the Alone™ TV series on HISTORY®, Larry Roberts, the BLADE Show 2017 Photo Contest in which patrons enter their favorite BLADE Show 2017 photos with a prize going to the one selected the best of the bunch, how to make a Brut de Forge knife—these and more are among the highlights of the 36th Annual BLADE Show outlined in the latest BLADE.

Also this issue: a retrospective of a knife that changed knife history in “Rambo Revisited”; part one of a three-part series on the latest sharpeners in “The Hone Zone”; how to make a Viking camp knife; New Zealander Jared Wihongi’s new Maori-inspired combat knives for Browning; a review of the handforged knives that will be auctioned—including this issue’s cover knife, a stunning damascus D-guard bowie by Veronique Laurent—by the American Bladesmith Society at the BLADE Show in “John White Will Be Watching”; and much more, all in the latest BLADE.

2017 BLADE Show Knife Makes The Cut

Steve Shackleford

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May 17, 2017

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stationery cut — The 2017 BLADE Show Knife and its 1.4116 stainless steel blade cut stationery with ease after whittling curlicues. It was very sharp out of the box.

push lever up — To begin disassembly of the 2017 BLADE Show Knife, push the lever on the bolster up.

sensation of disassembly — The sensation of holding a knife that’s coming apart in your hand is kind of cool.

three part disassembly — The 2017 BLADE Show Knife separates into three parts: two handle halves and the blade. Keep it super simple, you might say.

wheel and linerlock spring — Partially reassembled you can see the liner lock spring and wheel in the handle butt.

separate the handle — Rotate the wheel in the handle butt clockwise until the handle separates.

It’s the Official 2017 BLADE Show Knife by CRKT and I couldn’t wait to see what makes this puppy go.

curlicue cutting — The EDP coated blade pulled curlicues with no problem.

Designed by BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Ken Onion, the Homefront Tactical features a 3.427-inch blade of 1.4116 stainless steel with an EDP coating and a combo edge. The flipper folder secures via a linerlock and the handle is a textured glass-reinforced nylon with a blade-tip-up pocket clip. Weight: 4.3 ounces. Closed length: 4.684 inches.

The centerpiece of the 2017 BLADE Show Knife, however, is Onion’s “Field Strip” technology, which enables you to easily disassemble the knife for cleaning and reassemble it in a matter of seconds without the need of a takedown tool of any kind.

Sounds easy but what about people with 10 thumbs like me? I pulled out the 2017 BLADE Show Knife and opened and closed it a few times. The flipper opener works well. I tried whittling some curlicues from a board and cutting stationery, both with good success. The blade was very sharp out of the box.

The directions for the “Field Strip” feature are pretty straightforward. With the knife in the closed position, push the lever on the bolster up. No problem. Rotate the wheel on the handle butt clockwise until the handle separates. The wheel is notched with gears. I found it turned well either with one of my 10 thumbs or my “second thumb” that passes for an index finger. The handle separates into three pieces—two handles and the blade—all simple to clean when the time comes.

To reassemble, put the three pieces back together, press down on and hold the pivot, rotate the wheel counter-clockwise until snug, and push the pivot lever down. It’s pretty easy, even for me.

A couple of things: If, after reassembly, the pivot lever balks any when you try and push it down, tweak the screw on the reverse side of the pivot pin until the lever cooperates. Also, be sure the white washers on the pivot pin stay put when you have the knife apart. If they were to come off for any reason during cleaning and/or reassembly, they could be difficult to find. You may even want to remove them during cleaning and apply a small dab of oil to keep them lubricated.

All in all, the Homefront Tactical is a cool knife—and the fact that it’s the Official 2017 BLADE Show Knife makes it even cooler. It features the BLADE Show 2017 logo on the blade and is limited to a run of 300.

blade tip up pocket clip — The pocket clip allows for blade-tip-up carry.

To get yours, visit bladeshop or attend the 36th Annual BLADE Show June 2-4 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.

BLADE Show Welcomes New Pro-Knife Law

Steve Shackleford

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May 10, 2017

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A new pro-knife law signed into law this week in Georgia comes just in time for the 36th Annual BLADE Show.

Signed May 8 by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, the new pro-knife law (HB 292) increases the legal carry length of a knife blade in the state from 5 to 12 inches.

“With the BLADE Show coming up June 2-4, attendees and exhibitors will have more freedom to carry their larger knives without fear of legal entanglements,” Knife Rights reported. It is language from Knife Rights’ Georgia Knife Law Reform bill, SB 49, that is included in the new pro-knife law.

Held annually in the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, the BLADE Show is the world’s largest and most important knife show and will feature over 1,000 exhibitors from every continent but Antarctica. Thousands of patrons worldwide will invade the Cobb Galleria show hall to enjoy the latest in factory and custom knives, knife collections, knife instruction via the show’s 4th Annual BLADE University, knife demos, the BLADE Magazine Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards, the BLADE Show custom knife awards, inductions into the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame© and much more. As such, the passage of the new pro-knife law is most welcome news for show exhibitors who sell larger knives like bowies, camp knives, combat knives and other models that fit within the new expanded length restrictions.

The new 12-inch length limit became effective as soon as Deal signed the bill. Since Georgia passed Knife Rights’ Knife Law Preemption in 2012, any lesser length restrictions in cities and towns are now voided by HB 292. Moreover, neither can local jurisdictions enact prohibitions more restrictive than those in the new pro-knife law.

The BLADE Show and blademag.com express their gratitude to such organizations as Knife Rights, the American Knife & Tool Institute and others that fight for common-sense knife legislation. Both organizations will be among the exhibitors at the BLADE Show and blademag.com encourages you to stop by the booths of each for more information on how to protect your right to own and carry knives.

D2 Tool Steel Just Keeps Cutting

Steve Shackleford

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April 26, 2017

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Dr. D2, Bob Dozier — Aka “Dr. D2,” Bob Dozier long has been a proponent of D2 tool steel. Here he holds one of his specially made “over-sized” folders at a past BLADE Show.

D2 tool steel just keeps cutting. It’s been around a long time and enjoys a solid reputation among custom and factory knifemakers and knife users. As with many high-performance steels, it experiences a range of highs and lows in popularity, and at the moment seems to be enjoying a high.

A favorite steel of such long-time knifemakers as BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Wayne Goddard and Bob Dozier—the latter has been called “Dr. D2” on more than one occasion—D2 is considered a “borderline stainless steel” because it contains 11.5 percent chromium. To be classified as stainless, a steel must have at least 12 percent chromium. (Note: stainless simply means a steel resists corrosion. It does not mean it is stain proof.) According to Scott Devanna of SB Specialty Metals, D2 also has a very high carbon content—1.5 percent—which lowers corrosion resistance because the carbon “grabs” a lot of D2’s chromium to form chromium carbides. The chromium carbides are good for improving wear resistance—improved wear resistance enhances edge holding—but they tie up chromium so it is not as “free,” and thus reduce corrosion resistance. Free chromium forms a chromium oxide layer at the surface, and the layer makes a steel corrosion resistant. This helps explain why D2 is not stainless.

While D2 may not be stainless, it remains a top performer due in no small part to its high wear resistance/edge-holding ability. “It will hold an edge for a very long time before it will go dull,” says Paul Tsujimoto, director of engineering at Ontario Knife Co. Combined with its relatively inexpensive price, this makes D2 a favorite of manufacturers and custom makers alike. “For us, it’s the perfect combination of performance and an affordable price,” notes Dietmar Pohl of Pohl Force Knives. Agrees Devanna, “It’s the best bang for the buck because it’s priced reasonably and works well.”

D2 on Hornet — Pohl Force Knives uses D2 blade steel for the Hornet, a Spencer Reiter design.

On the down side, D2’s ample wear resistance also means it is difficult to sharpen. However, a diamond abrasive sharpener should do the trick. Also, the steel’s impact toughness suffers in comparison to some other steels, so D2 is not the best choice for a blade used for chopping and other impact-type cutting chores. And, since it’s not a true stainless, you should wipe it down after use to help keep corrosion to a minimum.

Nonetheless, D2 is an outstanding choice for a hard-use knife and remains popular among custom knifemakers and manufacturers, and knife users as well.

Do You Have Your Official 2017 BLADE Show Knife?

De Asis, Batson Join Cutlery Hall

Steve Shackleford

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April 21, 2017

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Watson into BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame — Jim Batson and a young bladesmithing student take a break at a past Batson Bladesmithing Symposium.

Both will be formally inducted into the Cutlery Hall Of Fame the Saturday night, June 3, of the BLADE Show at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta during the BLADE Magazine Awards Reception (tickets required). The BLADE Show will be June 2-4.

According to a fellow Cutlery Hall Of Famer, de Asis has been a major pillar in the knife industry for more than 35 years. He founded Bali-Song, Inc., which later became Benchmade Knife Co. From a fledgling business in a garage to a major force in the cutlery industry, Benchmade is among the top knife manufacturers in the world. Les was a major influence in the renaissance of the butterfly genre of knives, which continues to enjoy a large following of knife fans. He was a founder of the American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI), one of the earliest and most successful of the organizations protecting the rights of knife enthusiasts and the knife industry, and remains a driving force in the organization. He raised the bar significantly on the quality and function of automatic knives for military, law enforcement, first responders and general use, and Benchmade remains a leading manufacturer of autos today. The AXIS™ Lock designed by William McHenry and Jason Williams and introduced into production by Les helped maintain the revolution in locks for folding knives that persists today.

BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame welcomes Les de Asis. — Les de Asis—here with Roberta de Asis—has been inducted into the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame©.

James L. “Jim” Batson is one of the world’s most noted bladesmiths and authorities on both bladesmithing and Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer James Bowie and bowie knives. The Batson Bladesmithing Symposium near Bessemer, Alabama, is one of the world’s most respected and best attended annual hammer-ins, attracting bladesmiths, knifemakers and knife enthusiasts from around the world, and has been doing so for almost 30 years now. Through his symposium and his many nationwide seminars teaching the art of bladesmithing, Batson is a standard bearer of the American Bladesmith Society’s stated goal of educating any and all on how to best make knives of forged steel. He has scoured the countryside in Texas, Arkansas and the Southeast, and combed through the archives of dozens of libraries and city and town halls in search of information on bowie knives and the life and times of James Bowie. He also has written extensively on both subjects.

Batson is an award-winning master smith in the American Bladesmith Society (ABS) and two-time ABS chairman. He led the ABS through some of its most successful times in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down. In the February 2014 BLADE®, he was ranked No. 9 among the top 13 knifemakers from 1989-2000. “Jim is a great bladesmith, a great leader, a great historian, a great bowie authority, a great writer and a retired rocket scientist,” wrote one Cutlery Hall Of Famer. “I challenge anyone to match that record!”

Steve Shackleford

Proper Knife Fit and Finish Defined

Can Fire-Steel Bushcrafters Take the Heat?

Knives Will Rule 36th Annual BLADE Show

2017 BLADE Show Knife Makes The Cut

BLADE Show Welcomes New Pro-Knife Law

D2 Tool Steel Just Keeps Cutting

Do You Have Your Official 2017 BLADE Show Knife?

De Asis, Batson Join Cutlery Hall

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