Steve Shackleford, Author at BLADE Magazine

9 Tips for Buying a Custom Knife

Steve Shackleford

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September 26, 2016

Attend knife shows — To get that special custom knife, attend knife shows—and if you see a knife you want, don’t put it down until you’re through haggling! (PointSeven image)

Is it realistic to say there’s a surefire way to get any custom knife you want? While there are always exceptions to the rule, if you practice the following nine steps, you might just find that beautiful custom knife you’ve dreamed about nestled warm and safe in the fleece lining of your favorite zippered knife pouch:

Attend the knife show(s) where the maker and/or owner of your dream knife exhibits;
Introduce yourself to the maker/owner at the show, talk about his/her work and designs and/or knives, ask questions, and express your interest about the knife inside the show and/or at the hotel bar after show hours;
Ask to look at and hold the knife—and don’t be afraid to tell the maker/seller what you will pay for it;
On a high-end knife especially, it it’s worth it, buy it! You won’t sleep if you pass on the knife for a small difference in the asking price;
If you see the knife you really want and pick it up at the maker’s/seller’s table, do not put it down until you’re finished haggling for it;
If it’s a custom order, supply the materials for the knife directly to the maker;
Visit the maker’s shop or the seller at an agreed-upon place and pay cash for the knife;
In the case of the maker especially, tell him or her you will give the knife a great home and how you will display it, or how good the knife feels in your hand and how you will use it, and;
Plan a pricing strategy to go with all the travel, conversation and luck that surround the big purchase. Have a figure that you will pay for the knife in mind beforehand.

“If the price is way over your head, then walk,” advised custom knife collector Chris Nolen, stressing that even though it may seem unorthodox, it is good to tell the maker how much you are willing to pay. “If the price is in the ballpark, buy the knife,” he concluded. “You will know when it’s that ‘special’ piece.”

Knifemaker Jack W. Crain Passes Away

Steve Shackleford

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September 23, 2016

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Crain/Schwarzenegger — Knifemaker Jack W. Crain designed and made the LS-1 knife used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1980s action flick, **Commando**.

Knifemaker Jack W. Crain, designer and maker of knives for such action movies as Predator, Commando and others, passed away Sept. 7. He was 70.

Arriving hot on the heels of the Rambo knife phenomenon started by BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Jimmy Lile in the early 1980s, Crain also made a hollow-handle survival model with sawteeth on the back a la the Rambo knife. Called the LS-1, the knife appeared in 1985’s Commando. It was the first of several knives Crain would make for the movies, television and books. LS-1 was short for Life Support System 1, a knife Crain originally introduced in 1982. He later made a successor called the LS-2. He also made two other knives for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character of Matrix in Commando, the Scorpion and Commando. It was the first of two ’80s Schwarzenegger action films for which Crain designed and made knives. The second, Predator, is considered a cult classic. Crain made the knife not only for Schwarzenegger’s character, Dutch, in Predator, but also a big bowie for the character of Billy played by Sonny Landham.

Crain is listed as either weapons master, knife designer and/or manufacturer in such movies as Die Hard, Road House, Die Hard 2, Predator 2, Demolition Man and Executive Decision, among others. He also designed knives for all 22 episodes of the 1988-89 TV series, War of the Worlds.

Of Weatherford, Texas, Crain was one of a generation of knifemakers inspired by 1952’s movie about Jim Bowie and his knife, The Iron Mistress. Since Crain preferred making bowies, he said in a 1985 story in BLADE® Magazine that he assumed the movie influenced him as well. He sold his first knife in 1969 and a decade later became a full-time maker and joined The Knifemakers’ Guild. Initially he forged his blades but later adopted the stock-removal method of knifemaking.

He is survived by his wife, Jane Fritts Crain, sisters, a daughter, niece, great niece and numerous extended family and friends.

Knife Brings World Record Price

Steve Shackleford

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September 14, 2016

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Roosevelt's knife — On one side of President Theodore Roosevelt’s knife is a forest scene with two men behind a tree, one standing with rifle in hand, the other crouching.

President Theodore's Roosevelt's knife. — The top of the handle of President Theodore Roosevelt’s knife is carved in the shape of an eagle’s head of solid gold. The eagle’s eyes are garnets.

Roosevelt circa Oct. 1910. — Theodore Roosevelt in October 1910.

A knife presented to President Theodore Roosevelt brought a world record price of $414,000 at auction this past weekend, Sept. 9-11.

It is believed to be the most ever paid for an American knife at auction, according to the auctioneer, Rock Island Auction Co.

The previous world record price for a knife at auction reportedly was $270,000 in 2006 for a piece that was linked to Sam Houston.

Made by J. Russell & Co. of Massachusetts and with an ornate handle of gold and platinum by New York luxury jewelry retailer Dreicer & Co., the knife originally was presented to Roosevelt “to carry with him on his African hunting trip” by James W. Gerard, New York Supreme Court Justice and later ambassador to Germany. The knife was said to have cost $1,250 when it was presented to Roosevelt in 1909, which is about $33,266 in today’s money. The knife had been in the Roosevelt family ever since until this past weekend’s auction.

The 6-inch spear-point blade has a mottled gray patina and is etched on the left side with “PRESENTED TO/THEODORE ROOSEVELT/BY HIS FRIEND/JAMES W. GERARD.” The blade mark is J. RUSSELL & CO./GREEN RIVER WORKS. The “T” guard is bear heads sculpted in gold. The sculpted gold handle has a pommel in the shape of a highly detailed eagle head with red garnet eyes. The left side of the handle has a frontier scene on a platinum background. Overall length: 11.5 inches.

When Roosevelt died in 1919, the knife became part of the estate of his widow, Edith C. Roosevelt. From there it went to Mrs. Roosevelt’s eldest daughter, Ethel Roosevelt Derby, probably sometime around Mrs. Roosevelt’s death in 1948. In 1976, Mrs. Derby presented it as a gift to the knife’s consignor, who wishes to remain anonymous, as the consignor was about to marry Mrs. Derby’s granddaughter. The consignor and Mrs. Derby’s granddaughter used the knife to cut the cake at their wedding ceremony.

In 2013, Stuteville Antiques & Appraisals reportedly valued the knife at a quarter of a million dollars.

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Is a World Ivory Ban in the Offing?

Steve Shackleford

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September 12, 2016

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A CITES meeting that could determine whether there will be a world ivory ban begins Sept. 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The 17th annual meeting of the CITES Conference of Parties is set to run through Oct. 5 and will include individuals and organizations around the globe who are for or against a world ivory ban, as well as a ban on ancient and other ivories. CITES stands for “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,” and is “an international agreement among governments … to ensure international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.”

Lile ivory folder — A world ivory ban would make such classic knives as this circa 1970s folder by BLADE® Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Jimmy Lile illegal. (Jack Lucarelli image)

Elephant Protection Association officials indicate they expect animal rights groups to push for terminating “sustainable use” as a means of conserving any listed or endangered wildlife, which includes elephants and the trade of ivory. For U.S. owners of legal elephant ivory, this could at the very least mean losing the narrow “De Minimis Exception” in the recent Federal Domestic Ivory Ban instituted in July. Though it allows an extremely low amount of per-person trade in elephant ivory, the De Minimis Exception does allow some of it.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) fighting for a worldwide elephant ivory ban want CITES to list all African elephants on Appendix I. If the NGOs are successful, it will lead to even more pressure on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to list all elephants as endangered, too. According to the Elephant Protection Association, the FWS has indicated that if CITES puts elephants on the endangered list, FWS would abolish the De Minimis Exception. But that’s not all.

The Elephant Protection Association’s Rob Mitchell reports that the petition to declare elephants endangered is already under review. “I don’t know low long before they will reach a final determination, but it won’t surprise me one bit if they try to time it to coincide with [the Sept. 24-Oct. 5 meeting],” he notes. In fact, “FWS could make the determination even if CITES does not list all elephants on Appendix I.”

For more information, stay tuned to www.elephantprotection.org. (Editor’s note: The Elephant Protection Association is building a new website. You also can stay updated on elephant ivory news by watching videos from The Conservation Imperative on the Association’s Facebook page.)

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U.S. Military Issue of BLADE Out Now!

Steve Shackleford

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September 6, 2016

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BLADE U.S. military issue. — U.S. military issue of BLADE® is on newsstands now!

The annual U.S. military issue of BLADE® includes what to look for in a 4.0 military knife, special presentation Buck knives for a unique unit of National Guardsmen who fought during the Vietnam War, the knives from Johnny Strong’s latest movie and much more—and is on newsstands now!

What kind of knife do professional soldiers favor when they go on active duty? BLADE interviewed Special Ops veterans Jack Stottlemire, Kim Breed and Rob Cude, as well as veteran military knife designer William “Bill” Harsey Jr., for their recommendations. All give specifics and their reasons why in Mike Haskew’s informative story.

The stories of valor are many from the Vietnam War but the one about Company D 151st Infantry, the “Indiana Rangers,” is especially intriguing. They represent what is reportedly the only instance of a unit of National Guardsmen that stayed together from activation and served in combat in Vietnam throughout until being deactivated about one year later. Today many unit members are still living and belong to the Company D 151st Association. All of them were presented with engraved Buck 110 folders in recognition of their service and are saluted in the story, “A Lot of Brothers.”

Johnny Strong is the only actor we know of who also makes knives—knives that also appear with him in two of his films, including his latest, Daylight’s End, which premiered Aug. 26. Check out his movie knives—and a Bill Coye knife that also appears in the flick—Strong’s views on knifemaking and more in “The Knives of Daylight’s End.”

Also this issue:

•A test of four military-style knives in “Sharpest Steel on a Soldier’s Pay,” by Abe Elias;

•Some of the best in portable sharpeners for use in the field in Dexter Ewing’s “On-The-Spot Sharp”;

•Four of the latest military daggers and how they perform in “Daggerous!” by James Morgan Ayres;

And much more, all in the latest BLADE—on newsstands now!

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Roosevelt Knife Auction Sept. 9-11

Steve Shackleford

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August 29, 2016

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The pommel of the Roosevelt knife is carved in the shape of an eagle’s head of solid gold. The eagle’s eyes are garnets.

President Theodore Roosevelt’s knife, passed down through the Roosevelt family for the past 107 years and never before available for sale to the public, will be put to auction Sept. 9-11 by Rock Island Auction Co.

On one side of the handle is a forest scene with two men crouching behind a tree, one standing with rifle in hand, the other crouching.

Made by J. Russell & Co. of Green River, New York, the Roosevelt knife features handle work by Dreicer & Co. (1904-1923), the latter a leading jewelry retailer of the time and a competitor of such top companies as Faberge. Said to have originally cost $1,250—$33,216 in 2016 dollars—the Roosevelt knife is predicted by Rock Island Auction Co. to bring between $150,000 and $300,000 at auction.

According to public documents, James W. Gerard of the “supreme bench of New York City” and later ambassador to Germany, presented the knife to Roosevelt on March 3, 1909—Roosevelt’s last full day as president. It was a gift Gerard intended for Roosevelt to use on an upcoming African hunting trip. A March 10 story in the local Rock Island newspaper carried the headline “Fine Knife For Roosevelt.” It described Gerard as a close friend of Roosevelt and the knife as a “masterpiece of jeweler’s workmanship, the hilt being wrought in gold and platinum and ornamented with jewels. The [pommel] is carved in the shape of an eagle’s head of solid gold. The eagle’s eyes are garnets.

“On one side of the hilt beneath the eagle’s head is depicted a forest scene, with two [men] behind a birch tree, one of them standing, rifle in hand, the other crouching. The tree is done in gold upon a platinum background. On the reverse side is set the arms of the United States, surmounting a wishbone and intertwining tree boughs in gold. Below is the monogram ‘T.R.’ The background on this side is also of platinum. Two bears’ heads extending out from the handle form the guard at the base of the blade,” which is engraved “Presented to Theodore Roosevelt by His Friend, James W. Gerard.”

For more on the auction of the Roosevelt knife, contact Rock Island Auction Co. at www.rockislandauction.com.

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New Forged in Fire Debuts Aug. 23

Steve Shackleford

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August 16, 2016

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Forged In Fire, season three premiere. — Bladesmiths Ben Abbott (left) and Salem Straub (right) work on their kukris during the premiere third-season episode of **Forged In Fire**. (HISTORY image)

Four past champions will do bladesmithing battle under the watchful gaze of a panel of judges enhanced by the addition of yet another ABS master smith in the third-season premiere of HISTORY’s hottest competition series, Forged in Fire.

Scheduled for broadcast on HISTORY at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, the episode will pit former champs against each other. Those champs will include ABS journeyman smith Matthew Parkinson from season one and ABS master smith Burt Foster, bladesmith Ben Abbott and bladesmith Salem Straub from season two. All will put their skills on the line in forging a blade style under a strict time limit. They will compete over three rounds of elimination until only one remains. Rounds one and two occur in the Forged in Fire shop, while round three takes place in the home shops of the remaining two smiths. The work completed during each round is evaluated and tested to decide who will be eliminated from the competition, and who will advance. The final round winner is crowned champion for the episode and earns $10,000.

Joining the panel of judges that includes ABS master smith J. Neilson, antique weapons specialist David Baker and martial arts/weapons user Doug Marcaida is award-winning ABS master smith Jason Knight. Knight is a highly talented smith with a sharp wit who is sure to bring both keen insight and his own brand of South Carolina humor to Forged in FIre. Weapons authority and U.S. Army and Air Force veteran Wil Willis hosts the show.

Forged in Fire is the first television show about bladesmithing of its kind and attracted over 1.5 millions viewers last year. It was presented the BLADE Magazine 2016 Publisher’s Award at this year’s BLADE Show for demonstrating “not only how tough it can be to make a quality knife under a tight deadline but also to entertain”—and doing it before more people than ever before. For more on the latter honor and other BLADE Magazine 2016 Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards, see the November BLADE®, on newsstands now, subscribe to the digital and or print editions or buy the digital edition of the November BLADE.

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Steve Shackleford

9 Tips for Buying a Custom Knife

Knifemaker Jack W. Crain Passes Away

Knife Brings World Record Price

Make Your Own Legendary Knife

Is a World Ivory Ban in the Offing?

U.S. Military Issue of BLADE Out Now!

Roosevelt Knife Auction Sept. 9-11

New Forged in Fire Debuts Aug. 23

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