Steve Shackleford, Author at BLADE Magazine

Walk With Knife Industry Legends

Steve Shackleford

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April 25, 2016

Ken Onion, custom knifemaker — KNIFE INDUSTRY LEGENDS: Ken Onion, perhaps the world’s most famous contemporary custom knifemaker. (Duane Weikum image)

Walk with knife industry legends at the 35th Annual BLADE Show June 3-5 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.

You will see any number of knife industry legends, including such members of the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame© as A.G. and Goldie Russell, Ken Onion, Bill Adams, D’ Holder, Bruce Voyles, Sal Glesser and others at the BLADE Show.

Goldie became the first female member of the Hall two years ago and, in the process, joined husband A.G. as the Hall’s only husband-and-wife team. A.G. is one of the few living founding members of The Knifemakers’ Guild and a treasure trove of information on the history of modern cutlery. Goldie basically runs operations at A.G. Russell Knives now and plays an active role in supporting the American Knife & Tool Institute and its goal of protecting the rights of all knife enthusiasts.

Goldie Russell, A.G. Russell Knives — KNIFE INDUSTRY LEGENDS: Goldie Russell of A.G. Russell Knives, first female member of the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame©.

Want information on the history of knives in general? Knife industry legends Adams and Voyles can regale you with vintage tales of the knife industry, both domestic and international. Speaking of knife industry legends, Onion may be the world’s most famous custom knifemaker and has designed any number of knives for CRKT and other knife companies. A card-carrying member of knife industry legends, Holder has made knives since the 1970s and served as president of the Guild for a number of years and has worked closely with AKTI.

Glesser’s Spyderco has set sporting knife industry standards in introducing and/or popularizing such knife features as the hole in the blade for easy opening, pocket clips and serrated edges. Sal also has worked closely with AKTI.

Knife industry legends abound at the BLADE Show. Ernest Emerson not only is famous for his CQC-6 and CQC-7 folders but also for teaching self-defense courses to military and law enforcement officials worldwide.

Stop by and see J. Neilson of Forged In Fire for the latest on television’s hottest show on knifemaking. Visit with knifemaker Steve Johnson, who worked in the shop of the legendary Bob Loveless for several years and is now one of the world’s leading custom knifemakers. Talk to Al Pendray, the “Wizard of Wootz,” who rediscovered the method of making the centuries-old steel.

Custom maker Tony Bose — KNIFE INDUSTRY LEGENDS: Tony Bose, the world’s leading maker of custom slip joints and multi-blades. (Kerry Hampton image)

See the knives of Tony Bose, the world’s leading maker of custom slip joints and multi-blades. Talk to BLADE® Magazine field editors Kim Breed, Joe Szilaski and Ed Fowler. Hang out at the booths of CRKT, Spartan Blades, Spyderco, Kershaw and hundreds of others.

You never know what knife industry legends might stop by to visit with them—and much, much more, all at the 35th Annual BLADE Show.

Hot-Bling Knifemaking Thing: New BLADE

Steve Shackleford

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April 19, 2016

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New BLADE on newsstands now! — Zirconium is the hot-bling knifemaking thing in the latest **BLADE®**, on newsstands now!

Zirconium as the hot-bling knifemaking thing, the complete curriculum and class schedule for the 3rd Annual BLADE University, how to avoid getting burned buying knives on social media and more highlight the new BLADE®, on newsstands now!

Spearheaded by Brian Tighe’s stunning Tighe Fighter cover piece, the story on zirconium outlines one of today’s hottest materials for custom knives. Originally started by Black Timascus™ and sustained by zirconium and Zircu-Ti, the material or variations thereof is used for bolsters, scales and other knife accents.

Held the Thursday before through the Saturday of the June 3-5 BLADE Show at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, the 3rd Annual BLADE University gathers some of the cutlery industry’s leading knifemakers, knife manufacturers, knife users and others for three days of the most educationally diverse instruction anywhere. Among the highlights will be a class on what Forged In Fire TV officials look for in contestants, with one of the stars/panel judges on the show, ABS master smith J. Neilson, presiding. Other classes will include how to grind, how to sharpen, how to build and tune a flipper folder, how to make a spike tomahawk, how to make a cut ‘n shoot knife and many more, with such instructors as knifemakers Rick Hinderer, Les George, Jason Brous, Lucas Burnley and Tom Krein, ABS master smiths Joe Szilaski, Steve Culver, Joe Keeslar, Timothy Potier and Wally Hayes, factory knife leaders Curtis Iovito of Spartan Blades and Rod Bremer of CRKT, and many others.

In the last issue of BLADE, the top knifemakers on Facebook were named by virtue of a poll of BLADE Facebook page members. As promised after that story, this time BLADE delves into how to avoid getting taken to the cleaners on social media by those who are the opposite of the top Facebook makers—those who are more into making money for themselves than selling you a good knife.

There’s much more this issue, including: how to make tools with knives; the latest in piggyback sheaths; the Ed Fowler Edge Test; hot custom balisongs/butterfly knives; tests of four new kitchen knives and two flippers folders; nine mini-knifemaker profiles; a salute to the late Phill Hartsfield; and much more, all in the new BLADE.

BLADE U.: Your Knife Design Into Production

Steve Shackleford

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April 13, 2016

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BLADE U.: Your Knife Design Into Production

Tighe/CRKT Tighe TAC Two Clip Point. — Brian Tighe’s latest collaboration with CRKT is the Tighe TAC Two Clip Point.

One question we often hear is, “How do I get my knife design reproduced by a factory knife company?” Here’s your answer.

In the BLADE Show University class “Your Design Into Production” with custom knifemaker Brian Tighe and CRKT founder and chairman Rod Bremer, you can learn straight from the horses’ mouths the ins and outs, ups and downs and other facts concerning the process.

Like most of the classes that will be held during the 3rd Annual BLADE University at this year’s 35th Annual BLADE Show June 3-5 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Bremer and Tighe’s class will be taught by those who have been there/done that. Tighe has had quite a few of his designs reproduced by CRKT, including the 2015 BLADE Show Knife, and he and Bremer have worked together on all of them.

“Our hope is that anyone attending this session will have a basic understanding of what expectations might be from both the production knife company and the custom knifemaker/designer,” Bremer notes. “We will be reviewing typical licensing agreements, intellectual property issues, how best to present your idea/design to a production knife company, and typical marketing and sales expectations.

“We would hope that the attendee would leave the class with a solid understanding of how a potential collaboration might work with a production knife brand. During the class we will approach the entire subject of the basics of how to bring your very cool/innovative design to a brand and to potentially design a knife to a brand’s needs, as well as developing a design around the company’s set criteria. While all companies operate differently, we will explore the likely ways to submit your designs/ideas so that they receive the attention they deserve, along with the realities that it takes time. Clearly, factories have limitations based on manufacturing and materials, and while we won’t get into great detail, the subject will be addressed. The very nature of a collaboration is somewhat of a marriage, and both parties want to make sure that they will be happy working with and representing each other.”

You can sign up for BLADE U. classes online at bladeshow.com or stop by the Registration Counter at the BLADE Show.

BLADE Show: Where The ABS Shines

Steve Shackleford

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March 28, 2016

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Levi Miller

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For his journeyman smith applicant knives, Levi Miller used the carbon steels 52100 and 80CrV2 for blade material. (SharpByCoop image)

The annual BLADE Show hosts the awarding of both master and journeyman smith stamps by the American Bladesmith Society (ABS), and the 35th rendition of the world’s largest knife show will, too.

Set for Jan. 3-5 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, the BLADE Show hosts knifemaker and knife company exhibitors from every continent but Antarctica—and who knows, there may even be an Antarctic exhibitor this year, too.

Five master smiths and 12 journeyman smiths earned their stamps at last year’s show. The masters were Veronique Laurent, Jean-Louis Regel, Andrew Meers, Haley DesRosiers and David Lisch. The journeyman smiths were Wess Barnhill, Sandro Boeck, Dionatam Franco de Souza, Stephan Fowler, Kyle Gahagan, Micah Kamer, Levi Miller, Facundo Montenegro, Nick Rossi, Bobby Wetten, Russell White and Robert Wright. Adding to the international flavor is that of the masters, Laurent is from Brussels, Belgium, and Regel is from France. Meanwhile, of the journeyman smiths, Boeck and de Souza are from Brazil, and Montenegro is from Argentina.

Though the requirements differ for both the master and journeyman smiths’ knives, all must submit five models that are judged by a panel of ABS officials on a number of traits. (For more on those traits, visit americanbladesmith.com.) Herein is a selection of some of the knife quintets submitted by the successful applicants last year. If you attend the 2016 BLADE Show, you can view the knives that are submitted for master and journeyman smith status this year. For more information at/during the show, visit the ABS at table 1P.