Charles Houston Price, founder of Knife World, passed away Dec. 29.
Charles Houston Price, publisher of Knife World, passed away Monday, Dec. 29. He was 79.
Of New Market, Tennessee, the man known to many simply as Houston was a rock in the world of knives and knife publishing. Next to BLADE®, his Knife World monthly publication is the longest-running knife periodical. Knife World’s support of the knife business, including a long, successful relationship with the American Bladesmith Society (ABS), has been one of the constants in an industry that, like many, has had its share of attrition and turnover.
In addition to his role as publisher of Knife World, he wrote about knives for both it and other publications, authored six editions of The Official Price Guide to Collector Knives and, along with his fellow Cutlery and ABS Hall-Of-Fame compatriot B.R. Hughes, authored the quintessential book on Cutlery and ABS Hall-Of-Famer Bill Moran, Master of the Forge. Houston also was a recipient of what many consider the most prestigious of ABS honors, the Don Hastings Award, for selfless giving above and beyond the call to the ABS in a manner similar to the man for whom the honor is named.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, at the Farrar Funeral Home (865-475-3892) with the Rev. Robin Lindsey officiating. Family will receive friends from 10 until 11 a.m. prior to the service at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, 3800 Fettler Park Dr., Ste. 104, Dumfries, VA 22025 or on line at marineheritage.org, or to American Bouvier Rescue League, ABRL, c/o Deborah Abeles, PO Box 689, Cheshire, MA 01225.
Kirby Lambert resumes his perennial presence on the to-watch list of Neil Ostroff of True North Knives with such models as the Prototype Crossroads flipper in CTS XHP stainless steel, a Mokuti handle with zirconium bolsters and an IKBS bearing system. (TNK image)Dave Stark of Steel Addiction Custom Knives said two of knifemaker Lee Williams’ protégés are gaining attention quickly: Daniel Galloway and Pat Hammond. A collaboration with Williams, Galloway’s Mongoose is the cover knife of the March 2015 issue of BLADE®. Galloway’s price: $1,600. (Kris Kandler image)
Who will be the knifemakers to watch in 2015? How sharp is one of the hottest new knife steels in the industry? What were the most important knife stories of 2014? Learn the answers to these questions and much more in the new BLADE®, on newsstands today!
Some of the USA’s top custom knife purveyors were polled for the knifemakers to watch in the new year, with one of those makers, Daniel Galloway, having his “Mongoose” collaboration knife with Lee Williams serving as this issue’s cover piece. See who the other makers are, along with some of their top work, in the new BLADE on page 12.
The high-carbon steel known as 80CrV2 is among the newer and hotter blade materials among custom knifemakers especially.
Follow ABS master smith and BLADE field editor Joe Szilaski as he makes a knife of the steel and tries it out in his knifemaking and knife-using instructional, “How Sharp Is 80CrV2?”
The year past has seen many highlights and lowlights, from the landmark announcement by the Knifemakers’ Guild and the American Bladesmith Society that, after almost 40 years of jousting, they will finally hold their first annual combined knife show in 2015, trends—or were they just fads?—in the industry, to the back-and-forth between the federal government and legal ivory owners over changes in ivory regulations. Get the scoop on these happenings and more in “’14’s Blades of Grey.”
While on the subject of ivory, award-winning knifemaker Jim Hammond has made knives for decades, a number with ivory and ancient ivory handles.
Not only did he conduct an in-depth seminar on ivory at the 2014 BLADE Show, he also volunteered to write a three-part story on the past, present and future of the misunderstood substance. Check out part one in the new BLADE on page 78.
KnifeArt’s Larry Connelley said Duane Dwyer’s reputation for knife innovation helps place him among the makers to watch in the coming year. Dwyer’s SnG with a titanium frame carries a KnifeArt price of $1,200. (KnifeArt image)
There’s much more in this issue, including the latest in big flipper folders, profiles of Masecraft Supply and Pohl Force Knives, a test of two compact custom axes, four hot factory slip joints, HEPK master smith and BLADE field editor Ed Fowler’s essay on how knifemakers must follow their inner muse in “It Takes Courage To Be Yourself,” and much more, all in the March BLADE.
Check out the custom knifemakers to watch in 2015 in the new BLADE®, on newsstands now!
Knives are no doubt on the target list of New York and New Jersey ivory and ancient ivory sting campaigns.
New York Department of Environmental Conservation agents conducted an ivory sting on a 72-year-old woman for selling a mammoth ivory bead necklace.
In its effort to stop elephant poaching and the trade in illegal ivory, the government has insisted that it does not care about small-time, mom-and-pop-type ivory owners, that it’s more concerned with international crime syndicates and environmental terrorists. However, the recent ivory sting operation by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) on a 72-year-old woman for selling a necklace containing beads of mammoth—that’s right, mammoth, not elephant—ivory at the Pier Antique Show in New York City indicates the NYDEC apparently failed to get the government memo on the matter.
For knife enthusiasts, the question now is how soon the NYDEC—as well as its counterpart in New Jersey—will start targeting knives with handles of mammoth, mastodon and other ancient ivories, as well as elephant ivory.
Of course, though beyond all reason, mammoth ivory—the tusks of an animal extinct for thousands of years—has been declared illegal to sell in the state of New York and also New Jersey. However, since the senior citizen at the Pier Antique Show is from North Carolina, it’s understandable that she was completely oblivious to the New York law—especially considering how ridiculous it is to outlaw something millennia old in the first place. In addition to the necklace, the agents seized $1,400 worth of jewelry from her in all.
NYDEC agents did not stop with stinging the little old lady from Carolina. They also seized a couple of sets of “teethers”—whale bone or ivory sticks crudely carved by 19th-century sailors for babies to cut their teeth on—from a New York folk art dealer. The agents seized the teethers and issued both the folk art dealer and the little old lady from Carolina summons to appear in court.
Following the show, the folk art dealer and his wife learned he would need a lawyer because he faces a $5,000 fine if convicted of dealing illegal ivory. When he asked about getting a license to sell ivory in accordance with New York law, he said he was told all such license applications sit in a pile in the state capital, ostensibly collecting dust.
“This kind of government heavy-handedness is what we warned people about when the President’s Advisory Council started talking about imposing an ivory ban in March 2013,” noted Rob Mitchell of elephantprotection.org. “Instead of going after Chinese smugglers and criminal syndicates, the government is persecuting the most vulnerable and least culpable citizens in zealous pursuit of ivory ban enforcement statistics. No living animal was helped by this, but innocent small businesses will be crushed.”
The fight against the domestic ivory ban—a ban that won’t save a single elephant but will needlessly punish innocent Americans who own and trade legally imported ivory—is ongoing, and many Americans have been helping. Their “activism is why the federal government is taking its time publishing the regulation we expect will alter or revoke the Special Rule on African elephants that allows pre-ban ivory trade in the USA,” Mitchell noted. “Unfortunately, non-government organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and the Wildlife Conservation Society have been busy with a PR campaign against ivory. They are continuing to lobby both the federal government and many individual states for an ivory ban.”
You can help stop them and protect commerce in pre-ban ivory. For information on how you can contact all of your elected officials and voice your concerns, CLICK HERE.
See the latest knives, swords, and edges of all types, and explore the latest trends in blades, steels, styles, and materials. Gaze upon a “State of the Art” section parading engraved, scrimshawed, jewel-inlaid, carved, etched, sculpted and forge-welded, and Damascus and mosaic-damascus knives. Click here.
Navajo artist David Yellowhorse has collaborated with Buck on some of the most beautiful knives anywhere, and the two have nailed it again with the Yellowhorse Spirit Singer. The handle is turquoise, black jet and nickel silver. The knife comes with a glass top display case and in a limited edition of 100 (if, indeed, any are left!)
See the latest knives, swords, and edges of all types, and explore the latest trends in blades, steels, styles, and materials. Gaze upon a “State of the Art” section parading engraved, scrimshawed, jewel-inlaid, carved, etched, sculpted and forge-welded, and Damascus and mosaic-damascus knives. Click here.
Veteran knifemaker Joe Kious, popularizer of the “Pocket Locket” style of high-end art folder and long-time Knifemakers’ Guild member, passed away Dec. 5 as a result of injuries suffered in a vehicle accident.
A resident of Kerrville, Texas, Kious was a full-time knifemaker who sold his first knife in 1969. He specialized in investment-quality interframes and bolstered folders, some bringing up to as high as $10,000 apiece.
However, it is his Pocket-Locket models for which he may be best remembered. Featuring elaborate engraving, the folding knives include a small compartment in the handle with a sliding panel that slides back to reveal another engraved scene inside.
“Joe was a staunch supporter of the Knifemakers’ Guild and believed in handmade knives,” said knifemaker and fellow Guild member Edmund Davidson. “Joe had a wonderful personality, was very easy to speak with and would tell you anything you wanted to know. He held nothing back and had no secrets. His knives reflected a great deal of thought, craftsmanship and artistry. He was a true master and genuine person. He will be sorely missed. When we lose a man of his caliber, we are all diminished.”
“Joe was a gentleman who loved his family, friends, enjoyed shooting, fine scotch and making knives,” noted Michael Donato of KnifePurveyor.com. “Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
A member of a close-knit group of Texas-based Guild knifemakers that includes Warren Osborne, Tom Overeynder and others, the stately Kious was liked and respected by most everyone who knew him in the industry. A lean, handsome man with a full head of grey-white hair, he was soft-spoken but never at a loss for words or a well-thought-out opinion.
Though he did not make BLADE® Magazine’s 40th anniversary list of top knifemakers—he received enough votes to make honorable mention—his Pocket Locket was chosen No. 6 among the most important custom knives of the period from 2001-2012 in the magazine’s 40th anniversary list of top custom knives.
“Joe’s Pocket Locket is important because it is the most flexible engraving platform ever offered,” noted custom knife purveyor Paul Shindler of KnifeLegends. “It includes many models and styles but offers pretty much endless possibilities for the imagination of any collector. The Pocket Locket may be the most important engravable knife ever conceived.”
Added Donato, the Pocket Locket “has a very high ‘cool factor’ to it and has served as a canvas for many of the best engravers to work their magic. Joe’s Pocket Lockets are featured in many books, magazines and great collections worldwide.”
Joe Kious, popularizer of the “Pocket Locket” art folder, was killed in a vehicle accident Dec. 5. His “two-door Pocket Locket” in a King Tut theme with Ron Skaggs engraving won Best Knife Collaboration at the 2007 BLADE Show and served as the cover knife for the December 2007 BLADE®.
New BLADE’s Complete Knife Guide on newsstands NOW!
BLADE’s Complete Knife Guide Spring 2015 is your knife bible for most every cutting need in the coming year and is on newsstands NOW!
In addition to providing you with the contact information for every factory knife, knife accessory and cutting need, the new BLADE’s Complete Knife Guide (BKG) keeps you in the loop for the latest industry trends, including the new wave of genticals that is flooding the cutlery landscape.
Want that special custom knife but are not exactly sure how to go about it, where to look or who to contact? In “7 Keys to Getting the Best Custom Knives,” Mike Haskew picks the brains of those who buy and sell the best custom knives for a living—custom knife purveyors/dealers. Read what the pros recommend on page 78.
Neck knives—aka neckers—are those handy little blades you can wear around your neck and are instantly accessible for whatever cutting job is at hand. Abe Elias takes you through some of today’s leading examples and also shows you other ways to wear them other than around your neck.
Are silky smooth folders at the top of your Christmas list? If so, join Stephen Garger as he explores a quartet of the top ones on both sides of the Atlantic in “4 Silky Smooth Folders.”
Ed Halligan’s K.I.S.S. design (left) revolutionized factory folding knives. At right is his Delilah’s P.E.C.K. design. Both knives are reproduced by CRKT. (CRKT image)
An unusually high number of knifemakers have died recently, all of whom left more than their fair share of lifelong marks on family, friends and the knife industry. In terms of influence on knife design, though, the two that probably had the largest impact were Ed Halligan and Kit Carson.
Ironically, both men designed wildly popular folding knives for CRKT, and it is those folders that have been so influential on the knife industry.
The K.I.S.S. is a simple yet ingenious folding knife. In the closed position, its two-piece frame-lock construction and safe, user-friendly design “seals” the cutting edge of the chisel-ground blade against the handle. As Halligan once explained, “With the K.I.S.S., the frame and the lock are all one piece … I made the original knife with the blade chisel ground on one side only so it would slide against the frame when folded and make a seal so you wouldn’t cut yourself.”
Kit Carson’s M16 design remains one for the ages. This is the M16-12Z CRKT repro. The flipper is the extension with the hole in it seen here acting as a guard just below the handle pivot. (CRKT image)
In fact, when it first came out, I recall talking to one long-time industry observer who thought the K.I.S.S. was a lawsuit waiting to happen because he thought consumers would cut themselves on the blade edge despite the blade’s seal against the handle in the closed position. However, Halligan’s version of the design works so well that such accidental cuts never happen. One of the main reasons the design is safe is that Halligan tested it in real-life conditions to be sure that such accidents never occur. “Safety is a big reason why I carried the knife around so much to make sure it worked properly,” Halligan said.
In 1997, Halligan signed a deal with CRKT for the company to reproduce the K.I.S.S., and CRKT launched the repro of the knife at the 1998 SHOT Show. Only four years old at the time, CRKT was struggling to find a knife that would help “drag the rest of the product lines along,” as CRKT’s Rod Bremer put it. The K.I.S.S. was that knife. Unfortunately, a number of unscrupulous companies blatantly knocked the K.I.S.S. off so much that it eventually became one of the most copied sporting knives worldwide. CRKT and Halligan weathered that storm, though, and Ed designed a series of K.I.S.S. iterations and spinoffs for CRKT that included the Delilah’s P.E.C.K. (for Precision Engineered Compact Knife), Samson’s K.I.S.S., the H.U.G. (Halligan’s Ultimate Gadget), the Slip K.I.S.S., the Neck P.E.C.K., the blackened K.I.S.S. In The Dark, even a fixed-blade version called the Stiff K.I.S.S. and others.
Just as they were linked in their passing, Halligan and Carson were also linked in their CRKT collaboration deals. CRKT must have been living right back in those days because it was just a year after signing the deal with Halligan to reproduce the K.I.S.S. that it signed the deal with Carson to reproduce Carson’s M16 folder. Even though Carson did not invent the flipper, his M16 is universally credited as the model that popularized flipper folders—folding knives with one-hand-opening “flippers” that double as guards when the blade is opened. “The M16 with the Carson Flipper was a huge improvement on non-assisted blade opening, making a manual knife open almost as fast as an auto without a secondary thumb stud or hole mechanism,” observed long-time knife writer Mac Overton. “Because it had less moving parts and its opening relied on inertia rather than a spring or torsion bar, the mechanism was inherently stable and reliable.”
The M16 and its military look—Carson was a U.S. Army career man—soon became not only immensely popular with consumers but with service personnel as well. In fact, by many accounts, the M16 was the most popular knife among active duty service personnel in the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
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