Tailor-made for a three-piece suit, jeans or purse, the Boker 145th Anniversary Knife salutes the Solingen, Germany, manufacturer's landmark birthday. The 2-inch blade is high-polished stainless steel with a laser-engraved 145th anniversary logo. The handle is Grenadill wood with the classic Boker Tree Brand logo shield, and the bolsters and liners are nickel silver. Closed length: 2 inches. The lockback pocketknife carries an MSRP of $149.
Check out the photo gallery of eight new, hot knives for fall 2014. See any keepers?
Now that you’ve seen what’s new, turn back the clock with BLADE‘s digital collection of annual KNIVES books. Get every KNIVES book from 2004 to 2015 in one PDF download for just $79.99.
Living Knife by Jean-Marc Laroche highlights new issue of BLADE, on many newsstands today!
The Living Knife by Jean-Marc Laroche will literally grab you from the cover of the new BLADE®, on most newsstands today.
Featuring a damascus blade forged by Sweden’s Roger Bergh, the Living Knife includes a mechanical “hand” for a handle, the fingers of which will grasp your hand in return when you grip it! Find out more about this ingenious creation by Laroche, a French knifemaker and sculptor well known for his otherworldly approach to knives.
Speaking of out of this world, ABS master smith Lin Rhea visited Steve Arnold, one of the stars of the Discovery Channel’s “Meteorite Men” TV show, and obtained some meteorite material from Arnold for use in the damascus blade of a special bowie. Get the complete story on the meteorite material and its origin, how Lin made the knife and much more in this issue.
Speaking of damascus, it is one of the most fascinating materials for knife blades, among both knife neophytes and aficionados alike. How did this storied material first come about? How many different versions have there been? Get the inside scoop on this ancient material in the new BLADE.
The American Bladesmith Society traces its creation to the man who reintroduced damascus to the modern custom knife movement—Bill Moran. One of if not the largest organizations of knifemakers in the world, the ABS presented its annual best knife and bladesmith honors at the 2014 BLADE Show. See what those top knives and who those premier smiths are this issue.
Hunting season is in full swing and hunting knives are in hot demand. But is just one enough? Find out why two hunting knives are better than one in the new BLADE.
There’s much more, including a test of two automatics, the latest ceramic kitchen knives, a Nordic knife for every budget, the sharpest Christmas gifts anywhere, how Dan Keffeler won the BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition and much more in the January BLADE, on newsstands NOW!
ABS master smith John White (left) holds his Best of Show and Best Damascus from the 2013 BLADE Show as the knife’s owner, Preston Gough, enjoys the moment.
Award-winning ABS master smith John White of Valparaiso, Florida, passed away Oct. 4 after a sudden illness. He was 71.
One of the most talented smiths in the ranks of the ABS, John was known for his elegant fixed blades in his beautiful damascus steel blades, natural handle materials and exquisite embellishment. He was also quite adept at such fixed blades in a take-down construction—that is, the knife was specially built to be easily disassembled and reassembled.
As John’s friend and fellow ABS master smith Terry Vandeventer noted in the American Bladesmith Society’s Express Email, “This is not only the greatest loss to Jill, [John’s] wife of 40 years, but to the knife community. Those who knew him saw a vivacious, smart, funny, and highly skilled artisan.” Vandeventer added that there would be no services and John’s ashes will be spread on the bayou near the Whites’ home.
The little man with the big smile enjoyed a meteoric rise in the fraternity of ABS smiths, winning a number of awards for his work, including several at the BLADE Show. Among them: Best Fixed Blade, 2014 BLADE Show; Best of Show and Best Damascus (see accompanying picture), 2013 BLADE Show; Best Bowie and Best Damascus Knife, 2011 BLADE Show; and Best Damascus, 2010 BLADE Show. Somehow it seemed fitting that John enjoyed so much success at the BLADE Show, as he was among the most vocal supporters of the event.
If you wish to make a comment on John’s passing and your memories of him, Click Here. A visit there will show you how many great makers and collectors thought the world of John. He will be missed.
The knife handle should fit your hand snugly. The knife is the CRKT Fossil.
What to look for in a knife handle is a question whose answer—as with most things knife—depends on many factors.
For one thing, no one knife handle fits everyone. Hands come in all shapes and sizes, so a knife handle that will fit a large hand probably will not fit a small one—and vice versa. As a result, no matter how much a knife handle is touted as being “user friendly,” you can’t know if it will suit your needs unless you pick the knife up and use it. Of course, that’s hard to do when you can’t use the knife unless you buy it. Then, if you don’t like the knife, you’re stuck with it.
One way around that is to find a friend who has the knife in question and borrow it. Of course, you will need to take good care of the knife and give it back when you’re through.
Barring the above, look for a knife handle with gentle curves, contours and palm swells that fit the shape of your palm snugly. This will help prevent the knife from sliding around in your hand or cause you to have to constantly regrip the knife handle with your hand. Avoid finger grooves as they are too restrictive in terms of the way you can hold a knife handle. Besides, you may find over time that grooves you thought fit your fingers/hand really don’t.
Avoid a knife handle that has sharp corners at the butt or any place that tend to dig into your hand. Those can cause hot spots or even cut you. Avoid a knife handle that is too soft. It may feel good at first but it, too, can cause hot spots/friction on your palm and/or fingers over extended periods of use.
Single, integral guards are good as they keep your hand from sliding onto the blade. That’s one of the good things about flipper folders—not only do the flippers ease the job of opening the knife but they also serve as single guards.
For more on the best knife handle for you, see your local knife retailer and ask him to show you the many different options you have when it comes to a knife handle.
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Stay abreast of the latest developments on this and many more knife rights issues with a subscription to BLADE.
Grassroots effort to save legal ivory could be swaying Congress. (SharpByCoop photo of a knife by Kevin Casey)
The grassroots effort to protect Americans’ right to sell legal elephant ivory appears to be having the desired effect on Congress. Why? Because U.S. Fish and Wildlife did not make the expected changes to rule 17.40/Use After Import that were supposed to have been announced this past August. With October only a week away, the delay would seem to indicate that legislators are having second thoughts about approving the rule changes.
Among other things, if approved, the changes would make it anywhere from extremely expensive to virtually impossible to prove your existing legal elephant ivory and/or ivory knife or other item made of ivory was imported legally. As a result, most elephant ivory and items made of ivory or with ivory parts that previously had been legal to sell would become illegal to sell.
One reason Congress is delaying the rule changes may be because of the grassroots ivory effort of many letters, emails and other communications American citizens are sending to their representatives urging them not to make the rule changes.
A leading proponent of Americans’ right to own legal ivory and a founding member of elephantprotection.org, scrimshander Sandra Brady stated she thinks the letters and emails are having an effect on both the Senate and House of Representatives. As a result, she added, no changes to the rule are likely until after the Nov. 1 elections. “We have to keep up the pressure and have our voices heard in the voting booths, too,” she noted. “A Republican-strong Senate would certainly help our cause, even thought this issue is by-partisan.” The anti-ivory contingent is led by the Obama Administration and the currently Democratic-controlled Senate.
Meanwhile, Brady urges those for legal ivory rights to continue their letter and email writing campaigns, and also to use Twitter and Facebook to further the cause. She added that elephantprotection.org has been updated to make it easier for you to stay abreast of law changes and to contact your representatives.
For more information, visit elephantprotection.org.
The Knifemakers’ Guild and the American Bladesmith Society will hold their first-ever joint knife show Sept. 18-20, 2015, in Kansas City.
The show will be called the International Custom Cutlery Exposition (ICCE) and will include knives displayed by members of both the Guild and the ABS. It will be held in the Kansas City Marriott Downtown. The original Guild Show also was held in Kansas City.
It is a historic meeting of the minds of two knifemaker organizations that basically have competed with one another for almost four decades.
“The main thing is we’re coming together to put on a show,” the Guild’s Gene Baskett noted.
Baskett said everything will be “50/50” between the two organizations and both will have equal say so on matters concerning the show. For example, each organization will have 75 tables to allot to its members, giving the show 150 tables in all.
Guild members who want to inquire about exhibiting at the show should contact the Guild c/o Charlie Mathews, and ABS members should contact the ABS c/o Harvey Dean.
Baskett said the officials of the Kansas City Marriott “bent over backwards” to accommodate the Guild and the ABS for the show. The hotel recently underwent $14 million in refurbishments. Veteran knife observers will recall that the Guild Show enjoyed a very successful run at the Orlando Marriott for many years.
Admission for show patrons will be $10 for one day and $15 for three days. All Guild Honorary Members will be admitted for free, as they always have been at past Guild shows. Baskett said the ABS will make its own arrangements concerning admission for its special members.
“There will be more information to come once we get more details,” Baskett added.
For more information visit americanbladesmith.com or knifemakersguild.com.
For the latest knives, knife trends, knife news and more, stay tuned to blademag.com.
The Knifemakers’ Guild and the American Bladesmith Society will hold their first ever joint knife show Sept. 18-20, 2015, in Kansas City.
Case and Zippo are presenting a special knife/lighter set to MOH awardees on the anniversary of 9/11.
Case and Zippo saluted Medal Of Honor recipients with a special personalized knife and lighter set on the 13th anniversary of 9/11.
The presentation of the sets to MOH recipients occurred last week as part of the 2014 Medal of Honor Convention and celebration in Knoxville, Tennessee.
In an official release, Case and Zippo presented the Medal of Honor Commemorative Lighter and Knife set “to the recipients of America’s highest military honor, in recognition of their outstanding service in preserving America’s freedom. Case knives and the American military have gone hand-in-hand for decades, as far back as World I, when the U.S. government called on Case to make military knives for American servicemen and women. Later, during World War II, Case manufactured the V-42 stiletto, issued to the First Special Service Force, aka the Devil’s Brigade.”
The knife is a Case trapper boasting a red, white and blue bone handle laser-engraved with images of an American flag, a reproduction of the Medal Of Honor Society seal and an eagle. The Zippo lighter has a high-polish chrome Armor™ case with deep dimensional engraving, 24k-gold reproduction of the MOH Society seal and a heavy gold-plated inside unit. Both pieces are personalized for each MOH recipient and were made in Bradford, Pennsylvania, home to Case and Zippo.
The MOH Convention included a number of special events throughout downtown Knoxville, including many awards and appreciation presentations. A number of the events were sold out, including a Charlie Daniels Band performance at the Tennessee Theatre as well as the Patriot Award Gala at the Knoxville Convention Center. A number of MOH recipients were available for questions from the audience during special live interviews at the Cox Auditorium at the Alumni Memorial Hall on the University of Tennessee campus. Autograph sessions and other special events also were offered.
