You will have the chance to vote online for the first-ever BLADE Magazine People’s Choice Award during the BLADE Show June 6-8.
Held at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, the BLADE Show is the world’s biggest and most important knife event, showcasing the latest in factory, custom, antique, military, tactical and other knives—as well as all things that cut and the people and companies who make them.
Vote online for the BLADE Magazine People’s Choice Award, the latest addition to the Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards sponsored by New Graham Knives, during the 2014 BLADE Show June 6-8. Above is the Microtech D.O.C. Kill Switch, the BLADE Magazine 2013 Most Innovative American Design. (PointSeven photo)
The BLADE Magazine Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards sponsored by New Graham Knives also will be presented at the show, and the People’s Choice Award is the latest addition to the Knife-Of-The-Year lineup.
Unlike the other 13 Knife-Of-The-Year honors—11 of which are voted on by BLADE Show booth exhibitors and the other two selected by the BLADE® Magazine staff—the People’s Choice Award will be voted on by knife enthusiasts online here at blademag.com.
Here’s how it will work. Prior to the Friday night (June 6) of the show, the BLADE Magazine staff will busy itself photographing the entries in the Knife-Of-The-Year competition, all of which will be displayed in the Knife-Of-The-Year Display area in the hall of the BLADE Show. Those photographs will be posted on this site as soon as possible after that time so you may view them and vote on your favorite. Only one vote per person, please. To vote, visit http://blademag.com/vote.
The winner will be announced at the BLADE Magazine Awards Reception the Saturday night of the show (tickets required) and posted here, along with the rest of the winners. The winner’s name also will be posted with the balance of the award winners outside the BLADE Show office in the Cobb Galleria Centre the Sunday morning of the show.
The BLADE Show is June 6-8, 2014, at the Cobb Galleria Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Don’t miss out. Get your ticket to the World’s Greatest Knife Show now! See you there!
Maximize your BLADE Show experience by knowing what to see and when. (PointSeven image)
The 34th Annual BLADE Show starts this Friday at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta and you can maximize your experience by knowing what to see and when. But before you do that, be sure you come prepared.
1) Dress appropriately. Comfort is the watchword. Bring two pairs of shoes—one to wear while walking the show in the morning, the other for the afternoon. And be sure they’re well broken in and comfortable! Don’t worry about being a fashion plate. Getting around the 116,000-square-foot hall is a marathon, not a fashion show runway. Leave the spiked heels at home.
2) Carry a small water bottle. The show hall can get humid/hot and you need to stay hydrated.
3) Eat an apple mid-morning and mid-afternoon for energy and to maintain your, ahem, constitution. Apples also are good for hydration.
4) Don’t be afraid to bring a roller case (like the one pictured herein being pulled by award-winning Canadian knifemaker Brent Beshara) or small backpack to carry stuff (including your extra pair of shoes, ball cap and sunglasses [see below]). Carry bags can get hard on your arm after a while.
5) Wear a ball cap and sunglasses—and shorts if you can because Atlanta gets hot in the afternoon in June—in case you want to watch any of the outdoor seminars. The sun can beat down on your head and give you a heckuva headache;
As for stuff to see, the main attraction, of course, is knives and more of them than you will see at any one time under one roof anywhere. There are also other attractions, including:
•On Thursday, the day before the show begins, and Friday the world’s foremost knife authorities will conduct classes on a variety of knife subjects in the 2nd Annual BLADE University. Learn from such world-famous makers as Jerry Fisk, Bill Harsey, Tony Bose, Ed Fowler, Ryan Johnson, Spartan Blades, Case, Joe Keeslar, Murray Carter and many more;
•By noon Friday all entries for the BLADE Magazine Knife Of The Year® Awards sponsored by New Graham Knives must be on display in the Knife Of The Year Display Area, which will have a new location this year—in the show lobby—for your viewing pleasure;
•At 2 p.m. Friday the show opens to the public but you’d better get there well before then because the lines start to form early;
•Friday after high noon, ABS master smith Jason Knight and other world-class smiths will hold an impromptu forging session in The Courtyard, the parking lot of the host Renaissance-Waverly Hotel, until the show closes at 7 p.m. This is a last-minute addition to the show and should be a rare treat;
•Saturday at 10 a.m. the ABS will hold its annual auction of top ABS handforged knives in Room 103;
•Saturday at 12:30 p.m. the ABS forging demonstration returns to The Courtyard with ABS master smith Timothy Potier showing you the ins and outs of how to handforge a knife;
•On Saturday at 4:15 p.m. Jessica Elias, the first-ever female contestant in the 13th Annual BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition conducted by BladeSports International, will show her stuff in The Courtyard along with the rest of this year’s qualifiers;
•FREE BLADE Show programs and August/BLADE Show preview issues of BLADE® will be distributed in the show lobby containing complete show schedules, events, exhibitor table and booth numbers and much more.
•After show hours, hit The Pit in the Renaissance-Waverly Hotel lobby to share sharp tales of the day’s events, what you saw, what others saw and more. Things are usually hopping/get hopping by 8 or 8:30 p.m., sometimes earlier.
Congratulations to the new Journeyman Smiths in the American Bladesmith Society. The following new Journeyman Smiths had their five presentation knives judged by the Judging Panel and were awarded their new rating at the 2012 Blade Show in Atlanta on Friday, June 8th.
Dana Hackney
Michael Christenson
Michael Deibert
Steve Randall
Daniel Erickson
Rob Singleton
Dietrich Podmajersky
Kenneth Hall
Dave Wenger
Congratulations to our new Journeyman Smiths!
And congratulations to Michael Deibert who was awarded the Peck Award for submitting the most outstanding knife as selected by the Judging Panel.
The 31st Annual BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) is 10 days away—June 8-10 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta—and one of the big drawing cards will be the annual American Bladesmith Society knife auction.
In addition to its members showcasing their latest knives, the ABS will sell six knives—one each forged by Karl B. Andersen, Jon Christensen (above), Jay Hendrickson, Dr. Dan Petersen, Red St. Cyr and BLADE® field editor Joe Szilaski—and more to the highest bidder(s) in its annual auction, with all proceeds going toward funding ABS educational events across the country. For more on the auction, call 419-832-0400 or visit www.americanbladesmith.com.
The auction will be the Saturday of the show, June 9, in Room 103. All BLADE Show ticket holders will be admitted free of charge.
For more on the latest knives, knife legislation, knifemaking instruction, knife trends, knifemakers, what knives to buy and where and much more, subscribe to BLADE Magazine, the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication.
We’re down to only four days before the world’s largest knife event, the 31st Annual BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) June 8-10 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, your best annual chance to see knives such as South African Bertie Rietveld’s (www.rietveldknives.com) folder (above) from every continent but Antarctica.
Exhibitors from at least 20 countries will display their knives and knife-related items at the show, including those from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United States.
For more on the latest knives, knife legislation, knifemaking instruction, knife trends, knifemakers, what knives to buy and where and much more, subscribe to BLADE Magazine, the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication.
Top masters in the world of bladesmithing have donated the most exciting set of auction knives ever seen for the American Bladesmith Society Annual fund raiser at the 2012 Blade Show and International Cutlery Fair in Atlanta, GA on June 9th. High end damascus bowies, a magnificent trailing point hunter, and a ivory carved liner lock folder with damascus blade are up for auction. Let us take a look at what some generous and committed bladesmiths have donated to the annual auction and fund raiser for the American Bladesmith Society. Each year the ABS gives the opportunity for bladesmiths to submit knives for its annual auction. One master smith and one journeyman smith are chosen to do a fixed blade, one master smith to do a folder, two or more directors from the ABS board to do a knife of their choosing, and a master smith to do the TOMB knife. Let us take a look at these fantastic knives.
Karl B. Andersen was chosen to make the ABS Journeyman Smith Knife of the Year for 2012. Karl B. Andersen created a beautiful large bowie knife with a damascus pattern that he calls his “radical random”. This striking masterpiece has a blade of 336 layers of 1095 and 15N20. It is deeply etched and hot blued. The handle is a beautiful premium desert ironwood. The fittings are hot blued and provide an excellent support to the rest of the knife. Karl’s handle on this knife was created for full take-down disassembly and assembly. Karl indicated that this allows the owner/collector to store the knife and do continual maintenance/care of the individual components. Karl indicated that this may be as “simple as relaxing the assembly to allow the handle to move under climate changes, or a full re-bluing of the assembly parts” after years of use. Karl pointed out that the sheath that accompanies this knife comes from ABS member Scott Teaschner of Cody, Wyoming. Scott is a high end leather smith and his talents are amply displayed in the accompanying sheath. The sheath is finely tooled with an actual inlay of elephant hide directly inletted in the sheath leather. Scott also donated this fine sheath as part of the project. When I asked Karl about the design, he humbly told me that his sole purpose was to “make something the ABS would be proud of”.
Joseph Szilaski was chosen to make the ABS Master Smith Folder of the Year for 2012. Joseph Szilaski donated one of the most fantastic folders I have ever seen. This knife is absolutely gorgeous. This is an ivory handled liner lock folder with a multi-bar damascus blade made from 1095 and 15N20. The pattern is old European in style. The blade is in a twist pattern and has been carved to accent and compliment the carving on the handle. The carving and file work in this folder are amazing. There is exquisite detail on the file work along the liners showing the skill of a master. Joe’s folder is breathtaking and all the small things are there too. The folder has a ruby thumb stud in a 14 k gold setting and there is intricate file work both inside and outside on the titanium liners and spine. Joe’s file work on this knife is just topnotch. This knife is just stunning.
Jon Christensen was chosen to make the ABS Master Smith Knife of the Year for 2012. Jon Christensen created the second of the three bowie-styled knives donated this year. The pattern on Jon’s knife is a very intricate and beautiful “quilted feathers mosaic” damascus. It is composed of 1085 and 15N20. This is a 7 and ¼ inch blade with a deep clip bowie pattern. Jon describes his bowie as having an early San Francisco style handle. The handle material is ironwood burl and the handle is a frame handle construction. I was amazed to see the carving on the handle and how that carving and engraving technique passed over across the tang from each side of the handle. Jon’s work is very precise and creative. The individual fittings are nitre-browned mild steel or nickel silver. Just the feel of this knife in your hand gives a sensation of sheer balance, strength and speed. This is Jon Christensen’s “cowboy bowie” and it is beautiful.
E. Jay Hendrickson, a former president of the ABS and a current board director, has donated a fine and handsome trailing point hunter knife as one of the ABS Director Knives of the Year for 2012. This knife is very special in that it is composed of a W2 core surrounded by 316 stainless steel. As Jay indicates this is a “difficult and unique process which offers a stainless steel blade welded to a high carbon steel core” so that you get the edge holding benefits of W2 mated to the stain resistance of 316SS. Jay has fitted knife out with a curly maple handle with fine silver inlay of scrolls and pins. The guard on Jay’s knife is file worked to add to the overall esthetic. Jay indicates that the handle material was purchased in 1987 by Bill Moran and bought by Jay in the 2006 Moran auction. Jay has finished off the knife with a high quality leather pouch sheath. This is truly another high quality piece that any user/collector should be proud to own.
Dr. Dan L. Petersen, one of the newer members of the ABS board directors was chosen to make an ABS Director Knife of the Year for 2012. Dan’s knife is also a bowie knife. Dan indicated that the blade is a damascus ladder type pattern produced from a W pattern billet. He used W2 and a modified L6 type steel in the blade. The heat treatment of the blade was a precision process using salt tanks to achieve an ultra-fine grained martensite structure. Dan indicated that this is his first frame handle that he has put on a bowie knife. The handle material is a white mastodon ivory. The knife is accompanied by a wood lined leather sheath of Dan’s creation. When Dan was asked about the overall shape of the knife, he shared the following, “I had been reading about the caning of Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the US Senate in 1856. After Sumner’s attack it was reported that many legislators began carrying weapons into the halls of Congress. James Henry Hammond of South Carolina was reported to have stated, “Every man on the floor of both Houses is armed with a revolver – some with two revolvers and a bowie knife.” After reading this I speculated on what kind of bowie knife a legislator might have chosen to carry back then. While I cannot claim that this knife resembles any knife carried at the time by a legislator, its overall design is not outside of the possible and history was the inspiration behind the knife. Obviously, it was inspirational as I have made this knife using damascus and fittings that are not true to the period materials”.
This year the TOMB knife for 2012 is a damascus bowie made by Mastersmith Red St. Cyr. This knife is St. Cyr’s “Gentleman’s Bowie”. The overall length of the knife is 13 3/4 inches with a blade length of just under 9 inches. The damascus is a mix of 1084, 01 and nickel. The handle is African Blackwood and the deep black coloring of this handle is striking. The finish on the damascus is one of the best I have seen and the contrasts of damascus, stainless steel fittings, and deep black handle complement every aspect of this knife as a work of art. There are some who recognize the positive contributions of the organization known as TOMB, Each year the American Bladesmith Society has provided TOMB the opportunity to auction a knife to raise monies for the organization. TOMB is a fellowship organization that raises money to support the ABS Schools.
All of these knives are fantastic and represent both high art and functionality that has come to be recognized of ABS smiths. To donate knives of this caliber is truly amazing and clearly demonstrates the commitment these smiths have to support the American Bladesmith Society. The money raised by this auction allows the American Bladesmith Society to continue to offer its educational events across the country. For those of you who might consider bidding on these superb creations you will not only be bidding to own substantial works of art, but also you will be bidding to support the premiere knife organization in the world with a primary educational mission. The 2012 American Bladesmith Society Knife Auction at the Blade Show at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta, GA will be on Saturday, June 9th at 10am. Additional information will be posted on the ABS Forum or you can contact the ABS Office at 419-832-0400 or send an email to the ABS Knife Auction Coordinator Dr. Dan L. Petersen at[email protected].
