The co-owners of Spartan Blades, in keeping with the company name, decided to call their 10 7/16-inch reverse-tanto sheepsfoot-bladed combat/utility knife, Hybris. Those familiar with Greek mythology might vaguely recall indirect reference to her hubris (over-inflated pride), insolence and arrogance. However, she is also the goddess of violence and outrageous behavior, necessary traits in elite warriors, no matter the era or place in which they fight. According to myth, she was the last among her peers to marry, so Polemus, the god of war and battle, married her. Clearly, an ideal christening for Spartan Blades Hybris Combat/Utility Knife.
The 5 7/16-inch reverse-tanto sheepsfoot blade on the Spartan Blades Hybris Combat/Utility Knife is made with CPM S35VN steel with a black or earth finish. Handle comes in black or green canvas Micarta. MSRP: $330. Contact Curtis V. Iovito, Spartan Blades, LLC, 625 SE Service Road, Southern Pines, NC 28387; 910-757-0035, [email protected], www.spartanbladesusa.com.
Should you want to accessorize, Spartan Blades offers an appropriately warrior-looking line of beads in spartan helmet, skull with beret, shield and crusader cross designs, MSRP: $5-$10. However, there’s also a line of beads in sterling silver and bronze, including the exclusive-to-Spartan-Blades plumed spartan helmet, crafted by GD Studios in Latvia and exclusively imported by veteran-owned GD Skulls USA in Florida, MSRP: $98.
Curtis Iovito and Mark Carey co-founded Spartan Blades in 2008. The two retired from U.S. Army Special Forces with over 40 years combined service. They prefer to focus on providing military personnel and outdoor enthusiasts with functional, durable knives, rather than chasing the latest innovations, which may or may not have staying power. They stick to using U.S. materials, and batches are small so that quality control can remain exacting. Accompanying sheaths are made by American- or U.S. veteran-owned businesses. At the BLADE Show® Spartan Blades’ Kranos framelock flipper model won the BLADE Magazine 2017 American Made Knife Of The Year®.
Since Curtis and Mark taught at the U.S. Army Special Operations Command sniper school (Special Forces Sniper Course), they continue to support the school and USASOC International Sniper Competition. At one event, they ran into guest speaker Sebastian Gorka, intelligence analyst, best-selling author of “Defeating Jihad, The Winnable War” and now-former deputy assistant under President Donald J. Trump.
American military and intelligence analyst, author of “Defeating Jihad, The Winnable War” and former deputy assistant to President Donald J. Trump, Sebastian Gorka (center), spoke at a U.S. Army Special Operations Command event attended by the co-owners of Spartan Blades, Curtis Iovito (right) and Mark Carey (left).
Read About New Releases From Knife Manufacturers In BLADE
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Each month BLADE Magazine features new knives from manufacturers and custom makers in its What’s New section. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out. You can also read about some of them here on our website. Be sure to Like and Follow us on Facebook at BLADE Magazine.
When Jerry Davis was a baby he was scooting across the floor and his grandmother dubbed him Scooter. He is a third-generation welder and fabricator. His dad made knives as a hobby, and by the time Scooter was a teenager, he, too, was making knives.
Schooter Davis, a Desert Storm US Marine Corps veteran, specializes in small everyday carry knives, skinners and survival knives.
At 19 he entered the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a heavy equipment engineer during Desert Storm. The Gulf War veteran served four years then returned to West Virginia.
Scooter Davis served in the U.S. Marine Corps during Desert Storm. The Gulf War vet then returned to his native West Virginia.
When he isn’t making knives, he’s attending rendezvous, living history gatherings that bring early American frontier days to life. He makes many items in his kit and, of course, period-appropriate knives.
“A primitive rendezvous is a living history event,” Scooter Davis explained. “I have enjoyed them since I was a child. It’s like taking several steps back in time and I enjoy crafting knives and other items that represent that time period [early American frontier].”He’s also a singer and musician, playing weddings, parties and other events, equally comfortable with Sinatra or Stevie Ray Vaughan.
The quintessential Renaissance man, Scooter Davis of Rough Run Forge, can also perform anything from smooth jazz to country.
“I’ve always been an artistic feller, always making things. I can make just about anything,” Scooter said. But what really inspired him was the quality of the work he saw coming out of other knifemakers. John Savage has been a good friend along the way. “My goal is to create blades worthy of being used in the outdoors.”
Best-selling knife patterns: small everyday carry, skinning, survival
Favorite blade steels: 1095 for ease of forging, toughness; 52100 for toughness, edge retention
Blade grinds: flat for deep cutting and skinning, convex Scandi for durability in hard use
How he tests his knives: field use, chopping mountain laurel, slicing paper, cutting small bolts, shaving
Favorite handle materials: Micarta for toughness and durability; wood and bone for beauty and value. “I am partial to rare and hard-to-find materials,” Scooter noted.
Price range: $150 and up
Online purveyors: Pendleton County Outdoors, www.pendletoncountyoutdoors.com
Knife shows he attends: Greater Shenandoah Valley Knife Show, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Member of: American Bladesmith Society
Forums he participate in: Facebook Groups, Knife Dogs, BladeForums.com
This bowie has a 13 1/2-inch blade made of pattern-welded steel by Zoe Crist Knives. The handle is comprised of elk antler, stainless steel and G-10 spacers. The maker’s own pattern-welded steel was used on the guard. Maker’s list price: $800. Contacts listed at the bottom of this article.Scooter Davis’ seax is 10 1/2 inches long with a 5 1/2-inch blade made from W2 steel with hamon. Avocado Micarta scales were used for the handle. Maker’s list price: $250. Contacts listed at the bottom of this article.The W.A.C.K.-1 (Wilderness Area Camp Knife) has a 5-inch blade forced from 1095 high-carbon steel. The scales are fashioned from OD green canvas Micarta with hunter orange G10 liners and a ½-inch stainless steel lanyard tube. Contacts listed at the bottom of this article.
Contact Scooter Davis at 540-560-1672, [email protected], on Facebook at Rough Run Forge and Instagram @roughrunforge.
A Digital Subscription To BLADE is the Answer
You can read your digital issues of BLADE Magazine anywhere you have your phone, tablet or computer, and there’s no need to find storage for all your old issues.
If piling-up issues of magazines seems like a waste to you… If you feel like you don’t have time to read a magazine… If you like the stories we offer in BLADE, but want a more economical option, then a digital subscription is the answer. An annual subscription to BLADE is $17.98, $4 off the print price.
Jim Behring of Treeman Knives holds up a Kit Carson creation
Did you known that Kit Carson, renowned for popularizing the flipper-style of folding knife, made swords? Jim Behring of Treeman Knives has two of those swords, a Persian-style dagger, a D-guard knife along with a knife Jim imagines a Roman gladiator would use as a last resort, plus a number of other fixed blades, all stamped and authenticated. All Jim would say is that he got these Kit Carson creations from an estate sale in Indiana. He’s looking to get them into the hands of someone who would appreciate their value. You’ll find Jim at booth 6E. BLADE Show is open from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 9 a.m. To 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Cobb Galleria Centre, Atlanta, Georgia.
Randy Madan, known as JR on social media, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1992 to 1996 as a combat engineer. “I blew things up,” he said, laughing. Now, at 43, he has been a federal correctional worker for 20 years.
Randy Madan of Patriot Horde Knives hopes to be able to keep making knives when he retires from his job in the federal correctional system. Randy is supportive and encouraging of other veteran makers.
He always loved and carried knives, but he got his start in knifemaking in October 2016. “The knifemaker that I idolize, Michael Cleveland from Half Lives Knives, afforded me the opportunity to join a knife build-off for a veteran charity. Me being a vet myself, I jumped at the opportunity,” he explained. He has continued to make knives and to encourage other veteran makers.
Randy Madan of Patriot Horde Knives served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1992 to 1996 as a combat engineer.
“I am just a small-time maker, wanting to perfect my knives so that when I retire in a couple of years I can make more,” he said. Other makers who have helped along the way include John Savage, Ryan Schreiber, Denny Furey and Mark Wagoner.
Favorite blade steels: 1095 with plans to start using O1 and 80CrV2
Blade grinds: flat with plans to add hollow
How he tests his knives: shave hair, skive 7- to 9-ounce leather, cut ¼-inch bolts, chop 2-by-4s
Favorite handle materials: Voodoo Resins, Rob Carper Innovations, 8th Dimension Concepts and J Hue Customs. “I am a big fan of the hybrid materials,” Randy noted.
Price range: $250 and up
Forums he participate in: The Real Knife Makers of America, Global EDC and other Groups on Facebook
DaCleva has a 4-inch flat-ground blade made of 1095 steel with an acid-washed finish for a battle-worn look. Overall length is 9 inches. Scales are by Norman Robbins at 8th Dimension Concepts. Maker’s list price: $250 with Kydex sheath; $325 with leather.The Lil Chubby drop-point is 8 inches overall, with a 3.5-inch flat-ground blade made with random pattern Alabama Damascus Steel from Lacy Smith. The handle scales are from Norm Robbins from 8th Dimension Concepts. Maker’s list price: $300 with sheath. In 1095 steel at $200. Contacts listed at the bottom of this article.
Randy uses All Star Abrasives in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, for his abrasive supplies, which is what he puts to his hybrid scales to bring out their color.
Contact Randy Madan at [email protected], 760-885-9370 on Facebook at Patriot Horde Knives and on Instagram @the_patriot_horde.
A Digital Subscription to BLADE Is The Anwswer
You can read your digital issues of BLADE Magazine anywhere you have your phone, tablet or computer, and there’s no need to find storage for all your old issues.
If piling-up issues of magazines seems like a waste to you… If you feel like you don’t have time to read a magazine… If you like the stories we offer in BLADE, but want a more economical option, then a digital subscription is the answer. An annual subscription to BLADE is $17.98, $4 off the print price.
Knifemaker Stefan Neil Palmer made a knife in memory of Dustin Chamberlain to be auctioned off. He never knew it would change his life.
While at his parents’ Siloam Springs, Arkansas, home for Christmas break 2011, 20-year-old Dustin Chamberlain was shot dead by an intruder. Nearly five years later, knifemaker and racecar driver Stefan Neil Palmer was asked by his racing mentor if he would make a knife to auction off to raise money for Dustin’s Dream, the charity foundation organized in Dustin’s memory. Stefan agreed, but when he laser-engraved Dustin’s favorite saying on the handle, everyone agreed that the knife could never be auctioned off.
On Dec. 15, 2011 Dustin, a biology-pre-med sophomore at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, was resting at home after a minor outpatient procedure. Both his parents left for work with Dustin’s reassurance that he didn’t need anyone to stay with him. His father, Don, had planned to have lunch with him. At approximately 10:45 a.m. Dustin’s mother, Deondra, called the house and Dustin’s cell phone repeatedly but got no answer. She called Don and asked him to check on their son.
Don walked into the Chamberlain home to find his son lying dead just inside the door with four gunshot wounds. In the family room, he found a stranger with what police subsequently said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound that later proved fatal. The investigation revealed that the stranger was a local man who had been reported missing, depressed and possibly suicidal. He had wandered onto the Chamberlain property, and evidence showed he’d been on the premises for two hours before the Chamberlains left for work.
It’s an understatement to say that the Chamberlain’s lives were changed forever, but as day followed day, God showed them how they could carry on Dustin’s name and spirit, Don explained. “It’s been therapeutic,” he said, referring to the charity they set up in remembrance of their son. In honor of Dustin’s dream to one-day become a doctor, Dustin’s Dream sets up medical clinics in third-world countries and funds teams to conduct medical mission trips to those countries. They also offer scholarships for aspiring medical students.
Knifemaker Stefan Neil Palmer made a knife to auction off in benefit of Dustin’s Dream.
In 2013, two years after Dustin’s murder, Chamberlain family friend Steve Butler decided to use his racing hobby to support Dustin’s Dream. Steve introduced Stefan to Dustin’s Dream Racing, which raises money for the foundation “while being a positive, Godly influence” in the sport of racing, according to their web page. In the summer of 2016 it was suggested that Stefan make a knife to auction off to benefit Dustin’s Dream.
So Stefan set out to make the best knife he could to honor Dustin. The 3.112-inch hollow-ground drop-point hunter was constructed using buckshot-pattern steel forged by Brad Vice’s Alabama Damascus. “It’s my favorite pattern,” Stefan said. And buckshot- or raindrop-pattern damascus is his favorite steel. The handle was made from camel bone and brass with—fittingly—a checkerboard inlay front and rear of the handle. The shinbone of the camel is an economical choice, but it’s the ideal medium for laser engraving, explained Stefan. The rubbing compound left in the pores of the bone lend it that gray undertone. Signature filework runs from the tip to the butt of the spine. “It turned out great,” stated Stefan.
Stefan Neil Palmer’s accompanying sheath notes Hebrews 12:1-2, which includes in part “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
He went to Steve to see if there was anything that Dustin was known for saying. Steve showed Stefan what the Chamberlains had written about Dustin. “Whenever anyone asked Dustin how he could consistently make wise choices and live his faith, Dustin would say, ‘Because I love God with all my heart and I don’t want to give Him anything less than my best.’” Stefan explained, “I put that on the knife. When I looked at the finished product, I knew the knife was not for someone to buy. It was priceless and needed to go to Don.”
Stefan took his dilemma to Steve and it was agreed that a second knife would be made for the auction. The trick was to keep Don’s knife a secret, made harder by the fact that Don expressed great interest in the knife. Steve suggested to Don that he not bid on it because people would then back off their own bidding in an attempt to make sure that Dustin’s father ended up with Dustin’s knife. The racing team wanted the knife to bring in as much money for the foundation as possible.
In the end, at Dustin’s 5th Heavenly Birthday Chili Supper and Baked Goods Auction on Dec. 10, 2016, Stefan presented the original knife to Don, with both giver and receiver ending up in tears. “It changed my life,” Stefan said. “I’m not so likely to cut someone off on the race track with the Dustin’s Dream sticker on my car,” he added with easy laugh. (The T in the Dustin’s Dream logo is in the shape of a cross.) He relates how so many people have been affected for the better through Dustin’s example and the strength of the Chamberlains. “So much beauty has come out of it,” Stefan said.
Dr. Carl Duncan, left, ended up with the knife Stefan Neil Palmer, center, made in honor of Dustin, the son of Don Chamberlain, right.
The Chamberlains never returned to their home. Don manages a beef cattle ranch and other properties for his boss, and the couple and their daughter stayed at the ranch the night of the murder. They found a place to rent, but the two payments nearly put them under financially. All the while, Don said he was thinking, “I wish I could afford to just give it away to a couple who could help foster children.” Two years later, a doctor—surprise, surprise—Carl Duncan and his wife, Carol, purchased the home, and—you guessed it—they had foster children.
It was Carol who ended up with the winning bid of $3000 on the second knife, and she presented it to her husband. According to the Dustin’s Dream website, the racing team has raised $45,000 for the foundation.
Stefan’s wife, Raquel, bringing the story full circle, is returning to school to become a doctor—in the same specialty as the doctor who purchased the house and the knife. She and Stefan hope one day to accompany a medical mission team through Dustin’s Dream. Don and Deondra, a nurse, are returning to Guatemala through Dustin’s Dream for his second trip and her third. If you want to know what you can do to get involved, visit www.DustinsDream.net/give.
When Don returned to the house that fateful day, he thought it was odd that the family’s Jack Russell-rat terrier cross was out in the yard. Cricket was trembling in fear, and, uncharacteristically, she would not come to Don. It is believed that she raised a ruckus when the intruder broke into the house near her bed. Dustin came to see what the fuss was about. In yet another connection, I breed Jack Russells.
According to what police revealed to Don, the shooter asked his wife what it meant if someone was very depressed. She answered that it meant the person needed professional help. The husband and father of four reportedly said that he felt he was too much of a coward to do that. He took a gun and left the home.
I asked Don if he knew how the family was doing now. He said he didn’t, but that it had been on his heart to find out, and that my asking had solidified that course of action for him. And “no,” he said quietly, “I could never use that knife.” He has it on a dresser, along with the sheath and some photos. He wants to put it in a shadow box. “I could never use that knife,” he repeated.
“Art of the Knife” doesn’t require anything more than being appreciated for its beauty.
If you want inspiration for your own knifemaking, here’s your eye candy. Over 500 knives are pictured, and they run the gamut from highly polished and bejeweled to hunters with artistic flair. Author and former BLADE managing editor Joe Kertzman covers scrimshaw and engraving, as well as the art of each style of knife. Normally, $35, this beautiful book is now on sale for $21, a 40-percent savings.
Pete Sloan made two neck knives for the wife and son of his friend and fellow maker Spencer Aplin. He used his daughter’s hand to perfect mini knife’s design, ensuring it fit the tiny hands of Lisa Johnson Aplin and son Alexx who suffer from brittle bone disease.
“One thing that Spencer is very good at is knowing what I’d like,” Lisa Johnson Aplin said. Lisa is the co-founder and chief operating officer of STA Custom Knives out of Brazoria, Texas. She and knifemaker Spencer Aplin were married in 1993, and together they have a son Alexx who will be 24 in a couple of months, a journalist and sometimes quality controller in his father’s shop. Lisa had no idea that a Sloan Custom Knives creation she admired had already been custom-ordered for her by her husband. Lisa suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, so although she does not have dwarfism and is therefore not a “little person,” she is a very little person. The one thing that Pete Sloan has plenty of access to is little people in the form of children, 9 to be exact. So, he used one daughter’s hand to perfect the mini knife fit and design.
Erin Sloan is 9 now, but she was 5 when her dad, Pete, asked her to help him custom-fit a tiny neck knife. Erin is one of 9 Sloan children.
Lisa’s favorite color is green and Spencer had been admiring a green knife he saw on Facebook that his friend Pete had made. “He asked me if I could make one for his wife,” Pete said. Pete was surprised and honored that Spencer, a maker he greatly admires for his knifemaking in general and blade-carving in particular, would ask him for a knife. Pete told Spencer that he was welcome to make the knife if he wanted, but Spencer said, no, that Pete had a good command of the Wharncliffe design and he wanted Pete to make it.
Pete Sloan started out with an old 4-by-36-inch belt grinder–generally considered underpowered and not ideally configured for knifemaking–and some hand files. “I liked it,” he said.
Humbled, Pete was determined to get it right. But he lived in Medina, Tennessee, and had never met Lisa. He only had Spencer’s description of her size to go on. Lisa is 2 feet, 10 inches tall. Pete’s daughter Erin was 5 at the time. So, he roughed out the 440C stainless steel blades and then with a Sharpie marked the first finger groove using Erin’s grip as a guide, grinding until it was just right for her petite hand. Spencer requested the stainless steel because the Aplins live next to salt water, and he wanted to minimize corrosion. Pete said he mostly gets requests for pattern-welded steel.
Spencer Aplin of STA Custom Knives, standing, took his son, Alexx, and wife and business partner, Lisa, to the 2015 BLADE Show.
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Unbreakable” starring Bruce Willis, you know what osteogenesis imperfecta entails. Mr. Glass’ character, played by Samuel L. Jackson, has a form of the condition that allowed him to grow to full height, but his lifestyle is still hampered by debilitating bone breaks. Lisa and subsequently her son Alexx have Type III OI. A genetic mutation causing a lack of collagen, subsequently prompting connective tissue issues. The result is that bones fracture easily and those with the affliction will be short in stature with a curved spine and barrel-shaped chest. Type I is the most mild form of the condition, Type II and Type VIII the most severe and most often fatal. Types III through VI vary in symptoms and genetic causes. OI has been traced through mummies back to 1000 BC Egypt. Even though the condition has been around a long time, there is still no cure.
Pete Sloan used green-dyed curly maple for the scales on Lisa Aplin’s knife and blue-dyed and natural sycamore for Alexx’s. You can contact Richard Beam on Facebook for such impregnated wood products.
Pete used stabilized curly maple dyed green from Richard Beam at Nicholas Impregnated Woods to make the handle for Lisa’s knife and a combination blue-dyed and natural sycamore for Alexx’s. Each came with a Kydex sheath and cording to wear around the neck. At the 2015 BLADE Show, Lisa finally met Pete in person and he presented her with the knife. She loved it! “Green is my favorite color,” she said. She uses the knife all the time, opening boxes that come to the shop and for everyday uses around the house. Although it can be used for food preparation, Lisa doesn’t cook, she said laughing. Spencer does the cooking. She treasures the knife. “It’s one of my favorite’s in my collection.” She continues to be impressed with the fit and with how Pete obtained it.
Push Kydex sheaths away with your thumb rather than struggling to pull the knife out. If they are too tight, contact the maker. He can heat and loosen the fit while still ensuring the knife does not fall out.
The only thing that Pete could not have accounted for was hand strength or lack thereof. Both Lisa and Alexx had a hard time drawing their knives. Spencer simply heated up the sheaths and worked the knives in them so that they released more easily without falling out. “It not something he could have known about,” Lisa said. “I think he did a great job.”
When asked how she adapts to daily activities in a full-size house at her stature and in a wheelchair, Lisa’s answer was immediate and delivered in as cheery a tone as everything else she talks about. “The great thing about being married to someone who works with his hands,” Lisa explained, “is that Spencer can make me anything I might need customized.” The Sloan Custom Knife was an unexpected surprise, but in hindsight typical of Spencer to have picked out exactly what she would have picked out for herself long beforehand.
It’s a challenge to get all the Sloans in one place. This is the whole family minus oldest daughter, Becca, who is in the U.S. Air Force.
Pete visited Spencer before the 2017 BLADE Show and the two slept little working hard to finish up knives to sell. Spencer and Pete make knives with similar styles as Spencer shares his knowledge with Pete. And if Pete ever needs another hand model, he can turn to one of his and his wife, Holly’s, nine children, some biological, some adopted, some that came by other means: Becca, 19; Carson, 18; Gage, 15; Brant, 14; Makenzie, 13; Leigha, 10; Erin, 9; Madeline, 8; and Grace, 7. The couple used to be foster parents. “There a story to just about all of them,” Pete noted with a laugh.
Contact Pete Sloan at [email protected] or on Facebook at Sloan Custom Knives.
These mini neckers are 4.25 inches overall. The 440C stainless steel blades are 2 inches. The full-tang construction allows for a lanyard through hole. These were designed for child-sized hands, but come in larger versions. Handle material is impregnated wood from Richard Beam. Maker’s list price: $200 shipped with Kydex sheath.
Are You Looking to Perfect Your Own Everyday Carry?
Another thing you’ll learn more about in Wayne Goddard’s “Making The Everyday Carry Knife” is selecting the right materials for a handle that lasts.
“Making the Everyday Carry Knife” by Wayne Goddard includes information on how to determine the best blade and handle length. You’ll also get tips on how to use your computer to assist you in designing your knife, plus lots more including grinding and tempering techniques and tool suggestions. At only $4.99 in digital format it’s a wealth of information at a steal.
Brent Vaccaro of Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear left high school in his junior year. He already knew carpentry inside and out. But it was when he turned to knifemaking that he found a way to identify himself that had eluded him during his other business attempts. This dropout knifemaker is a master at marketing.
Brent Vaccaro of Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear attended high school in New Jersey where he was born and raised. He excelled in woodworking, banging out projects that those two years ahead of him struggled through. His teacher helped him, Brent said, but perhaps most by giving him the freedom to do his own thing. Brent grew up building houses. His family lived in the middle of an open subdivision field and every day after school Brent would work on the other eight houses that needed to be constructed. In his junior year, bullying got too much. He left school and became a carpenter. Over the course of 15 years he worked in construction, running his own business and working for others. He also started a tactical gear company, and he dabbled in beard accessories during the height of facial hair resurgence. He never could quite establish an identity for himself in any of his three businesses, he admitted, but when he started making knives, everything came together. Now, no matter how different Brent’s knives are from each other, when you see a Black Widow knife, you recognize it immediately. The dropout knifemaker is a master of marketing.
Model: H.E.R.L Blade Length: 4.25 inches Blade Steel: CPM-S30V Blade Finish: acid wash with spider web etch Scales: Voodoo Resin’s Purple Haze with KS Carbon bolster Overall Length: 8″ inches Maker’s list price: $250-$350 shipped with Kydex sheath and Tec-Lok Contact: Message Brent Vaccaro on Facebook at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear. (Additional contacts at end of article.)
Around the time that Brent was struggling with being in school, when he was 16, his father gave him a pocketknife. It was a now-discontinued Kershaw model. “I still have it. I loved that knife,” Brent said. But he never had the money to collect knives, and some days he gets a mock scolding from his wife, Megan for forgetting to carry a blade on him. He was getting disillusioned with the diminishing level of artistry within carpentry, the lack of appreciation from the customers and the sense that the industry was solely focused on money. Although the skill sets are similar in woodworking and metalworking, it took some time to transition. Now Brent loves metalworking. It’s not months or years to finish a project with barely a handshake and never a thank you. It’s the instant gratification of seeing a knife come to completion over a course of days, sending it out and having the customer write him that they have no words for how impressed they are with his knife.
Model: BW Tac Tanto Blade Steel: CPM S30V Blade length: 3.5 inches Blade Finish: dark acid wash and stonewash finish with aggressive gimping Scales: Voodoo Resins’ Bloody Hulk with KS Carbon Fiber bolsters. Overall length: 7 inches Maker’s list price: $230-$330 shipped with Kydex sheath and Tec-Lok Contact: Message Brent Vaccaro on Facebook at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear. (Additional contacts at end of article.)
And therein lies his mastery. Brent is fulfilled by that appreciation for his craft, and he knows exactly how to represent his knives to the world in the best possible light—literally—without ever crossing into exaggeration. It means a lot to him that he has created an identity for himself that is true to him, celebratory of his knifemaking and honoring to the client. “It’s an extension of self,” Brent said, adding that he wants his knives to be passed on as a part of his and his client’s heritage. You only have to look at a photo of a Black Widow knife to get the “feel” for the candied richness of the colors, the smoothness of the handle and the badassery of the blade itself.
“I don’t keep them,” Brent said. So each night he takes the time to shoot exceptional photos of each piece, a running catalog of his work, for him to remember by and for the client to share. He takes 10 to 15 photos of every knife and picks the best ones. And that’s because he’s found a system that works for him. At first, you’ll need to shoot far more to find the right lighting and angles. “You have to take the time to do it. It’s part of marketing,” he said.
If you want to take great photos of your knives, upgrade your cell phone, make yourself a lightbox, buy some handheld lights and take the time to learn how to make your knives look, not OK, but fantastic.
Building A Lightbox That Works
Brent invested $50 in his lightbox. At The Home Depot he bought 1-inch PVC and eight 90-degree T connections. With those he made his two squares for the box ends. He also got alligator clips. At Walmart he bought a king-sized white sheet and clipped it taught to the PVC frame. The whole thing is collapsible so that he can move it out of the way when he’s working. And, of course, the white sheet is no longer white.
The Backdrop
Normally, light boxes are made with white construction paper on the floor that bends up the back. Not Brent’s. He does a lot of Kydex. He was heating up a 2-by-4-foot sheet of carbon fiber one day and as it bent, it occurred to him to use it in the lightbox. He had to buy more Kydex, but he likes the look of it. That was probably anther $50, but wouldn’t be necessary for everyone since every knifemaker’s style is different. Brent strives to build tough knives that military and law enforcement can respect, while still appealing to the civilian population with his Candy-Crush-like handles. He mostly uses Matt Peterson’s Voodoo Resins scales, but he’s also using some of J Hue Customs’.
Model: Recluse Neck Knife Blade Steel: CPM-D2 Blade Length: 3.25 inches Blade Finish: acid wash with American flag etch on both sides Scales: Voodoo Resins’ Chameleon Overall length: 5.5 inches. Maker’s list price: Price range: $165-$200 with Kydex neck sheath Contact: Message Brent Vaccaro at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear
Lights! Camera! Action—No Really, Move Around!
For lights he purchased round Utilitech LEDs that he can hold while he shoots. “The light is never stationary,” he explained. He waits until complete darkness because he has two windows in his shop and he wants total control of the lighting. Because the LEDs are very white lights, bluish even, he adds a 60-watt lightbulb to add a yellow hue to balance out the lighting. He moves around with his iPhone 7 Plus (“There is a difference with the Plus,” he notes.) and his light and gets exactly the angle and lighting he wants. Not only are the knives well lit, especially for mood-inducing vignettes, for which the majority of a knifemaker’s photos will be used, especially online, but they are in crystal clear focus. Brent does not use the focus feature on the phone. That will only cause the camera to focus on one point on the knife, when the objective is to show the entire knife in full focus, even if you have the point or butt stylistically in the background. He also does not use the flash, which only washes out colors and overexposes the image.
Model: The Carnage Blade length: 4 inches Blade Steel: CPM S30V Blade Finish: acid/stonewashed with American flag etch on both sides Scales: J Hue Customs’ hybrid red, white and blue resin with maple burl Overall length: 8 inches Maker’s list price: $320-$500 shipped with Kydex sheath and Tec-Lok Contact: Message Brent Vaccaro on Facebook at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear (Additional contacts at end of article.)
Props Never Steal The Scene
Brent uses all kinds of props in his still-lifes. Because he also produces tactical gear, like custom Kydex sheaths, you will often see pistols, ammunition and other gear as accessories in his pictures. Chain, motorcycle gloves, even Halloween webbing have been used in Black Widow images. His artistic eye is always at work, not only in the making of the knives, but in his ability to let the knives do the talking. They are always center stage. They are the first things you see in the picture and the props are there only to compliment the knives, never upstage them.
Editing
Brent uses two apps to edit his images: PicLab and Aviary. He bumps up the saturation until the image represents what you see in person. It’s important not to overdue saturation because then your customers will be disappointed that your knife doesn’t live up to how it was displayed online, all back-lit by the computer screen. It’s equally important, though, that the knife not appear duller than it is in real life.
Creating An Image
Brent is one of those men who is smart, learns quickly and follows directions. He is also a good man, turning away from an industry that couldn’t fulfill his creativity and abraded his integrity. He has been rewarded with great success. “I’m outgrowing my shop,” he said. Brent knows he’ll have to return to carpentry to build himself more space. He can’t believe it sometimes when he thinks how far he’s come in his year of knifemaking. Metal work comes easier to him. “I don’t get nearly as angry as I used to get doing carpentry,” he said. He’d be thinking artistically and make a little strip of wood for something and it would break. Sometimes he’ll find a scratch in a knife handle and he’ll have to go back and grind it out and re-sand—normally, he goes all the way from 150 to 2000 grit—but it’s not nearly as frustrating as woodworking had been.
Model: The Patella Recurve Blade length: 4 inches Blade Steel: CPM S30V Blade Finish: acid wash Scales: Voodoo Resins’ Red Honeycomb with KS Carbon bolsters Overall length: 7.75 inches Maker’s list price: $380-$500 with Kydex sheath and Tec-Lok Contact: Message Brent Vaccaro on Facebook at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear. (Additional contacts at bottom of article.)
Brent takes great pride when someone in the industry tells him they recognize his work right off. He has been an apt student of life. The years of entrepreneurship that didn’t work, prepared him for the one that would work. But no matter how much marketing you apply to your knifemaking, the knife must still cut. It must still hold up to wear and perform as expected upon arrival and for generations to come. Time will tell, but sometimes dues get paid behind the scenes and a meteoric rise is well-earned.
Meanwhile, Brent will have to break away for the birth of his first child, a son, Blake—due any day—and at some point, he’ll need to expand his shop, but he never closes his books for long. He doesn’t think it reflects well to just drop a knife. He refuses to do it. He respects reliability in the people he does business with, so he holds himself to that standard for his customers. Just get in touch, but be aware if you do, you’ll get caught up in the Black Widow web.
Contact: Brent E. Vaccaro by email at [email protected] or Message him on Facebook at Black Widow Knifeworks & Tactical Gear. He also has a website at www.blackwidowtac.com. If you need to call, Message first, otherwise he might not hear you over the machines, 908-328-2049.
It’s All In The Grind
Mastering this one skill will improve your craft immensely. For less than $5, you can add an essential to your knifemaking library.
Author R.J. Martin instructs on flat and double hollow grinds. He discusses chisel grinds, tip shaping, the two-hand pass and lots more in “Knife Grinding Secrets.” Most importantly the finesse of grinding will be covered so that you can master the skill. Downloadable version availabe for $4.99.
