Are you in search of your “Holy Grail” of knives or have you found it? Or did you find it and trade it away? Or do you doubt that such a knife exists? The new issue of BLADE®, on newsstands now, examines the topic of holy grail knives in depth with a special story interviewing those who have found theirs and still have them, and another enthusiast who questions whether there even is such a knife.

Also in the latest issue of the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication is our semi-annual story on the planet’s hottest custom knifemakers’ hottest knives. We polled those who buy and sell the top custom knives for a living—custom knife purveyors—for their opinion on the matter, and they list the knives by maker and price in “Feel The Burn.”

Are you ready to make knives? You may be more prepared than you think. Knifemaker Brian Goode has been making knives for 10 years and has written and talked on the subjects not only of getting started in knifemaking but also how to do it on a budget—including a class on the latter at the 3rd Annual BLADE University during the 2016 BLADE Show. Learn his thoughts on the subject in his special story.

Flipper folders, slip joints and tactical fixed blades remain among the world’s most popular knives. Join Dave Rhea for the latest factory flippers, James Morgan Ayres for a test of today’s sharpest tactical straight knives, and Abe Elias as he gauges the performance of some of contemporary cutlery’s most economical slip joints in the latest BLADE.

The question of whether collectible knives also should be used is one that has been debated by knife enthusiasts for decades. Veteran bladesmith/BLADE field editor Ed Fowler supplies the answers as only he can in “Collectors or Users: Who Comes First?”

There’s much more in this issue, including some of the coolest knives from the 2016 Art of Steel Little Rock Custom Knife Show; factory knife companies that continue to offer new knives in a selection of different old-school high-carbon steels; a test by MSG Kim Breed of two utility fixed blades; visits to the shops of Turkish knifemakers who trace their cutlery lineage back over eight centuries; John Doyle’s modern interpretation of an ancient Eastern design known as the kard; instructor Doug Hepler and a class on cold forging he taught to high school students on a lonely atoll in the South Pacific; the knives carried by three BLADE readers; and more, all in the latest BLADE—on newsstands now!

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