Joe Kertzman's Blog

On Thursday evening, April 26th, two days before the Solvang Knife Show, Dave Ellis, Jack Lucarelli and Ed Wormser are proud to premiere a documentary feature film Robert Loveless, An American Legend, as part of the Beverly Hills Film Festival. 

The film is written and directed by Lucarelli and David Bartlett, and produced by Lucarelli with Wormser and Ellis credited as executive producers.  

The screening will take place as follows:

Clarity Theater
100 North Crescent Drive
Beverly Hills

Red Carpet at 5:30 p.m.
Film Runs from 6:00 – 7:20 p.m.

This will be followed immediately by a cocktail reception. For those who will join Wormser, Lucarelli and Ellis, they are also hosting a pre-theatre get-together at 4:00 p.m. at Mel’s Diner, 8585 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.

Please RSVP to Ed Wormser at [email protected]. 

Congratulations to New Hampshire Rep. Jenn Coffey who sponsored this bill and who worked tirelessly with her colleagues, local advocates and the Knife Rights Org. lobbyist to ensure the bill passed unanimously in both houses of the New Hampshire legislature. Rep. Coffey’s efforts enacted a strong preemption law that will protect knife owners from senseless local ordinances well into the future.

Rep. Coffey won Knife Rights’ Freedom’s Edge award last year for her successful effort to repeal New Hampshire’s prohibitions on switchblades, dirks, daggers and stilettos.  Knife Rights’ National Knife Law Preemption Campaign started successfully last year in Arizona. Earlier this year Utah enacted knife law preemption.

Preemption prevents the creation of, or eliminates, a patchwork of ordinances and rules that serve to confuse or entrap those traveling within or through the state. A person traveling in a state without preemption laws could be charged with a violation of local law when they have no intention of violating the law. Preemption ensures citizens only have to know and abide by state law. Preemption allows Knife Rights and the American Knife & Tool Institute to focus their legislative efforts at the state level where the organizations can more easily succeed in improving the legal environment for knife owners or opposing efforts to impose further restrictions on knives.

United Cutlery announced that it was awarded the licensing agreement to produce replicas of weapons used in the highly-anticipated films The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, each directed by Peter Jackson. The films are productions of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). 

United Cutlery, of course, held the license to reproduce weapons from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and BLADE Magazine ran several of the weapons, stills from the movies and images of characters on the covers and in features of several past issues.

The new line will consist of Dwarven and Elven weapons and arms replicas, along with signature icons, such as the Staff of Gandalf, Sting, and the legendary sword of Thorin Oakenshield, Orcrist. Each collectible will be exactly replicated from the actual film props created by Weta Workshop for the film production. Sting and Orcrist will lead off the line, which will be released in late 2012.

“We are thrilled to return to Middle-earth and continue our partnership with Warner Bros,” said Clint Kadel, CEO and owner of United Cutlery. “With Peter Jackson at the helm, the two films based on The Hobbit™ are sure to be a hit. We are very excited to have the opportunity to give the fans a line of collectibles they will love, while at the same time creating a consistent extension of our The Lord of the Rings line.”

It has been two years since Buck Knives first announced their American Commitment and now, after a full review, they have emphatically renewed that commitment for 2011 and the years ahead.

        “We found it has been effective in every way,” said CJ Buck, president of the 108-year-old family knifemaking company. “Most important, it has been our small way of helping reverse a growing trend to move jobs offshore, while America has too many jobless workers.”

        Buck went on to explain that their policy has resulted in healthy increases in their Idaho workforce. This was possible because they brought back to America the production of many knives they had been outsourcing. As a result, Buck built 30% more product in Idaho in 2010 than they did the year before, a significant measure of success.

        “We are proud that 100% of all our many hunting knives are made right here in Post Falls,” Buck said. “Perhaps more meaningful, 93% of the many new products we have introduced for 2011 are being made in our plant.”

Next month will be your chance to complete your collection of BLADE Magazines–to own every issue from 1973 through 1997 (the first quarter century of BLADE and 165 issues in all) on one completely searchable DVD. BLADE and F&W Media will be offering the DVD the third week of October for $59.99, which equates to 36 cents per issue.

Use the “Bookmarks” feature on the DVD to navigate to whatever story, feature, index, ad, regular column or individual knife you wish to see, read about and admire. Such is the beauty of accessing all issues in living color on your computer screen.

Check www.shopblade.com over the next few weeks to reserve your copy.