Joe Kertzman's Blog

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.

Shhhh! Don’t tell anybody. We wouldn’t want yet more people filing through the doors of the biggest knife show on earth. Let’s keep it our little secret. But mark your calendars for the 30th Annual 2011 BLADE Show & International Cutlery Fair, to be held June 10-12, 2011, at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.

That’s right, 30 years. Now that’s something special, and there will be a slate of seminars, 750 tables of handmade, edged goodies, booths of factory, semi-production and even custom knives and swords, and much, much more. You know the drill, and what a sweet routine it is!

Yee ha!

The December 2010 issue of BLADE, on most newsstands and subscribers’ doorsteps by September 14th, is devoted entirely to the fighting men and women serving in the military, as well as to industry professionals, including custom knifemakers, who support our troops. It’s a first of its kind in the world of knife magazines.

The cover knife—a Les George XM-7 EOD Combat Knife—was developed over four years of hands-on experience and feedback from United States Marine Corps explosive ordnance disposal technicians at home and in assorted combat zones. Wait until you see and read about it.

You won’t want to miss the December 2010 issue. Stories feature “Knives Made By Soldiers and For Soldiers,” how the “Troops Deserve Better Issue Knives,” a profile on six-year Navy veteran and full-time knifemaker Aaron Frederick, a heartwarming piece on A.G. Russell Knives, Smoky Mountain Knife Works, the Paralyzed Veterans Association and others who help support the troops, “Knife Families On Active Duty,” what knives the soldiers really carry, “Twin Brothers, Makers and Heroes,” “Knives They Carry in Iraq,” and an intriguing piece you are sure to love titled “Sting, Uncle Jerry And the Frozen Chicken.”

The December issue is filled with knives our fighting men and women need, carry, cherish and depend upon. Being able to provide such information, honoring our troops, my friends, was a humbling experience. This is one issue you’ll save, read, re-read and possibly pass along to friends and relatives with the admonition, “I want it back!”

Better yet, get a few extra copies for your friends. And enjoy!

Take a couple of minutes out of your busy schedule to relax and participate in a spectacular tour of the National Knife Museum housed in Smoky Mountain Knife Works. It’s a well-done, albeit homemade, video set to a couple of catchy tunes, and will definitely renew your energy and give you a fresh outlook on life, whether it’s to start or end your day. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehSTQ03_ICE

On October 16-17, the Colorado Botanic Gardens will play host to 28 members of the Colorado Metalsmithing Assoc. displaying and selling their work. Knives will share space with monumental sculptures, and the setting is spectacular. Displays will include one-of-a-kind art jewelry, collectible custom knives by Jerry McClure and small sculptures by Travis Ogden and Pat Ryan.

The international Colorado Metalsmithing Assoc. members are some of the finest artists and teachers in their field.

“It’s the largest and smallest art forms that possess the most power.” —Henry Moore

This is pretty cool. Many of you know the American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI), a knife rights advocacy group working for the entire knife industry. Now it’s easy to support the AKTI, and get a neat gift item at the same time. The AKTI is offering bright red luggage tags labeled with the organization’s emblem, with every cent of the sales procedes going to support AKTI’s effort to protect your right to own and carry knives. You can put a luggage tag on every piece of luggage you own, making it easy to find your black bag among all those other black bags on the airport carousel; and it identifies your bag for the airlines if it is lost. Measures 4-1/4″ x 2-1/2″. Visit http://akti.org/ to learn more about AKTI and their efforts.

The December 2010 issue of BLADE Magazine is devoted entirely, from front to back, to our fighting men and women serving in the military. Find out what knives they’re using, how, where and why, learn about standard-issue military pieces, what makers are fashioning war knives for whom, which manufacturers specialize in the genre, and read real-life stories about our soldiers, interviews with our soldiers and stories written for our soldiers. They all like to tell about their favorite carry knives, and the photos of them on location “somewhere in Iraq, Afghanistan or …. ” are fascinating.

It’s the only knife magazine ever printed that is entirely devoted to the military.

It’s the best tribute BLADE could pay to our men and women in uniform, and the staff of BLADE Magazine was humbled to be able to do so. Here’s to our fighting men and women. See the December 2010 issue, on newsstands and hitting subscribers’ doorsteps on September 14th.