Daniel Terdiman, staff writer for CNET News, always thought it would be cool to see how Victorinox Swiss Army Knives were made. His wish came true on a recent trip to the central Swiss town of Ibach, and the Victorinox factory.Â
As he notes, “There’s no doubt about it, a visit to the Victorinox factory in this small town in central Switzerland affords a guest a visual feast, and as part of Road Trip 2011, I was lucky enough to get to gorge on it.”
Great knives have face. I’m not talking about a face like on a Halloween mask, but a knife with a design or style that’s recognizable by a large number of knife enthusiasts as having been made first by one knifemaker and one knifemaker only.
The face, in this instance, is the unmistakable knife design or style of the maker in question.
There are at least two provisos: 1. To fully qualify as a knife with face the knife must be recognizable by a large number of knife enthusiasts. Now, there no doubt are great knives made by makers that one or a few enthusiasts may recognize as being the knives of specific makers, but the ones that really fill the bill are the ones many enthusiasts can look at and say, “Yep, that’s so-and-so’s knife.” It’s effective in terms of a conversation starter among knife enthusiasts who are friends, or as a conversation icebreaker among those who have just met. They don’t know each other but they do know great knives with face.
2. Some of the makers of knives with face have had their designs with face emulated by many others. Even so, if the knife has face those who recognize it will say that it’s in the style of the maker who originated it.
Following is a selection of great knives with face and why they qualify. Enjoy!
The Bob Loveless dropped or drop-point hunter. The Loveless drop-point hunter is one of the great knives with face on this list that meets Proviso 2 above. While it may not appear to be all that unusual, the drop-point style of the blade—where the blade tip falls below the plane of the spine—is something Loveless popularized in the 1970s and ’80s, and it remains his signature style to this day.
The Bill Moran style. Actually, as with Loveless, any number of Moran knives have face, though I’ve chosen one of my favorites: the ST-24. The flowing blade with a long clip point and ergonomically contoured dropped handle with silver wire inlay is unmistakably a Moran.
The Michael Walker style. Walker’s linerlock folder changed knives forever but he also makes models unlike anyone else. Outfitted with any number of his clever and innovative locks, each of which gives the handle a notably different look at the pivot, Walker’s knives use the latest and most exotic materials, are embellished in any number of creative and ornate ways, and usually have some of the most interesting blade shapes you’ll ever see.
The Jurgen Steinau style. When I first saw one of Jurgen Steinau’s knives, at first I wasn’t even sure I was looking at a knife. The designs, angles and materials of his knives are like something from a book on intergalactic architecture. Suffice it to say, Steinau’s great knives have face—and then some!
Jim Schmidt’s Goblin Folder. Schmidt’s Goblin Folders have face in more ways than one. Not only do they have the face of a goblin on the handle’s stag butt, but that face makes the knife unmistakable as the style originally made by Mr. Schmidt. A number of his other models have face as well.
There are others who make great knives with face. Which ones make your list?
1 The Loveless dropped or drop-point hunter has face in large part because of the drop-point blade with the tip that drops below the plane of the spine. An original is shown at bottom here, with a Schrade repro at top.4 Jurgen Steinau’s great knives have face for their design, angles and materials that look like something straight out of a book on intergalactic architecture.3 Michael Walker’s spectacular folders have face for any number of reasons, from their distinctive pivots to their exotic materials, creative embellishments and standout blade shapes.2 Bill Moran’s ST-24 has face thanks to the long, flowing blade and ergonomic dropped handle with silver wire inlay—not to mention his distinctive sheaths. Those who know great knives recognize the Moran style immediately.
5 Jim Schmidt’s Goblin Folder has face in more ways than one—it actually has the face of a goblin on the handle butt!
Three knife events—the Kentucky Cutlery Association Show, the Boise Knife Show and the Art Knife Invitational—all will be conducted this weekend.
A one-day, by-invitation-only event, on Saturday, Oct. 29, the Art Knife Invitational assembles 25 of the world’s leading knifemakers and their knives in San Diego. For more information, call 877-734-2726.
Held at the EXPO Idaho Center in Boise, Idaho, the Boise Knife Show will run Friday through Sunday, Oct. 28-30. For more information contact David Jacobson at 208-447-7000 and/or visit www.rockymountainknifeshow.com.
The Kentucky Cutlery Association Show also will run Friday through Sunday and will be held in the Paroquet Springs Conference Center in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. For more information contact Jerry Bodner at 502-968-5946 or 502-552-1103.
Following the lead of the Federal Switchblade Act amendment of 2009, and language American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) officials said they successfully used first in California in 2001, Rep. Mark Neuman (R), Alaska House District 15, last year introduced clarifying “bias toward closure” language to the definition of gravity knife and switchblade in Alaska’s criminal law.
Unfortunately, time ran out last year for the legislation to be passed.
But as Rep. Neuman promised, he is reintroducing HB 55 this session. As Rep. Neuman states in his Sponsor Statement, “According to the American Knife and Tool Institute, there are over 35.6 million Americans who carry and use some type of utilitarian knife which opens with one hand.” He encourages fellow legislators to recognize the importance of one-handed or assisted-opening knives in Alaska to hunters, anglers and craftsmen, and to support the definition changes to protect Alaskans’ knife rights and clarify that the knives are legal to own and use.
Rep. Neuman attended a presentation last fall by members of the AKTI Board of Regents who showed him several examples of knives, answered his questions and explained the advocacy goals of the organization to protect the knife industry and all knife owners from restrictive and confusing laws.
Alaskans, encourage your representatives to support HB 55. Contact them today at http://w3.legis.state.ak.us.
For more information, call (307) 587-8296 or visit the American Knife & Tool Institute website at www.AKTI.org. The mailing address is 22 Vista View Lane, Cody, WY 82414-9606. Or follow AKTI at: http://www.Facebook.com/SaveOurKnives.
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. For subscription information click on http://www.shopblade.com/product/blade-magazine-one-year-subscripti…?r+ssfb021512#BL1SU
An example of one of Warren Osborne’s Benchmade collaborations is the Emissary.
Long-time knifemaker Warren Osborne passed away Jan. 4 after a long illness. His death comes almost 13 months to the day after his good friend and fellow maker Joe Kious was killed in a truck accident.
A native of Australia, Osborne moved to Texas, where he resided in Waxahachie for many years. He was a full-time knifemaker and sold his first custom knife in 1980. In his trademark cowboy hat and cowboy boots, Warren was a fixture at knife shows and BladeSports International (BSI) cutting competitions. Despite failing health, he exhibited at the recent International Custom Cutlery Exposition in Kansas City, the first-ever knife show coordinated by both the Knifemakers’ Guild and the American Bladesmith Society.
He was known for his high-end custom folding knives, many of them interframes ornately engraved by some of the industry’s leading embellishers. He joined the Knifemakers’ Guild as a probationary member in 1985. He later became a voting member and served on the Guild’s board of directors for a number of years. His knife designs may be best known among the largest number of people through his many collaborations with Benchmade Knife Co.
More recently he was instrumental in the founding of BSI, the world’s leading association of those who compete in knife-cutting competitions. He competed successfully on the BSI circuit for several years and designed and made his own competition knives. He was among the first to use CPM M4 carbon steel for the blades of his competition cutters, a steel that takes a great edge and is tough enough so that M4 blades can be ground very thin without damage to the edge or chipping while in use, great traits for competition cutters to have. He was also among the first to use horse-stall-mat rubber for the handle of a competition cutter. The material excels in enhanced purchase and non-slip qualities. His knives were recognized by many BSI observers for high performance in the competitions. The BSI coordinates the BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition at the BLADE Show each year. This year’s event will be held during the BLADE Show June 3-5 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Georgia.
As he noted on his website, Warren was fascinated by “anything with a blade” from early childhood in his native Australia, and made knives from crosscut saws, chainsaw bars and anything else he found “laying around.” “Bladed weapons were a family thing, so between three brothers and myself, we had quite a collection,” he noted. Later on during his work as a ranch hand in Australia and as a horse trainer in the USA, sharpening and making knives became a spare-time endeavor.
In the March 2014 BLADE® he tied for No. 13 with Shane Taylor and Jason Knight among the top custom makers of the years 2001-2012. As Larry Connelley of KnifeArt.com noted in that issue of BLADE, “Warren’s knives exhibit extremely clean workmanship, combined with outstanding design and a solid business ethic.” The story went on to note, “From art knives to utility and higher-end designs to competition cutters, Osborne’s work has covered as many bases as just about any other maker.”
As good friend and fellow award-winning maker Tom Overeynder observed, “What a great friend and craftsman Warren was. He will be missed by all who ever met him.” Added BSI Executive Director Donavon Phillips, “Warren was a friend and mentor to so many. I feel like I should say more but the words won’t come to me right now.”
Funeral services were held Thursday, Jan. 7, at the Wayne Boze Funeral Home on 1826 W. Hwy. 287 in Waxahachie. Instead of flowers, please make any donations to The Wounded Warrior Project.
Long-time custom knife purveyor Herman “Hank” Rummell of New York Custom Knives (www.newyorkcustomknives.com), who was killed Jan. 29 in a tragic accident when he was struck by a car while walking his dog, is remembered fondly by those who knew him.
“I considered Hank like a brother and our relationship grew over the years from customer/client to one of great friendship,” noted Irv Lehman, one of Hank’s many long-time customers. “He will be missed greatly and the knife shows will never be the same.”
“Hank was at almost every single knife show I attended, going all the way back to 1991,” knifemaker Phil Booth recalled. “I used to hang around to look at the quality knives he kept on his table until I was brave enough to ask to start picking them up and looking closely. Through the years, I showed him my most recent knives to see if they were getting better, and he would critique them and give me hints on how to better my work. Then the day came when he bought a Minnow [one of Booth’s knife models] and set it on his table! He sold that knife and many more. Had it not been for Hank’s watchful eye, my knifemaking would not be where it is today.”
According to Lehman, in lieu of flowers, Mrs. Helen Rummell requests that you make a donation to honor Hank to an animal rescue in your local area. “Helen and Hank were very much dedicated to their dogs and Hank lost his life in keeping his dog safe,” Lehman observed. “That was the ultimate sacrifice for the love of his dog and, knowing Hank, he would do it again.”
