The BLADE Blogs

The American Knife & Tool Institute named a new president and vice president at the 2011 BLADE Show.

Bill Raczkowski moved up from vice president to president, supplanting Goldie Russell, who concluded a successful four-year term in the top spot, while CRKT’s Rod Bremer was named vice president.

“AKTI is on track to positively change knife and tool legislation with a conservative approach, while continuing to educate those within the judicial system to the proper use of these tools,” the new president said. “I look forward to representing this community for the betterment of the industry and all knife owners.”

Bremer, who also serves on AKTI’s education committee, spoke of a bright future for AKTI and those it serves.

“We are developing some exciting new ideas that we hope to launch soon to aid the law enforcement community and individuals to better understand the issues via new and developing electronic media,” he noted. “It has been a pleasure to serve on the AKTI Board of Regents for the past couple of years and to be a part of an organization that has been reenergized to serve the family of knife users, retailers and producers. Going forward, my hope is that AKTI’s vigilance on the legislative front brings continued success to protect our rights to carry and use knives.”

Concluded Bremer, “As a newly elected officer of AKTI, my hope is that I can be a good steward of the organization and its mission like all those who have preceded me.”

For more information contact AKTI Executive Director Jan Billeb at [email protected], visit www.AKTI.org or call 307-587-8296.

From Lansky:

American Bladesmith Society (ABS) Chairman Jim Batson has announced that effective immediately the business office for the American Bladesmith Society (ABS) has been moved to Grand Rapids, Ohio, and Cindy Sheely is the ABS Office Manager. Cindy can be reached at [email protected] or call (419) 832-0400.

The new American Bladesmith Society address is:
 
American Bladesmith Society, Inc
P. O. Box 160
Grand Rapids, OH 45522

The Cypress, Texas, ABS office is now closed.

In my haste to get the winners of the 2011 BLADE Show custom knife competition on our Web site, I entered the wrong name for the winner of Best Bowie. The correct winner is ABS master smith John White, not John Martin. I inadvertently put John Martin instead of John White. The fact that RJ Martin won Best Fighter and was listed right after John White on the list in the story must’ve bumfuzzled me.

My apologies to John White, who has won many custom awards at the BLADE Show over the years and is one of the leading bladesmiths in our industry today. Sorry about that, John!

Oh–and the original story listing the winners has been amended to include John White.

Enjoy these pictures BLADE staff snapped at the 2011 BLADE Show.

Crowds line the entrance:

When the doors open, knife fans have fun on the show floor:

Many celebrities attended BLADE Show unannounced and unbilled. Not the Gunny, though. You’d recognize him anywhere:

Knife stars of the political world attended, too. Here’s New Hampshire Rep. Jenn Coffey, a champion of knife rights. Her knife preemption bill was signed into New Hampshire law just before BLADE Show:

Attendees also attended seminars and demonstrations:

Before you knew it, they were passing out Knife of the Year Awards:

Other great prizes were distributed, too. Patrick Burns won a free trip to the show, courtesy of KnifeBroker.com:

Sometimes, a professional photo of a knife is worth going to the show alone. Eric Eggley worked hard throughout the show:

The banquet was the centerpiece of the show. The movers and shakers of the knife industry spoke and were recognized for their achievements. For a complete list of winners, click here:

From all preliminary indications, the 30^th Annual BLADE Show held over the weekend at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta was one of the best in recent memory.

The show appears to have had some of the heaviest customer traffic in the history of the event. Pete Cohan of the National Knife Museum said the lines of people waiting to buy tickets that streamed by his booth in the show foyer were some of the longest he’d ever seen.

Meanwhile, sales were great for a number of exhibitors. Purveyor Les Robertson said he sold more the Friday of the show than he did during all of last year’s event. Custom knifemaker Brian Tighe said he sold 45 knives in the first day or so. Maker Michael Zscherny said he sold all seven of his knives quickly, too, and that next year he will bring more. Bill Burke said he sold 17 of the 19 knives he brought before the show was two hours old Friday. Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member D’ Holder also reported strong sales.

Dave Wilson was the lucky winner of the special William Henry Studio 30^th Anniversary BLADE Show knife, valued at $10,000. BLADE Show attendees could enter by visiting the booths of the American Knife & Tool Institute, Custom Knife Collectors Association and Knife Rights, and filling out a form and depositing it at a box at each respective booth. The idea was to expose more knife enthusiasts to how they can protect their right to own and carry a knife through AKTI and KR, and how to collect custom knives through the CKCA. One observer said the boxes were stuffed so full of forms that it was difficult to shake them up properly for the drawing at each booth. The final drawing was done at the William Henry booth.

Also, the lines were long for BLADE Show patrons who wanted to meet, get the autograph of and pose for pictures with R. Lee “The Gunny” Ermey at the SOG Specialty Knives & Tools booth. The Gunny was his usual irrepressible self and entertained show patrons for most of Saturday at the SOG booth. The BLADE Show cannot thank SOG and The Gunny enough for their efforts.

At the BLADE Show Banquet, Charles Elsener Jr. gave a stirring speech accepting on behalf of his near-90-year-old father, Carl Elsener Sr., for the latter’s induction into the Cutlery Hall Of Fame. Elsener Sr. has been president of Victorinox Swiss Army knives since shortly after the end of World War II, and has led the company to its mega-success since. Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Tim Leatherman gave a touching induction speech for the elder Elsener.

The Blade Magazine 2011 Knife Of The Year® Awards recognized the industry’s finest factory knives and are as follows:

•Overall Knife Of The Year®: Zero Tolerance 0777;

•American Made Knife Of The Year®: Spyderco Native 5 Fluted Ti;

•Imported Knife Of The Year®: Spyderco Vallotton Subhilt:

•Most Innovative American Design: Microtech Select Fire;

•Most Innovative Imported Design: Fox Dobolock;

•Best Buy Of The Year®: Columbia River Knife & Tool Shenanigan;

•Investor/Collector Knife Of The Year®: William Henry Studio ST-4010;

•Manufacturing Quality Award: Chris Reeve Knives;

•Collaboration Of The Year®: Zero Tolerance and Rick Hinderer for the Model 0560;

•Kitchen Knife Of The Year®: Kershaw Shun Fuji;

•Accessory Of The Year®: Blade-Tech MOLLE Lok;

•Industry Achievement Award: Pete Cohan;

•Publisher’s Award: New Hampshire Rep. Jenn Coffey.

The BLADE Show custom knife awards are as follows:

•Best Knife Collaboration and Best Of Show: Dennis Friedly art knife engraved by Gil Rudolph;

•Best Miniature Knife: Yoshio Sakauchi;

•Best Fixed Blade: Rodrigo Sfreddo;

•Best Bowie: John White;

•Best Fighter: R.J. Martin;

•Most Innovative Design: Joe Caswell;

•Best Utility Hunter: Dan Farr;

•Best Sword: Vince Evans;

•Best Art Knife: Donald Vogt;

•Best Of The Rest: Mardi Meshejian;

•Best New Maker: Rod Watts;

•Best Handle Design: Vince Evans;

•Best Tactical Folder: Brian Fellhoelter;

•Best Damascus Knife: John White.

On the American Bladesmith Society end of things, a highlight was the husband and wife team of Adam and Haley DesRosiers winning the B.R. Hughes Award and the George Peck Award, respectively, for the best respective knives by ABS master and journeyman smith applicants. Also, Bert Gaston won the Don Hastings Award, Julie Britton the Margaret Moran Silver Slipper Award, and Kyle Royer the Bill Moran Award for the society’s best annual knife done in the style of a European quillon dagger. Also, the announcement was made that Michael Price, Joe Keeslar and Jim Schmidt would be among those who would be inducted into the ABS Hall Of Fame in August.

There was much, much more—the best in seminars, knife lotteries, knife giveaways, collection displays, etc. For the complete report on the show, see an upcoming issue of BLADE®.

Editor’s note: The knives pictured with the story are the new Shenanigan models from Columbia River Knife & Tool. The Shenanigan is the Blade Magazine 2011 Best Buy Of The Year®.

From Knife Rights:

Knife Rights today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit to stop New York City from arresting law-abiding citizens carrying common pocket knives.

The lawsuit challenges New York State law on “gravity knives” and “switchblades,” and New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s attempt to mischaracterize the most widely-owned pocket knives in America as contraband. The case seeks a judicial determination that the law is unconstitutionally vague as applied to these ordinary pocket knives.

“District Attorney Vance is trying to advance his political career by exploiting a vague state law to demonize common pocket knives,” said Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter. “In the process, hundreds of law abiding knife owners are being arrested and Vance has extracted nearly $2 million from retailers to avoid prosecution on bogus charges. This lawsuit intends to put a stop to Vance’s abusive and unconscionable civil rights violations.”

“One-hand opening pocket knives are legal tools, used and carried every day by millions of law-abiding citizens for work, recreation and self-defense,” said Ritter. “Shame on D.A. Vance for demonizing common tools and turning honest citizens into criminals for purely political ends.”

If you are a retailer or individual who has been targeted for the sale or possession of so-called illegal knives (one-hand opening and assisted opening knives inappropriately claimed to be gravity knives or switchblades), we urge you to immediately contact Knife Rights at: email [email protected] or call toll-free: 1-866-889-6268.

Joining Knife Rights as plaintiffs are two private citizens, John Copeland, an internationally acclaimed artist, and Pedro Perez, an artist and fine art dealer, both New York City residents. The defendants are New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., the New York State Attorney General, and the City of New York. Knife Rights is represented by attorney David Jensen. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Click here to download the Federal Complaint as filed.

Knife Rights is supported in this lawsuit by the Knife Rights Foundation Sharper Future Legal Fund™ whose major donors include at Platinum level: Benchmade Knife Co., Blue Ridge Knives, Buck Knives, Columbia River Knife & Tool, Taylor Brands and United Cutlery; Silver level: KnifeWorks.com and Wenger NA; Titanium level: Smokey Mountain Knife Works; Bronze level: Ethan Becker and KA-BAR Knives. Please support those who support your knife rights.