A known author of thriller novels, Brad Thor was recently interviewed by everydaycarry.com on what knife and gear he carries on a daily basis. Thor is an American novelist, whose works include several New York Times Best Sellers. He’s just finished his newest book, Code of Conduct, and took some time to share his everyday carry inspired by his many military- and spy-themed thrillers.
Thor enthusiastically related that he carries a CRKT Otanashi noh Ken folder, designed by James Williams, which happened to be a 2015 BLADE Show limited-edition knife (sold out). As Thor noted about the Otanashi noh Ken during the interview, “Simply put, one of the most badass folding knives on the planet. Tons of SpecOps members carry James Williams’ blades. Based on centuries-old Samurai designs, nothing on the market beats it. I carry it because men whose lives depend on their tools, also carry it.”
Thor said that he also carries a Kobold Phantom Chronograph, a Gerber Shard keychain tool, a Fisher Spacer Pen and a Field Notes Pitch Black Edition (both for taking notes–he is an author!), a Streamlight PT1L, Leatherman-style PS multi-tool, an Apple iPhone 6 and a Magpul Field Case iPhone 6 cover.
Named at this past weekend’s 2012 BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, the Blade Magazine 2012 Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards went to the finest production knives the world has to offer.
KAI USA and its knife divisions of Kershaw, Zero Tolerance and Shun dominated the awards, taking home four of the honors: Overall, Best Buy, Knife Collaboration and Kitchen Knife. DPx Gear was a first-time winner, and Chris Reeve Knives and William Henry Studio continued their long-term dominance in the respective categories of Manufacturing Quality and Investor/Collector Knife. Other winners included Microtech, Columbia River Knife & Tool, Spyderco and Wicked Edge. Knife Rights and the American Knife & Tool Institute each won Industry Achievement Awards for their diligence in working to have pro-knife legislation passed in a number of states this year.
The winners by category:
Blade Magazine 2012 Overall Knife Of The Year®: ZT 0888 by Zero Tolerance/KAI USA (pictured at top)
Blade Magazine 2012 American-Made Knife Of The Year®: Socom Delta by Microtech
Blade Magazine 2012 Imported Knife Of The Year®: Onion Foresight by Columbia River Knife & Tool
Blade Magazine 2012 Most Innovative American Design®: Autonomy by Spyderco
Blade Magazine 2012 Most Innovative Imported Design®: DPx HEST T3
Blade Magazine 2012 Manufacturing Quality Award: Chris Reeve Knives
Blade Magazine 2012 Best Buy Of The Year®: Cryo by Kershaw/KAI USA
Blade Magazine 2012 Knife Collaboration Of The Year®: ZT 0600, a collaboration between Zero Tolerance/KAI USA and R.J. Martin
Blade Magazine 2012 Investor/Collector Knife Of The Year®: B12 Freedom by William Henry Studio
Blade Magazine 2012 Kitchen Knife Of The Year®: Taiyo by Shun/KAI USA
Blade Magazine 2012 Accessory Of The Year®: Precision Sharpener Pro-Dash II by Wicked Edge
Blade Magazine 2012 Industry Achievement Awards®: Knife Rights and American Knife & Tool Institute
For the complete story on the winners and the knives, see the November BLADE®.
Read About Previous Winners in BLADE Magazine Back Issue Bundle
Read all about previous Knife-Of-The-Year® winners in the History of BLADE Magazine bundle. It contains DVD-ROMs for your computer to read all BLADE issues from 1973 to 2008.
If you could apply a motto to VMX Knives it would be: Let’s have some fun. At least that’s the impression you get after talking with co-owners James Robert Buckley of Maverick Customs and Kyle Vallotton of three-generation-strong Vallotton Custom Knives. Rob and Kyle became friends online. For BLADE Show 2017, Kyle—sporting a new do—invited Rob, whom he calls Buckley, to share space at the Vallotton table. But due to a confluence of issues, Kyle, who is known for his butterfly art knives, had no balisongs at the table this year. Rob, a machinist and welder before getting into knifemaking, asked Kyle if he’d look at a design he’d come up with for a balisong. Kyle liked it. The men agreed to make the knife together, Kyle bringing his expertise in the art-balisong industry to the newcomer and Rob offering to show Kyle what he knew about machining steel. It wasn’t long before a work flow was ironed out and the VMX-1 was brought from paper to reality, a baby born of blue mohawks, butterfly knives and buddies.
James Robert Buckley is the owner of Maverick Customs out of Horse Cave, Kentucky. He is also the co-owner with Kyle Vallotton of VMX Knives.
Rob Buckley grew up in Glasgow, Kentucky, about 45 minutes northeast of Bowling Green. While in high school and working at a family-owned cabinetry shop, he came to a realization: “I hated wood,” he said, laughing. But he took college-level courses in welding and machining. “It got me,” he said of metalwork. At 17 he entered the Army, wanting combat medic, but settling for infantry. He sustained injuries that would require surgery before continuing his training, so he accepted the proffered medical discharge. Returning home, he landed a machining job in Dickson, Tennessee, where his parents were living at the time. After those few months as a manual machinist and welder, he moved back to Glasgow to work as a certified welder. Six months later he took a position at a magazine printing plant, staying for 10 years. He left for a computer numeric controlled (CNC) machinist position, but he found operating the computer-programmed mills and lathes not as satisfying as hands-on metalworking. Three years ago he began making tools, then later knives, full time.
Kyle Vallotton hit BLADE Show 2017 with a blue mohawk. He is a third-generation knifemaker and the fifth person in his family to be making knives under Vallotton Custom Knives. He is also co-owner of VMX Knives with James Robert Buckley of Maverick Customs.
Kyle Valloton marks the third generation and fifth family member to be making knives under Vallotton Custom Knives. He began in the shop when he was 10 years old. He took some time off to test jobs away from the family business, such as telephone sales representative, but by the time he was 23, he knew he wanted to make knives for a living. He grew up in Umpqua, about an hour and a half south of Eugene. His grandfather Butch was an innovator in the tactical folder and automatic knifemaking world. The Vallottons hold 15 patentable developments with seven still-running royalty contracts. Vallotton innovations appear in numerous production knives, from Gerber to Spyderco.
Kyle Vallotton, left, specializes in high-end balisongs, tapping into both the artistry of his dad, Rainy, and the innovations of his grandpa, Butch, right.
Kyle’s dad, Rainy, made his mark in the high-end art-knife market, and Kyle’s specialty is the butterfly knife. He taps into both his grandfather’s exactitude in specifications and his father’s artistic flare. Kyle’s demeanor exudes good-natured enthusiasm and a sense of fun without being reckless. He contemplated attending BLADE Show 2017 sporting a blue mohawk, but wasn’t sure how it would go over. Finally, he decided to do it. “Let’s have some fun,” he said. “Everyone loved it.”
The VMX-1 prototype was made of BG42, but the production model has a 4-inch blade of CPM 154 steel. The prototype handle is black titanium, but custom-colored anodized titanium handles are available. Artwork by Zach Burcham of West Main St. Tattoos in Glasgow, Kentucky.
The balisong segment of the knife community is a microcosm of the knife industry itself. There are those who use the knives in the practice of Filipino-style martial arts; those who use the knives in a mesmerizing display of twirling and tricks, resplendent with the individual’s unique style; and those who collect the knives created as works of art. In addition, because many states have laws preventing the sale of balisongs—only trainers can be used by residents of those states. Kyle mentioned that he follows Knife Rights‘ work to overhaul outdated knife regulations in numerous states.
Rob jokes that he knows just enough about flipping balisongs to cut himself. In fact, VMX Knives will sell you its butterfly knife without an edge if you prefer. At any time, you are welcome to send it back if you decide you want to go with a live blade.
Zach Burcham, owner of West Main St. Tattoos in Glasgow, Kentucky, designed the logo for Maverick Customs and was brought in again to combine the M from Maverick Custom’s logo as well as a V for Vallotton Custom Knives to create the VMX Knives logo. Like the VMX-1 balisong itself, the logo uses old-school lettering with a modern twist.
Rob got his tattoo artist, Zach Burcham of West Main St Tattoos, who designed the M logo for Maverick Customs—named after Rob’s son—to come up with a logo that incorporated a V for Vallotton with the M for Maverick, and the VMX Knives logo was born. It is representative of the gold-leafing in signs of yore in the style of David Smith, for example, but with a modern twist, which is exactly how this team approaches their design.
The VMX-1 has phosphor bronze washers, titanium screws and standoffs, and a floating latch system designed by Kyle Vallotton. It measure 5.25 inches closed, 9.25 open. Artwork by Zach Burcham, West Main St. Tattoos in Glasgow, Kentucky.
Right now, whichever of the two are ordering supplies in the course of their personal knifemaking businesses purchases whatever VMX needs. They split those expenses 50-50, watching the price of titanium as it fluctuates. At present, Kyle machines the profiles and handles then sends them to Rob, who likens what he receives to model car parts connected to their frames by plastic tabs. “From the sheet I surface everything flat, chamfer holes and shape the tops by hand,” he explained. He also applies any final finish, such as anodizing, and machines some internal parts. Currently, the blades go back to Kyle for hand-grinding, hollow on the belly and convex on the point. Soon unused equipment at the Vallottons’ will be heading Rob’s way so he can also do the grinding. Once all the components reach Rob’s shop, they’re ready for clean-up, assembly, packaging and shipping.
VMX Knives has built a high-end balisong that Kyle Vallotton hopes will change the way flippers think of flippers. You will find some offered for sale at Blade HQ or you can custom order yours by contacting Rob Buckley at Maverick Customs via methods listed at the bottom of this article. Tattoo art by Zach Burcham at West Main St. Tattoos in Glasgow, Kentucky.
“They are the strongest folding knives,” Rob said of balisongs. “There’s no locking failure; the pin stops it from closing.” No matter how tight tolerances are, owners will often loosen up butterfly knives for better flipping. “So it’s like a chain-link fence,” Rob said. He and Kyle are striving for a knife that is as tight as a bushings-and-washers construction can be while still allowing for smooth flipping action. In the future, they hope to offer a bearings model, as well as a limited-run high-end model.
Even though Rob Buckley is in Kentucky and Kyle Vallotton is in Oregon, the men have worked out a division of labor that maximizes the strengths of each. Rob receives the parts on sheets. From there, they undergo numerous processes before they are ready to be finished, assembled and shipped.
The balisong community is an entity all to itself within the knife industry. Both Rob and Kyle acknowledge the achievements of others who started where they are now, while simultaneously carving out their own space in the market. Bladerunners Systems, which goes by BRS, started out as “flippers making flippers for flippers,” Kyle explained.
“I met the BRS boys before they became BRS,” he noted. “They are a bunch of balisong enthusiasts and great guys doing a great job.” In Kyle’s opinion BRS excels at using overlay materials that look cool and grab the attention of the crowd. “They are a big production company making a decent knife.”
“They make a great product,” Rob agreed, adding that butterfly knives made by Bali-Song Inc. (1979-1983), which became Pacific Cutlery Corp. (1983-1987), which became Benchmade (1988 to present) are well made as well. In fact, he owns a Benchmade Balisong 53 Mangus and a Spyderco Spyderfly.
VMX Knives is set to release its first round of VMX-1 balisongs in mid-November, 2017. They received 15 preorders, enough to get the project off the ground.
Kyle explained the partnership’s goals with the VMX-1. “What I have been doing and am now doing with VMX is simplifying and changing the norm,” he commented. “We are a small company making a very high-quality knife for the same price, and it’s custom-to-order.” Kyle wants to change the way flippers think about flippers. “I want to push boundaries and change things for the better. It’s what I wanted to do when I started making balis.”
It is obvious from their banter, that Rob and Kyle enjoy ribbing each other and genuinely respect what each brings to the project. The online acquaintances who developed a friendship and started a business together have also seemingly adopted each other’s families. Only Rob does not flip balisongs in front of his impressionable son, he admitted with a laugh.
Contact James Robert (Rob) Buckley, VMX Knives, 111 Corner Ave., Horse Cave, KY 42749; 270-576-4392. You can view the work of Rob on Facebook at Maverick Customs and Kyle’s work along with the work of other Vallottons at Vallotton Custom Knives.
A Digital Subscription To BLADE Is The Answer
You can read your digital issues of BLADE Magazine anywhere you have your phone, tablet or computer, and there’s no need to find storage for all your old issues.
If piling-up issues of magazines seems like a waste to you… If you feel like you don’t have time to read a magazine… If you like the stories we offer in BLADE, but want a more economical option, then a digital subscription is the answer. An annual subscription to BLADE is $17.98, $4 off the print price.
Indiana Senate’s Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters unanimously passed Senate Bill SB06, a Knife Rights requested bill sponsored by Senators Jim Tomes and Johnny Nugent, which would overturn the state’s antiquated and irrational ban on the possession of switchblade/automatic knives. Senate Bill SB06
This is just the first step in this effort, but the unanimous bipartisan vote bodes well for the bill’s future. If you live, work or travel in Indiana, please contact your Senator and ask them to support SB06 when it comes to the floor for a vote in the coming days. Locate your Senator, or the Senator who represents where you work or travel here: http://district.iga.in.gov/DistrictLookup/.
Knife Rights Director of Legislative Affairs, Todd Rathner, testified at the hearing that these antiquated bans were implemented in the 1950’s in response to hysteria induced by movies like Rebel Without A Cause. They were not based on any type of public threat, increase in crime or other public policy decision. He also explained to the committee that “modern technology has created knives that open just as fast or faster than switchblades or automatics, so the bans on these knives are obsolete.”
SB06 removes a provision that makes it a Class B misdemeanor for a person to manufacture, possess, display, offer, sell, lend, give away, or purchase any knife with a blade that opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, device containing gas, spring, or other device in the handle of the knife. Read the bill here: http://1.usa.gov/sffRrU.
Forged In Fire made a different kind of history when it won the BLADE Magazine 2016 Publisher’s Award. (Miller Mobley/HISTORY)
When Forged In Fire won the BLADE Magazine 2016 Publisher’s Award during this year’s BLADE Show, it was the first time a television program of any kind was recognized by BLADE® Magazine in such a manner. Selected by the BLADE staff, the Publisher’s Award honors a person or organization that has furthered the knife community in a fashion that bodes well for the future of that community, both inside and out. Forged In Fire on History answers that requirement—and then some.
It’s rare that knifemaking of any type is given the high-profile exposure of television coverage, much less a weekly program of its own. However, Forged in Fire has done just that and much more. Those who watch it are familiar with the group of bladesmiths it gathers each week, each group different from the last, with the bladesmith in each charged with forging a knife—often in a very exotic style—in a stated time limit under the watchful gaze of a panel of judges and millions of TV viewers. Meanwhile, the winner of each episode earns a grand prize of $10,000.
As with most high-profile endeavors, there are those who criticize the program for portraying knives in a so-called negative way and creating an atmosphere that is not conducive to making the best knife possible—but then making the best knife possible is not necessarily the goal. The goals include to demonstrate not only how tough it can be to make a quality knife under a short deadline but also to entertain—and Forged in Fire does that quite well. Meanwhile, bladesmiths, knifemakers and the knife industry in general are getting more exposure before more people than ever before. And that is a great thing.
Now on the cusp of entering its third season, Forged In Fire will have a different look with ABS master smith Jason Knight filling in for ABS master smith J. Neilson. We fully expect the show to enjoy yet another banner season, and for bladesmithing and the knife community in general to continue to benefit from the unprecedented exposure such a TV show brings to knives the world over.
Want to Get Started in Knifemaking?
For those new to knifemaking, BLADE put together a special collection just for those starting out. The Complete Knifemaking Collection gathers great knifemaking books and tutorials to get you up to speed in no time. The price is unbeatable, too.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) — the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry — has learned that FOX Sports Media Group has banned advertisements featuring firearms, knives and ammunition from its coverage of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events.
While the UFC has yet to make an official announcement, NSSF has confirmed that “absolutely no firearms, ammo, hunting or knife companies will be permitted as sponsors in any Zuffa-promoted events.”
NSSF is encouraging all gun and knife owners, sportsmen and firearms and knives enthusiasts to contact FOX today and urge them to rescind this anti-knife, anti-gun corporate policy. FOX’s decision to ban advertisements for lawful products owned by millions of Americans is nothing more than corporate gun and knife control.
Make sure your voice is heard. Here’s how to contact FOX:
Corporate Headquarters FSN 10201 W. Pico, Bld. 103 Los Angeles, CA 90035 Phone: 310-369-1000 Web:www.FOXSports.com
David McConnell is a stamping press repairman who hopes to convert to full-time bladesmithing soon. His first knife, was a cheap Wal-Mart special. Over the years he got frustrated with the lack of quality in such knives and began thinking about making his own. He knew he could make a better knife for himself, and he did. Only his buddy loved it so much that he bought it from him, David said, laughing.
David McConnell of North Woods Forge in Michigan. He forges, preferring a primitive style, using natural materials..
The self-taught bladesmith has been making knives for 11 now, including tomahawks and axes. “I like to make hunting knives and more traditional stuff,” David noted.
David McConnell made this bowie with an 8-inch blade of 1075 steel. The handle is blue-dyed and stabilized curly maple. Blue curly maple bowie. Guard is nickel silver. Overall length is 14 1/4 inches. Contacts listed at the bottom of this article.
He is an avid grouse and deer hunter, as well as and ice and fly fisherman. He lives in Kalkaska, Michigan, with his wife and 15-year-old son.
David McConnell started teaching his son Parker McConnell to fish early in life. The National Trout Festival, now in its 81st year, is held in April in Kalkaska, Michigan. Parker got this trout in the kid’s pond.
Best-selling knife patterns: 3 ½- to 4-inch-bladed bird-and-trout, 4- to 7-inch-bladed straight-back hunter, classic bowie
Favorite blade steels: W2 for hamon, toughness, ease of forging and grinding; 1075 for ease of forging and heat-treating
Blade grinds: flat ground, sometimes with appleseed edge
How he tests his knives: “If it can cut a nail and have no deformation or chipping and still stay shaving-sharp, I would have to say that’s a pretty good blade,” David commented.
Favorite handle materials: bone, wood, antler. “I just like the feel and warmth you get from natural materials.”
Price range: $85-$600
Knife shows he attends: local gun-and-knife shows and blacksmithing events
This 15-inch bowie has a 8 7/8-inch blade, flat-ground, appleseed-edged and forged from 1084 cable-patterned steel. The handle is made from axis deer crown antler with a brass guard and blue and white fiber spacers. Maker’s list price: $375.Bladesmith David McConnell puts on a forging demonstration at Black Iron Days at Hartwick Pines State Park in Grayling, Michigan. Every August blacksmiths from all over Michigan and a few from Ohio host demonstrations for the public for the whole weekend.North Woods Forge’s ulu has a 4 1/2-inch blade forged from 1095 steel. The handle is made from whitetail antler. David McConnell loves making primitive pieces and being an avid deer hunter, he often opts for antler material.
You can read your digital issues of BLADE Magazine anywhere you have your phone, tablet or computer, and there’s no need to find storage for all your old issues.
If piling-up issues of magazines seems like a waste to you… If you feel like you don’t have time to read a magazine… If you like the stories we offer in BLADE, but want a more economical option, then a digital subscription is the answer. An annual subscription to BLADE is $17.98, $4 off the print price.
