What do many of today’s custom tactical folders have in common? Find out in the latest issue of BLADE® Magazine, on most newsstands TODAY!
Featuring the DMF tactical folder by Sniper Bladeworks on the cover, the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication covers the globe’s sharpest knives from all angles, including:
•A special 25th anniversary salute to the Sebenza by Chris Reeve Knives, one of the most influential folders in modern knife history;
•Part one of a two-part story on how to polish a Japanese sword by sword guru Leon Kapp;
•The top annual knives of the American Bladesmith Society as determined at the 2012 BLADE Show (www.blademag.com);
•A rundown of the latest and greatest factory hunting knives;
•A profile of one of Brazil’s hottest knifemakers, Gus Cecchini;
•BLADE field editor and ABS master smith Wayne Goddard’s four shop tips and quick fixes covering grinders, drill-bit sharpening, holes in hard tangs and more;
•A short history of the K.I.S.S., the knife that helped make Columbia River Knife & Tool a major player on the world knife stage;
•And all the latest in everyday carry knives, the results from the 10th Annual BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition, a test of A.G. Russell’s “Super Storm Knife” and much, much more.
Two of the older and bigger custom knife shows promise to make the weekend of March 4-6 sharper than usual.
At the Westin Jersey City Newport in Jersey City, New Jersey, Steve D’Lack will present the 22nd Annual East Coast Custom Knife Show. Meanwhile, in Pasadena, California, the Southern California Blades will conduct the 26th Annual Knife Expo in the Pasadena Convention Center.
What’s more, it will be the first time the East Coast Show has been held outside New York City, thanks mostly to the heavy-handed anti-knife policies of Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance, whose office conducted a raid of local retail knife stores last year, confiscating over 1,400 legal knives Vance claimed were “gravity knives.” As a result, nearby Jersey City seemed a much better place to hold a knife show. How the loss of revenue will play with businesses in New York City and their opinion of Mr. Vance remains to be seen.
For more information on the East Coast Show, contact Mr. D’Lack at [email protected] or call 417-866-6688 or fax 417-866-6693. For more on the Knife Expo 2011, contact Helen Nauert at [email protected] or call 619-417-4329.
So I was working behind the table at the book booth during the BLADE Show this past weekend in Atlanta, a great show, by the way, best ever. And this gentleman was interested in buying the “First 25 years of BLADE Collection: 1973-1997” DVD. He said he already owned the DVD that came after it, “BLADE 1997-2007.”
He replied, “I can get 25 years worth of the magazine for $42.99, why would I want to pay $21.98 for one year?”
She said, “The subscription is new magazines, not old magazines, that’s why!”
It got me thinking that neither one of them was wrong. I prefer to get my magazine when it comes out, but to each their own. And I’m just glad they enjoy the magazine well enough to have the conversation.
Spyderco’s knife that changed knife history is a headliner in the latest BLADE®, on newsstands now!
Spyderco’s knife that changed knife history, Creek Stewart of Fat Guys In The Woods fame and his knives, the top knives of the SHOT Show and more highlight the latest issue of BLADE®, on newsstands now!
In addition to his TV show on The Weather Channel, Stewart is known for his survival skills—and what’s survival without knives? While Creek gave knives away to the top “survivor” at the end of each episode of his show, he decided he wanted to take things a step further and work with a small American business to produce a line of knives. Whiskey Knives from Hank Gevedon’s Reptile Toolworks are the result and the focus of Erin Healy’s “Samurai Woodsman” on page 12.
Along with the annual BLADE Show—which is set for June 2-4 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta—the SHOT Show is the place where many factory knife companies debut their new knives for the year. Check out the hottest knives of SHOT, along with a number of new companies under new flags, in the story on page 26.
There’s much more in the latest issue, including tests of camp knives, custom hunters and the return of an old friend—the newest factory boot knives; the urban survival knife and whether yours meets the demands of your environment; those who forge and sell stainless damascus to knifemakers worldwide; on the 100th anniversary of the USA’s entry into World War I, the first of a two-part story on the knives carried by U.S. Army personnel, aka The Doughboys; and much more, all in the latest issue of BLADE, available in the digital edition and also by subscription.
According to an ABC News report, a former Transportation Security Administration official says knives and other items should be removed from the prohibited items list for airline passengers.
Former TSA administrator Kip Hawley, who ran the TSA from 2005 to 2009, advocates that the TSA no longer look for weapons that cannot penetrate the cockpit door.
“Blades, sharp objects, tools, all those things should be removed from the prohibited items list,” Hawley told ABC News. “Carry a big knife, carry five knives. What are you going to do with a knife or five knives? You are not going to take over the plane. … The focus should be explosives and toxins — things that can kill a lot of people very fast before security measures can stop someone from making that attack.”
He argues since 9/11, objects that cannot kill a lot of people in a short period of time are no longer a significant threat. He says allowing screeners to concentrate on detonators and bomb parts instead of small weapons would make flying safer, and the screening process more convenient.
“The captain is not going to open up the door. The captain is not going to surrender the cockpit and the passengers are not going to sit by and let the guy stand there with a knife,” Hawley said. “I mean, you have to think of it as risk management. What is the risk that somebody is going stand up there with a knife to somebody — a child, a flight attendant — the risk that they’re going to do that and then take over the plane? And do we put people through these long security lines, fishing through their bags, two million people a day, just to prevent the eventuality that somebody might get killed? That’s a tradeoff.”
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 here.
Knifemaker Stefan Neil Palmer made a knife in memory of Dustin Chamberlain to be auctioned off. He never knew it would change his life.
While at his parents’ Siloam Springs, Arkansas, home for Christmas break 2011, 20-year-old Dustin Chamberlain was shot dead by an intruder. Nearly five years later, knifemaker and racecar driver Stefan Neil Palmer was asked by his racing mentor if he would make a knife to auction off to raise money for Dustin’s Dream, the charity foundation organized in Dustin’s memory. Stefan agreed, but when he laser-engraved Dustin’s favorite saying on the handle, everyone agreed that the knife could never be auctioned off.
On Dec. 15, 2011 Dustin, a biology-pre-med sophomore at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, was resting at home after a minor outpatient procedure. Both his parents left for work with Dustin’s reassurance that he didn’t need anyone to stay with him. His father, Don, had planned to have lunch with him. At approximately 10:45 a.m. Dustin’s mother, Deondra, called the house and Dustin’s cell phone repeatedly but got no answer. She called Don and asked him to check on their son.
Don walked into the Chamberlain home to find his son lying dead just inside the door with four gunshot wounds. In the family room, he found a stranger with what police subsequently said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound that later proved fatal. The investigation revealed that the stranger was a local man who had been reported missing, depressed and possibly suicidal. He had wandered onto the Chamberlain property, and evidence showed he’d been on the premises for two hours before the Chamberlains left for work.
It’s an understatement to say that the Chamberlain’s lives were changed forever, but as day followed day, God showed them how they could carry on Dustin’s name and spirit, Don explained. “It’s been therapeutic,” he said, referring to the charity they set up in remembrance of their son. In honor of Dustin’s dream to one-day become a doctor, Dustin’s Dream sets up medical clinics in third-world countries and funds teams to conduct medical mission trips to those countries. They also offer scholarships for aspiring medical students.
Knifemaker Stefan Neil Palmer made a knife to auction off in benefit of Dustin’s Dream.
In 2013, two years after Dustin’s murder, Chamberlain family friend Steve Butler decided to use his racing hobby to support Dustin’s Dream. Steve introduced Stefan to Dustin’s Dream Racing, which raises money for the foundation “while being a positive, Godly influence” in the sport of racing, according to their web page. In the summer of 2016 it was suggested that Stefan make a knife to auction off to benefit Dustin’s Dream.
So Stefan set out to make the best knife he could to honor Dustin. The 3.112-inch hollow-ground drop-point hunter was constructed using buckshot-pattern steel forged by Brad Vice’s Alabama Damascus. “It’s my favorite pattern,” Stefan said. And buckshot- or raindrop-pattern damascus is his favorite steel. The handle was made from camel bone and brass with—fittingly—a checkerboard inlay front and rear of the handle. The shinbone of the camel is an economical choice, but it’s the ideal medium for laser engraving, explained Stefan. The rubbing compound left in the pores of the bone lend it that gray undertone. Signature filework runs from the tip to the butt of the spine. “It turned out great,” stated Stefan.
Stefan Neil Palmer’s accompanying sheath notes Hebrews 12:1-2, which includes in part “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
He went to Steve to see if there was anything that Dustin was known for saying. Steve showed Stefan what the Chamberlains had written about Dustin. “Whenever anyone asked Dustin how he could consistently make wise choices and live his faith, Dustin would say, ‘Because I love God with all my heart and I don’t want to give Him anything less than my best.’” Stefan explained, “I put that on the knife. When I looked at the finished product, I knew the knife was not for someone to buy. It was priceless and needed to go to Don.”
Stefan took his dilemma to Steve and it was agreed that a second knife would be made for the auction. The trick was to keep Don’s knife a secret, made harder by the fact that Don expressed great interest in the knife. Steve suggested to Don that he not bid on it because people would then back off their own bidding in an attempt to make sure that Dustin’s father ended up with Dustin’s knife. The racing team wanted the knife to bring in as much money for the foundation as possible.
In the end, at Dustin’s 5th Heavenly Birthday Chili Supper and Baked Goods Auction on Dec. 10, 2016, Stefan presented the original knife to Don, with both giver and receiver ending up in tears. “It changed my life,” Stefan said. “I’m not so likely to cut someone off on the race track with the Dustin’s Dream sticker on my car,” he added with easy laugh. (The T in the Dustin’s Dream logo is in the shape of a cross.) He relates how so many people have been affected for the better through Dustin’s example and the strength of the Chamberlains. “So much beauty has come out of it,” Stefan said.
Dr. Carl Duncan, left, ended up with the knife Stefan Neil Palmer, center, made in honor of Dustin, the son of Don Chamberlain, right.
The Chamberlains never returned to their home. Don manages a beef cattle ranch and other properties for his boss, and the couple and their daughter stayed at the ranch the night of the murder. They found a place to rent, but the two payments nearly put them under financially. All the while, Don said he was thinking, “I wish I could afford to just give it away to a couple who could help foster children.” Two years later, a doctor—surprise, surprise—Carl Duncan and his wife, Carol, purchased the home, and—you guessed it—they had foster children.
It was Carol who ended up with the winning bid of $3000 on the second knife, and she presented it to her husband. According to the Dustin’s Dream website, the racing team has raised $45,000 for the foundation.
Stefan’s wife, Raquel, bringing the story full circle, is returning to school to become a doctor—in the same specialty as the doctor who purchased the house and the knife. She and Stefan hope one day to accompany a medical mission team through Dustin’s Dream. Don and Deondra, a nurse, are returning to Guatemala through Dustin’s Dream for his second trip and her third. If you want to know what you can do to get involved, visit www.DustinsDream.net/give.
When Don returned to the house that fateful day, he thought it was odd that the family’s Jack Russell-rat terrier cross was out in the yard. Cricket was trembling in fear, and, uncharacteristically, she would not come to Don. It is believed that she raised a ruckus when the intruder broke into the house near her bed. Dustin came to see what the fuss was about. In yet another connection, I breed Jack Russells.
According to what police revealed to Don, the shooter asked his wife what it meant if someone was very depressed. She answered that it meant the person needed professional help. The husband and father of four reportedly said that he felt he was too much of a coward to do that. He took a gun and left the home.
I asked Don if he knew how the family was doing now. He said he didn’t, but that it had been on his heart to find out, and that my asking had solidified that course of action for him. And “no,” he said quietly, “I could never use that knife.” He has it on a dresser, along with the sheath and some photos. He wants to put it in a shadow box. “I could never use that knife,” he repeated.
“Art of the Knife” doesn’t require anything more than being appreciated for its beauty.
If you want inspiration for your own knifemaking, here’s your eye candy. Over 500 knives are pictured, and they run the gamut from highly polished and bejeweled to hunters with artistic flair. Author and former BLADE managing editor Joe Kertzman covers scrimshaw and engraving, as well as the art of each style of knife. Normally, $35, this beautiful book is now on sale for $21, a 40-percent savings.
A measure that would have banned the sale of such beautiful mammoth ivory knives as this one by Ron Welling failed to pass muster in Washington state. (Chuck Ward photo)
Knife and ivory legislation that affects your right to own, carry and sell knives at both the federal and state levels has been heating up lately, including a victory for proponents of the sale of legal elephant and mammoth ivory in the state of Washington.
Washington’s proposed bans were overcome by a combined effort that included Knife Rights, the NRA and the Legal Ivory Rights Coalition, Mike Vellekamp of Fox Knives USA and Tim Wegner of Blade-Tech.
According to Knife Rights’ Doug Ritter, the proposed bans would not have saved a single living elephant while “taking hundreds of millions of dollars from millions of honest, law-abiding Americans. It makes no sense to unfairly penalize Americans for the illegal and immoral activities that continue to threaten elephants, and which these proposed ivory bans do nothing to ameliorate.”
Meanwhile, among the new or pending measures at the state and federal level are:
•Knife law preemption bills in Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Vermont, measures that ensure consistent enforcement of state laws everywhere in each applicable state, and a special federal knife preemption law that would protect transporting knives from state to state in certain instances;
•Laws affecting switchblades and other specific knife styles/patterns in Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New York and Oklahoma;
•New ivory bans in Florida, Illinois, Vermont, New York and Hawaii, with ivory bans pending in Connecticut, Maryland, Iowa, Oklahoma and California, and the African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act on the federal level, and;
•In one of the world’s leading anti-knife nut capitals, New York Sen. Tony Avella of Queens proposed a ludicrous ban on machetes after several recent local attacks involving the utilitarian tools.
U.S. Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the federal Knife Owners’ Protection Act (KOPA) this past Wednesday. KOPA would allow legal interstate travel of those transporting knives, provided the knives are transported to and from states where the law allows possession of said knives, and the knives are transported in closed containers. For more information, visit AKTI.org.
Oklahoma bills for knife preemption and to repeal the switchblade ban cleared major hurdles recently when both were passed by the Oklahoma House Public Safety Committee. Both measures head to the state House before going to the Senate. For more information on them and other state knife laws—including the ridiculous anti-machete bill in New York—visit kniferights.org.
At least two of the new state ivory laws—in Florida and Illinois—ban not only the sale of ivory but also the sale of mammoth ivory and/or make no exemptions for the sale of mammoth ivory. Meanwhile, the new punitive measure in New York would increase the criminal and civil penalties in its already existing laws banning the sale of ivory from living animals and mammoth ivory. On the up side, Hawaii has tabled its proposed ivory bans, though that scheduling “could change at any time.” For more information, visit elephantprotection.org.
