The blogs of the BLADE editors, Steve Shackleford and Erin Healy.
Les de Asis of Benchmade was interviewed by Marketplace.org (http://marketplace.publicradio.org) for a feature article on small-to-mid-sized companies that have actually continued hiring through the economic recession.
For the full story, follow this link:
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/09/08/pm-knife-maker-hires-amid-us-economic-woes/
Ethan Peterson, 13-year-old Junior Bassmaster State Tournament and Western Divisional Championship winner, now has the support of Buck Knives to help him get to the Junior Bassmaster World Championship tournament in Shreveport, Louisiana this October.
Peterson fishes for the North Idaho Junior Bass Anglers, and he will tell you his favorite activity is fishing. He’s in 8th grade at Woodland Middle School in Post Falls, Idaho where his teachers support his tournaments whenever possible. In 2008 he won 2nd place at the FLW State Championship tournament and during the following summer he qualified for state to fish in the Junior Bassmaster State Championship. He took 1st place in the 11-14 age group at this tournament. After the State Championship, Peterson then won the Western Divisional Championship tournament at Lake Martinez, AZ.
Peterson is excited for the opportunity to fish in the World Championship tournament where the grand prize is a Triton bass boat and a $5,000 scholarship. “My goal is to someday earn a bass fishing scholarship to help pay my way through college. I spend every minute I can on the water practicing for what I like to do best,” he said.
Buck Knives is proud to support Peterson and hopes he wins the Junior World Championship. He was presented a check from Buck Knives to help with the expenses related to traveling to Louisiana in October for the tournament. “I received Ethan’s letter asking for support and was excited for the chance to help him,” said Chuck Buck, Chairman/Owner of Buck Knives. “Ethan is an upstanding young gentleman who is goal driven with the talents to achieve his goals. I wish him the best of luck at the World Championships and hope he continues to build upon his bass fishing career,” said Buck.
In 2009 Buck Knives became an official sponsor of Bill Lowen, a professional angler on the Bassmaster Elite Series. Lowen recently surprised Peterson with a phone call and encouraged him for the upcoming World Championship. Lowen finished the 2010 Elite Series in 20th place and has qualified for the 2011 Bassmaster Classic also in Louisiana.
Peterson and his parents are grateful to all their sponsors and supporters and are excited to have Buck Knives be part of their team.
We received some bad news yesterday–Arthur LeVine, founder of Lansky Sharpeners, passed away from a heart attack. Arthur was perhaps best known for his angle-guide sharpeners but Lansky also carried a wide array of sharpeners for sportsmen, the kitchen and much more. He was also a long-time friend of BLADE and the BLADE Show. As far as we can gather, he was around 60 years old.
We don’t know know what the future holds for the company now but will keep you posted of further developments.
Bradford, PA (February 9, 2011) –W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company has just launched its new and improved website, WRCase.com. The 600-plus page site was completely rebuilt over a six-month period by Case’s own Web Marketing Coordinator, Michael Granger, and supporting marketing staff. The result offers an easily navigable resource and information center for Case fans to enjoy from wherever they can connect.
Tom Arrowsmith, Case President and Chief Executive Officer, says, “Case has always felt it had the most beautiful website in the industry. At the same time we recognized the former site’s layout sometimes compromised our ability to deliver all the information our consumers might be looking for at a given time. This redesign addresses these issues without sacrificing the ‘aura’ behind the brand; the images and stories of our knives that we all share.”
New features include an easy-to-follow content guide at the bottom of the home page, offering users one-click access to particular topics of interest. Specific knives can be found by typing in related keywords into a convenient search box displayed on many of the pages throughout the site.
The hundreds of Case knives now being offered by Case Authorized Dealers are grouped on the website according to type of manufacture: Standard products, promotional products, licensed products, and commemoratives and collectables. Users can also browse knives by the type of blade steel. Additionally, every knife on the Case site can now be viewed in larger sizes and at a higher resolution than was formerly offered. A new “Special Programs” section explains Case’s special merchandising programs in detail: XX Vault, Rare Finds, XX Limited Edition, Pocket Worn®, XX Select, Case and Tony Bose collaborations, and Case’s corporate gift programs. Finally, Case collectors will find production checklists for specially-featured patterns.
Consumers will find several self-service and support options available on-line, including an interactive “Frequently Asked Questions” section and a timeline-based slide show which chronicles the various tang stamps used on Case knives throughout the company’s 122 year-old history.
Fred Feightner, Consumer Marketing and Communications Manager, credits Michael Granger, the company’s Web Marketing Coordinator, with implementing the redesign’s look and feel. “Mike’s work in the redesign of W.R. Case’s website not only gives our web visitors a richer experience, it sets a new standard for our industry and lays the foundation for future integration of newer applications and technologies.”
All Buckeye knife enthusiasts should point their wagons to Wilmington, Ohio, for a three-day knife show starting right now.
Click here for the full event details on the show’s Knife Showcase page.
According to KnifeRights e-mail news, the Washington state House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass HB2347 that would clarify the definition of “spring blade” knives (automatic knives) so as to clearly make assisted-opening knives legal in the state. This allows for both the sale and manufacture of assisted-opening knives in Washington state. HB2347 also makes it legal to manufacture automatic knives in Washington state. In addition, it would expand the existing law enforcement exemption for possession of automatic knives to members of the military and full-time first responders.
Senate Bill 6179 was passed out of the State Senate Judiciary Committee Executive Session last week with a single no vote. An effort will now be made to conform the similar, but not identical, Senate bill to the House bill by a floor amendment, which would allow for quicker passage. Alternatively, the two bills end up crossing each other, but either way, KnifeRights officials stated they are hopeful a bill will end up on the desk of Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire for her signature soon.
The bill was requested by Washington state knife companies Fox USA, Blade-Tech and SOG Specialty Knives & Tools. Knife Rights lobbyist Todd Rathner testified on the bill and assisted in making critical changes to assure the measure would free the hands of in-state knife companies.
While Knife Rights officials stated they do not believe there should be any distinction between citizens and government employees when it comes to possessing life-saving tools, the officials also seem to understand political reality. “We will be working with Washington state residents and officials to change this in the future when the political landscape is more favorable to such a rational move forward,” the KnifeRights e-mail news release noted.
Meanwhile, the current bills are a huge step forward for Washington knife owners who might be subject to prosecution for assisted-opening knives and for the state’s knife companies.
If you live, work or travel in Washington state, please contact your state senator and ask him/her to support the measure.
For more information click on www.KnifeRights.org
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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.
Both shows have lots of history. Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Bob Loveless was a long-time member of the Southern California Blades, and the East Coast Show has been a perennial potpourri of some of the world’s finest makers, including a number from Europe.
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.
