The BLADE Blogs

June 5, 2010, Gilbert, AZ: Knife Rights is pleased to announce that Evan Nappen is the inaugural recipient of its Freedom’s Point™ Award which was presented to Evan at the Sharper Future™ Awards Breakfast on June 5th during BLADE Show in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Freedom’s Point™ Award is to be given annually to honor a individual citizen who has demonstrated their commitment to a Sharper Future™ by leadership in the fight to protect or enhance our knife rights.

Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter said, “Evan Nappen is being recognized for two significant contributions during the past year. Last summer, when U.S. Customs was attempting to redefine what a switchblade was in a manner that would have adversely impacted 80% of the knives sold in the U.S. today, Evan volunteered to develop Knife Rights’ official response to U.S. Customs. He put together an excellent legal brief clearly exposing the fallacies and inconsistencies of Customs’ position in a matter of a few short days.” That effort eventually resulted in Congress passing an amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act exempting assisted opening and one-hand opening knives.”

Doug continued, “Every legislative initiative requires someone local to lead the charge. In New Hampshire, it was Evan who worked long hours to rally support for the Knife Rights bill introduced by Representative Jenn Coffey. It was Evan who spearheaded the fundraising effort. It was Evan who organized the testimony in front of the committees. We would not have been so successful in New Hampshire if it weren’t for the leadership and hard work of Evan Nappen.”

The Knife Rights Bill passed in New Hampshire legalizes switchblades, dirks, daggers and stilettos.

Knife Rights is America’s Grassroots Knife Owners Organization™, working towards a Sharper Future™ for all knife owners. Knife Rights is dedicated to providing knife owners an effective voice in public policy.

Benchmade Knife Co. announced today that its founder and CEO, Les de Asis, will assume the duties of company president effective immediately.

The move is a result of the pending departure of Greg Mooney, who had been Benchmade’s president since January 2007. Mr. Mooney has taken the job of vice president and general manager of Benelli USA, which is based in Accokeek, Maryland.

“Since joining Benchmade in 1997, Greg has played a significant role in numerous parts of our company, from sales and marketing to operations and manufacturing management. He was responsible for hiring and developing an experienced management team that has led growth throughout our organization. We’re sad to see Greg go, but wish him success in his new role at Benelli,” said de Asis, who started Benchmade in Oregon in 1990. “We have achieved some impressive results for all of our brands over the past several years, which has been very satisfying given the challenges posed by a tough economy. While I will again be president of Benchmade, I will continue to be supported by a very strong management team that has been in place for several years. I only expect our company and brands to continue on their impressive growth path.”

In addition to the Benchmade branded product line, the company also designs, manufactures and markets Lone Wolf Knives, Harley-Davidson Knives and HK Knives. All Benchmade branded products are made in the USA.

In order to keep pace with the recent growth that Benchmade has experienced in both domestic and international markets, the company recently added over 30,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space at its headquarters outside Portland, Oregon. According to the Benchmade news release, the workforce at the factory and headquarters has also increased over 35 percent in the past three years. Significant staff and management have been added to engineering, finance and sales.

“The portfolio of brands that we’ve assembled is very strong and has helped our dealer partners succeed in a difficult retail environment. I have the utmost confidence in our management team and look forward to supporting their efforts to drive future growth and expansion,” commented de Asis.