The blogs of the BLADE editors, Steve Shackleford and Erin Healy.
If Bob Loveless reportedly said that this integral semi-skinner, with its dark-green canvas-Micarta handle, is “the most beautiful knife I ever made,” then who am I to argue? Or anyone for that matter …
The knife was crafted about 1987 and features a drop-point blade. It is from the John Denton collection, and the photo is by Hiro Soga. The knife appeared on page 39 of the book Knifemaking With Bob Loveless.
Congratulations to new Journeyman Smith Dee Hedges, Australia whose journey to obtaining an American Bladesmith Society JS stamp was detailed in an article titled “The Slipper Fits Just Fine” that was written by Master Smith Wally Hayes, Canada in the January 2011 issue of Blade magazine.
I also want to draw your attention to some other articles in the January 2011 issue of Blade Magazine about our ABS members. ABS Journeyman Smith Joe Olson, Montana has one of his knives featured on the cover of the magazine and is profiled in the article titled “Guitar Knives of Geyser”. In the article Joe notes assistance in his bladesmithing career from Master Smiths Rick Dunkerley, Shane Taylor, and Wade Colter.
In another feature article titled “S is for Style” about elegant knife design there are knife photos and/or quotes by or references to Master Smiths Jerry Fisk, Jim Batson, Terry Vandeventer, and John White.
In the “Knifemaker Showcase” there are knife photos and profiles for Apprentice Smith Bill Rupple, Texas and Journeyman Smith David Sloan, Nebraska. In the profile Bill Rupple gives credit for assistance in his knife making career development to ABS members Apprentice Smith Johnny Stout and Master Smith Harvey Dean.
Buck Knives had the honor of being a supporting sponsor for the first ever Generation Next Awards Banquet in which the Boone and Crockett Club® recognized youth hunters who took record worthy animals during 2007 to 2009.
The Club® hosts an Awards banquet every three years honoring both trophies and fair chase hunters, followed by the release of its latest records book. This year, for the first time, young sportsmen and women were recognized at an Awards event. CJ Buck, President of Buck Knives, was the Master of Ceremonies for this year’s youth event.
“I was proud to be a part of this, and am pleased to see that a good number of youth hunters took trophy animals and are being taught the principals of Fair Chase,” said Buck. Buck had the honor of introducing each hunter and telling a bit of their story that led them to becoming a record holder.
Over the past three years, 73 young men and women (ages 16 and under) have taken B&C qualifying trophies. One youth took the largest non-typical mule deer recorded in 36 years. Another included a massive Alaska brown bear.
For two years now Buck Knives has been working closely with the Boone and Crockett Club to help support and promote the principals the Club was founded upon. Buck has developed a line of Limited Edition knives to honor the Club and sales from these knives help support the causes of this non-profit conservation organization.
In support of the 27th Big Game Awards, Buck created one-of-a-kind limited edition fixed blade knife featuring the 27th Big Game Awards logo on the blade and a beautiful wooden handle with a Malachite inset. The knife is worth $1,000 and was well received during the auction, raising $1,650.00 for the event.
According to information provided by the Club, the Boone and Crockett system of scoring big game trophies originated in 1906 as means of recording details on species thought to be disappearing because of rampant habitat loss and unregulated harvest. Science-based conservation efforts led and funded by license-buying hunters brought those species from vanishing to flourishing.
Scoring records remain a classic gauge of habitat and management programs. In addition to its prestigious history and tradition, the Boone and Crockett Club’s scoring system is strongly associated with the highest tenets of fair chase and hunting ethics.
The new record book will be released in the fall of 2010.
A bill designed to expand switchblade/automatic manufacture and carry, and to exclude one-hand-opening knives—an example of the latter, the Vulcan from SOG Specialty Knives shown above—from the Washington state definition of switchblade passed the state senate March 2.
According to the American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI), HB 2347 is headed to the governor’s desk and should be effective around June 1. AKTI’s Jan Billeb stated that Mike Vellekamp of Fox Knives USA did a great job spearheading the effort to expand switchblade/automatic manufacture and carry in Washington state.
Meanwhile, clarifying the definition of switchblade/automatic knife (or spring-blade knife as it is known in Washington) is important to protect the rights of the individual knife owner. It eliminates potential misinterpretation about the legality of one-handed and assisted-opening knives that can result in inconsistent and wrongful conviction of individuals for owning or carrying a knife that is a valuable and potentially life-saving tool.
AKTI advisory member Spencer Frazer, founder of SOG Specialty Knives & Tools, testified at the state house judiciary committee hearing the same day in support of HB 2347. “The definition of switchblade needs to be clarified, and this bill does that,” he commented regarding changes to Sec. 1 RCW 9.41 that includes “a knife that contains a spring, detent, or other mechanism designed to create a bias toward closure of the blade and that requires physical exertion applied to the blade by hand, wrist or arm to overcome the bias toward closure to assist in opening the knife is not a spring blade knife.” This is the same “bias toward closure” language that AKTI introduced and has been successfully passed in other states and incorporated in to the 2009 amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act.
Senator Kastama reported to the Senate Judiciary Committee that SB 6179 corrects technicalities and would put Washington state in alignment with the Federal Switchblade Act. Before that committee on Jan. 25, Vellekamp stated, “We want to make it so Washington state is friendly for manufacturing all types of cutlery products.” Passing the new Sec 2 to Chapter 9.41 will make it legal to manufacture switchblade/automatic knives in the state of Washington, subject to certain restrictions.
The proposed changes will also extend the legal possession and carry of switchblades/automatics to include active military, firefighters and rescue responders, in addition to law enforcement and state patrol officers. “We need to get rid of the stigma that these are weapons and we need to start calling them tools because that’s what they are,” Vellekamp testified. “The push for this bill is so that we can ensure the local law enforcement branches, our military and our firefighters get to use these valuable tools because when they get trapped, they need to get out. They need a tool at the ready that’s going to be there without needing another hand to open it.”
For more info click on www.akti.org
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 on http://www.shopblade.com/product/blade-magazine-one-year-subscripti…?r+ssfb031312#BL1SU
An article posted Tuesday, April 1, 2014, on www.thepilot.com, an online news site serving Moore County, North Carolina, detailed Spartan Blades’ knife manufacturing facility move to a historic restaurant, now closed of course—the LobSteer on U.S. 1 in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
Ted M. Natt Jr., of www.thepilot.com, details:
The sign outside the former LobSteer restaurant on U.S. 1 in Southern Pines proclaims that Spartan Blades is coming soon.
“We’ve had people coming in and asking about being short-order cooks and waitresses,” Spartan Blades co-owner Curtis Iovito said with a laugh last week, “so we’re telling people it’s going to be a Greek-Japanese fusion restaurant.”
The confusion is understandable, given that the LobSteer operated on the site for 44 years until closing last year.
But Spartan Blades manufactures finely crafted tactical and field knives for the military, law enforcement, outdoor enthusiasts and collectors. The knives are sold in gun shops, cutlery shops and specialty stores in 30 states and 20 countries through a network of 120 authorized dealers.
“We’ve gained quite a bit of notoriety in the past few years,” Iovito said. “We had over $1 million in sales for the first time last year.”
Iovito and business partner Mark Carey, who met while serving in the U.S. Army Special Forces, currently produce 2,500 knives a year in less than 1,000 square feet of space in what used to be the mule barn at Malcolm Blue Farm in Aberdeen.
Click here to read the rest of the article. For more military and tactical knife models, click here, and enjoy!
There’s still time to help out the Red Cross relief efforts in Japan. Until the end of today, BLADE will give half of all sales profits at ShopBlade.com to the Red Cross. Just go here: http://tinyurl.com/4u5p8pr
Our Knife Of The Day for the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the Buck Bantam BBW. The lightweight (1.5 ounces) mid-lock folder sports a 2.75-inch blade of 420HC stainless steel and a glass-reinforced nylon handle. Closed length: 3.75 inches. Made in the USA, the folder carries a Blade Shop price of $14.99.
For more information click on http://www.shopblade.com/product/Buck-Bantam-BBW-Knife/?r+ssfb231111#Y4517/
