The BLADE Blogs Archives

KA-BAR Knives Featured on New History Channel Show

Steve Shackleford

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March 6, 2013

KA-BAR Knives Featured on New History Channel Show

KA-BAR Knives will be featured on a new History Channel Show, What People Earn, Sunday, March 10.

Highlighted on the show’s premier episode entitled “Beer, Knives & Football,” the 115-year-old manufacturer will star along with American brewer Samuel Adams.

The March 10 issue of Parade Magazine will run a companion piece on the new show and KA-BAR.

The show will air at 10 p.m. EST in most areas, though be sure to check your local listings.

Of the 45 products that were in the KA-BAR line in 1996, only five still remain in line and one that is/was made in the USA: the 1217 Marine Combat Knife. There are now 85 products made in the USA by American cutlers stemmed in the KA-BAR tradition born in 1898. Among them is KA-BAR’s Zombie® Knives line, the Becker Knife & Tool line, a number of Bob Dozier designs, the TDI Law Enforcement line, Union and traditional KA-BAR knives including the Dog’s Head pocketknives, the Mule line of folders, and more.

For more visit KA-BAR.com or call 800-282-0130.

KA-BAR’s USMC fighting/utility knife, an industry icon.

Viking “Ulfberht” Sword Stars on Nova Tonight

Steve Shackleford

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October 10, 2012

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Watch Nova on PBS tonight as Ric Furrer takes you through the creation of the legendary Viking sword known as the “Ulfberht.”

Specializing in the forging/making of steel via the ancient methods, Furrer has conducted seminars and demonstrations on how to make steel from sand at a number of venues, including the Batson Bladesmithing Symposium at the Tannehill Ironworks in McCalla, Alabama.

Little is known for sure about the legendary Ulfberht sword. Believed to have been made somewhere around the 10th century, the Ulfberht is described thus by the late Hank Reinhardt (pictured above in a photograph by Patrick Gibbs at a past DragonCon event) in his The Book of Swords:

“Sometime early in the 10th century, the ability to produce a large enough bloom of steel to make a full sword was developed … [The resulting] steel swords also had a slightly different shape [than their predecessors]. Instead of the edges being parallel, there was a defined slope to the point. The point was still rounded but the slope put weight closer to the hand, thereby making them somewhat quicker on the stroke and on the return. These new swords all had the name ‘Ulfberht’ engraved on the blades. It’s fun to speculate how this sword was developed and who this person was.”

For more on tonight’s program, click on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/secrets-viking-sword.html

For more on the latest in everything that cuts, subscribe to BLADE®. For subscription info, click on http://www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us?lid=SSfbbl101012

Industry Achievement: Delavans & Plaza

Steve Shackleford

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June 29, 2016

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To understand why the Delavan Family and Plaza Cutlery won the BLADE Magazine 2016 Industry Achievement Award at this year’s BLADE Show, join us in a trip down memory lane.

Delavans and Plaza win Industry Achievement Award. — The Delavan Family and Plaza Cutlery are the winners of the BLADE Magazine 2016 Industry Achievement Award. From left: Lois, Dan and Pam Delavan inside Plaza Cutlery in 2007.

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It was over 42 years ago that Del and Lois Delavan, along with their son Dan, fresh out of the Army, opened Plaza Cutlery, a brick-and-mortar retail knife store in what is today the South Coast Plaza Shopping Resort in Costa Mesa, California.

A few years later Dan married Pam, and Pam took to knives as only a Delavan can. One of the keys to Plaza Cutlery’s remarkable longevity is that Dan and Pam have a passion for knives that is genuine—and the people who buy their knives and the vendors who work with Plaza Cutlery know it. It is a passion Dan and Pam come by honestly, a passion shared by Dan’s dad, Del, who became a Case salesman in 1959, and Dan’s mom, Lois. After Del passed away, it was Lois who took up the torch and became one of if not the first female traveling sales reps for Case. She helped run Plaza Cutlery until she, too, passed away just a few years ago.

Dan and Pam watched several generations of custom makers and a number of factory knife companies come and go. They started one of the oldest knife shows, the California Custom Knife Show, the venue where, in the early 1980s, BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Jimmy Lile hooked up with Sylvester Stallone to start the Rambo revolution. Dan and Pam ran the California show for many years before selling it, reacquired the name and have it going again, with this year’s event set for Oct. 22-23 in Garden Grove, California. They also are planning a new knife show in Hawaii. In addition, they have held one-day special meet-and-greet shows inside Plaza Cutlery in which customers interact one-on-one with some of the world’s best makers, an encore rendition of which is scheduled for July 23.

It is retail knife stores such as Plaza Cutlery supporting both custom makers and knife companies over the decades that have helped make the knife industry the dynamic entity it is today. Whether selling knives to customers face to face or via their well-stocked and constantly changing website, the Delavans—in addition to Dan and Pam, their son Andrew, their son Bryan’s wife, Yuko, and Dan’s brother Russ—are known throughout the cutlery industry not just for their vast knowledge of knives, but also their reputation as straight shooters when it comes to providing the best in knives and customer service. It’s hard enough to maintain such a knowledge and reputation for just one year—it’s a monumental achievement to do it for 42.

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Guilford Art Center Holds Juried Knife Exhibit

Joe Kertzman

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March 18, 2013

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Guilford Art Center Holds Juried Knife Exhibit

Calling all bladesmiths and knifemakers: the Guilford Art Center in Guildford, Connecticut, announces “Contemporary Knife Smithing: A Juried and Invitational Exhibition,” and is calling for submissions.

Bladesmithing is a thousands-year-old craft practiced in diverse cultures across the world. It has survived as an art form despite modern industrialization, with artisans dedicated to preserving and expanding traditional techniques. This exhibit will explore and highlight the artistry of the contemporary hand-crafted knife, as an object with both functional and aesthetic value.

Exhibit Dates: July 10-August 18, 2013

Juror: An ABS journeyman smith, Mace Vitale practices blacksmithing and is a copper smith. He has a background in architectural pre-cast concrete, is owner of Laurel Rock Forge in Guilford, and is an instructor at the Guilford Art Center.

Eligibility: This exhibition is open to knives made by U.S. residents.

Entries: Each artist may submit up to three (3) works. Each work may be represented by two separate images: one full view and one detail view. Work must be submitted in high-resolution digital format. For each entry please note dimensions of knife, and a maker’s list price (retail price), or not-for-sale/insurance value. Email entries to: [email protected].

Entry Fee for Applicants: $20. Includes up to three (3) submissions. Make check payable to Guilford Art Center and mail to 411 Church St., Guilford, CT 06437. Or call the Center with credit card number 203-453-5947. Payment must be received for entries to be eligible.

Entry Deadline: June 10, 2013. Digital images and entry fee must be received by this date.

Conditions: All accepted works must arrive with a display case that closes for safety purposes during exhibition. All entries must be original and must be completed within the last 3 years. The Center reserves the right to reject entries that do not meet these requirements or is deemed unstable. Shipped work that differs from submitted images will not be accepted. Work damaged in shipping will regretfully not be presented. All accepted work must have proper identification. No accepted work may be picked up before the closing of the exhibition. Work may be available for sale or must be identified as NFS. The retail price or insurance value provided on the entry form will be used; no changes may be made after the work is shipped.

Shipping: Shipping costs are the responsibility of the artist. A check for return shipping, including the cost of insurance, must accompany delivered work, payable to Guilford Art Center. Work damaged in shipping will not be presented. Detailed packing/handling instructions must accompany all works.

Hand Delivery: Please call the Center to make an appointment for hand delivery/pickup at 203-453-5947, Ext. 12, or email [email protected].

Receiving Deadline: All work must be received no later than these dates.

Sales/Insurance: A 40% commission on all sales will be retained by the Center. Artists must indicate sale price and insurance value or, if NFS, just insurance value. Submission of work to this exhibit is done so at the artist’s risk and implies an agreement on the part of the artist to all the conditions of this Call for Submission. GAC will not be responsible for loss or damage to work in transit, however, work will be insured while in the Guilford Art Center facility.

Publicity: Guilford Art Center reserves the right to photograph entries for the purposes of documentation, education and publicity. Accepted artists are encouraged to send to the Center a resume, artist statement, brochures, and additional photographic materials of the accepted work for publicity purposes.

Show Schedule:

Application due: June 10, 2013

Artist Notification: June 14, 2013

Receiving: June 24-28, 2013 (10am-4pm) (Shipped/by appointment)

Opening reception: July 10, 2013 (5-7pm)

Closing: August 18, 2013

Deinstallation: August 19-23, 2013 (10am-4pm) (Shipped/by appointment)

For more information please contact Guilford Art Center at 203-453-5947, or visit www.guilfordartcenter.org.

Knife Of The Day: CRKT Big Dog Carson Desert Tactical

Steve Shackleford

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February 27, 2012

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Our “Knife Of The Day” for Feb. 27 is the M16-14ZSF Carson Desert Tactical flipper folder designed by Kit Carson for Columbia River Knife & Tool.

The 3.875-inch blade is 420J2 stainless steel and the handle of the “Big Dog” version of the knife is Zytel® in a desert camo pattern. Weight: 6.3 ounces. An AutoLAWKS safety designed by Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© members Michael Walker and Ron Lake offers added security when the folder is locked open.

For more information click on http://www.shopblade.com/product/m16-14zsf/?r+ssfb022712#X3333

“Battle of the Bladesmiths” at the American Bladesmith Society Great Smoky Mountain Symposium

The BLADE Blogs

BLADE Staff

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March 6, 2011

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The Second American Bladesmith Society “Battle of the Bladesmiths” was conducted on the evening of March 4th, at the Great Smoky Mountain Bladesmithing Symposium and was won by Master Smith Burt Foster. The hard fought contest was conducted before an enthusiastic crowd at Haywood Community College in Clyde, North Carolina. The contestants included American Bladesmith Society Master Smiths Joe Keeslar, Jason Knight, Jim Rodebaugh, and Burt Foster.

The Great Smoky Mountain Bladesmithing Symposium began on Friday and will continue through Sunday, March 6th. ABS Store Manager Cindy Sheely emailed the results of the contest and the below photos.

Go to the ABS Forum for more news about the events at the Great Smoky Mountain Symposium.

Click: ABS Forum Burt Foster and BR Hughes
The contest knives..Clockwise starting lower right: Keeslar, Foster, Knight, and Rodebaugh

Today is Deadline to Stop Proposed Ivory Ban

Steve Shackleford

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December 26, 2013

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Today is Deadline to Stop Proposed Ivory Ban

An all-inclusive ivory ban that would target ancient ivory such as mammoth and mastodon in addition to elephant ivory likely will pass without your help by the end of day today, Dec. 27.

A Presidential Advisory Committee that met on Dec. 16 recommends a total ban of ivory within the USA to the task force on Wildlife Trafficking. The ban would apply to the sale of all ivory in any form and include pre-ban and antique ivory in knives, guns, musical instruments, pianos with ivory keys, etc. The ban would affect collectors, makers and anyone who sells within or to the USA. The committee will file its report on Dec. 28, so any entreaties opposing the proposed ban must be e-mailed by no later than today in order to be registered and considered before the report is filed.

The address to send your email to is [email protected]. Copy and paste the following letter—though feel free to tailor it as you see fit—to an email, and email it to the above address:

Dear Advisory Committee,

I stand against a total ban of all ivory sales in the USA.

As called for in the Presidential Executive Order, I ask that the recommendations continue to allow for “legal and legitimate commerce.”

The ivory market in the USA is stable and/or declining, and seizure records indicate that a high proportion of the seizures were personal effects lacking the correct paperwork, not the so-called blood tusks reported on by the media. The Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) analysis indicates that the amount of ivory by weight seized annually has not increased in recent years. We are not the consumers of the poached ivory. Therefore, banning ivory sales within the USA will do nothing to save the remaining world population of elephants.

The CITES MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants) September 2013 report analysis, page 64, states, “Africa’s elephant populations are managed sustainably,” and that in 2013 the quote for permits for legal elephants was 1,350 animals. There is legal trade that can be monitored with DNA testing and permitting. Enforcing and policing a ban would require funds that should be used to support the ban on imports already in effect.

I fully support CITES rules, closing international borders to elephant ivory trade, a law already in effect that should be fully supported and enforced. I stand against a total ban of all ivory commerce within U.S. borders, a decision that would be an enforcement nightmare. Like Prohibition of the 1920s, it would cause a new wave of illicit commerce where a legitimate one now exists. Museums, antique dealers, collectors, artisans and individual citizens have invested in a legal and valuable material. Sanctioned trade in ivory that is legal (culled and pre-ban) and comes from unthreatened sources (mammoth, boar, warthog, antique and recycled products) can pose no possible threat to elephant herds in the wild.

I believe our mutual goals are the same and a solution can be reached. Please keep the focus where it belongs. To increase the elephant population, the killing must be stopped in Africa and at its borders.

Respectfully submitted,

____________________________ (TYPE YOUR NAME)

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KA-BAR Knives Featured on New History Channel Show

Viking “Ulfberht” Sword Stars on Nova Tonight

Industry Achievement: Delavans & Plaza

Guilford Art Center Holds Juried Knife Exhibit

Knife Of The Day: CRKT Big Dog Carson Desert Tactical

“Battle of the Bladesmiths” at the American Bladesmith Society Great Smoky Mountain Symposium

Today is Deadline to Stop Proposed Ivory Ban

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