The success, popularity and response from the Greatest Bob Loveless Knife Designs posts has prompted me to start a “Favorites from the Knives 2013” book thread.
So, here’s the first of the “Editor’s Favorites from Knives 2013 Book.” It is a Mediterranean dirk as only Rick Eaton could fashion it, blending old styles with modern flair. It parades flare-cut engraving, Arabesque accents and banknote engraving, as well as an ancient-ivory handle and a damascus blade. The guard is sculpted and engraved, and the entire dirk intrigues.
The temper line alone on Michael Burch’s flipper folder is enough to catch the old knife enthusiast eye, not to mention a Samurai warrior, that, thanks to Jody Muller color engraving, emerges from the gold, copper and stainless steel bolsters of the 1095 folding tanto.
The Samurai remains partially concealed by a crosshatching of mammoth ivory, as well as that smoky temper line. The handle treatment gives it an exotic, bamboo-like look that fits the engraved subject matter, as well as the blade style, and all taken together propels the knife to the status of an “Editor’s Favorite from the Knives 2013 book.” (SharpByCoop.com is responsible for the photography.
Let’s let this sink in: 245th anniversary in 2014. That’s right, German knife manufacturer, PUMA, was founded in 1769 by Johann Wilhelm Lauterjung in the town of Solingen, where it still resides today. Over the centuries, PUMA has produced many great and legendary knives, none more so than the White Hunter, first introduced in 1956 for the East African Professional Hunting Association. The White Hunter, along with other famous models like the Skinner and Hunter’s Pal have become a staple for hunters across the world and especially in North America.
In 2003, PUMA expanded its lineup by introducing the PUMA IP series in Europe, which is produced in Spain and offers unrivaled price performance. The PUMA IP series is now available in North America, as well. To mark its 245th anniversary—wow—PUMA has introduced two new, limited-edition knives. First is the 245 Year Anniversary Knife, with the inscription “Me Fecit Solingen 1769-2014” (Made in Solingen 1769-2014) engraved on the 440C blade, and featuring a stag handle. Each knife is individually numbered from 1 to 245 and is available for $659.99. Second is a 2014 knife that features the same inscription engraved on theblade, but with the handle made of mammoth tooth and with special mammoth motif engravings on the bolsters. Each knife is individually numbered from 1 to 24 and is available for $1,699.99.
PUMA and PUMA IP knives are imported by MINOX USA, Inc., and are available through an authorized PUMA original dealer. For more details and to order these special limited-edition knives commemorating PUMA’s 245th anniversary, please call 866-469-3080 or visit www.pumaknives.us. To learn more about PUMA, pick up this informative digital issue!
Jerry Hossom/Outdoor Edge Brush Demon is the cover knife for the new BLADE, on newsstands TODAY!
The Jerry Hossom/Outdoor Edge Brush Demon is the cover knife for the latest issue of BLADE®, on newsstands TODAY! The Brush Demon is one of the latest examples of the many factory/custom knife collaborations that dot the cutlery landscape. The new BLADE highlights it and three other hot examples of a genre that showcases the great knives that can come of such joint projects. How do they come about? What problems do both the makers and the knife companies face in putting such knives together? Find out in the new BLADE.
Knife collecting comes in many approaches, from amassing scores of the same pocketknife pattern, to collecting specific brands such as Case and Buck, and many others. An approach BLADE focuses on this issue is the collecting of knives by one custom knifemaker—in some cases, as many as 100 knives or more by a single custom maker! Join Stephen Garger as he interviews several such collectors and the knives and the knifemakers they collect.
If your car were to flip and your loved ones were pinned by jammed seat belts, would you be prepared to cut those seat belts and save your loved ones’ lives? One way to be prepared for such an eventuality is to keep a “car blade” in your vehicle. Abe Elias examines some of the latest examples of the genre in his story “5 Sharp Car Blades.”
One of the most followed aspects of knives is the latest steels used for blades. Four of the newest steels to hit the cutlery scene are 80CrV2, CTS-PD1, CTS B75P and PSF-27. Find out from the manufacturers and the makers how well these steels perform, how easy they are to maintain and sharpen and much more in Mike Haskew’s “What’s Hot In Knife Steels.”
There’s much more in the latest issue, including Dexter Ewing’s review of the Work Sharp Ken Onion Knife & Tool Sharpener, tests of fixed blades by Sam Stoner Jr. and Darrin Sirois by Kim Breed, part two of Jim Hammond’s educational three-part series on the ivory ban, a comparison of four hot contemporary automatics, a recap of an exclusive new Italian knife show, the Art in Metal Show, an obituary of long-time knifemaker Joe Kious who lost his life tragically in a truck accident, and much more—all in the new BLADE, on newsstands TODAY!
Designed by custom knifemaker and big blade expert, Jerry Hossom, the Brush Demon is the ultimate outdoor and survival tool. Made of sturdy 65Mn carbon steel with a black powder coat finish, this is one aggressive high-speed chopping tool you’ll want on your side. Be prepared for extreme conditions with the non-slip grip provided by the rubberized ergonomic TPR handle. Learn more
Creek Stewart uses his survival knowledge, and a few good knifes, to tell a rockling adventure story, with a good romance interwoven throughout.
Valentine’s Day saw the release of survivalist and Whiskey Knives co-collaborator Creek Stewart’s young-adult romance novel, “Rugosa.” What knife enthusiasts will appreciate about this adventure is that by page 4 a machete crafted from a lawn-mower blade has made an appearance, and many others follow.
In the dystopian world of post-globalization America, 17-year-old Omaha Hoyt must leave the farm and woods were he is most at ease and travel to the city to rescue his love. The plan is to stay on back roads and subsist off his trapping and foraging skills. Very quickly plans change and the lifelong Boy Scout is forced to help someone he meets along the way.
Omaha’s pocketknife gets lots of use, and his sister makes a survival girl’s dream barrette that is shaped like a butterfly with cutting edges, a fishing line wrap with hooks for antennae, and is apparently weighted for easy throwing as a weapon. In what one might consider the equivalent of a gun getting reloaded in a movie, in the book there is actually a knife-sharpening scene.
This is not to say that “Rugosa” is knife heavy. It’s first and foremost a survival story about a 17-year-old who uses his scout training to survive physical and emotional challenges. But knives are more than an essential tool in this book. They each have a story behind them. Even the knife used against the protagonist is rich in lore.
“Rugosa” is also equal part love story. An author must possess the emotional intelligence to remember what it was like to be 17 and be able to convey what’s going on in the heart of a young man before that youth necessarily understands his own emotions, never mind knows how to convey them. It’s hard not to come across as a mature adult when writing from the perspective of a teen, but Creek creates a believable character. You can read more about the wilderness survival instructor and knife co-collaborator at “Survivalist Creek’s Life Led Naturally to Whiskey Knives.”
The book’s opening is slightly choppy, but only because editors now demand action begin in the fist paragraph. The beginning describes the farm and woods where Omaha lives with his mother and sister and the secret storage bunker he keeps hidden by “Rugosa.” It’s relaxed reading and idyllic, but once Omaha departs on his mission, the excitement is ramped up and the pace is non-stop. It’s easily read in a day or two.
You can get the paperback edition of “Rugosa” for $14.99 and the Kindle version for $3.99 through Amazon. Young-adult novels are one of the healthiest segments of publishing, probably because they’re fun for adults to read as well.
If you’d like to learn more about how Creek collaborated with Hank Gevedon of Reptile Toolworks to create Whiskey Knives, the bushcrafters that look like they stepped out of a 1700s mountain man’s kit, be sure to pick up the June 2017 edition of BLADE Magazine.
And yes, Creek is working on a follow-up novel to “Rugosa.” It takes place during the same timeframe but is told from the perspective of Omaha’s love interest, London, while she struggles to survive during the hostile takeover of Philadelphia.
Build a bug-out bag for your next adventure
Follow Creek’s instructions for putting together your emergency kit and you’ll have least a fighting chance of surviving.
Except in “a very limited number of circumstances,” the federal government has announced a ban on the commercial trade of elephant ivory, according to a report from the office of the secretary of The White House.
A new federal ban will require documentation proving antique ivory is over 100 years old. Landon Robbins used fossil ivory on his fixed blade here. (Ward photo)
How the ban will affect existing knives with handles of elephant and fossil ivory and existing supplies of elephant and fossil ivory held by knifemaking suppliers, knifemakers and others is not exactly clear at this time. However, if past experience is any barometer, knife professionals and enthusiasts should expect the worst.
Announced yesterday, Feb. 11, the ban prohibits, except under the aforementioned very limited number of circumstances, the import, export or resale of elephant ivory within the United States.
To implement the new controls, federal departments and agencies will immediately act to:
•Prohibit the commercial import of African elephant ivory, including antiques;
•Prohibit the commercial export of elephant ivory, except for bona fide antiques, certain noncommercial items and in “exceptional circumstances permitted under the Endangered Species Act”;
•Clarify the definition of “antique” so that the ivory must be more than 100 years old and meet other requirements under the Endangered Species Act. It will be up to the importer, exporter or seller to prove the item passes muster;
•Limit the number of African elephant sport-hunted trophies an individual can import to two per hunter per year; and, lastly;
•Finalize a proposed rule that would “reaffirm and clarify that sales across state lines are prohibited, except for bona fide antiques, and will prohibit sales within a state unless the seller can demonstrate an item was lawfully imported prior to 1990 for African elephants and 1975 for Asian elephants, or under an exemption document.”
In the coming months, the report noted, the federal government will take further steps to implement the “National Strategy,” and will work with Congress to strengthen existing laws and adopt new ones to enhance its “ability to address this global challenge.”
In other words, the federal government has declared war on all things ivory.
Stay tuned to www.blademag.com for further developments.
One of the many reasons the BLADE Show is the world’s most important knife event is the BLADE Magazine Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards recognizing the factory industry’s top knives. This year the awards will have a new wrinkle when the Best Of Show custom knife winner is recognized as well during the BLADE Magazine Awards Reception sponsored by Smoky Mountain Knife Works.
The 2016 BLADE Show will be the 35th annual rendition and held June 3-5 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.
Conducted the Saturday night, June 4, of the show, the reception is where the Knife-Of-The-Year Awards, the industry’s most coveted factory honors, are announced. It will begin at 7 p.m. in Ballrooms 1 and 2 of the Cobb Galleria Centre (tickets required). Smoky Mountain Knife Works sponsors the Knife-Of-The-Year Awards, too.
The awards recognize factory knives in a number of categories, including best domestic and imported, most innovative, collector/investor, collaboration, manufacturing quality and others. All save one of the awards is open only to entries and voting by the many national and international show booth exhibitors. The lone category open to voting by visitors to blademag.com is the People’s Choice Award.
In addition to the Knives Of The Year, the show also hosts its annual custom knife judging competition, which is open only to the show’s hundreds of national and international custom knife exhibitors. The top honor in the competition is the Best Of Show Award, which goes to the category winner judged best of all the category winners by a panel of industry authorities. For the first time ever, this year the Best Of Show winner will be recognized during the BLADE Magazine Awards Reception.
With the exception of the People’s Choice Award, all entrants in the Knife-Of-The-Year Awards competition will be on exhibit in a display, also sponsored by Smoky Mountain Knife Works, in the show lobby for show patrons to see. Open to BLADE Show custom knife exhibitors only, the custom knife competition will be conducted in Room 104 of the Cobb Galleria beginning at 3:30 p.m. on show Friday, June 3. The judging is closed to the public.
The Zero Tolerance 0999 was the BLADE Magazine 2015 American-Made Knife Of The Year®. (ZT image)This year’s Best Of Show winner will be honored during the BLADE Magazine Awards Reception. Bill Ruple won Best Of Show at last year’s BLADE Show. (PointSeven image)
