The blogs of the BLADE editors, Steve Shackleford and Erin Healy.
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Thank you active duty personnel and veterans everywhere!
Always ask an exhibitor’s permission before picking up a knife from his table. Nothing’s worse than some ya-hoo barging up, grabbing a knife and launching into a spiel on how much he knows about knives. Treat the exhibitor like you would any decent human being and ask permission to pick up the knife first.
If it’s a folding knife, after asking the exhibitor if you can pick it up, if it’s closed and you want to open it, ask if you can do so (though most every folder maker will expect you to open it, check the action, etc). And if it’s a multi-blade, NEVER open more than one blade at a time. It puts too much pressure on the backsprings and can cause undue wear and tear. If you’ve bought the knife, then open all the blades you want (though it will still cause undue wear on the backsprings). And if you open the blade(s), close it/them before handing the knife back to the maker.
Your blades are your responsibility! Mind those edges and tips. Nothing is ruder than gouging someone on your 6 because you’re strolling around with a sword under your armpit like some 18th-century field marshal.
Be careful when you are examining an exhibitor’s knife not to spray spittle on the knife. Some people tend to “spray it instead of say it,” and spittle, if not wiped off, can cause “spit pits,” or tiny rust spots.
Never interrupt an ongoing conversation at an exhibitor’s table. The exhibitor might be in the process of selling a knife and if you barge in and start blabbing away, it may chase the buying customer off. Besides that, it’s rude.
If you’re talking to an exhibitor and have no intention of buying a knife and see someone next to you who obviously is intent on buying a knife from the exhibitor, politely bow out and give way to the potential buyer.
Before leaving his/her table, unless you are really going to do it, never tell the exhibitor, “I’ll be back.” Don’t be labeled an “I’ll Be Backer”! 😉
Don’t haggle over price with custom knifemakers. They know how much time, effort and materials they put into a knife. If you don’t like the price, move on.
Using a loupe to examine an antique knife is one thing but don’t use one to examine the custom maker’s knife at the maker’s table. It’s just not very good form. Now, if it’s a custom knife sold by a purveyor, that’s different. After all, if you have a question about the knife’s authenticity, it is possible that the purveyor made a mistake in buying the knife. We all err at times, right?
These are a few of the rules of knife show etiquette. There are others. Practice proper knife show etiquette and your entire show experience will benefit as a result.
While some might think Republicans taking control of Congress as a result of the Nov. 4 elections will be good for those fighting a pending legal ivory ban, such may not be the case.
Rob Mitchell of the Elephant Protection Association indicated that though the election results would seem to make a Republican majority in Congress more effective at challenging “out-of-control administrative agencies” that want to ban all legal ivory, including knives with handles of legal ivory, it could also have the opposite effect.
Since President Obama has indicated he will do what he thinks necessary to deal with aliens in the country illegally through executive order or administrative action by the end of the year at the latest, it also may mean he will take a similar approach to such issues as the ivory ban. “If so,” Mitchell writes, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) “may become more aggressive with regulations putting politics ahead of science-based conservation.”
Moreover, he added, such non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as the World Wildlife Fund, Africa Wildlife Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society, international and American humane societies and others will “continue to spread misinformation in Congress to confuse issues and push an animal rights agenda in spite of the harm it will cause to legitimate conservation efforts and people who own legal ivory.”
As a result, Mitchell urges all those against the ban on legal ivory to either contact or to continue to contact their legislators and see where the legislators stand on House Resolution 5052 and Senate Bill 2587. In a nutshell, if approved, both measures would roll back the attempt by USFWS to ban legal ivory to the status quo of February 2014, “while allowing the government to pursue other means to combat elephant poaching and other wildlife trafficking.”
For more information on the ivory ban and related issues, visit elephantprotection.org.
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See the latest knives, swords, and edges of all types, and explore the latest trends in blades, steels, styles, and materials. Gaze upon a “State of the Art” section parading engraved, scrimshawed, jewel-inlaid, carved, etched, sculpted and forge-welded, and Damascus and mosaic-damascus knives. Click here.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed the nation’s most draconian ivory ban into law yesterday, one that targets not only elephant ivory but also the ancient ivory of animals extinct for over 10,000 years!
The ban also contains wording that appears to make it possible for the mere possession of any ivory to be an offense punishable by law.
According to Knife Rights, the measure bans the “import, sale, purchase, barter or possession with intent to sell” ivory from any species, including ancient ivory from mastodons and mammals, with no exceptions whatsoever.
The part of the measure that reads “possession with intent to sell” is especially disturbing as those with any experience with the law know that such language is open to any number of interpretations by law enforcement and prosecutors.
In other words, the language of this ban could make mere possession of ivory an illegal act. At the very least, it could make those wrongfully charged with possession with intent to sell have to spend the money and time to hire a lawyer, miss time from work, etc., that fighting such a charge can require.
Of course, as has been noted elsewhere, the banning of ancient ivory—that is, of animals that have long been extinct—flies in the face of the purpose behind other such bans. The stated purpose of those bans is to save living animals. A ban against extinct animals can have no effect on those animals because they have been dead for millennia. Of course, some may argue that ancient ivory may be mistaken for elephant ivory and thus should be banned, but that is a specious argument because there are scientifically proven ways of telling ancient ivory from elephant ivory.
The ban will go into effect in six months, during which time those in the Garden State who own ivory items must sell them or face fines of $1,000 on the first offense and $5,000 on the second.
For more information on how you can help fight draconian ivory bans and, at the same time, help save the elephant, visit elephantprotection.org.
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Unlike the traditional pocketknife in which the backspring rises and falls when the blade is opened and closed, the backbar of Tom Ferry’s model equipped with the Everflush Spring (top) remains flush when the blade is opened and closed. Ferry (above) works on a model with the mechanism in his shop.
The Everflush Spring takes the traditional pocketknife folding mechanism to the next level
By Lorien Arnold
As the traditional slip joint experiences a rebirth in favor among knife enthusiasts, there is increasing room for innovation in the knife’s classic, time-tested construction method.
Enter Tom Ferry and Mike Vagnino.
Innovators and educators, they have forged their paths in steel. Developing techniques and learning new skills, while at the same time teaching others, the two have collaborated on a concept that incorporates a generations-old method for assembling a slip joint, while bringing it into new worlds of materials and technology.
“[An] idea evolved from the desire to engrave the backbar of slip-joint folders,” Ferry began. “The reason this was all but impossible before was that slip-joint backbars or [back]springs are heat treated, making them difficult to engrave, and, due to timing issues, [the engraving] was not easily done prior to heat treatment.
“I had been bouncing the idea around trying to come up with a solution. One night while opening an automatic knife I noticed the internal kicker spring, which in many ways is similar in placement to a slip-joint spring. After doing some preliminary drawings, I contacted Mike for his input and assistance in developing the mechanism further. By sharing and combining forces, we cut the development time in half and have created a great working mechanism.
“In total there have been at least five variations of the spring,” Ferry continued, “and Mike has taken the development further by creating the first multi-blade slip joint with the [new] mechanism. Mike coined the name the Everflush Spring because the backbar is always flush with the top of the handle.”
You will notice the knives with the new spring in the accompanying photographs do not always correspond in form to the classic interpretation of the slip joint. Sporting titanium liners, bolsters and backbars, carbon fiber handles and high-alloy stainless blades, materials more common in the tactical category can be used to constitute the knives. To that end, the Everflush Spring allows for a completely solid handle configuration.
The standard slip joint, whose backbar is a spring and must be free to move, can develop play on either side of the spring. The Everflush Spring design can incorporate pivot bearings for an action that is smooth with a crisp half stop. “The Everflush Spring is unlike common slip joints where the blade causes the spring to rise and drop as you rotate the blade from the open to closed position,” Ferry observed. “This innovation allows the opportunity for engraving of the backbar as well as eliminating the timing of the blade to the handle, as all the timing is internal.
“[By] splitting the backbar in half, thus creating a lower spring upon which the blade rides and an upper tang stop which stays flush with the handle, the backbar does not need heat treatment. This allows a wider range of material choices and embellishing options.”
Being intrinsic with the backbar, the lower spring diminishes the pressure exerted upon the pin, which traditionally would be used as the spring pivot. This allows the use of more exotic or fragile handle materials without fear of them cracking at the pin. In addition, the mechanism provides the potential for assembling a slip joint using threaded fasteners that allow for easy cleaning and pivot-tension adjustments.
“The major disadvantage is that this design will not easily fit or adapt to many traditional designs,” such as folding patterns with three or more blades, Ferry noted. “The internal spring takes up more room and thereby creates issues with designing a knife for it.” Conversely, it challenges makers to devise new designs, which is always good for the knife industry.
Tango Foxtrot Knives
Ferry responded to the changing market with the creation of Tango Foxtrot Knives LLC, which he characterizes as his “new venture into the realm of semi-production knives” of his design.
“The first knife from Tango Foxtrot is a tactical slip joint with the new mechanism, but I will also be introducing other models and types of knives in the future,” he said. “Tango Foxtrot Knives was conceived years ago but the timing never seemed to be right for me to proceed with the venture.
“As with any new design or product, you can never be sure how it will be received by the buying public. Mike and I unveiled the Everflush Spring at the 2011 BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) and it was very apparent the design was a success, with both of us selling out of those knives prior to the end of the show’s first day. With the confidence of having innovated a great product, I decided to launch Tango Foxtrot Knives. The company’s first release was the prototype version of the T-1 folder at the 2011 USN Show, and again the design went over well.
“I am currently in production of the T-1 slip joint with the Everflush Spring,” Ferry maintained, “as well as designing other models of fixed blades and folders to develop a line of semi-production knives of my design. The components for the knives will be made out of shop, but all final assembly and fit and finish will be done in my shop. Most will be everyday user knives, but there will also be the occasional dressed-up model featuring my hand engraving.”
Another Level
The knife business tends to reward those who contribute to it. Moreover, there is always a connection to the past, as every maker builds upon the innovations, techniques and styles of those who came before. It is a rare cutler who introduces something completely new. It is an even rarer one who can take an innovation and bring it to the next level. There is always another level and, through Ferry and Vagnino’s innovation, the cutlery industry may be getting a peek at the next one.
For more information on the Everflush mechanism, contact Tom Ferry at [email protected] or www.tomferryknives.com , or Mike Vagnino at [email protected] or www.mvknives.com.
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+ssfb031712#BL1SU.
The latest factory knives as seen at the 2011 SHOT Show, perhaps the smoothest folder action ever via the Ikoma Korth Bearing System (IKBS), every knifemaking tool a bladesmith needs, how to identify knives that have “flow,” and much more highlight the June BLADE®, on most newsstands today!
Featuring Columbia River Knife & Tool’s new NIRK/Tighe on the cover, the issue also includes a salute to Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame© member Dan Dennehy; the new factory knives of Gerber, Buck, KA-BAR, SureFire, Case, Boker Plus, Kershaw, Queen, Benchmade, TOPS, SOG Specialty Knives & Tools, Timberline, Wenger and Spyderco; a profile of knifemaker Phillip Patton; editorial mention of knives by Outdoor Edge and such bladesmithing equipment as Little Giant and Old World Anvils power hammers, forges by Three Sisters Forge, the Diablo Burner by Chile Forge, Rocklin’s “Rocklinizer” for applying tungsten carbide to knife edges and other equipment from Riverside Machine, the Blacksmith Depot and more.
A fascinating story on the take-apart art folder of Stan Wilson; on antique figural knives; Ed Fowler’s “Brass-Backed Bowies Reconsidered”; editorial mention of custom knives by Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Bob Loveless, Don Lozier, Burt Foster, Wolfgang Loerchner, Steve Dunn, Ken Steigerwalt, Hank Knickmeyer, Larry Newton, Don Hanson and Brion Tomberlin; the latest knives of Peter Martin, Santa Fe Stoneworks, Arthur Lynn, Triple Eight Professional, Harvey Dean, Steve Jernigan, David Roeder, Richard Wright, Ontario, Knives of Alaska and Meyerco; and mini-profiles of Wally Hayes, Jerry Smith, Chad Harding, Jamin Brackett, Frank Niro and Michael O’Machearley.
Also: the conclusion of the story on the 175th anniversary of the Alamo, including capsule reviews of six memorable Alamo movies; Wayne Goddard’s Q&A on the chisel grind; a factory profile of CAS Hanwei; keys to fighting knife rust; the “Subterfuge” by Paul Letourneau; and much more in the June BLADE, on most newsstands NOW! If you can’t find it at your local newsstand, check your local Barnes & Noble or visit www.blademag.com and/or http://knifeshowcase.blademag.com (if you’re already on the latter, click on “Shop” for more info) and subscribe today!
New American Bladesmith Society Office Announced
ABS Chairman Jim Batson has announced that effective immediately the Business Office for the American Bladesmith Society has been moved to Grand Rapids, Ohio and Cindy Sheely is the ABS Office Manager. Cindy can be reached at [email protected] or call (419) 832-0400.
The new American Bladesmith Society office address is:
American Bladesmith Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 160
Grand Rapids, Ohio 43522
The Cypress, Texas Office is now closed.
