There are knives and then there are presentation daggers that would look right at home in a general’s belt sheath, sash or shoulder sling. Larry Lunn’s interpretation of a Scottish officer’s dirk showcases a carved-ebony handle in a Scottish modified-knotwork-style motif, an engraved guard, silver dollar pommel (literally) and a foot-long damascus blade. It stands up, salutes and qualifies itself, volunteering actually, as an editor’s favorite from the Knives 2013 book.
A Presentation Dagger Fit for a Commanding Officer
Former TSA Official Says Don’t Ban Knives!
According to an ABC News report, a former Transportation Security Administration official says knives and other items should be removed from the prohibited items list for airline passengers.
Former TSA administrator Kip Hawley, who ran the TSA from 2005 to 2009, advocates that the TSA no longer look for weapons that cannot penetrate the cockpit door.
“Blades, sharp objects, tools, all those things should be removed from the prohibited items list,” Hawley told ABC News. “Carry a big knife, carry five knives. What are you going to do with a knife or five knives? You are not going to take over the plane. … The focus should be explosives and toxins — things that can kill a lot of people very fast before security measures can stop someone from making that attack.”
He argues since 9/11, objects that cannot kill a lot of people in a short period of time are no longer a significant threat. He says allowing screeners to concentrate on detonators and bomb parts instead of small weapons would make flying safer, and the screening process more convenient.
“The captain is not going to open up the door. The captain is not going to surrender the cockpit and the passengers are not going to sit by and let the guy stand there with a knife,” Hawley said. “I mean, you have to think of it as risk management. What is the risk that somebody is going stand up there with a knife to somebody — a child, a flight attendant — the risk that they’re going to do that and then take over the plane? And do we put people through these long security lines, fishing through their bags, two million people a day, just to prevent the eventuality that somebody might get killed? That’s a tradeoff.”
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 here.
Cut, Handle or Chop It in BLADE’s Guide!
Cut, handle or chop it—or lock it or look it up—in BLADE’s Complete Knife Guide 2017, on newsstands now!
The knife industry’s only annual buying journal, the 2017 BLADE’s Guide includes a comprehensive listing of anyone and everyone who does business in the factory knife industry, including manufacturers, importers, accessory, material and equipment makers and suppliers, knifemaking schools, photographers, embellishers and more. The Guide also has a special section on some of the top factory knives that will debut in the coming year.
Looking for today’s hottest blade steels? In “Steel Trek: The Search For Sharp,” David W. Jung takes you through not only the latest ones but also the ones that are being used by custom knifemakers and manufacturers most on their newest knives. Need a wedge of hardened steel to chop, whop or split logs, kindling and more? James Morgan Ayres outlines the sharpest in hatchets and hand axes in “Cut Me Some Whack!”
Knifemakers who use elephant ivory have been among those under attack by federal and state legislation, but those who use ancient ivory have found themselves under the gun as well. Meanwhile, the suppliers who sell handle materials are having to change with the changing market. Mike Haskew examines the issue from the sellers’ standpoint in “Ivory: How Knife Suppliers Adapt.”
Framelock folders offer some of the most secure lockup of any folding knife—a good thing for all knife enthusiasts, including the ladies. Daniel Jackson outlines four of the latest such folders from a woman’s perspective in “Framelocks From the Feminine View.”
Also in our special annual issue: knife handles designed for those with big hands; knives that double as bottle openers; an excerpt from the world’s greatest knife book, KNIVES 2017, on bowie fighters; an introduction of BLADE® Magazine’s new managing editor, Erin Healy; and much more. Subscribe, buy the digital edition or tramp on down to the newsstand for the latest issue!
Carry-On Knife Ruling Needs Your Support
The Transportation Security Administration’s recent ruling allowing small pocketknives and multi-tools on airliners is under fire from all anti-knife sides and needs your help.
According to Knife Rights, Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey (D) and New York Rep. Michael G. Grimm (R) introduced the “No Knives Act” (HR 1093) that would stop the new TSA rules, freezing the permitted items list as it stands now. New York Sen. Charles Schumer (D) and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) introduced an amendment that would prohibit the TSA from allowing knives on planes.
According to the new TSA rules, small pocketknives and multi-tools would be allowed in carry-on beginning April 25. Such knives/multi-tools could not have blades over 2.36 inches long nor over a half-inch wide, could not have locking blades, and could not have “molded handles,” which apparently means finger-grooved or contoured handles and not all handles made via the molding process (though even that is not entirely clear as per the new rules).
The American Knife & Tool Institute, Victorinox Swiss Army and the Leatherman Tool Group were instrumental in getting TSA to adopt the change. According to reports, the new rules are very similar if not identical to the rules adopted earlier by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the international equivalent of the TSA.
A special story on the new TSA rules will appear in the July BLADE®, on most newsstands April 23. The June BLADE (www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us?lid=ssfbbl040213) is on most newsstands now.
Please contact your legislators and let them know you support the TSA ruling (for more on what’s legal and not legal to carry, visit www.tsa.gov).
For more information contact www.kniferights.org or www.akti.org.
11 Days To The BLADE Show: World Cutting Championship
Jose Diaz cuts the water-filled plastic bottles during last year’s BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition. (Point Seven photo)
   Want to see blades cut, chop, whack and otherwise do what they are designed to do? The 10th Annual BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition, conducted by BladeSports International, will provide plenty of it during the 31st Annual BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com).
   The show will run June 8-10 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta. All BLADE Show ticket holders are admitted to the World Championship Cutting Competition for free.
   Plan now to attend!
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.
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Guild/ABS Will Hold Joint Knife Show
The Knifemakers’ Guild and the American Bladesmith Society will hold their first-ever joint knife show Sept. 18-20, 2015, in Kansas City.
The show will be called the International Custom Cutlery Exposition (ICCE) and will include knives displayed by members of both the Guild and the ABS. It will be held in the Kansas City Marriott Downtown. The original Guild Show also was held in Kansas City.
It is a historic meeting of the minds of two knifemaker organizations that basically have competed with one another for almost four decades.
“The main thing is we’re coming together to put on a show,” the Guild’s Gene Baskett noted.
Baskett said everything will be “50/50” between the two organizations and both will have equal say so on matters concerning the show. For example, each organization will have 75 tables to allot to its members, giving the show 150 tables in all.
Guild members who want to inquire about exhibiting at the show should contact the Guild c/o Charlie Mathews, and ABS members should contact the ABS c/o Harvey Dean.
Baskett said the officials of the Kansas City Marriott “bent over backwards” to accommodate the Guild and the ABS for the show. The hotel recently underwent $14 million in refurbishments. Veteran knife observers will recall that the Guild Show enjoyed a very successful run at the Orlando Marriott for many years.
Admission for show patrons will be $10 for one day and $15 for three days. All Guild Honorary Members will be admitted for free, as they always have been at past Guild shows. Baskett said the ABS will make its own arrangements concerning admission for its special members.
“There will be more information to come once we get more details,” Baskett added.
For more information visit americanbladesmith.com or knifemakersguild.com.
For the latest knives, knife trends, knife news and more, stay tuned to blademag.com.
Jerry Ahern Passes Away
(photo of Jerry Ahern courtesy of JerryAhern.com)
Jerry Ahern, novelist, author of nonfiction books and many magazine articles, passed away Tuesday, July 24. He was well known internationally for his extremely popular “Survivalist” series of novels. Mr. Ahern was a fan of the Detonics line of handguns, so much so that he acted as president of the company, then named Detonics USA, from 2004 to 2007, while it was located in Pendergrass, Georgia.
Mr. Ahern was 66. Survivors include his wife, Sharon, children, grandchildren and a nephew. Arrangements were made through Evans Funeral Home, Jefferson, Georgia. 706-367-5467, http://evansfuneralhomeinc.com.
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