Zirconium as the hot-bling knifemaking thing, the complete curriculum and class schedule for the 3rd Annual BLADE University, how to avoid getting burned buying knives on social media and more highlight the new BLADEĀ®, on newsstands now!
Spearheaded by Brian Tighe’s stunning Tighe Fighter cover piece, the story on zirconium outlines one of today’s hottest materials for custom knives. Originally started by Black Timascusā¢ and sustained by zirconium and Zircu-Ti, the material or variations thereof is used for bolsters, scales and other knife accents.
Held the Thursday before through the Saturday of the June 3-5 BLADE Show at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, the 3rd Annual BLADE University gathers some of the cutlery industry’s leading knifemakers, knife manufacturers, knife users and others for three days of the most educationally diverse instruction anywhere. Among the highlights will be a class on what Forged In Fire TV officials look for in contestants, with one of the stars/panel judges on the show, ABS master smith J. Neilson, presiding. Other classes will include how to grind, how to sharpen, how to build and tune a flipper folder, how to make a spike tomahawk, how to make a cut ‘n shoot knife and many more, with such instructors as knifemakers Rick Hinderer, Les George, Jason Brous, Lucas Burnley and Tom Krein, ABS master smiths Joe Szilaski, Steve Culver, Joe Keeslar, Timothy Potier and Wally Hayes, factory knife leaders Curtis Iovito of Spartan Blades and Rod Bremer of CRKT, and many others.
In the last issue of BLADE, the top knifemakers on Facebook were named by virtue of a poll of BLADE Facebook page members. As promised after that story, this time BLADE delves into how to avoid getting taken to the cleaners on social media by those who are the opposite of the top Facebook makersāthose who are more into making money for themselves than selling you a good knife.
There’s much more this issue, including: how to make tools with knives; the latest in piggyback sheaths; the Ed Fowler Edge Test; hot custom balisongs/butterfly knives; tests of four new kitchen knives and two flippers folders; nine mini-knifemaker profiles; a salute to the late Phill Hartsfield; and much more, all in the new BLADE.
NEXT STEP: Download Your Free KNIFE GUIDE Issue of BLADE Magazine
BLADEās annual Knife Guide Issue features the newest knives and sharpeners, plus knife and axe reviews, knife sheaths, kit knives and a Knife Industry Directory.Get your FREE digital PDF instant download of the annual Knife Guide. No, really! We will email it to you right now when you subscribe to the BLADE email newsletter.