The first in our Knife Purveyors Of The Day series is Neil Ostroff (shown above with a Darrel Ralph Madd Maxx folder at a past BLADE Show) of True North Knives in Williston, Vermont. Formerly based in Canada, TNK is now U.S.-based and brings you some of the finest in tactical and utility custom knives, a number of which are exclusives, from such makers as Kirby Lambert, Strider Knives, Darrel Ralph and others.
For more on the latest knives, 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-subscription-us/?r+ssfb301211#BL1SU
A remarkable video entitled “En Puntas” (“On Points”) featuring ballerina Amelie Segarra and her “knife dance” is on www.boredpanda.com—and it is worth a watch.
At just over three minutes in length, the video starts with a ballerina putting on her leg wraps and then a pair of ballerina slippers with “kitchen knife” blades at the toe ends. She proceeds to somehow gain her balance atop a grand piano and then “dance”—though it’s more like a drag and stick of the blade shoes into the surface of the top of the piano. It’s really very good and about how you might expect such a venture to unfold—the ballerina wobbling, gasping and shouting at times as she does her best to keep her balance. The knife blades appear to be real, as the scratched surface of the piano top would attest. In fact, the top of the piano appears to get quite marred/carved up in the process.
Segarra dances what is called the “en pointe” ballet technique, the classic style in which the ballerina dances on her toes. According to the accompanying copy on the site, Segarra’s performance is “a testament to the intense dedication and sometimes physical suffering required of ballet performers.” The knives look pretty sharp, too. Exactly who made them or what brand they are we have no idea. They get to the point, though.
Props to BLADE® contributor Stephen Garger for turning us onto this video.
For the latest in knives, knife news and the sharpest stuff anywhere, stay tuned to www.blademag.com.
In a remarkable video, a ballerina does a “knife dance” with shoes sporting kitchen knife blade tips. This is the Kershaw chef’s knife. (Kershaw photo)
One of the many things that make knives so fascinating is the unusual pieces that turn up from time to time. Such is the case with a bowie knifemaker Steve Hill (www.stevehillknives.com) dubbed the “Iron Waitress” as a play-on-words salute to the famous “Iron Mistress.”
He found the Iron Waitress on eBay a few years ago. He and I had been emailing back and forth about the upcoming Bowie Knife Show in Natchez, Mississippi, and he emailed pictures of the knife and gave me a brief history.
“It was listed as a World War II theater handmade knife,” he wrote. “It’s for sure inspired by the ‘star’ of the Alan Ladd flick—or is that vice versa? Perhaps the designer of the movie knife remembered seeing this back in ‘The Big One’?
“I have fitted it with a brass spine since acquiring it. Joe Musso [the leading authority on knives from the Iron Mistress movie] thinks it’s most likely a Korean War theater knife. It’s an impressive piece of work with a sharpened false edge and cool stacked-leather handle with an escutcheon plate engraved Normand(y?). There’s good steel in the blade and it even has a tight radiused and sharpened point so it keeps on cutting through a slash maneuver without hanging up like a needle point could.
“To paraphrase Nez Coupe, the fictional Cajun friend of Jim Bowie in Paul Wellman’s Iron Mistress book, ‘This knife, she is death!’ Of all the knives in my collection,” Steve noted, “this one does seem to intimidate those who see it.”
According to Steve, the knife made the front page of a Vidalia, Louisiana, newspaper with a close-up of Knife World Editor Mark Zalesky looking cross-eyed—“Too funny!” Steve added—at it during a previous Bowie Knife Show.
The knives from the Battle of Gettysburg, the best EDCs for your money, the blades of summer and the hottest flipper folders are but a sample of the topics covered in the new BLADE® (www.blademag.com), on newsstands TODAY!
On the eve of the battle’s 150th anniversary, we caught up with Paul Shevchuk, museum specialist at the Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War. He was most forthcoming in providing pictures of and information about the knives, bayonets and other edged tools used by both sides in Pennsylvania in 1863. From a Confederate saber bayonet found on a Gettysburg street after the battle to side knives, pocketknives, D-guard bowies and more, Shevchuk’s contributions to the story make for an enlightening glimpse on how soldiers on both sides used their knives during the War Between the States.
Joe Kertzman tapped the know-how of a number of industry experts to get the lowdown on today’s best EDCs for the money. From the damascus and ebony of the Boker Plus Damascus Gent II—this issue’s cover knife—to the CRKT Carajas designed by Flavio Ikoma and many more, you’re bound to find an EDC that fits your pocket and pocketbook.
The new BLADE® features the Boker Plus Damascus Gent II on the cover.
Speaking of EDCs, it’s always good to know what the legal ramifications are when you carry a knife. Mike Haskew consulted such industry authorities as attorney Evan Nappen, AKTI Executive Director Jan Billeb and Knife Rights’ Doug Ritter for their recommendations on what you need to consider when you carry a knife.
With the beginning of summer mere days away, it’s time to replenish your summertime blade array. James Morgan Ayres suggests any number of ways to do it—including camping, picnic and just about every other knife need in the good ol’ summertime—in “The Blades of Summer.”
There are many more entertaining stories in the new BLADE (www.blademag.com). Check it out on newsstands NOW!
The world’s top custom knives will vie for elite honors during the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo’s (www.bladeshow.com) judging competition next week in Atlanta.
Slated for May 31-June 2 at the Cobb Galleria Centre, the show assembles an international potpourri of knives, including custom and factory. Of the almost 1,000 exhibitors, most are custom makers, and many will enter their knives in the judging competition on show Friday, May 31.
More knives are entered in the BLADE Show judging competition than any other like competition in the world. Makers from over 20 countries work feverishly to prepare their best knives, with the winners taking home trophies and the publicity the awards generate in BLADE® (www.blademag.com) Magazine, the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication, and elsewhere.
The categories are: Hugh Bartrug Best of Show, Best Sword, Best Tactical Folder, Most Innovative Design, Best Handle Design, Best Folder, Yvon Vachon Best Miniature, Best Art Knife, Best Fixed Blade, Best Bowie, Best New Maker, Best Fighter, Best Knife Collaboration, Best Utility Hunter, Best Damascus and Best of the Rest.
Michael Ruth Jr. won both Best of Show and Best Sword last year for his “Maritime Law” model, based on a naval boarding cutlass. The 21-inch, flat-ground blade is a ladder-pattern damascus. The D-guard is Turkish twist damascus. The handle is pre-ban ivory. Overall length: 26 inches. Ruth’s list price to make a similar piece: $5,500.
The judging is open only to BLADE Show table holders and custom knives. Entrants are to bring their knives to Room 104 of the Cobb Galleria at 3:30 p.m. the Friday of the show. No knives will be accepted after 4 p.m. The names of the winners will be posted outside the BLADE Show office the following morning.
For the complete story on the winners, see the November BLADE, on newsstands Aug. 13, or stay tuned to www.blademag.com for further details.
Michael Ruth Jr. won both Best of Show and Best Sword for his custom damascus model at the 2012 BLADE Show. (Point Seven photo)
Forged knives are the focus of the latest BLADE®, on newsstands now!The Ikoma Korth Bearing System developed by Flavio Ikoma and Ricardo and Paulo Lala—here on a Korth Carved Reptile—helped revolutionize flipper folders.J.T. Oldham shares his views on whether you should reboot your knife collection in this issue.Find out where art knives such as this model by Dennis Friedly are headed in this issue of BLADE®.
Hot knives don’t get any hotter than those hammered to shape in the forge, and the latest BLADE® focuses on forged knives in all their radiant glory.
Chris Amos provides tips for novices on how to forge knives in this issue of BLADE®.Harvey Dean‘s damascus beauty won the Antique Bowie Knife Association Award for best period bowie by an ABS master smith. (Chuck Ward image)
How do you get started forging knives? High Endurance Performance Knife master bladesmith Chris Amos covers the basics every newbie bladesmith should know in “Top Tips for Novice Bladesmiths.” Attending hammer-ins is another must for those serious about forging knives, and BLADE Managing Editor Erin Healy tells you about one of the top centers of bladesmithing instruction, the New England School of Metalwork, in “Hammah-Time!”
Sometimes you need to start all over again, including with the knives you collect. Pat Covert interviews some top collectors for their views on the subject in our lead story, “Is It Time To Reboot Your Collection?” Throwing knives have been enjoying a resurgence lately, and James Morgan Ayres tries his hand at flinging some of the latest ones in “Bull’s-Eye!”
Art knives were among the hottest custom knives anywhere in the 1980s and ’90s but in recent years have been overshadowed by tactical and other knives. Dave Rhea examines the current state of the genre and where it’s headed in “Where To Now, Art Knives?” Gent’s knives have an across-the-board appeal for their looks, style and utility. Abe Elias tests four of the latest in “Steel-ish & Stylish.”
There’s much more in this issue, including how the flipper folder changed knife history, tests of two hunting knives, sharp holiday season gift ideas and much more in the latest edition of BLADE, on newsstands now or available in the digital edition. Or, you can subscribe to the domestic print, digital, Canadian print or international print editions.
Wes Byrd (left) and Tim Potier (right) flank young bladesmithing aspirant Selena Giles at the 2012 BLADE Show seminar on bladesmithing for kids.
Let some of the world’s top bladesmiths teach your children about the craft in the American Bladesmith Society’s “Bladesmithing For Kids” seminar at the BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) & Living Ready Expo May 31-June 2 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.
Join American Bladesmith Society (ABS) master smiths Joe Keeslar and Tim Potier and ABS journeyman smiths Wes Byrd and Larry “The Hammer” Harley of Lords Of War TV fame as they explain the ancient art of bladesmithing. The seminar will be show Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in Room 109.
All four men have extensive experience teaching children about bladesmithing, and all four are great at relating the craft to youngsters in language kids can understand.
The ABS also has a long history of instructing children on bladesmithing. It has conducted a number of special kids’ bladesmithing events at such venues as the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo and also at Smoky Mountain Knife Works (SMKW) in Sevierville, Tennessee. In fact, the ABS Youth Hammer-In will be held just a few weeks after the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo, June 28-30, at SMKW (visit www.americanbladesmith.com for more information). Mr. Harley has conducted children’s bladesmithing seminars at his forge in Bristol, Tennessee, as well.
