The BLADE Blog w/Steve Shackleford

Knives, knife people, knife news, knife use, knife collecting, knifemakers, knife events, the BLADE Show, BLADE Magazine, and more.

New BLADE On Newsstands NOW!

Check newsstands today for the latest issue of BLADE.
The new BLADE Magazine is on newsstands today!

The eye-popping ESEE-3VG in a Venom Green blade, orange G-10 handle and a lanyard to match is the cover knife for the October BLADE® (www.blademag.com), on newsstands now!

The knife is an appetizer for the lead-in story on lanyards and beads, a growing accessory trend on today’s finest knives.

Want the inside story on the real reason the TSA decided to tuck its wings and rescind its approval of carry-on knives on commercial airliners? American Knife & Tool Institute’s Jan Billeb fills you in via the special question-and-answer story, “TSA Carry-On Knife Plan Grounded.”

The hottest makers’ hottest custom knives are the focus of BLADE (www.blademag.com) Managing Editor Joe Kertzman’s “Knives & Makers Catch Fire!” and custom knife purveyor Les Robertson offers the conclusion of his informative story on “What To Look For In A Forged Knife.”

If you like knife tests, MSG Kim Breed (5th Special Forces, retired) puts the Boker Plus G4 through the paces in “Wharncliffe Warrior,” and new BLADE (www.blademag.com) contributor Alan Clemons reveals his trio of favorite hunting knives in the aptly named “One Man’s 3 Favorite Hunters.”

Bladesmiths basically sprouted from the blacksmithing trade, but there are differences between the two vocations. ABS master smith Joe Szilaski outlines those differences in “Bladesmiths vs. Blacksmiths: What’s the Difference?”

Ever think about what goes on in a maker’s mind before he designs a knife, how he arrives at a certain line or curve, a rounded edge here or a palm swell there? ABS master smith Lin Rhea explains some of those thought processes in “Line & Flow: A Key To Top Knives.”

Factory/custom collaboration knives go back over 40 years, but they didn’t really take off until the early 1990s–and they’re still going strong. Dexter Ewing takes you on a tour of the latest versions in “Stylish Steel: It Never Gets Old!”

There’s much more in the latest issue of BLADE. Check it out on newwstands now or subscribe digitally at www.shopblade.com/blade-1-yr-digital-subscription?lid=ssfbbl071713

 

Sharpest Gifts South of Santa Land

Buck-Yellowhorse Spirit Singer

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Navajo artist David Yellowhorse has collaborated with Buck on some of the most beautiful knives anywhere, and the two have nailed it again with the Yellowhorse Spirit Singer. The handle is turquoise, black jet and nickel silver. The knife comes with a glass top display case and in a limited edition of 100 (if, indeed, any are left!)


GROUP-T1346-T1348Recommended for You:

KNIVES 2015

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.

Putin Pulls Excalibur From Rock

Russian Premier Vladimirmeet-the-pr-firm-that-helped-vladimir-putin-troll-the-entire-country Putin made world news today when he pulled Excalibur from a rock in Vladivostok.

The controversial Russian leader, who has ruffled international feathers lately with his taking of Crimea and bullying of the Ukraine, was salmon fishing near the ancient Russian city when he reportedly spied a flash of light from a river bank. “I rowed my kayak to the bank and there, stuck in a rock, was this beautiful sword,” Putin said. “I got out of my kayak, walked to the rock, grabbed the sword by the hilt and it practically slid out by itself.”

Excalibur was pulled from rock by Putin.
Russian Premier Vladimir Putin reportedly pulled Excalibur from a rock in Vladivostok. (Albion sword photo)

International reaction was swift.

“This guy has got to be kidding. First he rides a grizzly bear and now he’s pulled Excalibur from a rock?” an incredulous President Barack Obama observed. “The next thing you’re going to tell me is he’s drawn a red line with the sword tip!”

Those in the knife industry scoffed at Putin’s assertion.

“Putin pulled Excalibur from a rock?” questioned ABS master smith and BLADE® field editor Ed Fowler, Excalibur champion and proponent of the multiple quench heat-treating method. “I think King Arthur is doing backflips in his grave over this one.”

Meanwhile, sword manufacturers scrambled to see if they could get images and/or drawings of the sword from Russian officials to make a reproduction of the legendary blade.

“We’ve been in touch with the Kremlin and they tell us Putin can’t be bothered with such requests at the moment, that he’s being fitted for a suit of armor to go with the sword,” said Lois Southwick of Camelot Sword Makers. “We will continue to press for the images and drawings. After all, this sword belongs to the world, not Mr. Putin.”

Long before now, you’ve probably figured out that this story is completely bogus. After all, it’s April 1. Happy April Fool’s Day!

ABS Master Smith Red St. Cyr Passes Away

American Bladesmith Society master smith Red St. Cyr of Reva Forge in Wilmington, California, passed away yesterday after suffering a heart attack.

    Red, pictured above at the 2012 ABS San Antonio Show, was the founder of the American Bladesmith Society’s (ABS) West Coast Forging Clinic, a member of the Southern California Blades, ABS, Arizona KCA, and Oregon KCA, and president of the California Knifemakers Association.

    His specialty was fixed blades, forging his own damascus and mosaic patterns. In 1995 he became an ABS journeyman smith and earned his ABS master smith rating in 1998. He has received numerous awards for his knives, including the ABS Bill Moran Award.

    At the tender age of 13, Red began an apprenticeship with a farrier and fell in love with working with metal and horses. By the time he was 16, he was a full-fledged farrier. He eventually became a master farrier, designing, forging and custom fitting horseshoes throughout the United States and several foreign countries.

    When farmers baling hay began to use twine in place of baling wire, someone asked Red if he could make a knife from a horseshoeing rasp, and that started Red’s life-long love of bladesmithing. He made knives for over 35 years.

    Red was known for his readiness to share his knowledge and skills with others. He hosted the California Forging Clinic annually and also did forging demonstrations at the Knife Expo, the old BLADE Show West, BAKCA, and Reno ABS shows.

    Funeral arrangements are pending. More information will be forthcoming on the ABS Forum at http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/

Makers to Watch in 2016 Top New BLADE®

New BLADE® on newsstands now!
Makers to watch in 2016 headline the new BLADE®, on newsstands now!

The makers to watch in 2016, tomorrow’s blade material today, deep-belly vs. recurve blades and more highlight the new BLADE®, on newsstands now!

Headlined by the cover knife by one of the makers to watch for the new year, Jared Price’s tactical folder in bacon-pattern stainless damascus, the latest issue focuses on five cutlers who are building some of today’s most exciting custom knives. In addition to Price, those makers are ABS journeyman smiths Karl B. Andersen and Ben Breda, Michael Raymond and Richard Rogers. Find out why they made our list, examples of their hottest knives and more.

SM-100 is a recently developed titanium alloy that exhibits key traits desirable in a great blade material. Also known as HIPTiNite, the material is used on special models by Strider Knives, knifemaker Eric Bono and others. Get the background story on this intriguing material in Pat Covert’s story.

Machetes and big knives have been appearing in droves in the factory industry, and a number of them opt for either full, wide blades or those with the “S” curve, or recurve. See how the two styles perform, including a sidebar on the concept of weight-forward blade design, in “Belly Up To The Recurve Bar” by Abe Elias.

Also this issue: check out the stories that made headlines over the past year in “It Was A Keen ’15”; enjoy an excerpt from the World’s No. 1 Knife Book, KNIVES 2016, entitled “Chopped Champions” by Joe Kertzman; consider four of the latest factory slip joints and how the traditional design is evolving in general in “Slippin’ and A-Slicin'”; read about the latest knife maintenance products and how they keep your knives performing well and looking good in “Nourish Your Knives”; see how two custom fillet knives compare in Kim Breed’s tests; check out ABS master smith Henry Torres’s hunter’s axe and the many options Henry offers thereof, and much more, all in the latest BLADE®.

 

Photo Gallery: Warm Up With 8 Hot New 2015 CRKT Knives!

The recent Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas introduced many new factory knives from many production companies, including several fresh models from CRKT. Here are eight of CRKT’s latest cutters.

CRKT Saker

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The CRKT Saker is a bushcraft knife designed by BLADE® Magazine contributor Abe Elias. It features a Scandi-ground blade of 1075 carbon steel, a walnut handle and leather sheath. It includes a special bushcraft tool for scraping, pitch harvesting, wedge splitting or prying.


Recommended for You:

S3400_2015_Blade_Knife2015 BLADE Show CRKT Tighe Rade

This is a numbered Official BLADE Show Exclusive knife with limited quantity – only 300 available! Each custom Tighe Rade™ knife touts the Blade Show logo.

Designed by Brian Tighe, this knife is anything but understated. The textured and grooved aluminum handle complements the multi-purpose compound ground blade. The tip of the blade is reinforced, making it ideal for stronger cutting applications, while the area of the blade closer to the handle is optimal for finer cutting tasks and wire stripping. Keeping the blade secure is a button lock, allowing you to efficiently deploy the blade with a flipper or ambidextrous dual thumb studs. If you’re looking for a versatile blade with extreme style and sophistication, this is it. Learn more

Knife Of The Day XX: Bill’s Knee Knife

Veteran knifemaker Bill Herndon long has put a little bit of himself into each of the knives he builds, but his Bill’s Knee Knife takes the concept to new heights.

    Also a contributor to BLADE® Magazine, Herndon, who goes by the acronym of OFAU (Old, Fat And Ugly), employed a part of his surgically removed knee bone as an escutcheon for the handle of his reproduction of an antique bowie knife.

    “At the time of my first of four knee surgeries, I asked the surgeon to save the bone he removed from my left knee. After the two small pieces of bone were delivered and dried, I asked Ken McFall of Knife & Gun Finishing Supplies to stabilize the bone. He did so but under protest!” Herndon noted, doing his best to keep a straight knee, er, face. “Some eight years later, I decided to put that bone to use. The inlaid helm—my logo—in the ebony handle on this Samuel Bell bowie reproduction is the result. I have really put a part of myself in this knife!”

    For more information, e-mail Bill at [email protected].

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+ssfb032312#BL1SU.

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