Steve Shackleford's Blog

New BLADE Hits Newsstands TODAY!

Steve Shackleford

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August 12, 2013

Get all the poop on the 2013 BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.bladeshow.com)—including the BLADE Magazine 2013 Knives Of The Year® and the show’s other hottest knives—Steven “MeatEater” Rinella’s assessment of the SOG Huntspoint hunting knife and more in the latest BLADE® (www.blademag.com), on most newsstands TODAY!

Highlights include:

•Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Ken Onion and CRKT each were involved in three Knife Of The Year Awards: Onion and CRKT on the Most Innovative Imported Design for the Swindle and Accessory Of The Year for the Survival Para-Saw, CRKT for Best Buy Of The Year with the Endorser/Matthew Lerch design, and Onion and Chef Works for the Kitchen Knife Of The Year (the Ken Onion “Rain”);

•Wayne Goddard became the 50^th inductee into the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame©;

•In the BLADE Show’s custom knife competition, John White won three awards and E. Scott McGhee two: White for Best of Show and Best Damascus for his Side-Shell Hunting Dagger and Best Bowie for his feather/stag model, and McGhee for Best Handle Design for his Puma model and Best Fighter for his Cottonmouth Blackout fixed blade;

•BLADE Show factory breakout introductions included the HEST/F Mr. DP Ti from DPx Gear, Bear & Son’s “Undead” folding stiletto on a Zombie theme, Maxpedition’s first-ever knife line and many others;

•The final installment in BLADE’s 40^th anniversary series on the top 40 factory knives of the past 40 years, with the Kershaw/Ken Onion Leek finishing Numero Uno for the years 2001-12;

•A critique of four of the latest factory hunting knives, including the aforementioned MeatEater appraisal of the SOG Huntspoint;

•The favorite knives of 19-year-old Fifty Caliber Shooters Association two-time junior world champion Michelle Chestnut;

•A special trio of damascus knives made by three of the Knifemakers’ Guild’s top female makers that will be auctioned at the 2013 Guild Show; and much more, all in the latest BLADE.

For the latest knives and knife news, stay tuned to www.blademag.com.

Buck Collectors Observe 25th Anniversary

Steve Shackleford

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August 8, 2013

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Buck Collectors Observe 25th Anniversary

Hundreds of Buck knife collectors converged on Spokane, Washington, and Post Falls, Idaho, last week for the Buck Collectors Club International’s 25^th Anniversary Gala.

A celebration of Buck knives, seminars on Buck knives, tours of the Buck manufacturing plant just across the border in Post Falls, and much more highlighted the event, which drew collectors from all over the country.

Such Buck VIPs as Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Chuck Buck, Lori Buck, CJ Buck, David Yellowhorse, Wilde Bill Cody, Leroy Remer, Mike Prater, Fred Wilson and many others mingled with Buck collectors throughout the festivities.

The event kicked off with a banquet Tuesday night, and included the induction of four into the BCCI Hall Of Fame: knifemaker Jerry Bodner, Jane Davie and the aforementioned Mssrs. Yellowhorse and Wilson. BLADE® (www.blademag.com) Magazine Editor Steve Shackleford served as the banquet keynote speaker and was presented with a special plaque in recognition of his work with the BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) and support of the BCCI over the years.

Wednesday included a complete slate of seminars and factory tours. The seminars included one on Buck Yellowhorse knives by award-winning Buck Yellowhorse collector Gene Merritt. The day was capped by a sunset dinner cruise on the nearby Lake Coeur d’Alene. Thursday featured seminars by CJ Buck on what’s on the horizon at Buck Knives and on Buck Customs by John Foresman, Leroy Remer and Wilde Bill Cody, among others. A “Knife Swap Plus” was held Thursday evening and included Russ Donoghue signing his new BCCI History Book, raffles, auctions, artist demos and more. The event concluded with more seminars Friday, including one on the Buckmaster/M-9 and Buck Tactical Knives by Rich Neyman, and a Buck Knife Survival Seminar by Karen Hood. A picnic at the home of Chuck and Lori Buck was a fitting end to the extravaganza.

For more information on the BCCI, visit www.buckcollectorsclub.org.

For the latest knife news, stay honed to www.blademag.com.

The “Iron Waitress” Bowie

Steve Shackleford

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August 6, 2013

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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.

For the latest knife news, stay sharp with www.blademag.com.

Knife Supports Military Veteran Students

Steve Shackleford

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July 25, 2013

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Knife Supports Military Veteran Students

Ten dollars from each Arkansas Veterans knife sold by A.G. Russell Knives will go toward an emergency fund for military veterans who are students at the University of Arkansas.

The mid-lock Arkansas Veterans Folder is based on what BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member A.G. Russell stated is the most popular knife he’s ever designed—the K-93 “one-hand knife.” A.G. reduced the handle length from the K-93’s 4 inches to 3. The blade pattern is what A.G. calls “general purpose” with a one-hand opening hole, and the steel is the same 8Cr13MoV stainless that appears on the company’s regular catalog knives that sell in the $45 to $95 range. Blade length: 2.5 inches.

The handle material remains the same—molded fiberglass re-enforced nylon. The handle color is the U of A’s school colors—cardinal red, with the center of the Arkansas flag inlaid in the grip’s front side. The knife does not have a pocket clip. The words “Arkansas Veteran” are etched on the blade’s obverse side. A.G. Russell Knives’ price: $19.95.

The project adds to A.G. Russell Knives’ history of supporting the U.S. military. Its “War On Troop Boredom” sent over 20,000 care packages containing books, magazines, tools and other useful items to units in Iraq and Afghanistan—and also garnered A.G. and Goldie Russell the BLADE Magazine 2004 Publisher’s Award for their efforts.

In fact, it was the War On Troop Boredom program that led A.G. and Goldie to be invited to sit on a board for the Veterans Resource and Information Center (VRIC) at U of A. The VRIC did not have an emergency fund to help its military vet students facing economic woes. Enter A.G. and Goldie and the Arkansas Veterans Folder.

Knifemaking Book a True Wonder

Steve Shackleford

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July 24, 2013

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Learning how to make knives from someone who has done it for over 60 years and written about it professionally for about 30 years is exactly what you get with Wayne Goddard’s The Wonder of Knifemaking.

Inducted into the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame© during the 2013 BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.bladeshow.com), Goddard is an ABS master smith and BLADE® (www.blademag.com) field editor who has taught as many people how to make knives via his columns in BLADE, through the Internet, and his many seminars and demos at venues throughout the country as just about anyone.

In The Wonder of Knifemaking he takes you on a fascinating journey explaining most everything every knife fan wants to know about knives and how they are made. From imparting his wisdom on how you should approach knifemaking in general, to getting started, insider tips, developing your own unique style, the pitfalls each maker must beware of and much more, Goddard guides you through the process in his measured, forthright writing style.

He tells you what steel is and how each of its constituent elements affects it; working with such old-fashioned materials as files, saw steel and horseshoe rasps; what you should know about heat treating, quenching, and selective hardening and tempering techniques; the best hardnesses for blades; clay back hardening; handles, guards and tangs, including narrow tang vs. full tang; grinding and finishing; material for pins; logo etching; tools for the knife shop; and more.

A huge proponent of knife testing, Wayne explains exactly what a testing program should consist of and what it should gauge: slicing cuts vs. pull cuts; the differences in the types of ropes to cut; tests for chopping ability and edge strength; and more. He also covers sharpening comprehensively, including methods and hones. Sharpening is a subject he knows extremely well, having taught it at many seminars over the years at the BLADE Show, BLADE Show West and many other events.

For more on how to get your copy, visit www.shopblade.com/the-wonder-of-knifemaking?lid=ssfbbl072413

A.G. Russell Knife Event 2013 July 26-28

Steve Shackleford

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July 23, 2013

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A.G. Russell Knife Event 2013 July 26-28

Knifemakers, knife manufacturers and dealers, knifemaking suppliers and knife lovers in general will descend on A.G. Russell’s Knife Event 2013 Friday through Sunday, July 26-28, in Rogers, Arkansas.

Held at the luxurious John Q. Hammons Convention Center Embassy Suites, the show brings exhibitors from around the world to the Northwest corner of Arkansas for three days of knife exhibits, sales and special events. Many of the exhibitors are there simply to pay homage to Russell, a founding member of the Knifemakers’ Guild, member of the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame© and, along with Mrs. Goldie Russell, operator of the sprawling A.G. Russell Knives retail knife store a short drive from the John Q. Hammons Convention Center.

According to www.knifeevent.com, custom knifemakers who plan to exhibit at the show include, in alphabetical order, such well-known names as Canada’s Gaetan Beauchamp, Arno Bernard, Tim Britton, ABS master smith Jim Crowell, W.C. Davis, Bob Dozier Knives, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer D’ Holder, Larry “The Hammer” Harley of National Geographic TV’s Lords of War, Bill Mace Imel, Germany’s Dietmar Kressler, W.D. Pease, Johnny Stout, ABS master smith Brion Tomberlin and many more. Committed factory knife companies include, again in alphabetical order, Al Mar Knives, Benchmade, Boker USA, Buck, CRKT, KA-BAR, Kershaw, Leatherman, Ontario, Queen, SOG Specialty Knives & Tools, Spyderco and others.

Show hours include early VIP admission Friday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., with general admission from 2-6 p.m. Saturday hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Buy a three-day VIP pass for a chance to win a free one-night stay during the show (July 27 or 28) at the Embassy Suites, and a Saturday lunch with A.G. and Goldie Russell.

For more information visit www.knifeevent.com or call 800-255-9034.

For the latest knife news, stay tuned to www.blademag.com (www.blademag.com

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Cutting Critique: HTM Lightfoot Bullwhip

Steve Shackleford

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July 18, 2013

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Cutting Critique: HTM Lightfoot Bullwhip

The HTM Lightfoot Bullwhip Tanto is one of those deceptive heavy-duty tactical folders that feels big to the touch but, at 6.5 ounces, is surprisingly lightweight—and is our latest entry in our “Cutting Critique” series.

Designed by award-winning knifemaker, motorcycle racing enthusiast, kayak builder and all-around man of many talents, Greg Lightfoot of Alberta, Canada, the HTM tanto version of the knife is exclusive to ShopBlade (www.shopblade.com). The 3.5-inch hollow-ground blade with a hint of a recurve is coated black and the factory edge is razor sharp for any number of cutting jobs straight out of the box. The tip is also razor sharp and thickened on the spine end, ideal for penetration, a hallmark of any classic tanto blade design.

The robust, hump-backed handle is 5/8-inch thick and features Lightfoot’s “shark-skin” texture on the non-clip side for enhanced purchase. A slight finger groove in the bolster, reverse bird’s-beak butt and flipper guard keep your hand squarely in control of the knife.

The Maxx Glide Pivot Bearing System, designed by Darrel Ralph, operates effortlessly by way of the flipper opener. The tension on the locking liner spring is nice and tight—though not too tight—to keep the blade securely open during use.

The only thing I do not like is the sharp end of the flipper. While it provides excellent traction for opening the knife, the sharp end can jab you at inopportune times—not enough to seriously injure you but enough to be uncomfortable. However, it’s nothing that can’t be remedied with a few swipes of your favorite abrasive.

A cool black zippered pouch with the HTM (Hand-Tech-Made) logo completes the package. ShopBlade’s price: $299.99.

Click here to get the HTM Lightfoot Bullwhip Tanto.

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First Family of Knives?

New BLADE Hits Newsstands TODAY!

Buck Collectors Observe 25th Anniversary

The “Iron Waitress” Bowie

Knife Supports Military Veteran Students

Knifemaking Book a True Wonder

A.G. Russell Knife Event 2013 July 26-28

Cutting Critique: HTM Lightfoot Bullwhip

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