Our Knife Of The Day XII is Joel Worley’s tapered-tang straight knife with a 5.5-inch fileworked blade of a raindrop-pattern damascus forged from 1080 and 15n20 carbon steels. A flared finger groove doubles as a guard. The handle is sheep horn and the belt sheath features pit viper inlay.
For more information contact Joel Worley at [email protected] or visit jaworleyknives.webs.com.
Tailor-made for a three-piece suit, jeans or purse, the Boker 145th Anniversary Knife salutes the Solingen, Germany, manufacturer's landmark birthday. The 2-inch blade is high-polished stainless steel with a laser-engraved 145th anniversary logo. The handle is Grenadill wood with the classic Boker Tree Brand logo shield, and the bolsters and liners are nickel silver. Closed length: 2 inches. The lockback pocketknife carries an MSRP of $149.
Check out the photo gallery of eight new, hot knives for fall 2014. See any keepers?
Now that you’ve seen what’s new, turn back the clock with BLADE‘s digital collection of annual KNIVES books. Get every KNIVES book from 2004 to 2015 in one PDF download for just $79.99.
Is there a specific knife model, a knife style or some other knife feature, gizmo or what have you that you don’t see anymore but would like to see make a comeback?
It can be just about anything—custom or factory, combat or kitchen, utility or fantasy—you name it and you discuss it. A picture of it sure would help matters.
Here’s an example.
I’d like to see Spyderco bring back the Maddox one-hand utility knife. Designed by Joe Maddox for a friend who had a broken arm, the Maddox is tailor-made for use by those who can use only one hand. However, my wife Susan—who has two healthy hands, by the way—uses it on a regular basis in the kitchen for any number of chopping/dicing chores. The ulu-style blade and handy wood handle combine to make a great tool for exerting downward pressure and a rocking-type cutting motion on a cutting board.
By the way, I got the idea for this short story from Spyderco’s Joyce Laituri, winner of the BLADE Magazine 2013 Publisher’s Award for her stellar career as Spyderco marketing manager and public relations guru.
What about you? What knife would you like to see make a comeback, or what knife or knives made long ago but are no longer would you like to see offered today? Or, is there a style or type of knife that’s rarely made that you’d like to see more of? It can be most anything—a special kind of folder, multi-blade, folding bowie, etc. Or, it can be a knife made from a vintage blade steel or handle material, an old style of embellishment no longer or rarely used, etc.
For more on the latest knives and knife news, stay tuned to www.blademag.com.
The Spyderco Maddox is an example of a discontinued knife the author would like to see make a comeback.
It took four judges over two hours to reach a decision, but Elizabeth Loerchner was chosen the winner of the Custom Knife Collector Association Jerry Fisk Cutlery Challenge.
Elizabeth won for her folder set with glass inlay. The announcement of the winner was made in Atlanta during the 2013 CKCA Banquet held the same weekend—May 31-June 2—as the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.bladeshow.com).
Elizabeth won over knife projects submitted by knifemaker Robert Kaufmann and ABS master smith J.R. Cook. All three were awarded $15,000 endowments last year to make “a more innovative knife,” with all three resulting knives judged prior to this year’s CKCA Banquet. The innovation could be in a new process, new design, anything that produces a knife “more innovative than what is being done.”
The artisan trio represented an international cross section of makers: Loerchner of Ontario, Canada, Kaufmann of Aitrach, Germany, and Cook of Nashville, Arkansas. The entries will be on display at various museums to introduce non-knife art collectors and others to the fast-growing collectible field of custom knives.
The CKCA accepted applications until May 1, 2012, and a committee met to select the three winning makers. “Each maker consistently stretched themselves to do something outside their norm,” a Cutlery Challenge news release noted. “The selected makers are recognized for their enthusiasm, support for the industry, and are a positive representation of the CKCA organization.”
The benefactor of the $45,000 challenge has agreed to sponsor another one, and details regarding how to enter and more will be released by the CKCA in the near future. The challenge is open to CKCA members who are full- and part-time knifemakers who specialize in the forged or stock removal methods.
I was waiting for Tom Ploppert’s custom slip joint like a kid on Christmas morning. To my surprise, there were two knives in the package when it arrived. Tom had sent me a new knife for evaluation and another that had been used hard for a few years. Both still walk and talk like they are supposed to, but the older knife has a smoother action. Yes, the handle is beat up a little and the blade has been resharpened a few times, but I could tell it is a high-quality knife. This is a good sign of excellent workmanship—I have had slip joints get sloppy after a few uses. Tom used premium stag pinned on to make the knife scream, “Use me!”
EDGE TESTS
I started off with a sheet of copy paper. I held the slip joint between my thumb and index finger and let the weight of the folder do the cutting. I just kept turning the paper around to a fresh side and sliced along its entire length until I had cut all four sides. The knife has a very good feel to it and fits my hand very well.
Next up: cardboard boxes. After 30 minutes of cutting I had slivers of cardboard all over the garage floor.
I had to change out my Kydex® foam for some new stuff as I had run a large batch of sheaths and the old foam was getting too compressed. After gluing on the newly cut foam, I sliced up the older pieces by simply resting the blade edge on the foam and making a pulling cut. The slip joint sliced as fast as I could maneuver my fingers out of the way.
WOOD/ROPE/LEATHER CUTS
I had some pine 1x1s cut—they make perfect whittling sticks. Tom’s “slippy” is excellent at control and the big stag handle is very comfortable. It did not take long to produce a pile of curly-cues.
Half-inch sisal rope was next on the agenda. The knife still felt sharp but I gave it a few strops on my leather pad for good luck. It crunched through the rope like a champ until I hit 60 cuts. My index finger rode up on the blade and I found the spine to be very sharp, and the inside of the liners also were sharp. A few strokes with a fine emery board dulled the sharpness and I settled back into cutting. I noticed the edge starting to slide at 120 cuts. Not bad at all and no more hot spots. I grabbed some leather and skived around the edges. The slip joint worked great and would still shave hair.
TIP TEST
I used the tip of the blade to cut and pry the dried skin from an old deer rack that needed cleaning. I was careful of the fine tip as I did not want to pop it off if it got stuck in the rack.
I gave the tip another workout, stabbing it into a 2×4 and twisting the tip out. The tip handled a dozen stabs and twists without breaking or any loosening of the folder’s action. As long as I had the 2×4 handy, I gave it a few chops. The blade bit deeper than I thought it would and the knife was comfortable while doing it.
IF IT WERE MY KNIFE …
… I would soften every place that is sharp except the edge of the blade. I use knives hard and sharp edges where they should not be might result in a hot spot. Just a few minutes with fine sandpaper and it’s all good.
FINAL GRADE
Tom’s slip joint performed excellently. His fit and finish are very clean. This is one very well made, good-looking work knife. Great job!—By MSG Kim Breed, BLADE® field editor
For more information contact Tom Ploppert, Dept. BLADEMAG, 1407 2nd Ave. S.W., Cullman, AL 35055 256-962-4251 tomploppert3bellsouth.net.
BLADE® field editor Ed Fowler will hold down table 3N at BLADE Show 2017.
If you are one of thousands of knife enthusiasts worldwide who will attend the 36th Annual BLADE Show June 2-4, it’s time to start making your to-do list for the world’s largest and most important knife event.
There are oh-so-many—almost 1,000 booths and tables in all in the cavernous Cobb Galleria Centre show hall—including the world’s top makers, sellers and displayers of all things sharp. Among them will be three who on a regular basis help make BLADE® Magazine the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication—BLADE Magazine field editors Kim Breed, Joe Szilaski and, health permitting, Ed Fowler.
BLADE® field editor Joe Szilaski will exhibit at Table 3P for BLADE Show 2017.
A retired member of the 5th U.S. Army Special Forces group, Breed’s 20-year military career took him to various world hot spots, including the Gulf War in the early 1990s. It was while there that he wrote a letter to BLADE about his love for knives. One thing led to another and BLADE asked Kim if he would like to write for BLADE on a regular basis testing knives. He took over BLADE’s “Spec Sheet” department and has been testing and writing about knives for the magazine ever since. He also makes custom knives and will be displaying them, along with scrimshaw work by Mrs. Melissa Breed, at table 17G. Stop by and see them—and if you can, do it on June 2. That will be Kim’s birthday. Ask him how old he is—and be sure to duck afterward.
A High-Endurance Performance-Knife (HEPK) master smith, Fowler has been writing for BLADE even longer than Breed—since the late 1980s. BLADE got wind of him after reading a booklet he had written sharing his thoughts on all things knife, including how to use them, how they should be made and much more. Since then in his “Knife Talk” department he has exposed BLADE readers to his distinctive brand of writing and knifemaking, including his preference for 52100 ball-bearing steel, his multiple quenching of his blades, the HEPK courses he teaches at his Willow Bow Ranch in Riverton, Wyoming, and so much more. Visit him and his bladesmithing co-hort, Chris Amos (Chris also has written for BLADE), at table 3N. Also, be sure to attend Ed’s demo, “Choices The Maker And One Who Seeks a Knife Need To Make” show Saturday from 2:15-3:30 p.m. in Room 107. (Note: Ed has been experiencing some health problems of late but both he and we hope it will not prevent him from attending the show.)
Last among three BLADE field editors who will exhibit at BLADE Show 2017 is ABS master smith Joe Szilaski. A native of Hungary who was in-country during the Hungarian Revolution against the Soviet Union in 1956, Joe moved to America and has embraced all things USA, including bladesmithing. He has assumed the mantle of writing the BLADE “Question & Answer” department originally started by Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame member Wayne Goddard, and also teaches knifemaking and tomahawk making in his facility in New York state. In fact, he will teach the BLADE U. class “How To Filework Knives” on show Saturday from 8:30-9:30 a.m. in Room 109. His table is 3P, where he will be ably assisted by Mrs. Lori Szilaski.
BLADE® field editor Kim Breed (in ball cap) will be on duty at Table 17G at BLADE Show 2017.
It’s never too early to start planning your BLADE Show 2017 itinerary, and visiting three of the top BLADE field editors who also happen to be show exhibitors is as good a place as any to start. Meanwhile at least three other BLADE contributors—knifemakers Brian Goode (table 19G), David Lisch (13R) and RJ Martin (11M)—will be exhibiting. Also, other BLADE field editors who should be roaming the show hall will be Abe Elias, Dexter Ewing, Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame member B.R. Hughes and Les Robertson. Elias, in fact, on show Saturday in Room 107 will present the BLADE U. classes “Steel: The Heart Of The Knife” from 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. and “The Best Edge For The Job” from 2-3:15 p.m.
Your right to own and carry knives such as the CRKT Minimalist is at stake in the Nov. 8 presidential election.
How Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump stack up in terms of your right to own and carry your knives is an issue you should weigh carefully before voting Nov. 8.
According to Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter, Clinton’s anti-gun and anti-Second Amendment agenda is a major plank of her campaign. She advocates undermining the Second Amendment through legislation, executive actions and, more importantly, her appointment of justices to the Supreme Court. Over the years she has endorsed most proposals to limit gun ownership and destroy the Second Amendment through extreme taxes, regulations and executive orders.
“The loss of Second Amendment rights by way of her anti-gun agenda would be certain to disadvantage knife owners as we fight to oppose irrational restrictions on our knives,” Ritter noted. “As we have seen elsewhere, once firearms are outlawed, knife restrictions follow.”
Trump, meanwhile, is pro-Second Amendment and has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association and other Second Amendment organizations. His proposed nominees for the Supreme Court have a record of opposing efforts to weaken the Second Amendment.
As for the ivory issue, Ritter noted that the campaign against ivory owners in the USA, including owners of ivory-handle knives and raw ivory used by knifemakers and scrimshanders, was launched by the Clinton Foundation as part of its Clinton Global Initiative. “The Clinton Foundation and non-governmental organizations affiliated with it continue to advocate for the complete and total ban on all trade in ivory in any form,” Ritter wrote. “They are being assisted by the Fish and Wildlife Service. They are even pushing to ban sustainable use of wildlife in Africa, the core science behind the world’s most successful wildlife conservation efforts that have brought many species back from the brink of extinction.”
Clinton also likely would oppose the African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act (AECLIPA), an act that would repeal the recent federal ivory ban, resetting the rules back to where they had been for decades, and would enhance elephant conservation efforts in Africa.
Conversely, Trump has never supported ivory bans or the end of sustainable use as a science-based conservation model. Trump would be far more likely to make executive appointments that would signal significant changes at the Interior Department and FIsh and Wildlife. If Congress passed the AECLIPA, he would likely sign it.
