The best knives under $50, how to make one of the industry’s hottest folders, and two custom knife industry veterans doing their best to protect elephants and your legal ivory are among the highlights of the new BLADE®, on newsstands now!
Budget concerns are at the top of most people’s lists these days, including those of knife enthusiasts. Dave Rhea shows you how to save a few bucks and still get an outstanding knife at a reasonable price in “Best New Knives Under $50.”
The best knives under $50 and more highlight the new BLADE®, on newsstands now!
Sandra Brady and Linda Karst-Stone are known throughout the custom knife industry as two of the best scrimshanders. They have a vested interest in the nationwide attack on legal elephant and ancient ivory by the federal and state governments. If you think all Sandra and Linda care about is their livelihoods and not the plight of elephants and the state of legal ivory, you would be wrong. Find out what the federal and state grab on legal ivory is really about in the “Dynamic Duo of Ivory” by Pat Covert.
Protecting a knife from the physical degradations of hard use, the elements and more is one of the reasons many companies coat the blade and sometimes even the handle in a variety of different finishes. Find out what the finishes are, how they are applied and more in Mike Haskew’s “Coats of Many Colors.”
Also this issue: tests of the latest hatchets, neck knives and two new folders, those who forge damascus in quantity for use by other knifemakers and companies, 41 reasons you may be an edgeneck and much more in the latest BLADE.
Feature comforts: Stainless steel lockbar insert w/integral over-travel stop; built-in clip slides left or right, integrates into design
Closed length: 5.375”
Operating/locking mechanism: Titanium frame-lock flipper; KVT ball bearings in pivot
Weight: 7.6 ozs.
MSRP: $499
The Blade Magazine Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards are voted on each year at the BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) by the show’s exhibiting booth holders, plus a panel of five special judges, the latter whose votes count double. The 2013 BLADE Show will be held once again at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Georgia.
For the latest knives, knife trends, knifemakers, what knives to buy and where, knife legislation, knifemaking instruction, and much more, subscribe to BLADE® Magazine, the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication. Click on http://www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us/?lid=blss091312
Bear & Son Cutlery’s Bold Action V is the cover knife for the new BLADE®, on newsstands now!
See if bushcraft knives with fire steels can take the heat, meet a Marine Corps vet who helps spread the good word of Zac Brown’s knives, learn whether paying knife deposits on custom knives is for you and more in the latest issue of BLADE®—on newsstands now!
BLADE field editor Abe Elias puts four new bushcraft knives, all equipped with fire steels, through a series of tests and critiques. See how they fare and what makes a good bushcraft knife—not what makes good hype—in “Bush The Envelope.”
Losing both legs from above the knee down would understandably destroy most people, but not veteran Marine Staff Sgt. Joey Jones. Fitted with prosthetic devices after the devastating effects of an IED in Afghanistan, he picked up the pieces in civilian life and has become a powerful motivator for individuals, corporations and charities. He also works with Zac Brown’s Southern Ground, which, in addition to the Southern Grind knife company, funds Camp Southern Ground for children, especially those with neuro-developmental disorders or in families with a parent deployed, wounded or lost. Erin Healy examines Jones and Brown’s Southern Ground in “Joined By Knives.”
Ordering a custom knife from a knifemaker and making a down payment—better known as a deposit—on the knife is something collectors have done for many years. But is paying deposits for you? Custom knife purveyor Les Robertson guides you through the do’s and don’ts of the practice in “Knife Deposits: Yea, Nay, Maybe.”
Can Casstrom’s Woodsman bushcraft knife with fire steel take the heat? Abe Elias shows the way in the latest BLADE®,
Also in this issue of BLADE:
•The latest in factory automatics, including the cover knife, an entry from Bear & Son Cutlery’s first-ever line of autos, the Bold Action V;
•Learn how the super-lightweight Gerber LST folder changed knife history in “Father of the EDC?”;
•MSG Kim Breed, retired 5th Special Forces, puts a couple of heavy-duty camp knives through the ringer in “Is Bigger Better?”;
•James Morgan Ayres tests four of the latest factory tomahawks in “Tomahawk Toughies”;
•BLADE field editor Ed Fowler recounts his lifelong addiction to knives in “Just Say Yes!”;
•In “A Linerlock On Roller Skates,” Leroi Price describes a new approach to the linerlock developed by Jake Hoback;
•BLADE field Dexter Ewing concludes his three-part series on 12 of the newest knife sharpeners in “The Hone Zone”;
•Reload your knife with sharp blades or simply discard them in “The Replaceables” by Pat Covert, and;
•You can almost hear the mosaic damascus “snakes” on Greg Cimms’ chef’s knife blade hiss in “The Dubai Vipers.”
You get all this and much more in the latest BLADE. Click here for the download edition. To subscribe to BLADE, click here for the domestic print edition, here for the international print subscription, here for the Canadian print subscription and here for the digital subscription.
Summer means camping and camping requires lots of chopping jobs for such handy pieces as the Alaskan Bush Pilot Hatchet from Timberline.
Designed by custom knifemaker Russ Kommer, the hatchet features a 440 stainless steel blade in a satin finish and a finger-grooved haft covered with Zytel slabs. Overall length: 9 inches. Weight: 3 pounds. It comes with a bridle leather sheath and a non-slip belt loop.
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. Click on http://www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us/?r+ssfb062712 for more information.
A new pro-knife law expands the blade-length limit for knife carry in Georgia, home of the BLADE Show, to 12 inches. Jerry Fisk’s bowie features a damascus blade and stag handle. (Chuck Ward image)
A new pro-knife law signed into law this week in Georgia comes just in time for the 36th Annual BLADE Show.
Signed May 8 by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, the new pro-knife law (HB 292) increases the legal carry length of a knife blade in the state from 5 to 12 inches.
“With the BLADE Show coming up June 2-4, attendees and exhibitors will have more freedom to carry their larger knives without fear of legal entanglements,” Knife Rights reported. It is language from Knife Rights’ Georgia Knife Law Reform bill, SB 49, that is included in the new pro-knife law.
The new 12-inch length limit became effective as soon as Deal signed the bill. Since Georgia passed Knife Rights’ Knife Law Preemption in 2012, any lesser length restrictions in cities and towns are now voided by HB 292. Moreover, neither can local jurisdictions enact prohibitions more restrictive than those in the new pro-knife law.
The BLADE Show and blademag.com express their gratitude to such organizations as Knife Rights, the American Knife & Tool Institute and others that fight for common-sense knife legislation. Both organizations will be among the exhibitors at the BLADE Show and blademag.com encourages you to stop by the booths of each for more information on how to protect your right to own and carry knives.
Custom knife purveyors can help you find the knife that’s best for you. In the foreground, from left: Dan Delavan, knifemaker Pat Crawford, Strider Knives’ Josh Lee and Dave Nittinger. Dan and Dave are veteran custom knife purveyors.
Choosing the custom knives that are best for you can be a tricky proposition. There are a number of things to consider, including how much money you have to spend, whether you’re buying the knife to use, collect or resell, and other factors. Especially if you’re new to the market, looking to change the focus of the kinds of knives you buy or simply unsure which knife is best for you, a custom knife purveyor (also known as a dealer) is out there who can help you.
There are a number of different types of custom knife purveyors. Some specialize in one type of knife only, such as art knives or tactical knives. Since tactical knives have been hot for a long time, there are probably more tactical knife purveyors than any other type.
The serious ones have websites with professionally photographed images of the custom knives they offer for sale, and/or advertise their purveying service in knife magazines and/or other media. A sign of a purveyor who is in business for the long haul is one who advertises consistently over an extended period of time. (The latter also goes for knifemakers.) Still other purveyors may photograph their knives for marketing purposes—with some being quite good at it—own a brick-and-mortar retail knife store, and a very few produce/coordinate their own knife shows. Some purveyors do two or more of the preceding and at least one does all three.
To find out which purveyor fits your needs, ask around at knife shows, knife discussion forums, social media sites and other venues, check websites and knife magazines, etc. Talk to your friends or acquaintances who buy custom knives or ask them for the names of others who buy custom knives. Tell them what kinds of knives you’re looking for and ask them which purveyors are the best at providing such knives and offer the best customer service. Get as many opinions as you can. It’s better to have more information than not enough. Whittle the purveyors down to a select few you think you might want to work with and call them and feel them out. Go with the one you connect with best—in other words, go with your gut feeling in picking the one you want to use.
Before we continue, some fundamentals on how purveyors obtain the knives they sell is in order. It’s really pretty cut and dried: the purveyors attend select knife shows in search of the top knives and makers and/or establish relationships with those makers—and a select knife show is always a great place to both meet the maker and see some of his/her best work. The best purveyors work with proficient makers who are good at meeting deadlines on the knives they agree to make, offer good customer service if something goes wrong with the knife, and who, in general, appeal to custom knife enthusiasts of most all stripes. The purveyor will reach an agreement with the maker to buy one or more of his or her knives and then sell the knife/knives at enough of a markup to make a profit, stay in business and buy more knives for sale. That’s pretty basic, but that’s essentially how it works.
Why should you buy from a purveyor instead of a maker? Actually, if you can bypass the purveyor and buy directly from the maker, you probably should. However, that’s not always possible and is where purveyors come in. (Besides, as noted, if you’re new to the market or unsure of what to buy, the guidance a capable purveyor can provide in buying a custom knife can be invaluable.) Through the working relationships they establish with leading makers, purveyors have access to knives from those makers that most individual custom knife enthusiasts do not. Many makers have to struggle to make deadlines for other custom orders and knife shows, and often cannot fill your order quick enough or before the knife loses some of its luster and is no longer “hot.” Purveyors, on the other hand, may have the knife in question in stock or something from the maker that will fill your needs immediately.
As an aside, if you look around enough, you will no doubt hear from some that one purveyor or another is prejudiced in favor of a certain maker or makers. Whenever you hear this, take it with a grain of salt because most all purveyors will indeed be prejudiced in favor of makers that are a) easy to work with and b) make deadlines—traits that you would probably like in a maker as well.
These are just some of the things to look for in a custom purveyor. The more you look and ask around, the more you will find other traits that will make the custom purveyor the best for you and your knife needs.
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.
Kevin Casey uses ancient walrus tusk for the handle of his knife. (SharpByCoop image)
Your help is needed to derail bills designed to ban not only ivory but also mammoth ivory—the latter ivory from animals extinct for thousands of years—that are pending in several states. Meanwhile, your support is needed for a federal bill (HR 697) that would effectively end U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s draconian moratorium on the sale and trade of legal ivory and also assist anti-poaching efforts in countries with elephant populations. (For more on the latter, visit http://elephantprotection.org/app/write-a-letter)
Hawaii, Maryland (HB713), Iowa (SF 30), Oklahoma (HB1787) and California (AB96) are all considering legislation that would or could be used to ban both ivory and mammoth ivory, and four bills are pending in Connecticut that could do the same. The penalties for violating any of the state bans if they were to pass run anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 in fines up to classifying as felonies.
Meanwhile, a house bill in Washington (HB1131) eliminated mammoth from the definition of ivory, though the bill (SB5241) has yet to pass the state’s senate.
For more on these laws and what you can do to protect your right to sell legal ivory and mammoth ivory, including your knives with handles of the materials, visit elephantprotection.org.
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.
