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New BLADE On Newsstands Now!

Steve Shackleford
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New BLADE On Newsstands Now!

The new BLADE showcases the hottest knives of the SHOT Show—including the new Kershaw/Emerson CQC-6K on the cover—the inside scoop on knife lotteries, field tests of the latest skeleton knives and more.

June BLADE hits newsstands today!
Check out the June BLADE, on newsstands today!

Held this past January at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, the SHOT Show is the annual coming out party for the latest in knives, guns, deer stands, sharpeners and everything that has to do with shooting and hunting. The movers and shakers of the cutlery industry were there to present the newest in tactical, outdoor, kitchen, sporting, bushcraft and just about any knife you can think of. BLADE was there to scope it all out and you can be too in the pages of the June issue.

Knife lotteries are one of the hottest tickets in the industry. Knife enthusiasts who normally can’t even sniff buying the knives of some of today’s hottest makers due to long waiting lists have an equal chance at the makers’ new knives through the lotteries. But are the lotteries really all they’re cracked up to be? Find out the good and the bad of an industry juggernaut in the new BLADE.

Bare-bone cutters, skeleton knives are cool tools that offer a minimalist approach to design but maximum cutting output for blades their size. Find out how some of the newest models perform in this issue.

The Buck 110 is one of the icons of the knife industry and this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. Get the lowdown on the history of the famous folding hunter and all the various sweepstakes surrounding the knife’s golden anniversary in the new BLADE.

Open through June 22, “A Sure Defense: The Bowie Knife In America” is a celebration of perhaps the world’s most famous American knife. Held at the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock, the exhibit features some of the world’s oldest and most valuable antique bowies from the 19th century. Read all about it this issue.

To subscribe to the digital edition of BLADE, visit

http://www.shopblade.com/blade-1-yr-digital-subscription. 

To subscribe to the print edition, visit

http://www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-u-s

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

Hot Knives at Denver Custom Knife Show!

Steve Shackleford
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Hot Knives at Denver Custom Knife Show!
Jerry McClue, maker of "Wild Thing," will be among the exhibiting makers at the Denver Custom Knife Show. (SharpByCoop.com photo)
The Denver Custom Knife Show will include the custom knives of such makers as Jerry McClure, author of “Wild Thing.” (SharpByCoop.com photo)

The 21st Annual Denver Custom Knife Show will feature some of the world’s finest custom knives, knifemakers, custom knife purveyors and knifemaking supply companies this Friday through Sunday, Aug. 16-18, at the Crowne Plaza-DIA in Denver, Colorado.

 Bring in the flyer from page 25 of the October BLADE® (www.blademag.com) or page 11 of the November BLADE and receive $2 off on the admission price.

Sponsored by the Professional Knifemakers Association (PKA), the show will include custom folding, hunting, fishing, tactical, kitchen and art knives. Demonstrations will be given on forging and grinding. PKA members’ knives will be presented through a special raffle and door prizes will be given out daily.

The PKA is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious organizations of custom knifemakers, and the PKA Show is among the best knife shows in the Western USA.

Exhibiting knifemakers will include Eddie Baca, Mardi Meshejian, Wayne Hensley, Al Warren, John Bartlow, Eddie Stalcup, Mike “Whiskers” Allen, Mike Mooney, Harvey King, Mike Irie, Don Bell, Steve Rollert, Pete Truncali, Chuck Fraley, Jerry McClure, Mike Tyre, Olamic Cutlery, Fred Ott, Terry Schreiner, Mike Miller, Albert Trujillo, Craig Steketee and many more. Knifemaking supply companies will include Culpepper & Co., Lonestar Knifemaker Supplies, Pop’s Knives & Supply, Fine Turnage Ivory and others. Knife photographer Bob Glassman also will be an exhibitor.

 

Show hours are 12 to 6 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Regular admission is $7 for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and children under 12 are free. 

 

The host hotel room rate is $104 per night. Be sure to mention PKA for the rate single or double. Call 303-371-9494 for reservations.

 

For more information contact Whiskers or Denise Allen at [email protected] or call 903-489-1026.

 

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

 

Cool Knife/Sheath Combos By John H. Davis

Steve Shackleford
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John H. Davis’ knives, from top: oosic/ivory bowie, twist damascus of 1084/15n20, copper guard, spacers and butt, 13 inches overall; India stag bowie, ladder-pattern damascus, copper guard, spacers and butt; India stag and buckeye burl drop point, 1084/A203E damascus, nickel-silver fittings; mammoth ivory boot dagger, 1084/15n20 damascus, nickel-silver fittings; and a mammoth tooth ivory and snakewood locking-liner folder, 1095/nickel damascus. Davis’ sheaths, from top: the first two are belt-loop pouch types in custom leather with python inlay; a pouch type in custom leather with cobra skin; and a belt-loop-and-snap pouch model in custom leather with snakeskin inlay. The maker’s list prices for similar outfits, from top (the prices include sheaths where applicable): $500, $400, $350, $350 and $350. (Point Seven photo)

John H. Davis offers nice knife-and-sheath combinations—and don’t forget the folder!

Some makers do not offer sheaths with their fixed blades. ABS apprentice smith John H. Davis is not among them.

    His selection of damascus fixed blades includes handsome sheaths, including one in a cobra-skin inlay he said “a couple of guys do back flips over.” Other sheaths have python and snakeskin inlays. A computer field engineer by day, Davis also has a background in metal fabrication, which helps explain the copper he uses for guards on some of his models. “I’m one of the few who uses it for guards,” he noted. “I love working with it. It’s an underrated material.”

    In terms of offering the total package of knife and sheath, underrated also would seem an appropriate way to describe Davis.

For more information contact John H. Davis, 33842 Picciola Dr., Fruitland Park, FL 34731 209-740-7125 [email protected], www.custom-knifemaker.com.

 

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+ssfb022612#BL1SU

 

 

 

What’s Your Steel I.Q.?

Steve Shackleford
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According to BLADE® subscriber surveys, one of the topics subscribers request BLADE cover most is steel—specifically, steel for knife blades. It is not much of a stretch, then, for the latest installment of “BLADE Quiz” to challenge your knowledge of the most popular of blade materials.

    The answers are at the end of the story. Be sharp!

1) Damascus or a damascus type of steel has been traced as far back as: A) the 11th century A.D.; B) second century A.D.; C) 500 B.C.

2) Wootz steel is believed to have originated in: A) Damascus, Syria; B) Indian and/or Sri Lanka; C) Japan.

3) A Swedish steel with 2 percent nickel is known as A) Sandvik 12C27; B) Damasteel damascus; C) 15N20.

4) According to most authorities, for a steel to be stainless, it must contain what percentage range of chromium? A) 11.5 to 12; B) 12.5 to 13; C) 13 to 13.5.

5) The Japanese word for “blade steel” is: A) ha-gane; B) hada; C) ha-machi.

6) The two stainless steels for which Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Bob Loveless is most famous for introducing to custom knives are: A) BG-42 and 154CM; B) 154CM and ATS-34; C) 440C and Vascowear.

7) A material that is dissolved in another metal in a solid solution or that results when two or more elements combine in a solid solution A) is ductile; B) has been sintered; C) is an alloy.

8) The measure of a steel’s resistance to deformation is its A) wear resistance; B) toughness; C) hardness.

9) Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Bill Moran introduced damascus steel to modern custom knives at the Knifemakers’ Guild Show held in A) 1972; B) 1973; C) 1974.

10) At the aforementioned Guild Show, Moran’s knives fetched how many dollars per blade inch of damascus? A) $50; B) $100; C) $150.

11) The relative resistance of a steel to breakage, chipping, or cracking under impact or stress is its A) toughness; B) hardness; C) wear resistance.

12) The Crucible Particle Metallurgy steel originally called CPM 440V is now called: A) CPM M4; B) CPM S90V; C) CPM S60V.

13) To harden to the 60 HRC level during heat treating, a steel must have at least what percentage of carbon? A) 0.5; B) 0.75; C) 0.90.

14)  The first CPM steel created exclusively for knife use was: A) CPM S30V; B) CPM 440V; C) CPM 3V.

15) If the first symbol of a steel’s designation is a letter and the second symbol is a number, it is probably a: A) high-carbon steel; B) tool steel; C) high-speed steel.

16) The point at which a steel becomes permanently deformed is its: A) yield strength; B) tensile strength; C) impact strength.

17) Tool steel contains a number of different elements that combine with the steel’s excess carbon to form A) ferrite; B) austenite; C) carbides.

18) In order to cool fast enough, low-alloy steels such as O1 must be quenched in A) oil; B) water; C) a mixture of both A and B.

19) Steel handmade from electrolytic sponge iron and antique wrought iron is called A) tamahagane; B) bulat; C) oroshigane.

20) The carbon steel D.E. Henry claims to have used for knives in the 1940s and that BLADE® field editor Ed Fowler is known best for today is: A) 52100; B) 5160; C) 1084.

 

Answers: 1) C; 2) B; 3) C; 4) B; 5) A; 6) B; 7) C; 8) C; 9) B; 10) B; 11) A; 12) C; 13) A; 14) A; 15) B; 16) A; 17) C; 18) A; 19) C; and 20) A. Scoring: 0-3—You’re rusty. 4-7—You just went from Man of Steel to Man of La Mancha. 8-12—Come back when you can say molybdenum without chipping a tooth. 13-17—You are starting to become abrasion resistant. 18-19—Wayne Goddard just looked over his shoulder at you. 20—Your initials have officially been changed to HRC (hardness Rockwell C).

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+ssfb072712 for more information.

Branton Will Throw Knives in BLADE Show Seminar

Steve Shackleford
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Branton Will Throw Knives in BLADE Show Seminar

Long-time knifemaker and knife-thrower Bobby Branton will demonstrate how to throw knives at the 2013 BLADE Show May 31-June 2 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.

As he has done at the BLADE Show for many years, Branton will bring his knife-throwing target and assortment of his custom Pro-Flyte throwing knives. He also has thrown tomahawks on occasion in his seminars. Word is he might be throwing some new factory hawks at this year’s BLADE Show, too.

Bobby Branton talks throwing knives during his 2012 BLADE Show seminar.
Bobby Branton (left) discusses knife throwing with patrons during his seminar at the 2012 BLADE Show.

Branton’s seminars are always casual and impromptu. He chats informally with his audience and encourages questions, comments and other open dialogue. It’s a seminar suitable for the entire family.

A member of the American Bladesmith Society, Branton offers a complete line of utility and mid-tech knives. Many know him as one of the country’s leading knife-throwing knifemakers. He follows in the footsteps of Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Dan Dennehy, who handled the BLADE Show’s knife-throwing seminars before Branton took over. It was just a few years ago when Mr. Dennehy was inducted into the Cutlery Hall Of Fame that he visited Branton during one of the latter’s knife-throwing seminars. Dennehy entertained questions from the audience and otherwise added to what was a most memorable get together of knife-throwing legends.

In fact, you never can tell who might show up for one of Bobby’s seminars. Past special guests have included Ernest Emerson, among others.

Branton has been active administrating the American Knife Throwers Alliance over the years, and has hosted many knife-throwing events near his shop in Awendaw, South Carolina.

Branton will throw his knives during his seminar the Saturday of the BLADE Show at 10 a.m. in “The Courtyard”—otherwise known as the parking lot of the host hotel, the Renaissance Waverly. Admission is free to all BLADE Show ticket holders.

For more information click on http://www.bladeshow.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=55860&

“Art of the Knife” Starts July 10

Steve Shackleford
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“Art of the Knife” Starts July 10

The Art of the Knife, an exploration of the history of the handmade knife as a tool of value in both function and aesthetics, will run July 10 through Aug. 18 at the Guilford Art Center in Guilford, Connecticut.

Mace Vitale, a journeyman smith in the American Bladesmith Society and also a blacksmith and coppersmith, will jury the invitational event. An awarding-winning bladesmith and a regular exhibitor at the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.blademag.com), he also serves as an instructor at the Guilford Art Center.

Juried by ABS master smith Mace Vitale, maker of this damascus dagger, the Art of the Knife will run July 10-Aug. 18.
Mace Vitale, maker of this damascus dagger, will jury the Art of the Knife exhibit beginning July 10.), Vitale also serves as an instructor at the Guilford Art Center.

Vitale started out working with his father in a pre-cast concrete business that specialized in architectural reproduction. Mace learned a lot from his dad, from how to use tools to “how to make something from nothing.”

Mace bounced from job to job after the family business closed in the 1990s until he found work as a coppersmith. “Its effect on me was less than subtle,” he writes on his website. “I was hooked!”

 

He attended a blacksmithing class at the Guilford Art Center and subsequently found out about the ABS. He took the ABS “Introduction fo Bladesmithing” class and has been making knives ever since, obtaining his ABS journeyman smith stamp in 2006.

 

“I pride myself on my attention to detail,” he observed. “The way I see things, the only way I’ll possibly be able to garner a customer’s satisfaction is through my own satisfaction. I fashion everything I make as if it will be my own.”

 

The opening reception for the exhibit will be Wednesday, July 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. It is free to the public, as is admission to the exhibit. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m.

New Alliance Foundation sponsors the exhibit in part.

For more information contact the Guilford Art Center 203-453-5947 or visit www.guilfordartcenter.org.

17th Annual Arkansas Custom Knife Show This Weekend

Steve Shackleford
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ABS master smith Jerry Fisk will be one of several makers exhibiting at this weekend’s Arkansas Custom Knife Show. Fisk’s “Sendero” hunter features the maker’s dog-star-pattern damascus blade steel and a mammoth ivory handle. The engraving is by the maker. (Chuck Ward photo)

    Some of the world’s top bladesmiths and knifemakers will descend on Little Rock, Arkansas, this Saturday and Sunday for the 17th Annual Arkansas Custom Knife Show.

    The show will be held in the Robinson Center Exhibit Hall at Markham & Broadway in downtown Little Rock. There will be 150 tables, of which 102 will have various styles and sizes of custom knives. The balance of tables will have knifemaking supplies, leather products, and knife-related books.

    Among makers slated to exhibit are Russ Andrews, Jim Batson, Tim Britton, Bruce Bump, Joel Chamblin, Jim Crowell, Jerry Fisk, Don Hanson III, Jerry Lairson, Shawn McIntyre, Ron Newton, Cliff Parker, Lin Rhea, Kyle Royer, Brian Thie, Brion Tomberlin, Jim Walker, John White, Mike Williams and many more.

    Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5, which is good for both days.

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+ssfb021612#BL1SU

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