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The latest entry in Blademag.com’s “Knife Of The Day” series, the model 7080 Natural 2 is a Pat and Wes Crawford design for Columbia River Knife & Tool.
Manufactured to be as close to a custom knife as possible, the assisted-opening folder features a 3.25-inch blade of 8Cr13MoV stainless steel and a Micarta® handle. Closed length: 4.38 inches. Weight: 6.3 ounces.
For more information on how to get your Natural 2, visit http://www.shopblade.com/product/the-natural-2-7080/?r+ssfb221111#X3349
The Spyderco Persistence is one of those compact cutting knives you may or may not like—depending on your tastes in general and how the knife fits your hand.
I have a medium-size hand and if I hold the handle in the standard grip, half of my little finger overlaps the butt. That’s bordering on too small for me.
However, for detail or draw cuts where I place my finger atop the blade spine, the fit is just about perfect. The 2.75-inch blade is 1.25 inches at its widest and tapers quickly to the point. Under 3 inches in blade length is a good thing in terms of many legal length limits. (Be sure to check your local and other pertinent knife laws.)
The G-10 handle material is good and solid and provides a nice abrasive-type feel for sure gripping for most any type of cutting.
The clip is reversible for tip up or tip down right-hand carry.
The plain-edge blade of 8Cr13MoV stainless steel out of the box is razor sharp and is a cutting moose. I like the blade shape, which is along the lines of the Spyderco Caly I carry on a regular basis.
The Michael Walker LinerLock@ is nice and tight and has a good spring to it that makes you work just a bit—though not too much—to push it open. I like that because it reinforces the notion that the lock will not disengage easily—always a good thing.
The Persistence is one of Spyderco’s knives made in China, and as many industry observers are noting, the Chinese are getting better and better at making knives—and the Persistence is an excellent example of this improvement.
At 4 ounces the Persistence may seem a bit heavy to some for a knife of its size (4.125-inch closed length), but not me. I like the overall weight and feel. It’s a small knife that cuts like a bigger one.
For more info on how to get your Persistence, click on www.shopblade.com/persistence-black-g-10-plainedge-w8476?lid=ssfbbl070313
Knives are a worldwide phenomenon and that phenomenon has never been more wide-ranging than it is in the latest issue of BLADE®—on newsstands NOW!
The hottest makers’ hottest custom knives is a feature we do every few months in BLADE to keep our readers abreast of the latest custom trends. This issue’s rendition includes such hot models as the A3 Flipper by “the Andres”—Andre Thorburn and Andre van Heerden—of South Africa, the Dominator by Darrel Ralph, the Tighe Tac 2 by Brian Tighe and many others. In addition to South Africa’s Andres, the hottest makers’ hottest knives come from all corners of the globe. Check them out in “You’re In A World of Hot Knives” on page 13.
Asian designs always retain a loyal following. Those loyalists have some pretty cool examples of the genre from which to choose in such pieces as the CRKT Achi and Akari, this issue’s cover knives designed by custom knifemaker Lucas Burnley. Check them and other exotic Eastern designs out in “Those Amazin’ Asians” on page 74.
Knife handle materials run the gamut in types, patterns, looks and much more. Stephen Garger takes you through the most recent examples in “You Can Handle The Truth” on page 80.
Firestarter knives are hot in more ways than one. BLADE contributor/knife designer/knifemaker Abe Elias takes you through some of the latest iterations and how they work in “Quest For Fire” on page 44. Factory tactical folders are hot as ever, too, and James Morgan Ayres tests four of the newer ones in “Tactical Knives For The People” on page 50.
Allen Elishewitz has been making some of the most-sought-after tactical folders for years and continues to today—but he’s also expanded into pens and watches. See what makes this multi-talented artisan tick in “He Puts The ‘R’ in Renaissance Man” on page 84.
Check out these and many other stories in the latest issue of BLADE.
“For me, folders have always been a compromise. I’d find a blade I’d like but the grip wasn’t right, I’d find the perfect grip but hated the blade. A fixed-blade knife has always been my preference, but a belt sheath often isn’t acceptable, and because of a few major surgeries on my face and neck, a little necker wouldn’t work either. So, the search for a fixed-blade, pocketable knife started, without much more success.
I finally started to sketch out what would work best for me. The blade needed to be stout—I’m not gentle with my knives. I wanted a handle I could grip well, one that would still pivot in my hand easily for slicing an apple. Stout, sturdy, a small knife that cut ‘big’—everything I need in a knife, and nothing I don’t.
I finally settled on a design. Then, I found a very talented young knifemaker in Ontario, Canada, Craig Wheatley, who made my ‘grail knife’ a reality. The Dragan, which is also my screen name on several Internet knife discussion forums, is a little beast—5 inches overall with a 2-inch, 1.25-inch deep, .25-thick, bead-blasted 440C stainless blade, textured Micarta® scales, and a custom leather pocket sheath. The Dragan has replaced six other knives that used to make up my EDC rotation. Even though it’s a small knife, it’s done everything I’ve ever asked of it. I don’t know that I’d ever cut down a tree with it, but it’s tough enough that I wouldn’t be afraid to try.
Even though my original vision was to carry this knife in a pocket sheath, it would also make a great little necker. I’m very pleased to say Craig will be adding the Dragan to his line of beautiful fixed-blade knives in the very near future!”
Wayne Reimer, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
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+ssfb042312#BL1SU.
You will have the chance to vote online for the first-ever BLADE Magazine People’s Choice Award during the BLADE Show June 6-8.
Held at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, the BLADE Show is the world’s biggest and most important knife event, showcasing the latest in factory, custom, antique, military, tactical and other knives—as well as all things that cut and the people and companies who make them.
The BLADE Magazine Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards sponsored by New Graham Knives also will be presented at the show, and the People’s Choice Award is the latest addition to the Knife-Of-The-Year lineup.
Unlike the other 13 Knife-Of-The-Year honors—11 of which are voted on by BLADE Show booth exhibitors and the other two selected by the BLADE® Magazine staff—the People’s Choice Award will be voted on by knife enthusiasts online here at blademag.com.
Here’s how it will work. Prior to the Friday night (June 6) of the show, the BLADE Magazine staff will busy itself photographing the entries in the Knife-Of-The-Year competition, all of which will be displayed in the Knife-Of-The-Year Display area in the hall of the BLADE Show. Those photographs will be posted on this site as soon as possible after that time so you may view them and vote on your favorite. Only one vote per person, please. To vote, visit http://blademag.com/vote.
The winner will be announced at the BLADE Magazine Awards Reception the Saturday night of the show (tickets required) and posted here, along with the rest of the winners. The winner’s name also will be posted with the balance of the award winners outside the BLADE Show office in the Cobb Galleria Centre the Sunday morning of the show.
For more details, stay tuned to blademag.com.
A knife presented to President Theodore Roosevelt brought a world record price of $414,000 at auction this past weekend, Sept. 9-11.
It is believed to be the most ever paid for an American knife at auction, according to the auctioneer, Rock Island Auction Co.
The previous world record price for a knife at auction reportedly was $270,000 in 2006 for a piece that was linked to Sam Houston.
Made by J. Russell & Co. of Massachusetts and with an ornate handle of gold and platinum by New York luxury jewelry retailer Dreicer & Co., the knife originally was presented to Roosevelt “to carry with him on his African hunting trip” by James W. Gerard, New York Supreme Court Justice and later ambassador to Germany. The knife was said to have cost $1,250 when it was presented to Roosevelt in 1909, which is about $33,266 in today’s money. The knife had been in the Roosevelt family ever since until this past weekend’s auction.
The 6-inch spear-point blade has a mottled gray patina and is etched on the left side with “PRESENTED TO/THEODORE ROOSEVELT/BY HIS FRIEND/JAMES W. GERARD.” The blade mark is J. RUSSELL & CO./GREEN RIVER WORKS. The “T” guard is bear heads sculpted in gold. The sculpted gold handle has a pommel in the shape of a highly detailed eagle head with red garnet eyes. The left side of the handle has a frontier scene on a platinum background. Overall length: 11.5 inches.
When Roosevelt died in 1919, the knife became part of the estate of his widow, Edith C. Roosevelt. From there it went to Mrs. Roosevelt’s eldest daughter, Ethel Roosevelt Derby, probably sometime around Mrs. Roosevelt’s death in 1948. In 1976, Mrs. Derby presented it as a gift to the knife’s consignor, who wishes to remain anonymous, as the consignor was about to marry Mrs. Derby’s granddaughter. The consignor and Mrs. Derby’s granddaughter used the knife to cut the cake at their wedding ceremony.
In 2013, Stuteville Antiques & Appraisals reportedly valued the knife at a quarter of a million dollars.
The third edition of BLADE’s Guide to Making Knives gives you all the information you need to start making knives. At less than $20 when you order directly from BLADE, it’s the best investment in your knifemaking career you can make.
Pick up your copy of the best knifemaking book under the sun.
Do you know Zac Brown of the Grammy-Award-winning Zac Brown Band owns his own knife company? Find out all about it and much more in the new May BLADE®, on many newsstands NOW!
Based in Atlanta, Brown’s knife company is aptly named Southern Grind and focuses on Brown’s lifelong love affair with knives. Get all the poop on it in the May BLADE.
Also in that issue:
•Wally Hayes shows you how to make a Steampunk tanto (his version of which also happens to be the May issue’s cover knife);
•Industry pros select the top 13 knives of the custom pioneers;
•Six knives tackle the deepest, darkest jungles of the Amazon;
•Industry pros show you how to identify knives with proper fit and finish;
•See which factory knives finished as runners-up in the voting for the Blade Magazine 2012 Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards;
•In part IV of a series, Ed Fowler continues to outline how he installs sheep-horn handles on his custom knives;
•And much more!
Also, act before tomorrow and enjoy 74 percent savings on a BLADE subscription. Click on http://www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us?lid=ssfbbl022713 for more info.
