If you’re looking to do a bushcraft project while in camp or just to pass the time in the dog days of August, check out the Spyderco Bushcraft G-10.
Spyderco’s version of a Bushcraft knife results from a three-fold collaboration between Tactical Bushcrafter Chris Claycombe, a Bushcraft website called BushcraftUK.com, and Spyderco designers. Knives used in bushcraft have specific parameters, such as blades between 4 and 6 inches in length. Spyderco’s is typical of the genre with a 4-inch blade. The blade features a Scandinavian or Scandi grind. A Scandi grind has a single bevel for a wide, flat, strong blade able to withstand twisting and hacking. The blade is O-1 tool steel.
The repeal of automatic/switchblade knife bans will be one pro-knife effort among several by AKTI in 2016. The knife is the Hogue EX-03.
Increased lobbying efforts to pass knife law reform on both the federal and state levels will be a major focus of the American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) in 2016, the AKTI announced in a press release.
At the top of the list of reforms the AKTI will pursue are the Knife Owners’ Protection Act (KOPA), repeal of restrictions on automatics/switchblades, and Knife-Law Preemption.
To increase its pro-knife effort, AKTI is enlisting the services of ADS Ventures, a government and public affairs firm specializing in national security and defense issues with offices in Washington, D.C., and Boston, Massachusetts. ADS has worked with AKTI for several years. The new contract calls for increased efforts to pass KOPA and overturn still-existing bans on autos and pass Knife-Law Preemption in areas that don’t have it.
Patchwork laws related to the ownership and possession of knives, laws that are inconsistent from state to state, county to county and even town to town, are the bane of law-abiding knife owners. AKTI’s efforts will be redoubled to make laws consistent and Constitutional in these areas. “We support reasonable, responsible legislation and measured non-partisan efforts to resolve issues,” said David Fee, AKTI’s legislative chair. “We’re excited to see how we can further this objective in this and coming years.”
“We are confident that through AKTI’s leadership and the work of ADS Ventures, it will be a successful year for the organization as we further our mission to ensure [law-abiding citizens’] right to own, carry, and use knives and edged tools,” observed CJ Buck, president of the AKTI board of directors.
Along with Knife Rights, AKTI is your go-to service for questions concerning any and all knife laws. In terms of laws concerning elephant and ancient ivories, a specialist in such matters is the Elephant Protection Association. For more information, visit akti.org, kniferights.org and elephantprotection.org. To know your rights if arrested for carrying knives, to know what to say and not say in such situations and more, get your copy of Knife Laws of the U.S. by Evan Nappen.
Knives are no doubt on the target list of New York and New Jersey ivory and ancient ivory sting campaigns.
New York Department of Environmental Conservation agents conducted an ivory sting on a 72-year-old woman for selling a mammoth ivory bead necklace.
In its effort to stop elephant poaching and the trade in illegal ivory, the government has insisted that it does not care about small-time, mom-and-pop-type ivory owners, that it’s more concerned with international crime syndicates and environmental terrorists. However, the recent ivory sting operation by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) on a 72-year-old woman for selling a necklace containing beads of mammoth—that’s right, mammoth, not elephant—ivory at the Pier Antique Show in New York City indicates the NYDEC apparently failed to get the government memo on the matter.
For knife enthusiasts, the question now is how soon the NYDEC—as well as its counterpart in New Jersey—will start targeting knives with handles of mammoth, mastodon and other ancient ivories, as well as elephant ivory.
Of course, though beyond all reason, mammoth ivory—the tusks of an animal extinct for thousands of years—has been declared illegal to sell in the state of New York and also New Jersey. However, since the senior citizen at the Pier Antique Show is from North Carolina, it’s understandable that she was completely oblivious to the New York law—especially considering how ridiculous it is to outlaw something millennia old in the first place. In addition to the necklace, the agents seized $1,400 worth of jewelry from her in all.
NYDEC agents did not stop with stinging the little old lady from Carolina. They also seized a couple of sets of “teethers”—whale bone or ivory sticks crudely carved by 19th-century sailors for babies to cut their teeth on—from a New York folk art dealer. The agents seized the teethers and issued both the folk art dealer and the little old lady from Carolina summons to appear in court.
Following the show, the folk art dealer and his wife learned he would need a lawyer because he faces a $5,000 fine if convicted of dealing illegal ivory. When he asked about getting a license to sell ivory in accordance with New York law, he said he was told all such license applications sit in a pile in the state capital, ostensibly collecting dust.
“This kind of government heavy-handedness is what we warned people about when the President’s Advisory Council started talking about imposing an ivory ban in March 2013,” noted Rob Mitchell of elephantprotection.org. “Instead of going after Chinese smugglers and criminal syndicates, the government is persecuting the most vulnerable and least culpable citizens in zealous pursuit of ivory ban enforcement statistics. No living animal was helped by this, but innocent small businesses will be crushed.”
The fight against the domestic ivory ban—a ban that won’t save a single elephant but will needlessly punish innocent Americans who own and trade legally imported ivory—is ongoing, and many Americans have been helping. Their “activism is why the federal government is taking its time publishing the regulation we expect will alter or revoke the Special Rule on African elephants that allows pre-ban ivory trade in the USA,” Mitchell noted. “Unfortunately, non-government organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and the Wildlife Conservation Society have been busy with a PR campaign against ivory. They are continuing to lobby both the federal government and many individual states for an ivory ban.”
You can help stop them and protect commerce in pre-ban ivory. For information on how you can contact all of your elected officials and voice your concerns, CLICK HERE.
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.
The BLADE Show wants you for the 34th annual rendition of the world’s largest and most important event June 5-7 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.
The 2015 BLADE Show at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta June 5-7 will have the hottest knives and makers in the largest, most important knife event ever.
Over 600 tables and more than 300 booths will display the world’s latest knives, knife accessories, knife collections, knifemaking equipment and materials and much more June 5-7 at the 34th annual BLADE Show in the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.
The BLADE Show is the world’s largest and most important knife event and draws knife enthusiasts from every continent and most every knifemaker and knife company you’ve ever heard of—and many you don’t know of who will be the knife legends of tomorrow.
Knifemakers from the Knifemakers’ Guild, the American Bladesmith Society—including some of the world’s finest handforged knives up for bid in the ABS Auction and testing for ABS master and journeyman smith status—and the world’s best unaffiliated makers will all be on hand to exhibit their latest custom knives, with some entering the show’s custom knife judging competition. Assorted demos on how to throw knives, the use of Japanese swords, how and what to buy and collect and many others, knife giveaways, lotteries, knife club meetings, after show hours revelry in the world-famous Pit, the sunken lounge of the show’s host hotel, the Renaissance-Waverly—these and much more all await you June 5-7 in Hot ‘lanta. Don’t miss it!
Gene Osborn, the head man behind Center Cross Instructional Videos of Fort Worth, Texas, passed away Nov. 9. He was 51.
As noted on the company’s website, www.centercross.com/cciv/, Osborn remained the “UNKNOWN KNIFEMAKER” by choice, and proudly displayed the Center Cross as the signature on all his work. For the last 30 years he made “‘one-of-a-kind knives,’ custom-made damascus steel for other knifemakers across the globe, and built the most complete and comprehensive video library of instructional guidance designed to take you to the next level in custom knifemaking.”
Center Cross is known for a wide range of knifemaking videos featuring such leading makers as Steve Johnson, Harvey Dean and others. The company is also known for the “Ultimate Knife Kit,” a kit that provides all the parts to build a knife with any number of different materials.
Among Osborn’s survivors is his wife, Mellanie, who will continue to run Center Cross.
To read more on the latest knife news, subscribe to BLADE® by clicking on
Which knifemakers will excel in 2017? What is the mark of knife greatness? When does the magic begin in the making of mosaic damascus, aka canned steel? What were the knife industry’s top stories of 2016? What will not happen in the knife industry in 2017? These and other edge-pressing questions are answered in the latest issue of BLADE®, on newsstands now!
Custom knifemaking is a whirlwind of talented individuals worldwide. Picking the ones on the verge of breakout years is no easy task, but BLADE feature writer Pat Covert tackles the assignment with gusto, interviewing some of the custom industry’s top authorities for their opinions on the subject. Find out which makers will take their work to the edge and beyond in “Will One Steel Your Heart?”
What is the mark of knife greatness? One leading indicator is a knife that, after its debut, serves as a yardstick against which all subsequent knives of a similar type are measured. BLADE field editor Mike Haskew examines these “yardstick knives” in “The Mark of Greatness.”
Mosaic damascus, aka canned steel, provides some of the most beautiful and intricate of blade materials. BLADE feature writer Daniel Jackson visits with some of today’s forgers of the scintillating steel to find out not only why they do it but how in “When The Magic Begins.”
The year past had more than its share of cool happenings in the knife industry, including the first-ever
Read how mosaic damascus is forged, such as on these folders by Mike Tyre, in “When The Magic Begins.” (PointSeven image)Which knifemakers will excel in 2017? One Neil Ostroff highly recommends is Sebastijan Berenji of Borka Blades. (True North Knives image)Find out which knifemakers will excel in 2017 in the latest issue of BLADE®, on newsstands now!
BLADE Show Women’s World Championship Cutting Competition, burgeoning knifemaking stars on social media, pro-knife legislative gains, a world record price for an American knife at auction and much more. Read all about it in “Sharp and Sweet ’16.”
Predicting what will happen in the coming year is a skill far beyond that of yours truly. However, one thing I can do is predict what will not happen in the coming year. Of course, one question remains: Can I even do that? It will take one year to find out. Check out my predictions in “What Will Not Happen in 2017.”
There’s much more in the latest BLADE, including an educational examination of knives and the Second Amendment by Knife Rights’ Doug Ritter (page 6), tests of the latest tantos, flipper folders and factory/custom collaborations, the hottest convenient carry knives and much more, all in the March 2017 BLADE, on newsstands now! For subscription info, click here.
The Spyderco Ambitious is advertised as a small (3.5 inches closed) palm-sized workhorse offering big performance in a compact knife package. It definitely fits in my palm—in fact, with my hand being perhaps a tad larger than medium-sized for an adult male, it swallows the G-10 handle completely. Ergo, fully grasped, the butt is a good inch shy of the end of my palm. This is a tad small for my tastes, but then the Ambitious comes as advertised.
The Spyderco Ambitious makes a cool lady’s or gent’s knife.
The edge of the 2.25-inch, flat-ground, 8Cr13MoV stainless blade is razor sharp out of the box, effortlessly slicing stationery, shaving hair and cutting cardboard with authority. It also digs into wood aggressively and makes a handy pencil sharpener if you’re in need of one, the small handle ideal for a three-finger grip that enables you to exert cutting pressure in the “little whittles” needed to sharpen something as small as a pencil. Though short, the blade is wide enough (1.25 inches at its widest) to handle larger cutting jobs, with a jimped area on the ramp to place your thumb for cuts that might take more bearing down.
The blade opens and closes off a Michael Walker LinerLock™ that, despite the knife’s small size, operates smoothly and securely after a little practice. A reversible clip runs about two-thirds the length of the small contoured handle. An integral guard offers some protection from the hand running onto the blade, though I would like to see a bit more downward lip on it to enhance that protection.
One of Spyderco’s models made in China, the Ambitious is yet another example of just how good the Chinese are getting at making quality knives that cut extremely well. Though compact, the Ambitious is solidly built and makes a great gent’s knife, backup piece or lady’s knife. ShopBlade’s price: $35.96—you save 35 percent! For more, visit http://www.shopblade.com/ambitious-black-g-10-plainedge-w8477?lid=ssfbbl082013.
If you’re looking to do a bushcraft project while in camp or just to pass the time in the dog days of August, check out the Spyderco Bushcraft G-10.
