Steve Shackleford's Blog

BLADE Show Updates Exhibitor Layout

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April 28, 2014

The BLADE Show‘s new exhibitor layout is designed to improve the overall show experience for the thousands of patrons who will attend and the close to 750 exhibitors who will display the industry’s finest knives and knife accessories.

The world’s largest knife show is set for June 6-8 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.

In the past, the rows of exhibitor tables were dissected by lines of factory booths in some areas, making it somewhat difficult to pick up where you left off from the previous table row. It also presented a somewhat choppy look to the overall setup.

When you walk into the show hall this coming June, a new layout will greet you. Instead of being dissected in some areas by lines of factory booths, the exhibitor tables will be in the right-hand portion of the show hall and most of the factory booths will be in the left-hand portion. There will be no lines of factory booths dissecting the rows of tables. As in the past, there also will be factory booths along the walls of the entire hall. According to one exhibitor, the change should make it so show patrons are not so overwhelmed by the visual challenge of negotiating the large number of exhibitor tables and booths.

As a consequence of the changes, the booths have been renumbered from last year.

Looking from right to left, exhibitors’ tables will be divided in the usual fashion: Antique, American Bladesmith Society, the Knifemakers’ Guild and Handmade. The collector displays will continue to be in the right-hand back portion of the show hall. The Stage and Demo Areas will be in the back center of the hall. The Knife-Of-The-Year® Display will be in the middle of the floor starting where the booths are.

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

Song Knife Highlights New BLADE®

Steve Shackleford

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October 4, 2016

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Song knife for BLADE. — Song Knife collaboration between Buck and country music star Craig Morgan highlights the new BLADE®, on newsstands now!

Country music star Craig Morgan’s “Song Knife” for Buck, what’s “next” in custom knives, “Blades of the Bog” and much more sharp stuff highlights the new BLADE®, on newsstands now!

Morgan, who also stars on the Outdoor Channel’s Craig Morgan All Access Outdoors, recently released his latest album, A Whole Lot More To Me. In collaboration with Buck, two songs from that album including the title track are downloaded on a card and paired with a special collector edition of the legendary Buck 110. Slated to go on sale in most every Walmart in America by the end of this month if not sooner, the “Song Knife” is reportedly the first promotion of its kind. Get the full story on page 28.

Tactical folders have been king of the knife hill for decades now but the question everyone wants answered is “what’s next” in terms of the knife that will replace those of the tactical kind at the top of the heap? Les Robertson has been buying and selling custom knives for over three decades and weighs in on what he thinks will be the next big thing on page 12.

Since knives are man’s oldest tool, the ways in which they have been made over the millennia are many. One was by retrieving iron ore from the bottoms of bogs and lakes and smelting it in furnaces to make blade steel. Daniel Jackson explores how today’s makers have revisited the old methods to make knives. Journey into the past on page 20.

Have you traded or sold a knife or knives you wish you had kept instead? Mike Haskew picks the brains and memories of three veteran collectors for such pieces in “Knives I Traded I Wish I Hadn’t” (page 44).

As with most things in today’s world, the more functions you can get out of an item the better. So it is with edged tools, especially today’s “gizmo knives.” Check out some of the leading examples of the genre that do more than cut on page 78.

There’s much more in the latest BLADE—buy it on newsstands today, get the digital copy or subscribe to the digital or print editions—or both!

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Knife Of The Day IX

Steve Shackleford

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December 19, 2011

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Our Knife Of The Day for Dec. 19 is the Boker Plus Rold, a VoxKnives design. The 11-inch camp knife sports a 6 1/8-inch blade of D2 tool steel and a G-10 handle. Boker’s MSRP: $169.95.

For more information contact Boker USA, attn: D. Weidner, 1550 Balsam St., Lakewood, CO 80215 303.462.0662 fax 303.462.0668 www.bokerusa.com.

For more on the latest knives, knife trends, knifemakers and more subscribe to BLADE® Magazine. For subscription information click on http://www.shopblade.com/product/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us/?r+ssfb191211#BL1SU

Top Lady Smiths Highlight New BLADE®

Steve Shackleford

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February 24, 2015

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Five top lady bladesmiths and their International Ladysmith Collaboration Knife, the “Mount Rushmore of Knifemakers,” rock-solid integral knives and much more highlight the new BLADE®, debuting on many newsstands TODAY!

A quintet of the world’s top lady smiths—Dellana, Haley DesRosiers, Audra Draper, Grace Horne and Julie Warenski-Erickson—collaborated on this issue’s cover knife. Forged by Draper, the 7.25-inch blade is a damascus ground, heat treated and etched by DesRosiers, who also did the final assembly. Dellana embellished the handle with five gold dots—one for each “blade sister”—and a bezel-set ruby, and Warenski-Erickson engraved the bolster in gold. Horne built the display box lined with red glove leather and used black glove suede for the cushion. Find out how the knife came about and what the “Sisters of the Blade” have planned for it in our special cover story feature.

In “The Mount Rushmore of Knifemakers,” some of the custom knife industry’s leading professionals weigh in on the four makers they consider the greatest in the history of modern custom knifemaking. We would tell you who the four are, but then that would spoil the surprise. You’ll just have to buy the new issue and find out for yourself.

Popularized by the late, great knifemaker, Ted Dowell, integral knives are one solid piece of steel—including both the handle and blade—that are reduced via grinding to an equally solid one-piece knife. Pat Covert visits with two talented practitioners of integral knifemaking, Edmund Davidson and Marcus Lin, for their take on how they make knives made in a style that arguably is the world’s strongest.

There’s much more—including part one of RJ Martin’s story on how he makes his award-winning precision flipper folders, some of today’s hottest factory tactical fixed blades, the conclusion of Jim Hammond’s story on the past, present and future of ivory’s use on knives, two tests of top factory folders, the mystery of the ancient Viking Ulfberht sword, custom knives in “crossover” styles and other of today’s sharpest knives and knife news—all in the latest issue of BLADE.

Recommended:

Stay abreast of the latest developments on this and many more knife rights issues with a subscription to BLADE.

Ivory Ban Targets Possession & Ancient Varieties

Steve Shackleford

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August 7, 2014

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New Jersey targets fossil ivory. (SharpByCoop.com image) — Draconian New Jersey ivory ban includes the ancient ivory of animals that have been extinct for millennia. (SharpByCoop.com image)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed the nation’s most draconian ivory ban into law yesterday, one that targets not only elephant ivory but also the ancient ivory of animals extinct for over 10,000 years!

The ban also contains wording that appears to make it possible for the mere possession of any ivory to be an offense punishable by law.

According to Knife Rights, the measure bans the “import, sale, purchase, barter or possession with intent to sell” ivory from any species, including ancient ivory from mastodons and mammals, with no exceptions whatsoever.

The part of the measure that reads “possession with intent to sell” is especially disturbing as those with any experience with the law know that such language is open to any number of interpretations by law enforcement and prosecutors.

In other words, the language of this ban could make mere possession of ivory an illegal act. At the very least, it could make those wrongfully charged with possession with intent to sell have to spend the money and time to hire a lawyer, miss time from work, etc., that fighting such a charge can require.

Of course, as has been noted elsewhere, the banning of ancient ivory—that is, of animals that have long been extinct—flies in the face of the purpose behind other such bans. The stated purpose of those bans is to save living animals. A ban against extinct animals can have no effect on those animals because they have been dead for millennia. Of course, some may argue that ancient ivory may be mistaken for elephant ivory and thus should be banned, but that is a specious argument because there are scientifically proven ways of telling ancient ivory from elephant ivory.

The ban will go into effect in six months, during which time those in the Garden State who own ivory items must sell them or face fines of $1,000 on the first offense and $5,000 on the second.

For more information on how you can help fight draconian ivory bans and, at the same time, help save the elephant, visit elephantprotection.org.

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

Knife Of The Day XIII—1st One for 2012!

Steve Shackleford

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January 4, 2012

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Our first Knife Of The Day for 2012 is the Benchmade Presidio. Sporting a 3.42-inch drop-point blade of 154CM stainless steel and an AXIS locking mechanism, the Presidio is a Mel Pardue design with a black anodized, machined 6061 T-6 aluminum handle, 420J stainless steel liners, and a reversible tip-up pocket clip. The handle features a multi-directional positive grip. Blade thickness: .125 inch. Weight: 5.62 ounces. Closed length: 4.87 inches. MSRP: $200.

For more information contact Benchmade, attn: Alicia Hunt, 300 Beavercreek Rd., Oregon City, OR 97045 503-655-6004 www.benchmade.com.

For the latest knives, knife trends, knifemakers and 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-subscription-us/?r+ssfb040112#BL1SU

Pirate-Pistol-Packin’ BLADE On Newsstands TODAY!

Steve Shackleford

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April 22, 2014

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Pirate-Pistol-Packin’ BLADE On Newsstands TODAY!

Learn how to make a cut ‘n shoot “pirate pistol,” what effect the federal ivory ban has on your knives, all about the BLADE Show’s groundbreaking new BLADE University and much more in the latest issue of BLADE®, on many newsstands today.

Steve Culver won “Best Of The Rest” in the 2013 BLADE Show custom knife judging competition with his “Laffite’s Revenge” cut ‘n shoot, and he takes you through the building of his award-winning knife pistol in this month’s issue.

On the ivory knife front, the federal government is targeting any and all items made of elephant ivory, including the very same knives that have been legal to sell for decades! Find out what the new regulations mean for you and your knives on page 10.

BLADE University is a brand new approach to knife show seminars. In fact, instead of seminars, BLADE University is a curriculum of classes, each concentrating on specific subjects and including some of the world’s best-known knife professionals as teachers, including knifemakers Jerry Fisk, Chris Reeve, Jerry Busse, Tony Bose and Bill Harsey, to name a few.

A chief concern among many in the knife industry is there are far too few young people making knives. In “Kids Just Want To Make Knives,” three young aspiring makers show off the knives they’ve made and tell how they make them, and also explain the support system of family and friends that has sustained their knifemaking endeavor.

Other stories in the new BLADE include: the heartwarming tale of how many in the knife community came together to help damascus maker Zoe Crist and family after he suffered a debilitating shop accident; the end of an era is saluted with a story on the closing of Aldo and Edda Lorenzi’s famous retail knife store in Milan, Italy; and much more, all in the new BLADE.

Can You Define Knife Choil?

Build a Knife From The Latest Knife Kits

D2 Tool Steel Just Keeps Cutting

Knives of The Expendables 2

BLADE Show 2018: Plan Now!

BLADE Show Updates Exhibitor Layout

Song Knife Highlights New BLADE®

Knife Of The Day IX

Top Lady Smiths Highlight New BLADE®

Ivory Ban Targets Possession & Ancient Varieties

Knife Of The Day XIII—1st One for 2012!

Pirate-Pistol-Packin’ BLADE On Newsstands TODAY!

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