Knives, knife people, knife news, knife use, knife collecting, knifemakers, knife events, the BLADE Show, BLADE Magazine, and more.
The Custom Knife Collectors Association (CKCA) announced it has raised $6,598.30 for the Jimmy V Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.
The money was raised through the CKCA’s raffle of a special bowie made by ABS master smiths/CKCA members Larry Fuegen and Tim Hancock. The winner was knifemaker/CKCA member Joel Chamblin.
The CKCA’s contributions to date to cancer research projects totals $34,053.30.
After much hue and cry from those who equate knives with all that’s evil and wrong with the world, the Transportation Security Administration has backed off from its plan to allow small carry-on knives on commercial flights.
Knives will continue to be allowed in checked luggage.
The goofball wording that also would have allowed bats, golf clubs, hockey sticks, pool cues, ski poles and lacrosse sticks probably didn’t help the original ruling that would have allowed knives.
A big reason it failed, though, was due to such anti-knife zealots as Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, as well as 145 House members signing a letter to TSA Administrator John Pistole to keep the current rules in place. Also, flight attendant union protests and airline officials’ opposition played a part, too.
Meanwhile, more anti-knife mania reared its ugly head in the form of a Homeland Security spending bill that would block the TSA from spending money to implement the change. That bill is still in the works and is expected to pass.
While some, such as Debra Burlingame, whose brother was the pilot of one of the planes that hit the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, reversed their opposition to the change after hearing Pistole’s arguments, it wasn’t enough to hold off the anti-knife circus.
For more, stay tuned to www.blademag.com and BLADE® Magazine.
The “Shoreline” kick-stop flipper by Lee Williams jumps off the cover of the new BLADE®, on most newsstands TODAY!
Need your quarterly fix on the hottest custom knives of the hottest custom makers? Let the industry pros clue you in on page 12. If you’re into knife performance, see how two skinners stack up against one another on page 36.
Looking for the latest in fire-starter knives? Check out the hottest in the genre on page 30. Wonder what goes on in the minds of survivalists Mykel Hawke and Ruth England, stars of TV’s Man, Woman, Wild and Lost Survivors? See page 50.
Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day are near. If you’re in search of sharp gift ideas with heart, see page 22. If you want history on U.S. presidents and their knives and some of the latest retail examples thereof, see page 74.
Knifemaking supply companies are the lifeline of knifemakers and hobbyists. One of the leaders of the genre is Jantz Supply. See what Ken Jantz and Co. have on tap for your knifemaking experience on page 36.
The Super Bowl is nigh, so get your kicks with a Super Bowl knife. Nick Mesenbourg made one for Matt BIrk, starting center for last year’s champs, the Baltimore Ravens. See page 34.
If sheaths and antique bowies are your bag, keep pace with our two continuing series on the subjects: Ed Fowler’s “Sheath How-To, Step By Step” and Jim Batson’s ode to antique dog-bone bowies in part one of “Every Dog Bone Has Its Day,” pages 26 and 80, respectively.
Into the international knife scene? Join Joe and Lori Szilaski as they take you through one of the Old World’s best-kept knife show secrets, the 10th Annual International Knife Exhibition and Fair in Budapest, Hungary.
There’s much more in the latest BLADE, including editor Steve Shackleford’s “Unsheathed” on the advantages of not being a knife snob, Joe Kertzman’s revamped “Knifemaker Showcase,” and much more.
For a digital subscription to BLADE, click on
http://www.shopblade.com/blade-1-yr-digital-subscription
For a print subscription in the USA, click on
http://www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us
For Canada, click on
http://www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-canadian
For international, click on
http://www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-international
KEEPING your knife sharp entails more than knowing how to sharpen it. If you maintain the knife’s edge on a regular basis, it will eliminate having to re-establish the edge each time the knife goes dull.
Maintaining the edge is easy. The hard part is getting in the habit of doing it. However, once you get tired of re-establishing the edge every time your knife goes dull, you will appreciate how important the habit is.
First, get one of the easy to use pull-through or similarly easy to use sharpeners and store it by wherever you put your knife at the end of the day. When you go to put your knife up, simply grab the sharpener and pull the blade edge through it five or six times. This should be enough to fine tune the edge and get it back to a working sharpness for the following day.
Such sharpeners as the GATCO TRI-SEPS are ideal for the job because they are easy to use and store or even carry. The TRI-SEPS, for instance, includes a chain for keyring carry. It sharpens both plain and serrated edges.
For more information on the GATCO TRI-SEPS—ideal for end-of-day edge touch-ups—click here.
Knife maker John Keith “Skip” Miller of Keystone, South Dakota, died Jan. 22. He was 69.
A member of the Professional Knifemakers Association, Skip had made knives since 1994, winning a number of awards for them in the process.
Surviving him are his wife, Vicki; mother, Mae Miller; sister, JoAnn Girten; sons and family; daughter and son-in-law, Brandi and Dan Tackett; and grandson, Nash.
Memorials in memory of Skip may be made to Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, 1317 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314.
Here’s a new feature for ya’: the Knife Of The Day. The first one in this new feature is Bill Kirkes’ utility hunter in a handle of amber stag and 4.5-inch blade of 5160 carbon steel. The fittings are stainless. Overall length: 9 inches. Mr. Kirkes also made the inlaid sheath.
For more information contact Mr. Kirkes at 235 Oaklawn Circle, Little Rock, AR 72206 501-551-0135. (No website or e-mail info available.)
To see more great knives like this one and others, click on http://www.shopblade.com/category/magazine-issues to subscribe to BLADE®.
Cut, handle or chop it—or lock it or look it up—in BLADE’s Complete Knife Guide 2017, on newsstands now!
The knife industry’s only annual buying journal, the 2017 BLADE’s Guide includes a comprehensive listing of anyone and everyone who does business in the factory knife industry, including manufacturers, importers, accessory, material and equipment makers and suppliers, knifemaking schools, photographers, embellishers and more. The Guide also has a special section on some of the top factory knives that will debut in the coming year.
Looking for today’s hottest blade steels? In “Steel Trek: The Search For Sharp,” David W. Jung takes you through not only the latest ones but also the ones that are being used by custom knifemakers and manufacturers most on their newest knives. Need a wedge of hardened steel to chop, whop or split logs, kindling and more? James Morgan Ayres outlines the sharpest in hatchets and hand axes in “Cut Me Some Whack!”
Knifemakers who use elephant ivory have been among those under attack by federal and state legislation, but those who use ancient ivory have found themselves under the gun as well. Meanwhile, the suppliers who sell handle materials are having to change with the changing market. Mike Haskew examines the issue from the sellers’ standpoint in “Ivory: How Knife Suppliers Adapt.”
Framelock folders offer some of the most secure lockup of any folding knife—a good thing for all knife enthusiasts, including the ladies. Daniel Jackson outlines four of the latest such folders from a woman’s perspective in “Framelocks From the Feminine View.”
Also in our special annual issue: knife handles designed for those with big hands; knives that double as bottle openers; an excerpt from the world’s greatest knife book, KNIVES 2017, on bowie fighters; an introduction of BLADE® Magazine’s new managing editor, Erin Healy; and much more. Subscribe, buy the digital edition or tramp on down to the newsstand for the latest issue!
