The BLADE Blog w/Steve Shackleford

Get the lowdown on the upcoming BLADE Show with the BLADE Show preview issue of BLADE® Magazine—on newsstands now!

Set to invade Atlanta’s Cobb Galleria Centre June 6-8, the BLADE Show is the world’s largest and most important knife event. The people who move and shake the knife industry will descend on Atlanta for three days of the latest knives, sharpeners, swords and more, and the people who make, use and collect them, as well as free seminars, in-depth knife classes taught through the new BLADE University, the selection of the BLADE Magazine 2014 Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards—including the latest one voted on by knife enthusiasts everywhere, the People’s Choice Award—and a whole lot more. The latest issue of BLADE has the complete lowdown on the who’s, what’s, why’s and where’s of the BLADE Show and is a must-have for BLADE Show patrons.

Also in the new BLADE:

•19 of the hottest factory knives that will debut at the BLADE Show;

•Learn how 12 hot custom knives made by some of the world’s leading cutlers with the latest in steels perform in extensive tests;

•See the past 40 years of the cutlery industry through the eyes of knife retailer/purveyor Dan Delavan, a person who has lived it and loved it, in “Plaza Cutlery: 40 and Still Sharp”;

•How to pick the best big chopping knife/machete and some of the latest factory examples;

•A tour of the cutlery venues of Budapest, Hungary, and the blades that made “the old country” cut;

•See how a drop-point bushcraft knife and fixed-blade skinner fare in Kim Breed’s “Spec Sheet” knife test.

There’s also knives for Father’s Day, mini-profiles of knifemakers Jason Tippy, Joey Cordova, Alain and Joris Chomilier, Gary Martindale Sr., Chuck Hawes and Max Harvey, and bunches more, all in the latest BLADE.

The Lawful Ivory Protection Act (HR 5052) is gaining bipartisan support in the House of Representatives but needs your help to protect the legal ivory items and investments of honest American citizens everywhere.

Imagine buying an iconic Bob Loveless ivory handle knife made decades ago for $10,000—in many cases, such a knife goes for much more—and not being able to resell it for your child’s college tuition, your retirement or what have you. That’s just an example of what the current federal initiative to ban ivory would do, unless it is stopped via the Lawful Ivory Protection Act.

According to the Elephant Protection Association, the act now has the support of 20 members of the House, including 15 Republicans and five Democrats. They include: Rep. Jeff Miller (FL); Rep. Nick Rahall (WV); Rep. Kenny Marchant (TX); Rep. Collin Peterson (MN); Rep. Michael C. Burgess (TX); Rep. Bob Gibbs (OH); Rep. Matt Salmon (AZ); Rep. John Barrow (GA); Rep. Alan Nunnelee (MS); Rep. Vance McAllister (LA); Rep. Jim Matheson (UT); Rep. Michael Simpson (ID); Rep. Lamar Smith (TX); Rep. Thomas Rooney (FL); Rep. Richard Hudson (NC); Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL); Rep. Paul Broun (GA); Rep. Pete Gallego (TX); Rep. Sam Johnson (TX); and Rep. Pete Sessions (TX).

If you don’t see your representatives on the above list, call/contact them. One way to help persuade them to co-sponsor the Lawful Protection Ivory Act is to send them a “Dear Colleague Letter,” an example of which is at http://elephantprotection.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dda9c7b47b985ac6242f68cd0&id=8be4608dca&e=37f8db1ffe It provides the contact info your representative needs to co-sponsor the bill. Send it to your representative and ask him/her to be a co-sponsor. Also, with many representatives taking a summer break, now is a great time to visit their offices to ask for their support.

Also, ask whichever collector or business association to which you belong to post a statement on its website supporting the Lawful Ivory Protection Act/HR 5052 and the related Senate bill, S.2587. If they do, contact Rob Mitchell of the Elephant Protection Association so he can share that support information with the co-sponsors so they can in turn share it with their colleagues.

To find out the names of your representatives, visit http://www.opencongress.org/people/zipcodelookup