The U.S. ivory ban not only unjustly targets legal ivory knives but hampers the legal ivory trade on which many poor Zimbabweans depend.
Wildlife administrators in Zimbabwe are asking the U.S. government to lift the ban on ivory imports from the southern African nation immediately due to concerns over how it is worsening the plight of poor Zimbabweans and also other animal species.
Elephant hunting contributes more than $14 million a year to Zimbabwe’s economy, and “not less than 55 percent” of the income from sport hunting goes directly to the poor, rural communities where wildlife is often the only source of income, according to information Zimbabwe’s wildlife administrators supplied to the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.
The U.S. banned imports of ivory from Zimbabwe and Tanzania, among others, in February over misguided concerns surrounding the preservation of elephant populations. Meanwhile, according to Zimbabwe’s wildlife administrators, the country’s 97,500 elephants destroy food supplies needed for other species. Combined with the adverse affect on Zimbabwe’s poor, the U.S. ivory ban has disastrous implications for the southern African nation.
For information on how you can fight the U.S. ivory ban and at the same time help save the elephant, join the Elephant Protection Association. For more, visit elephantprotection.org.
Celebrate Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 65th birthday today by reading about his Conan sword and other movie long blades in “Spirit of the Sword.”
Designed by Jody Samson, the Conan sword Schwarzenegger used in the 1982 blockbuster film captivated American movie audiences and set the stage for such subsequent film swords as those in “Hook,” “Princess Bride,” “Highlander III: The Sorcerer,” “The Mask of Zorro,” “Lord Of The Rings,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and more, as well as the lucrative sword repro business entered into by United Cutlery, CAS Hanwei, Albion, Tony Swatton and others.
Grand prizes include a free knife and pass to the 2018 BLADE Show in our Best Carved Jack-o’-Lantern Contest.There will be two Best Carved Jack-o’-Lantern Contest categories: Reader Favorite and Editor’s Choice.
Win your share of “ghoul’s gold” in Blademag.com’s first-ever Best Carved Jack-o’-Lantern Contest.
Halloween will be here soon, so now’s the time to break out that pumpkin and get to carvin’! While you’re at it and to add to the fun, you might as well enter our contest for the chance to win a ghoul’s gold in free prizes.
There will be two categories: Reader Favorite and Editor’s Choice. The grand prize winner in each category will receive a free knife and a free pass to the 2018 BLADE Show, the world’s largest knife show, June 1-3 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Georgia. Three honorable mentions will win free tuition to the 5th Annual BLADE University, which is held the day before the 2018 BLADE Show begins and on show Friday and Saturday, also in the Cobb Galleria Centre. BLADE University is the most comprehensive array of educational classes on all things knife offered by any knife show.
The rules are simple: Carve a pumpkin in a manner that you think will get the most votes from our voters. And feel free to get creative! Though many choose to make scary looking jack-o’-lanterns, you can carve a pumpkin in just about any design you like. Take pictures of your carved jack-o’-lantern and a picture of the knife you use to carve it, include the knife’s model name and brand, and email it all to us. Visit the site daily to view the entries and vote for your favorite. Meanwhile, tell your family and friends to go to our page and vote, too. Remember: One vote per person only please! We will announce the winner on Halloween, Tuesday, Oct. 31.
True counterfeit knives are those that not only copy the original in terms of every one of the knife’s features and markings, but also in every detail of the knife’s packaging as well, such as here on the CRKT M16-14. The authentic one is at left, the counterfeit at right.Counterfeiters marked their counterfeit (right) of an authentic Strider fixed blade (left) “Strider,” but from there it becomes obvious the counterfeit is not legitimate. Note the counterfeit’s incorrect dimensions, inaccurate blade grind, finish and length of clip, miniscule sawteeth and sharp corners where they should not be, as well as the shoddy workmanship of the green sheath.The Microtech knife box above with a pinkish hue is a counterfeit. The authentic box at left is outfitted with a unique serialized barcode and also a “claw” watermark to help identify the authentic packaging.The authentic Microtech packaging is black and has the unique serialized bar code.Another indication of authenticity on the Microtech product box is the special Stars ‘n Stripes “claw” watermark.
Fake knives—better known as counterfeit knives—are a worldwide problem that needs everyone concerned to pay attention, and National Fraud Awareness Week Nov. 12-18 is a good time to sit up and take notice.
Factory knife companies are especially prone to having their knives counterfeited by nefarious operations, the latter usually based overseas. The American Knife & Tool Institute has a dedicated program tailored to fight the plague of fake knives, and other cutlery companies such as Browning, CRKT, Cold Steel, Chris Reeve Knives, Knifeart and others have websites that address the scourge.
What can you do? Visit the above sites and others and familiarize yourself with the situation concerning counterfeits of those companies’ knives. While some custom knives are victims of counterfeits as well, it’s largely the factory guys that are targeted simply because their knives are recognized by many and sold on a much larger scale than custom knives, and can earn the counterfeiters much more illicit money as a result.
One thing to keep in mind is exactly what is meant here by counterfeit knife. We are not talking about design features, designs, etc., that are “knocked off” without the original maker/designer’s OK or approval. That is another matter entirely. There are some instances of where knockoffs are done and the parties involved eventually wind up in court to settle the issue. If the matter cannot be resolved otherwise, the original designer ultimately may have to prove that the design feature, design, etc., is his or hers exclusively, it has not appeared on another knife before, etc. As you can imagine, since knives have been around since the dawn of humanity, such a thing many times can be very difficult to prove. However, again, knockoffs are not the issue here.
The issue here is a counterfeit knife in which the counterfeiter has copied everything in question about the knife, from the knife’s exact features, blade stamp and even the product box in which the knife is packaged. The product box even will illegally sport the knife and company’s name, the company’s address, etc. Then, when the unsuspecting buyer purchases the fake knives and sends them to the company about a warranty issue, the company in question has the unsavory duty of telling the buyer that he or she has been duped by counterfeits, and the company cannot honor the warranty. The buyer is then stuck with worthless fake knives.
Some of the counterfeits are easy to identify because they are shoddily done. Others, however, are not as easy to spot. It’s a growing problem, one that knife companies and knife enthusiasts everywhere—including you—must continue to deal with and be vigilant about. For more information look for Daniel Jackson’s story on counterfeit knives in the January 2018 BLADE®, on newsstands Dec. 26.
Larry Wayne “The Hammer” Harley, friend, knifemaker, bladesmith and knifemaking teacher to anyone who showed an interest—especially kids and “wounded warriors”—passed away in his sleep Feb. 12. He was 66.
A lifelong resident of Bristol, Tennessee, Larry made knives under the business name of Lonesome Pine Knives. An American Bladesmith Society journeyman smith, he was the chair of the ABS Youth Program and was involved with the Wounded Warriors Project. He was best known outside the knife industry as one of the stars of the National Geographic television show Lords of War, on which he went simply by the nickname of “The Hammer,” specializing in identifying and judging the worth of assorted knives, swords and other edged weapons.
Though not a tall man, Larry was large with burly arms and a massive chest—which was no doubt needed to contain his huge heart. He conducted bladesmithing symposiums at his shop in Bristol, entertaining youths, veterans and anyone and everyone who wanted to make knives. He also taught at the Batson Bladesmithing Symposium, youth programs at the BLADE Show and Smoky Mountain Knife Works, and just about anyplace he could find that would allow him to teach the craft, and interact with the people involved, that he loved so much. “Larry always felt that the real payment for teaching a youngster of any age was the irrepressible smile that was always on their face when they realized they could do it,” wrote ABS journeyman smith Wes Byrd, who, along with Larry, taught kids how to make knives in the ABS Youth Program.
Larry learned to make knives from his father, the late B.L. “Pap” Harley. “It just so happened that my daddy made knives and that’s how come I’m a knifemaker,” Larry said in the February 2015 BLADE®. “I remember my daddy working on bowie knives on the kitchen table when I was 4 or 5 years old. He also read me books by Raymond Thorp, author of Bowie Knife and Crow Killer, for bedtime stories, and I remember we saw the Alan Ladd movie about Jim Bowie, The Iron Mistress.”
Larry “The Hammer” Harley talks with young knife fans at a past BLADE Show seminar.
Larry’s friends were too many to count. In fact, if you met him he probably counted you as one of his friends and you counted him one of yours. His infectious laugh and twinkling eyes immediately broke the ice. A regular exhibitor at the BLADE Show in the early years, he was known then for his “hog-killing knives” and excursions on which he would take customers to hunt wild hogs in the Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee and the surrounding area. He was also known as a top competitor in the early years of the ABS cutting competitions, winning at least one championship before the competitions became more organized and eventually evolved into today’s events conducted by BladeSports International, including the BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition, the 15th annual rendition of which will be held at this year’s BLADE Show June 2-4 in Atlanta.
Larry is survived by his loving wife of 35 years, Kristine; sons Richard and Nicholas; goddaughters Sarah and Julia Denton; aunts, uncles, cousins both in the Holbrook and Harley family; and many friends.
The family will receive friends from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 15, at Oakley-Cook Funeral Home in Bristol. The funeral service will follow at 7 p.m. with the Rev. Steve Playl officiating. The committal and inurnment service will be at 2 p.m. Feb. 16 at Glenwood Cemetery in Bristol.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, POB 758517, Topeka, KS 66675-8517 woundedwarriorproject.org.
Knives with keyhole handles are hot and in the new BLADE®, on most newsstands NOW!
Keyhole integrals, knives made in the USA, movie fantasy swords and much more highlight the new BLADE®, on most newsstands now!
ABS master smith Rodrigo Sfreddo appears to have been the first to make knives with the integral-style handle in the shape of a keyhole where the handle material and fittings meet, and other ABS bladesmiths have taken the concept and run with it. ABS master smith Ron Newton’s modified keyhole integral graces the cover of this issue and Mike Haskew’s story examines the concept in detail.
With Independence Day a couple of weeks away, we thought a story on some of the knife companies who make their knives in America would be a great way to celebrate the 4th. And, in the realm of blade grinds and finishes, we offer stories on what to look for in the best blade grinds and the latest look in blade finishes—including those used on the swords of the hit movie, The Hobbit™: An Unexpected Journey.
We continue our “Riddles Of Steel” series with a story on the mystery of the kukri notch, and Bill Simmermacher details how he had a 21st century sheath made for a 19th-century antique bowie. If you like knife tests, Kim Breed compares the Ammo Daddy Alpha and KSR Field/Camp knife, and on the slip joint front, Pat Covert studies models that include both the traditional and those tailored to be “global legal.”
There’s much more, including part two of both Ed Fowler’s “Quest For Cut” and the series on Plaza Cutlery observing its 40th anniversary of selling knives in the South Coast Plaza Shopping Resort in Costa Mesa, California; some of the latest in damascus patterns on custom knives; Eric Ochs’ chute knife flipper; “The Knife I Carry”; and much more, all in the latest BLADE.
Coast also will present a new line of multi-tools, including the Model C5899 Pro Pocket Pliers with two built-in LED lights and tools accessible without opening the pliers.
Stay tuned. Coast will be offering more information on the new knives and tool in early January.
