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The BLADE Blog w/Steve Shackleford

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World Championship Cutting Competition at BLADE Show

Steve Shackleford
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World Championship Cutting Competition at BLADE Show

Defending champ Ted Ott and a host of challengers will compete for the 11th Annual World Championship Cutting Competition at the BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) May 31-June 2 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.

 

The World Championship will be conducted by BladeSports International (BSI) the Saturday of the show at 4:15 p.m. in “The Courtyard”—the parking lot of the show’s host hotel, the Renaissance Waverly. Current qualifiers include Ott, past champ Gary Bond, Donavon Phillips, Jim Cottingham, Michael Eubanks, Dwight Schoneweis, Dan Keffeler, Bud Robbins and Chris Rowland. Whether more will qualify by the time of the competition, including at least one international contestant, remains to be seen.

 

Speed, power, technique and a good knife are all important ingredients to winning the competitions. All certified beforehand by BSI, the knives must be no longer than 15 inches overall, with a blade 10 inches or shorter and no more than 2 inches wide. There are no thickness or weight limits. The majority of the knives are custom made, with the balance being factory.

 

 The contestants perform a number of cuts, all of which are timed. Points are deducted from the total time for successful cuts, and the low score wins. While some cuts such as slicing through hanging ropes, water-filled plastic bottles and chopping 2x4s are standard fare, there are usually a couple of surprise cuts for which the competitors cannot prepare. The knives are inspected after each round and disqualified if the blade is damaged.

 

 For more on the BLADE Show, subscribe to BLADE® www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us?icid=SHBLNCF2BL1SU-030613?lid=ssfbbl042413

 

Ted Ott show's his championship form at last year's BLADE Show. (Point Seven photo)
Ted Ott won last year’s BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition. (Point Seven photo)

Dozier 9-11 Knife Raises $1,525 For Benefit Fund

Steve Shackleford
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The Bob Dozier 10th anniversary 9-11 knife sporting a damascus blade that includes steel from the South Tower of the World Trade Center brought $1,525 in an auction that concluded earlier this week, with proceeds going to the New York Police and Fire Widow’s and Orphans Benefit Fund.

The bid for the winning knife—the folder was featured on page 50 in the December BLADE®—was submitted by retired New York City firefighter Keith Kaiser.

Forged by Daryl Meier, the knife’s blade includes a piece of South Tower steel and 1095 carbon steel. The pre-ban ivory handle boasts scrimshaw scenes by Sandra Brady. On one side is “We Remember 9-11-2011” commemorating the 10th anniversary, and the New York city skyline, including a shadow outline of the Twin Towers in place of the missing jet in a flyby jet formation, and a soldier saluting. On the flip side is a scene of firemen fighting the fires of the Twin Towers before they fell, an American flag, and the words, “Lest We Forget 9-11-2001.”

“There will never be enough to repay our debt for what [the first responders] paid,” Dozier noted. “All proceeds from the auction of this knife will go to help the families of the firefighters and policemen who lost their lives that day.”

For more information contact Bob Dozier Knives at [email protected] or visit www.dozierknives.com.

Another First for Forged In Fire

Steve Shackleford
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Another First for Forged In Fire
Forged In Fire and the BLADE Magazine Publisher's Award.
Forged In Fire made a different kind of history when it won the BLADE Magazine 2016 Publisher’s Award. (Miller Mobley/HISTORY)

When Forged In Fire won the BLADE Magazine 2016 Publisher’s Award during this year’s BLADE Show, it was the first time a television program of any kind was recognized by BLADE® Magazine in such a manner. Selected by the BLADE staff, the Publisher’s Award honors a person or organization that has furthered the knife community in a fashion that bodes well for the future of that community, both inside and out. Forged In Fire on History answers that requirement—and then some.

It’s rare that knifemaking of any type is given the high-profile exposure of television coverage, much less a weekly program of its own. However, Forged in Fire has done just that and much more. Those who watch it are familiar with the group of bladesmiths it gathers each week, each group different from the last, with the bladesmith in each charged with forging a knife—often in a very exotic style—in a stated time limit under the watchful gaze of a panel of judges and millions of TV viewers. Meanwhile, the winner of each episode earns a grand prize of $10,000.

As with most high-profile endeavors, there are those who criticize the program for portraying knives in a so-called negative way and creating an atmosphere that is not conducive to making the best knife possible—but then making the best knife possible is not necessarily the goal. The goals include to demonstrate not only how tough it can be to make a quality knife under a short deadline but also to entertain—and Forged in Fire does that quite well. Meanwhile, bladesmiths, knifemakers and the knife industry in general are getting more exposure before more people than ever before. And that is a great thing.

Now on the cusp of entering its third season, Forged In Fire will have a different look with ABS master smith Jason Knight filling in for ABS master smith J. Neilson. We fully expect the show to enjoy yet another banner season, and for bladesmithing and the knife community in general to continue to benefit from the unprecedented exposure such a TV show brings to knives the world over.

Want to Get Started in Knifemaking?

Best books for beginner knifemakersFor those new to knifemaking, BLADE put together a special collection just for those starting out. The Complete Knifemaking Collection gathers great knifemaking books and tutorials to get you up to speed in no time. The price is unbeatable, too.

Order the Complete Knifemaking Collection from ShopBlade.com.

Knife Bill Would Affect BLADE Show

Steve Shackleford
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Knife Bill Would Affect BLADE Show
Knife bill and BLADE Show.
Knife bill SB 49 would affect this year’s BLADE Show and needs your help by Friday. Bladesmith Butch Deveraux (in cowboy hat) waits on a customer at last year’s BLADE Show. (PointSeven image)

A Georgia knife bill that would reform law and impact the 2017 BLADE Show needs your help by Friday, March 3, or it will die.

According to Knife Rights, SB 49 would increase the legal carry length of a knife blade in the state from 5.5 to 12 inches, but before that can happen the Georgia state Rules Committee must release the bill for a vote.

A recent applicable Knife Rights email stated that “efforts to completely eliminate the carry length limit have been stymied due to the manner in which a knife is defined in Georgia law. [If enacted, SB 49 would] make life much better for knife owners in Georgia without hampering future efforts to completely eliminate the carry length limit at some future opportunity.”

That’s where you come in.

If you plan to attend the BLADE Show June 2-4 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta or live, travel or work in Georgia, please call or e-mail the Rules Committee members now. Whether you call or email—if emailing, enter on the subject line “Please Move SB 49″—tell them you respectfully request that they please pass SB 49 out of the Rules Committee so that it may be voted on by the full Senate. Also, be sure to thank them after you make your request. As noted in a recent Knife Rights email on the subject, “Please be polite and respectful and remain on point.” Hey, as with any request, sugar always works better than sulphur, right?

Below is a list of Georgia legislators to contact concerning the matter:

Sen. Jeff Mullis (Chairman) – (404) 656-0057 – [email protected]
Sen. Jack Hill (Vice Chairman) – (404) 656-5038 – [email protected]
Sen. Bill Cowsert – (404) 463-1366 – [email protected]
Sen. Steve Gooch – (404) 656-9221 – [email protected]
Sen. Hunter Hill – (404) 463-2518 – [email protected]
Sen. John Kennedy – (404) 656-0045 – [email protected]
Sen. David Shafer – (404) 656-0048 – [email protected]
Sen. John Wilkinson – (404) 463-5257 – [email protected]
Sen. Gloria S. Butler – (404) 656-0075 – [email protected]
Sen. Steve Henson – (404) 656-0085 – [email protected]
Sen. Butch Miller – (404) 656-7454 – [email protected]
Sen. Horacena Tate – (404) 463-8053 – [email protected]
Sen. Curt Thompson – (404) 463-1318 – [email protected]

Sen. Renee Unterman – (404) 463-1368 – [email protected]

 

Jerry Ahern Passes Away

Steve Shackleford
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(photo of Jerry Ahern courtesy of JerryAhern.com)

Jerry Ahern, novelist, author of nonfiction books and many magazine articles, passed away Tuesday, July 24. He was well known internationally for his extremely popular “Survivalist” series of novels. Mr. Ahern was a fan of the Detonics line of handguns, so much so that he acted as president of the company, then named Detonics USA, from 2004 to 2007, while it was located in Pendergrass, Georgia.

    Mr. Ahern was 66. Survivors include his wife, Sharon, children, grandchildren and a nephew. Arrangements were made through Evans Funeral Home, Jefferson, Georgia. 706-367-5467, http://evansfuneralhomeinc.com.

Knife Of The Day VIII

Steve Shackleford
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     Our knife—make that knives—of the day for Dec. 16 are Jeff Hall’s stylish framelock folders in a choice of blade finishes and plain and partially serrated edges, the serrations being especially dramatic as far as serrations go. The frames feature carbon fiber inlay and skeletonized pocket clips.

     For more information contact Jeff Hall at [email protected].

     For all the latest knives, knife trends, hottest makers and more, subscribe to BLADE®Magazine. For subscription information click on http://www.shopblade.com/product/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us/?r+ssfb161211#BL1SU

Guild Show: Granddaddy Custom Knife Event

Steve Shackleford
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Guild Show: Granddaddy Custom Knife Event
Great custom knives always highlight the Guild Show.
Alan Snow (right) holds the Stealth III made by Kevin Hoffman (left) at a past Guild Show.

The Knifemakers’ Guild Show will hold its 44th annual rendition—the granddaddy of all custom knife shows—this weekend at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. Knifemakers, knifemaking suppliers, purveyors and more from all over the world will convene in Derby Town, where some of the best custom knives will be shown and sold.

The Guild got its start in February 1970 when the Guild’s “founding father,” BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member A.G. Russell, rented tables at the Sahara Gun Show in Las Vegas and invited several knifemakers to display knives there. Later that year, 11 makers met in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to form the Guild. The makers were John Applebaugh, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Blackie Collins, John Nelson Cooper, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Dan Dennehy, Ted Dowell, Chubby Hueske, John Kirk, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Bob Loveless, John Owens, Jim Pugh and G.W. Stone. Loveless was elected secretary—the Guild office title today is president—and A.G. Russell was made honorary president.

The purposes of the Guild are to:

1) Promote custom knives and knifemakers

2) Assist the knifemaker technically;

3) Encourage ethical and professional business conduct;

4) Sponsor an annual business meeting and knife show.

The show has been held in assorted venues over the years, including Kansas City, Dallas, Orlando, New Orleans, Las Vegas and now Louisville. Some of the earliest Kansas City shows were held at the old Muehlebach Hotel, where, in addition to Loveless and Dennehy, such Guild legends as Cutlery Hall-Of-Famers Buster Warenski, Bill Moran, Ron Lake, George Herron, D’ Holder, Frank Centofante, Gil Hibben and many others displayed their knives and kick-started an organization that continues to be recognized worldwide today. Hibben, in fact, remains active in the Guild today, and is in his seventh and final year as Guild president. He will step down this year.

Make plans now to attend the show this weekend. There will be a special President’s Gala Thursday, Sept. 19, at the Seelbach, and should be a great place to see Gil and Linda Hibben in their final show as the Guild’s first family, as well as all the other makers and their great knives show Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

For the latest in knives and knife news, keep it here at www.blademag.com.

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