The annual BLADE Show hosts the awarding of both master and journeyman smith stamps by the American Bladesmith Society (ABS), and the 35th rendition of the world’s largest knife show will, too.
Set for Jan. 3-5 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, the BLADE Show hosts knifemaker and knife company exhibitors from every continent but Antarctica—and who knows, there may even be an Antarctic exhibitor this year, too.
Five master smiths and 12 journeyman smiths earned their stamps at last year’s show. The masters were Veronique Laurent, Jean-Louis Regel, Andrew Meers, Haley DesRosiers and David Lisch. The journeyman smiths were Wess Barnhill, Sandro Boeck, Dionatam Franco de Souza, Stephan Fowler, Kyle Gahagan, Micah Kamer, Levi Miller, Facundo Montenegro, Nick Rossi, Bobby Wetten, Russell White and Robert Wright. Adding to the international flavor is that of the masters, Laurent is from Brussels, Belgium, and Regel is from France. Meanwhile, of the journeyman smiths, Boeck and de Souza are from Brazil, and Montenegro is from Argentina.
Though the requirements differ for both the master and journeyman smiths’ knives, all must submit five models that are judged by a panel of ABS officials on a number of traits. (For more on those traits, visit americanbladesmith.com.) Herein is a selection of some of the knife quintets submitted by the successful applicants last year. If you attend the 2016 BLADE Show, you can view the knives that are submitted for master and journeyman smith status this year. For more information at/during the show, visit the ABS at table 1P.
World’s Most Important Knife Awards
The world’s most important knife awards—the BLADE Magazine 2013 Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards—will be named next week at the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.bladeshow.com).
Set for May 31-June 2 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo attracts knife manufacturers and knifemakers from all over the world to display and sell their knives.
Companies that rent booths at the show are eligible to enter knives and/or accessories in the Knife-Of-The-Year Awards competition, which includes categories for 10 factory knives, one accessory and two individuals who have furthered the betterment of the knife industry.
The Knife-Of-The-Year categories are: Overall, American Made, Imported, Most Innovative American Design, Most Innovative Imported Design, Manufacturing Quality, Best Buy, Investor/Collector, Kitchen Knife, Knife Collaboration, Accessory, Publisher’s and Industry Achievement. The winners will be announced the Saturday night of the show during the BLADE Magazine Awards Banquet in the Cobb Galleria Centre (tickets required). The winners will be listed outside the BLADE Show office in the Galleria Centre the morning after.
There is a Knife-Of-The-Year Display Area in the BLADE Show hall for entrants to display their knives. New for this year, the display area will be in the back left of the show hall as opposed to the former location in the center of the hall. There, show patrons can look at all the individually displayed knives, many of which will include accompanying information on blade steel, handle materials and more. Entrants may also display their entered knives at their booths, though that is optional. Representatives of each company may stop by the display to examine and vote on the knives for the awards. Voting begins the Friday of the show and ends Saturday.
For more on the awards, stay tuned to www.blademag.com and/or see the November issue of BLADE®, on newsstands Aug. 13.
Buck Collectors Observe 25th Anniversary
Hundreds of Buck knife collectors converged on Spokane, Washington, and Post Falls, Idaho, last week for the Buck Collectors Club International’s 25th Anniversary Gala.
A celebration of Buck knives, seminars on Buck knives, tours of the Buck manufacturing plant just across the border in Post Falls, and much more highlighted the event, which drew collectors from all over the country.
Such Buck VIPs as Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Chuck Buck, Lori Buck, CJ Buck, David Yellowhorse, Wilde Bill Cody, Leroy Remer, Mike Prater, Fred Wilson and many others mingled with Buck collectors throughout the festivities.
The event kicked off with a banquet Tuesday night, and included the induction of four into the BCCI Hall Of Fame: knifemaker Jerry Bodner, Jane Davie and the aforementioned Mssrs. Yellowhorse and Wilson. BLADE® (www.blademag.com) Magazine Editor Steve Shackleford served as the banquet keynote speaker and was presented with a special plaque in recognition of his work with the BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) and support of the BCCI over the years.
Wednesday included a complete slate of seminars and factory tours. The seminars included one on Buck Yellowhorse knives by award-winning Buck Yellowhorse collector Gene Merritt. The day was capped by a sunset dinner cruise on the nearby Lake Coeur d’Alene. Thursday featured seminars by CJ Buck on what’s on the horizon at Buck Knives and on Buck Customs by John Foresman, Leroy Remer and Wilde Bill Cody, among others. A “Knife Swap Plus” was held Thursday evening and included Russ Donoghue signing his new BCCI History Book, raffles, auctions, artist demos and more. The event concluded with more seminars Friday, including one on the Buckmaster/M-9 and Buck Tactical Knives by Rich Neyman, and a Buck Knife Survival Seminar by Karen Hood. A picnic at the home of Chuck and Lori Buck was a fitting end to the extravaganza.
For more information on the BCCI, visit www.buckcollectorsclub.org.
For the latest knife news, stay honed to www.blademag.com.
Knifemaker Claude Montjoy Passes Away
Knifemaker Claude Montjoy of Clinton, South Carolina, passed away Sept. 23. He was 74.
A member of the South Carolina Association of Knife Makers, Montjoy was a full-time maker who sold his first knife in 1982. He made knives by the stock removal method and built folders, including slip joints, locking liners and interframes, and also hunters, boot knives, fighters and some art knives.
Services were held Sept. 24. Condolences may be expressed online at www.grayfuneralhome.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the First Baptist Church of Joanna, 301 Magnolia St., Joanna, SC 29351.
Knifemaker Joe Kious Perishes In Accident
Veteran knifemaker Joe Kious, popularizer of the “Pocket Locket” style of high-end art folder and long-time Knifemakers’ Guild member, passed away Dec. 5 as a result of injuries suffered in a vehicle accident.
A resident of Kerrville, Texas, Kious was a full-time knifemaker who sold his first knife in 1969. He specialized in investment-quality interframes and bolstered folders, some bringing up to as high as $10,000 apiece.
However, it is his Pocket-Locket models for which he may be best remembered. Featuring elaborate engraving, the folding knives include a small compartment in the handle with a sliding panel that slides back to reveal another engraved scene inside.
“Joe was a staunch supporter of the Knifemakers’ Guild and believed in handmade knives,” said knifemaker and fellow Guild member Edmund Davidson. “Joe had a wonderful personality, was very easy to speak with and would tell you anything you wanted to know. He held nothing back and had no secrets. His knives reflected a great deal of thought, craftsmanship and artistry. He was a true master and genuine person. He will be sorely missed. When we lose a man of his caliber, we are all diminished.”
“Joe was a gentleman who loved his family, friends, enjoyed shooting, fine scotch and making knives,” noted Michael Donato of KnifePurveyor.com. “Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
A member of a close-knit group of Texas-based Guild knifemakers that includes Warren Osborne, Tom Overeynder and others, the stately Kious was liked and respected by most everyone who knew him in the industry. A lean, handsome man with a full head of grey-white hair, he was soft-spoken but never at a loss for words or a well-thought-out opinion.
Though he did not make BLADE® Magazine’s 40th anniversary list of top knifemakers—he received enough votes to make honorable mention—his Pocket Locket was chosen No. 6 among the most important custom knives of the period from 2001-2012 in the magazine’s 40th anniversary list of top custom knives.
“Joe’s Pocket Locket is important because it is the most flexible engraving platform ever offered,” noted custom knife purveyor Paul Shindler of KnifeLegends. “It includes many models and styles but offers pretty much endless possibilities for the imagination of any collector. The Pocket Locket may be the most important engravable knife ever conceived.”
Added Donato, the Pocket Locket “has a very high ‘cool factor’ to it and has served as a canvas for many of the best engravers to work their magic. Joe’s Pocket Lockets are featured in many books, magazines and great collections worldwide.”
9 Tips for Buying a Custom Knife
Is it realistic to say there’s a surefire way to get any custom knife you want? While there are always exceptions to the rule, if you practice the following nine steps, you might just find that beautiful custom knife you’ve dreamed about nestled warm and safe in the fleece lining of your favorite zippered knife pouch:
- Attend the knife show(s) where the maker and/or owner of your dream knife exhibits;
- Introduce yourself to the maker/owner at the show, talk about his/her work and designs and/or knives, ask questions, and express your interest about the knife inside the show and/or at the hotel bar after show hours;
- Ask to look at and hold the knife—and don’t be afraid to tell the maker/seller what you will pay for it;
- On a high-end knife especially, it it’s worth it, buy it! You won’t sleep if you pass on the knife for a small difference in the asking price;
- If you see the knife you really want and pick it up at the maker’s/seller’s table, do not put it down until you’re finished haggling for it;
- If it’s a custom order, supply the materials for the knife directly to the maker;
- Visit the maker’s shop or the seller at an agreed-upon place and pay cash for the knife;
- In the case of the maker especially, tell him or her you will give the knife a great home and how you will display it, or how good the knife feels in your hand and how you will use it, and;
- Plan a pricing strategy to go with all the travel, conversation and luck that surround the big purchase. Have a figure that you will pay for the knife in mind beforehand.
“If the price is way over your head, then walk,” advised custom knife collector Chris Nolen, stressing that even though it may seem unorthodox, it is good to tell the maker how much you are willing to pay. “If the price is in the ballpark, buy the knife,” he concluded. “You will know when it’s that ‘special’ piece.”
The Ford of Knife Grinders?
When it comes to the go-to machine for knifemakers, the Burr King 960-272 2×72 may be the Ford of knife grinders.
“The 960-272 has been in production for 40 years. It’s a knifemaker’s grinder. It started with Bob Loveless,” noted Burr King’s James Krier during the grinding classes conducted by Tom Krein and Lucas Burnley in the 3rd Annual BLADE University at the 2016 BLADE Show. “It’s kind of interesting to have a machine over 20 years old that you can still get parts for.” Add the fact that Burr King is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year and you have a source for parts that’s been here for the long haul. “The knifemaker doesn’t have to worry about the company who made it [Burr King in this instance] going out of business,” Krier added.
In sales and marketing for Burr King for 10 years now, Krier said a number of companies that make grinders have passed by the boards in recent years. Not so with Burr King.
“I was talking to a guy about how many grinding companies there had been in the past 20 years and he was saying there were about 25 he could think of that are just out of business, that were up for about two years and then were gone,” Krier said. “That’s why pros who do it for a living will buy something they can actually get parts for 20 years later. It’s gonna be there when they need it.”
The 960-272 is cast aluminum construction. “Every machine is going to be the same. It’s not like it’s a fabricated design or this machine is different from that machine,” Krier continued. “If someone buys a machine and they have one that’s 10 years old and buy another one today, the parts are interchangeable. It’s like having a Ford you can get parts for.” Like old Fords, it’s tough as nails, too. “That’s thing’s bulletproof and ready to go,” Krier assessed.
Burr King makes about 15 different belt grinders, including those for factory knife companies, but the 960-272 remains the bell cow of the lot.
Learn How to Grind Knives
The BLADE staff put together this guide to grinding knives as a way to help new knifemakers jump into these essential skills. Download it now and start reading right away.
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