Here are BLADE Magazine’s Featured Knives of the Week. Browse through these articles to find the best knives available from both custom knifemakers and factory knives.
Two New Exclusive Versions Of The Kershaw Misdirect Look Fantastic And Show An Evolution For The Popular EDC Folder.
Exclusive to kershawknives.com, the two new variants of the Misdirect are visually stunning and built to last. Both versions are made from S35VN steel and PVD-coated handles.
The Misdirect above features a BlackWash reverse tanto blade and bronze handle. The one at the bottom of the article has a spear point blade and blue handle.
The all-stainless construction is rugged and feels great in the hand. The assisted-opening flipping mechanism deploys the blade quickly and smoothly, and a frame lock holds everything in place. The is 2.9 inches in length, and, when deployed, the 2.9-ounce knife is just under seven inches long.
Both versions are beautiful, minimalist knives. The difference comes down to taste in knives. The blue version is a better puncturing tool with the spear point, and the bronze version has all the versatility that comes with a reverse tanto.
Only available in limited qualities, both knives are priced fairly for the quality and style.
The Informant By Greg Wesley Is Another Quality Fixed-Blade EDC. But Just How Good Is This Small Custom Knife?
The trend for smaller EDC knives is still going strong. Set up with a leather sheath for belt or pocket carry, the Informant from Wesley Custom Knives fits the bill perfectly. Greg Wesley grinds them all by hand. This one is lean and mean.
Testing The Wesley Informant
It was easy to control the width of cuts in the foam, all of which were straight without bending the medium.
I started with a piece of dense foam I use for making my Kydex sheaths. Manipulated with push and pull cuts, the knife started biting, slicing cleanly and quickly. It was easy to control the width of cuts, all of which were straight without bending the foam. Very nice.
One of my favorite tests,the 20-pound bond copy paper slice, provided little resistance. It puts a smile on my face when I hear every cut. I used a pull motion to shred the paper. The Informant came razor sharp. The balance of the blade made for a very quick test.
The knife had no challenges cutting through double-walled cardboard. I got carried away and pushed the blade too far into the cardboard, hitting the choil area and messing up the cut. The Informant is just fun to use. Cuts were mostly straight unless I took too big of a bite and the cardboard pinched the blade and slowed it down.
Plastic board was easy for the knife. It cut the plastic very quickly and I barely felt any resistance. Once I had the rhythm slicing, it was finished. This is a sharp little knife. Cuts were very controllable.
Pushing the Wesley Informant
The Informant crunched its way to 188 cuts on the sisal rope before the edge started to slide a bit.
I grabbed some 8-ounce leather for skiving (thin, tapered slices). With a louder crunching sound, the Informant bit quickly. The thinness of the knife made controlling the skiving simple—I just had to move my fingers faster to keep from losing DNA. The edge remained just as sharp as when I started.
I had to whittle to get a better feel of the little fixed blade. The cuts in the wood were extremely smooth. The Informant peeled large curly-cues one after another. The blade spine was somewhat sharp on my thumb but not too bad. The handle was a great fit to my hand—no hot spots at all. Nice job, Greg.
The Informant crunched its way to 188 cuts of sisal rope before the edge started to slide a bit. Impressive! The handle was still comfortable with the extra power added for the high number of cuts. The knife’s light weight didn’t impact its cutting ability.
The last test is a little destructive at times: the antler chop. I gave a whitetail antler 20 hard chops with the Informant. I rolled a thin wire edge in a few places but the blade was still very sharp, so the heat treatment is good.
Final Thoughts
I would soften the blade spine a tad more and maybe round the scales a bit, though that’s being picky. The Informant is a small, high-performing utility tool that can handle most any knife chore. It’s a great EDC choice.
With over 100 knife designs to choose from—101 to be exact—there’s plenty to mull over in coming up with an ultimate favorite blade design or pattern. Renowned knifemaker and heckuva nice guy, Murray Carter, known to stand behind his table at knife shows, including the BLADE Show, honing knife blades and demonstrating to attendees how to sharpen their own edges, reveals his favorite 101 Knife Designs.
In his book, 101 Knife Designs, Carter displays not only gorgeous knife photography by none other than famed photographer Hiro Soga, but drawings, patterns, scaled designs and supportive text, allow aspiring bladesmiths to create their own knives using Carter’s popular, time-honored designs. Dazzling, full-color images of the completed knives provide inspiration and direction. 101 Knife Designs will show the reader why certain distinct blade designs have stood the test of time and remain popular even to this day. Practical blade patterns follow several rules of thumb. When these rules are applied to new knife designs, there is a greater chance the design will stand the test of time and use.
About the Author: Murray Carter (cartercutlery.com), one of the most popular custom knifemakers at the annual BLADE Show, regularly conducts wildly popular seminars on shaving with a machete, and is known for standing at his booth sharpening knives while teaching the techniques to interested attendees.
The ARA TACT is the newest addition to the top-of-the-line ARA XL series of rescue SOS knives by Antonini.
The blade is upgraded from the already high-quality hardened steel to Aisi D2–a higher carbon content semi-stainless that exhibits a terrific combination of excellent edge endurance and corrosion resistance.
The black anti-reflective Mil-Spec coating also increases the corrosion resistance of the blade.
Included are all of the fine features found on the rest of the ARA XL line: The blade has a slot and twin pegs to aid opening with either hand and with gloves. Cut in a “combo” blade (partially serrated), the slight curve and rounded safety tip aid in cutting on the pull and the handle includes a curved slot for cutting through ropes.
Included are a seat-belt cutter, 10.3mm hole for attaching a carabiner or rope, glass-breaking nib, and a 1/4″ bit holder complete with a neodymium magnet.
Click here to order the ARA TACT straight from the manufacturer for $148.
Be sure to visit Antonini Knives June 6 to 8, 2014, at booth 237 at the BLADE Show in Atlanta.
The 841 Sprint Pro Is Yet Another High-Quality Knife From Buck That Can Be Your Trusty EDC For Decades With Ease.
Buck makes good knives, and the new 841 Sprint Pro is no exception. There’s nothing timid about this knife.
The 841 Sprint Pro has a blade just over three inches long made from a durable, corrosion resistant S30V steel hardened to a 59-61 HRC. The satin-finished drop point has a full belly, helping it stand up to more intense tasks than many other comparable EDC knives on the market.
It’s fun to use thanks to the flipper on top of the knife and a linerlock that keeps everything firm when deployed.
There are two types of handle materials you can choose from. There are two Micarta options, tan canvas and burlap, and there is also a version with a carbon fiber handle that is more expensive.
The one knock against the blade is that the material is difficult to sharpen at home and may need a professional’s hand. That can be a turn off due to the added cost.
Overall, this is a quality knife. Buck has once again elevated a tried and true EDC into something more than its constituent parts and something that you’ll proudly show off for years.
The M-1 Folding Pocketknife From MECHFORCE Takes A Licking And Keeps On Cutting No Matter What’s In Front Of It.
Most people don’t like carrying a thick knife. They already have enough stuff without a bulky folder blocking access to the other goodies in their pockets.
I really like the blade thinness of the M-1 folder by MECHFORCE. Add a deep-set pocket clip and the M-1 is low profile when attached to the lip of your pocket. Meanwhile, the handle feels great.
The blade is a classic drop-point shape and cuts like … well, let’s see!
M-1 Folder Takes On Paper And More
The M-1 sliced the 20-pound bond copy paper smoothly and quickly.
Twenty-pound bond copy paper is the first way to test the factory edge. The M-1 sliced the stationery smoothly and quickly. I put a few nicks in my fingernail by moving too slow. I could hear every slice in the paper. Very sharp!
On to double-walled cardboard. The blade bound a tad at the bottom of the cut and during withdrawal. The thicker slice is where I noticed the binding. Thinner slices were not a challenge. It sliced the cardboard fast overall.
I used some plastic board for the next medium. The M-1 sailed through every slice. It was easy to control the width of the cut. I like the shape of this handle a lot. It really gives me control with my sidewinder cutting style.
The M-1 bit into 8-ounce leather and did so with gusto. I could hear the aggressive sounds of the edge biting through the material—this is very addictive to do as you crunch away. The knife would excel at skinning game.
I did some skiving to check the control of the depth of the cut. There were no issues whatsoever on the leather—super thin cuttings every time. The flat grind really helped in cut-depth control.
Pushing The M-1 Folder
The M-1 Folder wore the author’s wrist out after 250 crunching cuts of half-inch sisal rope.
Next up: half-inch sisal rope—time to use more pressure on the M-1. The knife wore my wrist out after 250 crunching cuts. It still had more bite but I was done for the day on rope cutting. The knife gave me no hot spots and I found zero sharp areas on the handle. It was very comfortable with pressure cutting. Excellent work, MECHFORCE!
To give the edge a heavy workout, I grabbed an old whitetail antler and gave it 30 whacks. I expected to see a few small chips in the edge but none showed. The edge was still sharp with no snags, sure signs of tough steel and excellent heat treatment.
I switched back to slicing 20-pound bond paper to see if the edge was still field ready. It sliced cleanly throughout to the end of the testing.
The M-1 comes with a maintenance kit that includes how-to instructions, two sets of replacement adhesive strips, take-down wrench and a bandage. It’s well thought out.
Final Thoughts
Not much to say here—maybe add some skateboard tape inserts for a no-slip grip. The M-1 is a high-performance knife that takes a licking and keeps on cutting. It makes a great pocket addition.
M-1 Folder Knife Specs
Knife style: Flipper folder Blade length: 3.5 inches Blade steel: M390 stainless Blade thickness at thickest: ⅛ inches Blade grind: Full flat Blade finish: Matte Blade pattern: Drop point Handle frame: 6Al4V titanium Handle inserts: Mars Valley carbon fiber Pocket clip: Deep set Lock: Framelock Weight: 5 ounces Closed length: 4-11/16 inches Knife to know: Features hidden-screw design Country of origin: Partially made in the USA MSRP: $385
Denis Tyrell’s Ice Blue Bowie Showcases The Journeyman Smith’s Skills At Forging A Blade And Stylizing A Knife
Denis Tyrell’s Ice Blue Bowie is one cool sub-hilt fixed blade—so cool, in fact, that it recently won The Bowie Knife Challenge shown on 18 different YouTube channels.
The 14-inch bowie features a near-full-flat-ground blade of Tyrell’s Snowflake mosaic damascus, a stabilized wood handle and hot-blued fittings of a twisted damascus. The bowie is in a takedown construction with the pommel nut securing the handle and guard to the knife.
Tyrell, who helped organize the challenge along with a friend, won the first challenge this past June too, which consisted of competing gyutos shown across 10 different YouTube channels. Each winner was determined by a vote of viewers watching the makers.
You can search “Tyrell Knifeworks” on YouTube to watch the past challenges and see the knifemakers in action. You can watch Tyrell make the Ice Blue Bowie in all its glory below.
Tyrell Knifeworks
Tyrell is a journeyman smith who moved to California in 2001 from his native Canada. He specializes in custom damascus knives. From his shop in Livermore, a moderate-sized city on the Eastern edge of San Francisco Bay, Tyrell runs a series of forging courses.
His courses range from introductory classes in how to forge or how to make your first damascus pattern all the way up to more intense fare. He teaches specific classes on mosaic and feather damascus as well as, one of his most popular courses, a course teaching folks how to make copper-layered damascus.
For more information, go to YouTube, enter “Tyrell Knifeworks”, and look for the challenge of your choice.You can watch Denis make the Ice Blue Bowie in the video below.
Ice Blue Bowie Knife Specs Knife: Ice Blue Bowie Bladelength: 8 inches Blade material: Snowflake damascus Handle: Stabilized wood Fittings: Twisted damascus Steels: 1095 and 15N20 (both the blade and fittings) Overall length: 14 inches Maker’s list price for a similar piece: $2,000
