GiantMouse takes a stab at the culinary world with a kitchen knife line.
EDC knives of a variety of stripes have been GiantMouse’s bread and butter, helping the Danish-design concern kick a solid toehold into the knife industry. This success somewhat culminated earlier this month in Atlanta, with the company’s GMX earning Knife-Of-The-Year® accolades at the 2023 BLADE Show. This trophy in hand is a pretty good indicator you’re doing things right. But, GiantMouse is far from living off past achievements.
In fact, it has a new vista in sight—kitchen knives.
Following a well-trod recent trend in knife manufacturing, GiantMouse is dipping its toe into the culinary end of the pool with the introduction of four kitchen knives. While this drop might prove unexpected to some, the expansion is something the company said has been in the works for nearly two years now. At least, that’s been the personal testing period of designers Jens Ansø and Jesper Voxnaes (Vox), refining the minutia of the knives. So, how did it shake out?
At first blush—and without a knife-in-hand, tomato-dicing torture test—not too shabby. The four-knife line appears attractively utilitarian, nice enough to show off along with your next dinner party. But the knives aren’t so pretty as to scare you off from actually using them in your day-to-day culinary adventures. At arm’s length, it’s difficult to discuss ergonomics, balance and performance. However, GiantMouse doesn’t appear to have to broken any of the major kitchen-knife rules, attempting to displace function for novel form. Though, the slightly hooking heel on the larger knives might prove a sore point—pun intended—for some.
The line, at present, includes:
Santoku
Chef
Carving
Paring
Essentially, GiantMouse has homed in on the basic food prep tools every kitchen requires. The knives are sold individually and as a set; there’s a branded bamboo magnetic knife bar available, as well. And, in the company’s announcement, it certainly sounds as if it has designs to continue expanding into more corners of the culinary arts. No hint on what that might include.
As to the Italian-made knives themselves, GiantMouse has opted for Nitro-B for the blade steel and given them an unstated satin finish. Having grown in popularity in recent years, high-nitrogen steel (.21% in the case of Nitro-B) has spurred its share of debates as well. Sufficed to say, it should thrive in a kitchen environment if for no other reason than its corrosion resistance. To top it off, the blades are stamped with a tirade of the company’s murine logo—jaunty, to say the least.
To this, the company has outfitted the knives with green micarta handles, which should prove popular. Generally providing an excellent gripping surface, even when wet, GiantMouse has further enhanced it with a run of three serrations at the midpoint to provide a bit more purchase.
As for price, expect to drop $95 to get into GiantMouse’s paring knife at the low end and $175 for the chef or santoku at the high end.
GiantMouse Kitchen Knives Specs:
Chef Knife Blade Length: 8.375″ (212.725mm) Weight: 6.9oz (195.612g) Overall Length: 13.125″ (333.4mm) Steel: Nitro B Blade Thickness: .1125″ (2.875mm) Finish: Satin Handle: Green Micarta MSRP: $175
Niagara will help fill the shoes of an industry icon.
The recent demise of Crucible Industries LLC not only marked the end of a celebrated name in the manufacture of blade steels, it denoted the dawn of a new age—not only for the steels famously known by their CPM prefix, but other premium blade materials as well.
Used by Crucible and short for Crucible Particle Metallurgy*, CPM prefixed such Crucible steels as CPM S30V, CPM S35VN, CPM MagnaCut—today’s hottest CPM variant—and others among some of the most-used blade materials since Chris Reeve Knives popularized S30V on Reeve knives beginning in 2004-2005. S30V, in fact, was the first modern steel manufactured specifically for knife use. All other manufactured steels used in blades were originally made for purposes other than knives.
CPM S45VN is one of several of the old Crucible steels Niagara offers. The Defiant7 Auto Eagle has a stonewashed blade of the stainless steel and a black aluminum handle. Blade grind: flat. Weight: 4.4 ounces. Designed by Les George, it’s 4.75 inches closed. Country of origin: USA. MSRP: $285.
Crucible closed its doors earlier this year and sold most, if not all, of its assets at auction in February. So what happens to all those wonderful steels that both the factory and custom knife industries use in mass quantities?
According to Bob Shabala of Niagara Specialty Metals (NSM), NSM will do its part to have/supply most, if not all, of them, as well as other up-and-coming steels, to the custom and factory knife industries.
Among custom knifemakers especially, CPM 154 stainless is extremely popular. Craig Brosman employs it in a hollow grind and amber-dyed European red stag on his utility fixed blade. Overall length: 7.5 inches. (SharpByCoop image)
Opined Scott Devanna of steel service center SB Specialty Metals, “The majority of steel sheet in the U.S. comes out of Niagara. They’re the only [domestic mill] that can make it right now. It’s been that way for the last 25 years. They’re the only game in town.”
Erasteel And The Name Game
Erasteel, with state-of-the-art steel mills in France and Sweden, is owned by Syntagma Capital, a private equity group based in Brussels, Belgium. Erasteel acquired a part of the assets of the old Crucible Industries during the February auction, including working capital, steelmaking equipment and, perhaps most importantly, the trademarks for all the CPM steel names. A manufacturer and supplier of steels not only to the knife community but also the aerospace and other hi-tech industries, NSM had worked with Erasteel before the auction, processing millions of pounds of the Swedish mill’s steel for industrial applications.
The 4.75-inch blade of Jacob Gaetz’s Large Field Hunter is CPM 3V carbon steel cryo-treated to a Rockwell hardness of 60-61 HRC. Handles are Apocalyptic box elder burl (left) and vintage Micarta® (right). Overall lengths: 9.875 inches. (Jocelyn Frasier image)
“We’d been doing that for several years,” Shabala noted, “so we know the quality of their steel is good.”
Together with Crucible, Erasteel is the pioneer in gas-atomized metal powders and started with the process in 1969. Today, it has the largest installed capacity in the world to produce metal powders, with two large atomizers built and designed by Erasteel.
Shabala said NSM officials understood their knife customers wanted the assorted CPM steels to keep the old names to avoid confusion among knife-buying consumers.
“They didn’t want to change the names and have to educate consumers on what the new names would be and how they related to the legacy Crucible names,” he explained.
The Cold Steel Recon M1 sports a black-coated blade of MagnaCut stainless, which remains the hottest of the CPM steels used by both factory and custom segments of the sporting knife industry. Handle G-10. Lock: Atlas Lock. Weight: 5.2 ounces. Blade and closed lengths: 4 and 5.5 inches. Country of origin: Italy. MSRP: $309.99.
Meanwhile, the two companies reached an agreement where if NSM buys the steels exclusively from Erasteel, NSM can use the original names too, including S30V, S35VN, S45VN, MagnaCut, S110V, 3V and CPM 154. NSM and its customers can still use the full designation of CPM S30V, CPM S35VN and so on, though the customers can omit the CPM if they so choose.
“The reason we’re keeping the CPM 154 name is because everybody knows that it’s the powder metallurgy version of 154CM, so we want to keep that designation alive so people will know what’s going on there,” Shabala noted.
There will be a couple of exceptions. The steels formerly known as CPM Cruwear and CPM S90V will be renamed NSMwear and NSM 90PM, respectively.
Niagara is both a manufacturer and distributor, not only of knife steel but also steel for the aerospace and other industries. It is employee owned and employs 41. (NSM image)
“Erasteel already had an agreement with another distributor to buy Cruwear exclusively, so we worked out a deal with them where we can buy the steel, we just can’t use the name,” Shabala explained. “It’s on us to educate people and let them know they can still get CPM Cruwear, it’s just a different name.”
As for CPM S90V, NSM already had Carpenter Technology’s version of it in stock and wanted to rebrand it so that it’s not sole-sourced to one mill. By renaming it NSM 90PM, “hopefully people will understand that it’s coming from us,” Bob said.
Steel Tariffs
Concerning steel supplies in stock, Shabala indicated NSM officials had been aware of Crucible’s coming demise, and in January 2024 began ramping up purchases to build inventory for any future supply disruptions.
Dennis Friedly opts for CPM 154 stainless blade steel and a mammoth tooth handle for his Art Knife Invitational fighter. The copious engraving is by Ray Cover Jr. Overall length: 13 inches. (SharpByCoop image)
“We started placing orders with Carpenter and Erasteel in September 2024, though not knowing Erasteel would be the eventual owner of the CPM trademarks,” Shabala noted. “The steel we bought in September is starting to arrive. There will be some disruptions in MagnaCut and CPM 154, but everything else we still have a decent amount of and there should be no disruptions.”
In case you hadn’t heard, President Trump has instituted tariffs on most countries, including France and Sweden. At press time, the European tariff was 25 percent.
“Everything we buy from Erasteel as it stands right now is subject to a 25 percent tariff,” Shabala said. “Even the steel we buy from Carpenter, the powder for it is atomized in Sweden, so that’s subject to at least a 10 percent tariff.”
Dennis Friedly opts for CPM 154 stainless blade steel and a mammoth tooth handle for his Art Knife Invitational fighter. The copious engraving is by Ray Cover Jr. Overall length: 13 inches. (SharpByCoop image)
Another concern is whether knife companies can continue to mark their knives built with NSM steel “Made in the U.S.A.” Bob said he is up front with his customers, telling them that Erasteel will be supplying a “good chunk of our CPM alloys,” though it’s all hot rolled at NSM.
The question becomes if the raw materials are imported but don’t officially become a steel until they’re hot isostatic pressed, does that make the steel American made or imported? He indicated it will be up to his customers’ lawyers to hash out what the customers can and can’t do concerning U.S.A. markings on their knives.
NSM Innovaions
What’s on the horizon at NSM? One thing is a new grade developed by steel guru Larrin Thomas. Called Magnamax, it won’t be widely available until the end of the year. Since NSM has both patented and trademarked Magnamax, it can have it made by any mill it wants, and had it on order with both Erasteel and Carpenter at press time.
Bob Shabala of Niagara Specialty Metals
Meanwhile, along with Erasteel, Bob had high praise for the steel being made by Carpenter.
“We’re getting powder now that is atomized in a vacuum furnace. It’s a step forward in quality. We hardly ever had an issue with any CPM product from Crucible,” he qualified, “but I think Erasteel’s and Carpenter’s steel has a finer grain size. It’s a little microscopically cleaner than what we were getting before, so it really is an opportunity to provide a better product.”
As Shabala noted, Carpenter has made lots of cutlery steel, and NSM has processed a huge amount of it, hot rolling it into sheets and sending it back to Carpenter’s warehouse for sale to various customers. One of Carpenter’s best-known steels is CTS XHP stainless.
“It’s a grade that customers really like,” Shabala said, adding that NSM had over 20 tons of it and was in the process of preparing to make a big marketing push on it at press time.
Having steel manufactured in the USA remains a big selling point with many of NSM’s customers, so the company remains on the lookout for new melt sources, one of which is Prime Metals & Alloys (PMA) of Homer City, Pennsylvania. A manufacturer and supplier of a wide range of steels for assorted hi-tech and other uses, PMA was in the process of making steel for NSM at press time, which Shabala seemed to think holds great promise.
Larrin Thomas, metallurgist and knife writer
“We should receive it in a couple of months, but if it works out it’s going to be an ESR version of stainless steel that we’ve always supplied, so it should be a noticeably better product than what our customers were used to before,” he said. “It’s really a good find for us to be able to get a higher-quality steel with a shorter lead time, so we’re really excited about that.”
ESR stands for Electro-Slag Remelting, a process that results in a very clean steel devoid of contaminants.
“In a traditional melting process, you heat the steel up, get it in a molten state, pour it in an ingot and that’s it,” and later forge and finish it out, he explained. “With ESR you take that ingot and you remelt it again and all the slag and contaminants float to the top, and they’re skimmed off. What remains in the new ingot is a cleaner version of the original.”
Shabala added that two different grades of NSM stainless steels that had always been air melted will now be ESR melted.
NSM’s Role
People often misunderstand a company’s role in any endeavor, and Shabala said that seems to be the case with NSM.
“Larrin Thomas was concerned that people had the misconception that NSM is just a distributor, that we just got sheets from Crucible and resold them,” he observed. “He said we should emphasize the fact that we’re a lot more than a distributor, we’re a manufacturer, we buy slabs of steel, we process it into the final dimensions and ship it. Cutlery is a big part of what we do. We do a lot with the aerospace industry, so we know a lot about quality standards.”
NSM is 100 percent employee-owned, so all 41 employees in its mill in Akron, New York, just outside Buffalo, own a piece of the company.
“Everyone here has a vested interest in ensuring that we’re successful and doing everything we can to put out a good product,” Shabala said.
A last point of emphasis Bob made was that just because Crucible went out of business doesn’t mean NSM is going out of business—in fact, far from it.
“We’re very financially sound. We just put out a $7 million upgrade in our sheet mill, we’re rolling out finished product, it’s the biggest expansion we’ve ever done and we’re getting ready to expand our grinding and laser-cutting capability,” he noted. “We’re really, really in good shape.”
*Editor’s Note: For more on the particle metallurgy process, visit Knife Steel Nerd’s post on powder metallurgy.
Texas-based maker gives his take on the Randall Model 19.
It’s safe to say Adam Williams has had a lifelong love affair with Randall Made Knives.
“I’ve been drawn to Randall Made Knives and their designs since my grandmother gave me a copy of the 1973 edition of The Gun Digest Book of Knives and saw my first image of a Randall knife. I was around 11 or 12,” he wrote.
Little did this matriarch know where her gift was going to lead her grandson. Eventually, the Texas-based maker said he worked for the legendary company when a chance trip to Randall’s headquarters in Orlando, Florida, for a stock sale developed into a whole lot more.
“While there, I asked if they ever hired. They told me they were actually hiring right now and would need me to start within two weeks,” Williams related. “I rode back to Tampa and asked my now wife if she’d be open to moving to Orlando, and without hesitation, she said, ‘Let’s do it.’ I showed up for my first day at Randall Made Knives expecting to sweep floors. Instead, they handed me a piece of steel stamped Randall Made, Orlando, Florida and told me to start grinding. I couldn’t believe it.”
Given this history, it’s little surprise Williams finds Randall a wellspring of inspiration in his own creations. His 10.63-inch Silverado hunting knife is one such example. The blade style is modeled after the stout design of the Randall Model 19—also known as the Bushmaster.
Adam Williams
Williams gives the classic all-purpose design his own twist, forming the ample 6-inch blade from Baker Forge Raindrop copper go mai and outfitting it with an azure hunk of fossilized walrus ivory. He finishes it all off with a nickel silver guard and butt cap. Despite his familiarity with Randall’s design language, his Silverado presented challenges, particularly in venturing into new materials.
“This was my first time using Cu Mai, and thus my main challenge with this knife. It was also my first time using Gator Piss etch,” Williams said. “Jordan Berthelot of JB Blades provided plenty of tips regarding the etch. This coupled with multiple re-sanding, re-buffing and re-etching, I finally got the finish I was looking for on the blade.”
Rare materials, excellent execution and legendary inspiration—it’s likely Randall’s namesake, Bo, would have approved of Williams’ work.
Knifemakers From Around North America Came To Auburn, Maine For The 2022 New England Bladesmithing Symposium
The 12th annual New England Bladesmithing Symposium brought nearly 100 knifemakers and enthusiasts together for the first hammer-in since 2019.
The event ran from July 15-17 in Auburn, Maine at the New England School of Metalwork and featured classes and workshops galore. Throughout the weekend there was something to scratch any itch you may have had about knives.
Master Smith Lin Rhea presented a tutorial on how to make his dynamic X-Rhea knife. There were workshops on everything from how to build out your knifemaking business to forging recurves.
It was a brutally hot Saturday in the Pine Tree State, yet it didn’t dampen spirits, particularly for the main event– the Battle of the Bladesmiths. The 2-hour competition to pushed four makers to their limits, and drew the largest crowds and interest.
Learning From The Best
The classroom at the NESM is covered wall to wall with tools and other metalwork made by past students just like this.
During the afternoon I was able to drop into a few of the classes. The one I got the most out of was led by Master Smith Christoph Deringer.
Derringer class about the anatomy of the knife was a joy, particularly the care he gave answering questions. His wry sense of humor even out, like when he called flux a crutch pertaining to forge welds. In that particular case, he suggested simply listening to the metal and letting it guide you when you forge weld, no flux is needed.
He taught everyone a neat trick for adding patina to a blade, as well. The crux, you hang the knife above a piece of heated copper. Heating the copper causes it to emit gasses that rise up and patina the blade to an almost bronze color.
A Successful Weekend
It was a big weekend for the school, gathering makers from the Northeast, Eastern Canada, and even as far west as California. For NESM director Dereck Glaser, it was a successful weekend, particularly given the COVID-related lapse in the symposium the past few years.
“The school, in general, draws from around New England,” Glaser said. “I’m excited to see more Canadians here, to be honest. We can’t forget we have a whole other country on our border. I can’t be pulling students out of the Atlantic Ocean so Canada’s a really good option.”
It’s important for anyone with even a passing interest in knifemaking to visit their local school and learn. Not only can you save yourself toil and trouble, but supporting the broader community of makers helps it survive and thrive even in the lean times.
Journeyman smith Mace Vitale runs a workshop on handle shaping.
“It saves exponentially the number of years,” Glaser said. “Indebting yourself to a week and about $600 could potentially save you 3-5 years of trial and error on your own. The amount of compressed skill and support you get in 4-5 days of a course, answering those questions that’ll take 3-5 years to figure out on your own.”
Glaser said that even with the uncertain economy, he believes the future of the school and knifemaking is bright because the passion is boundless.
“The fiscal issues we’re having is making it rough. It’s 90+ percent an enthusiast kind of hobby and craft for most people,” Glaser said. “Where inflation and cost of living’s gone, everyone’s seeing a toll in the crafts. We’re even seeing it in the welding, which is an employment-based skill. But on a whole, I think the energy is still there. The love for it is greater than ever. A lot of people did a lot of things to better themselves in it through the pandemic, so I think coming out on the other end I think people are kind of stronger.”
The Passion For Knives
A nice bit of camraderie. Two of the battle contestants Leo Potter (in the hat) and Jeremy Yelle share a fun moment ahead of the contest.
As informative and enlightening as the classes were the attendee’s conversations. Everyone was excited, whether it was to learn from a particular smith, show off a piece they made, or for the battle at night, everyone was open and welcoming.
A Previous winner of the Battle of the Bladesmiths, Emiliano Carrillo (owner of Sun and Stars Forge), was particularly poetic in what he said about the process of making his own steel.
“When I started the smelt earlier in the day the sand runs through my fingers, and by the time the day’s done it’s a lump of material that can be turned into something,” the owner of Massachusetts-based Sun and Stars Forge said. “It goes from being this throwaway material to something that’s actually useful. I think that’s crazy. It really is alchemy to me. It’s addictive. You do it and it works and you do it again and again and it breaks your heart, and then you have some successes.”
The day ended with the battle. Four young smiths were tasked with turning a one-foot bar of 1084 into a complete knife in just two hours. You can read all about the contest here.
In total, the symposium was absolutely worth the trip and should be on your checklist if you’re a serious maker in the Northeast U.S. or Eastern Canada.
To learn more about the New England School of Metalwork, click here.
A larger show hall, more exhibitors, some of the world’s best makers and knives, entertaining seminars, awards and other sharp stuff beckon you to attend BLADE Show West Oct. 4-5 in the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A move to the Salt Palace’s exhibit hall No. 4 adds 15,000 square feet to this year’s show, and along with the added space come 30 more exhibitors to join the hundreds of knifemakers, bladesmiths, knife companies, knife suppliers and other knife professionals at the third annual rendition of the BLADE Show West held in Utah.
Among the top custom makers set to exhibit is an unbridled posse of South Texas Slipjoint Cartel members that includes BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bill Ruple, award-winning makers Luke Swenson, Enrique Pena and Tim Robertson and others. An all-star list of ABS bladesmiths features Bill Burke, Shane Taylor, Steven Koster, Seth Lopez, Shayne Carter and Trevor Morgan, to name a few. Other top award-winning makers include Johnny Stout, Princeton Wong, Mick Strider, Duane Dwyer, Evan Nicolaides, Mike Tyre, Jared Oeser and Brian Nadeau. There are many more.
2024 BLADE Show West Classes And Demos
Let The Pro Critique Your Knife
While the full seminar slate had not been set at press time, the popular Let the Pros Critique Your Knife session was set to return, with some of the leading custom maker show exhibitors expected to examine and critique knives made by assorted show attendees. As usual, it will be a limited-seating event and attendees can bring one knife only.
Select show attendees will have their knives examined by the world’s best custom makers in the popular “Let The Pros Critique Your Knife” seminar. Luke Swenson (right) inspects a patron’s knife at last year’s show. The makers participating in this year’s seminar were being assembled at press time. See the free BLADE Show West program at the show for more info.
Basecamp Essentials
Basecamp Essentials by Survival University will be a 30-to-45 minute demonstration designed to introduce essentials of wilderness living. “We will demo how to create various camp comforts such as benches, chairs, and other useful camp tools, using materials found in the natural environment,” a company spokesperson wrote. “This demo goes beyond the basics of survival, focusing on enhancing comfort and fostering a sense of community in the wilderness.”
West Coast Flipping Championships
Also set to return is the West Coast Flipping Championships hosted by Squid Industries. It will be the fifth annual version of the championships, with head-to-head/live balisong flipping matchups in an elimination/bracket-style competition. Awards and prizes will go to the top finishers. For the complete seminar schedule, see the free BLADE Show Program distributed at the show.
2024 BLADE Show West Awards
The show’s best custom and factory knives will be determined by a panel of judges assembled by the BLADE Show West staff. This year’s custom knife categories: Best in Show; Best Hunter; Best Kitchen Knife; Best Damascus; Best Slip Joint; Best Fixed Blade; Best Folder; Best M.A.C.K. (Machine Assisted Custom Knife); and Best of the Rest.
Winner of Best Fighter at BLADE Show 2024, bladesmith Seth Lopez will showcase his curvaceous creations. His recurve fighter boasts a compound-ground blade of a damascus of 1080 carbon and 15N20 carbon steels. Handle: desert ironwood burl. Overall length: 8.75 inches. (SharpByCoop image)
On the factory side, the award categories are Best American Made, Best Imported, Best EDC, Best Fixed Blade, Best Folder and Best in Show.
For the times and locations for the judging, signs and schedules will be prominently placed in and around the show hall. Also, see the free BLADE Show West Program distributed at the show for updates.
The winners will be announced and presented their awards in a special ceremony the Friday night of the show. See the free BLADE Show West Program for the time and venue.
2024 BLADE Show West Hidden Gems
The factory knife section is always a beehive of activity at BLADE Show West, and this year’s rendition promises more of the same. Leading exhibiting knife companies include CRKT; Emerson Knives, Inc.; Fox Knives; GiantMouse; Heretic; Hogue; Lionsteel; Pro-Tech; SOG; Spyderco; Squid Industries; McNees Knives; Suprlativ Knives; Tactile Knife Co.; TOPS Knives; WE Knife; White River Knife & Tool; and others. For the complete exhibitor list, visit bladeshowwest.com.
CRKT will host custom knifemaker/designer Richard Rogers and his wife Sally to answer questions about Richard’s latest CRKT designs. CRKT’s Doug Flagg (center) talks knives with Cutlery Shoppe’s Jeff Loffer (right) and two patrons at BLADE Show West 2023.
One of the hidden gems of the factory section is you never know who might show up, including custom makers who engage in collaborations with select companies. For example, the CRKT booth will feature award-winning custom knifemaker Richard Rogers, along with his wife Sally, to answer questions about Richard’s latest CRKT designs. Other CRKT maker/designers exhibiting at the show will be Eric Ochs, TJ Schwarz and Princeton Wong. Ochs will exhibit under Ochs Worx, Wong under Prince Customs and Schwarz under Schwarz Knives.
Danish knifemaker Jens Anso, along with fellow Danish maker Jesper Voxnaes the design team behind most if not all of GiantMouse knives, will be stationed at the GiantMouse booth. Knife designer Tony Sentmanat will be based at the WE Knives booth. WE maker/collaborators Ben Petersen and Zac Whitmore also will attend the show and may appear at the company’s booth at times.
While TOPS Knives won’t have any custom knifemaker designers on hand, it will have headman/head knife designer Leo Espinoza in attendance, as always. Case will continue showcasing its first Bill Ruple collaboration, and Bill will have a table at the show, too, so chances are he will make an appearance at the Case booth as well. There no doubt will be other company booths serving as the destination of custom makers/designers, custom makers in general, and more.
The story of a prototype Airman and a Marine pioneer.
Editor’s note: The author contacted BLADE® and asked if we would be interested in his story on a special Marine Corps knife and a special Marine to coincide with the semi-quincentennial of the United States Marine Corps. Needless to say, it was an easy decision on our part. Meanwhile, please join us in wishing a happy 250th birthday to the Corps and Marines everywhere.
The core values of honor, courage and commitment have defined the United States Marine Corps since its inception on Nov. 10, 1775. To remain an elite fighting force, the Marine Corps has adapted as the world has changed over the past 250 years, incorporating new technology and developing new doctrine.
One of the most significant transformations began with the birth of Marine Corps aviation in 1912. During World War II, Marine aviators played a vital role in the Pacific campaign, working closely with ground units to seize heavily defended island strongholds. As Gen. Keith B. McCutcheon, a pioneer of Marine aviation, later emphasized, “The Marine Corps is proud of the fact that it is a force of combined arms, and it jealously guards the integrity of its air-ground team.”
The mark and non-mark sides of a prototype Airman.
The evolution of air combat brought new challenges, challenges that extended even to the knives that aviators carried. One result was a collaboration between Marine aviators and BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Walter D. “Bo” Randall, who would redefine survival and combat knives with the now-iconic Randall Model 15. This article features one of Randall’s prototypes—a rugged, full-tang Airman’s Knife that was carried for more than 15 years by Gen. McCutcheon himself.
The Challenge
Marine aviators amassed extensive combat experience in World War II and Korea. By 1953, the Marine Corps recognized that the rigors of combat aviation demanded a new type of knife—one that was rugged, compact and versatile.
As documented by Randall historian Robert Gaddis, the Marine Corps Equipment Board assigned Lt. Col. H. Ross Jordan and Maj. Harold N. “Tex” Mehaffey to develop a survival and combat knife for Marine aviators. The knife had to be nearly indestructible—strong enough for an airman to pry, cut or smash his way out of a downed aircraft. At the same time, it had to be short enough to be worn in a cramped cockpit, and the sheath needed to allow the knife to be carried on the upper arm or lower leg.
Wearing his sheathed Randall Model 15 Airman on his left hip, United States Marine Corps Gen. Keith McCutcheon (center) is flanked by South Vietnamese Gen. Hoang Xuan Lam, Commander of I Corps, and USMC Gen. Edwin B. Wheeler (right), commanding general of the 1st Marine Division. (image of McCutcheon, Lam and Wheeler from somewhere near Da Nang, Vietnam, March 16, 1970)
After reading a December 1953 magazine article about Bo and his expertly crafted blades, Mehaffey and Jordan arranged to tour his knife shop in Orlando on Feb. 11-12, 1954. By the end of their fruitful discussion on February 12, Bo had arrived at the basic design of the Randall Airman’s Knife. He also planned a longer-bladed version for ground troops, a design that would become the Randall Attack. Thus, this meeting launched the line of full-tang Randall models that would expand and evolve over the coming years.
Bo moved rapidly to fabricate prototypes that embodied his innovative design. The 5.5-inch blade would be forged from quarter-inch-thick O1 tool steel, a material that had been proven in earlier Randall combat knives. To strengthen the tip, the blade would retain the full quarter-inch thickness nearly to the point. To strengthen the junction between blade and the handle, the tang would be 7/8-inch wide along the entire grip. An extended segment of the tang would have a hole for a wrist thong and provide a surface that could be used for hammering. A heavy double hilt would prevent a gloved hand from slipping forward onto the blade. The handle would be made from a single piece of Tenite plastic, shaped with finger grips and a channel to snugly fit the tang. Stainless steel bolts would secure the handle.
To complete the package, Randall designed a sheath that could be worn on a belt, attached to a harness, or tied to the lower leg or upper arm with leather laces. It featured a diagonal keeper and rivets at stress points. The Randall shop completed the prototypes of the Airman’s Knife and the longer Attack Knife by the end of February 1954—barely more than two weeks after the formative design discussion—and Clarence Moore readied the sheaths soon after.
Three-star Gen. Keith McCutcheon, February 1970
The innovative features of the new knife and sheath designs were memorialized on certified blueprints on March 4, 1954. Randall filed a patent application on Aug. 11, 1954, and the United States Patent Office granted patent 177,590 for the Randall Airman’s Knife on May 1, 1956.
Prototype Testing
With prototypes in hand, Randall travelled to Quantico, Virginia in mid-March 1954 to present the new full-tang knives to Mehaffey, Jordan and other USMC and U.S. Navy officers. The group enthusiastically recommended that the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics purchase 10 prototype Airman’s Knives for evaluation: five from quarter-inch stock according to the original design, and five lighter examples from 3/16-inch stock.
The requisition arrived in early April 1954 and the shop shipped the 10 prototypes in early May. The invoice listed the Airman’s Knife as the #14, but later that month Randall adopted the still-current model numbers: the Airman became the Model 15, and the longer version became the Model 14 Attack.
The Marine Corps Equipment Board received two of the prototypes, one of each blade thickness, and the remaining eight were sent to squadrons and other units for real-world testing. In late May, Mehaffey informed Bo that preliminary testing had begun.
One of the original Randall prototypes is featured in the accompanying photographs. Made from quarter-inch steel, as indicated by the inscription on the handle, the prototype closely follows Bo’s patented design, except the blade lacks the fuller shown in the drawing. As in the original design, the prototype’s handle is secured by three bolts; this feature sets the prototype apart from later production examples of the Model 15, in which only two bolts were used.
Leatherworker Clarence Moore made the sheath for the prototype Airman according to Bo Randall’s design. Moore made the sheaths for the earliest full-tang knives until Heiser took over production in 1955.
The handle is made from white Tenite, a material used only for a year or so before Randall adopted the more familiar green Tenite that was characteristic of production for nearly 10 years, until Randall Made replaced Tenite with Micarta® in the mid-1960s. The prototype’s hilt is nickel silver in contrast to the brass hilts seen on almost all Model 15s with Tenite handles. The sheath was made according to Bo’s design by master leatherworker Clarence Moore, who made sheaths for the earliest full-tang knives until Heiser took over production in 1955.
After more than 70 years, the knife and sheath are in outstanding condition—a testament to Randall’s craftsmanship and superb design.
Project Setbacks
Despite starting with such promise, the project faltered in the summer of 1954 when Mehaffey was transferred for duty in France and Jordan retired. The departure of the two enthusiastic advocates delayed testing and communications. The next official update was in December 1954, when Bo heard that testing had been underway for two months with positive feedback. In April 1955, the United States Air Force also ordered a group of Model 15s for evaluation. Bo wrote again to the USMC in June 1955 but heard nothing further from the Marines or the Air Force.
Although Randall was never officially informed of the results, author Frank Trzaska uncovered a September 1955 testing report in the USMC archives. The report was authored by USMC Maj. Norman W. Gourley, who had succeeded Mehaffey. Extensive testing of the Randall Airman prototypes showed that the quarter-inch-thick version (i.e., Bo’s original design) was “suitable for aviators’ survival use.”
SONY DSCAfter a fruitful meeting on Feb. 12, 1954 with USMC Maj. Harold N. “Tex” Mehaffey and Lt. Col. H. Ross Jordan, Bo Randall had arrived at the basic design of the Randall Airman’s Knife (top). Bo also planned a longer-bladed version for ground troops, a design that would become the Randall Model 14 Attack (one from 1955 is shown at bottom). The meeting launched the line of full-tang Randall models that would expand and evolve over the coming years.
The report, which pictures this story’s featured prototype, notes the high quality of the design, materials and workmanship of the Randall knife and sheath and concludes that it is acceptable for extreme survival tasks. The report also noted potential changes that would improve the knife further, such as the addition of saw teeth, a flat butt surface for hammering, and different handle configurations. Bo independently incorporated most of these features in various full-tang Randall models by the mid-1960s, and presumably he would have made the changes sooner if the request had ever been made.
While the tests of the Randall Airman were underway, the Navy adopted the Imperial Pilot Survival Knife for its aviators. Because the Marine Corps operates as part of the Department of the Navy, this surely complicated any attempt by the Marines to adopt a different design. The Randall Airman was never issued by the military, but Bo added the Model 14 Attack and the Model 15 Airman to the new Randall catalog printed in 1954, which showed prototypes of both models as “patent pending.” As envisioned by Bo and the Marine aviators who helped to shape the design, Randall’s full-tang combat and survival knives were embraced by many American servicemen who purchased them privately, especially during the Vietnam War.
Pioneer & His Prototype
One Marine who had a high opinion of the Randall Airman was aviation pioneer Keith B. McCutcheon, who as a colonel served as Chief, Air Section, Marine Corps Equipment Board from June 1954 to July 1957. After the Randall Airman tests concluded, McCutcheon carried the quarter-inch prototype for the rest of his career.
An attack helicopter warms up in the background as Gen. McCutcheon surveys the situation six miles southwest of Da Nang, March 17, 1970, his trusty Randall Model 15 Airman sheathed at his side. At left is Gen. Edwin B. Wheeler.
In January 1966, while commanding the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Da Nang, Vietnam, then-Brig. Gen. McCutcheon wrote that the Airman was a “wonderful knife” that he had carried for “10 or 11 years.” Photographs from 1970 show McCutcheon wearing the knife when he returned to Da Nang as a lieutenant general and commander of the III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF).
Commissioned as a Marine 2nd lieutenant in 1937, McCutcheon was a brilliant, courageous leader who transformed Marine aviation over the course of his illustrious 34-year career. Gen. Earl Anderson said McCutcheon “was one of the finest and most dedicated Marine officers [whose career] reads like a history of Marine Aviation. He earned his wings as an aviator in 1940 and served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.”
McCutcheon was instrumental in integrating helicopters into Marine operations, and has been called “the Father of Marine Helicopters.” But, as historian William Fails observed, that title does not capture McCutcheon’s central contributions to numerous other areas. He also advanced close air support doctrine and techniques, guided missile systems, and the AV-8 Harrier jump jet. McCutcheon was also an effective leader of ground operations, launching successful operations as commander of III MAF.
For his exemplary service over 34 years, McCutcheon received many of the nation’s highest military decorations, including three Distinguished Service Medals, the Silver Star Medal, three Legions of Merit with Combat “V,” the Distinguished Flying Cross, 10 Air Medals and others. He was appointed to become the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps but was unable to assume the post because of failing health. He retired as a four-star general on July 1, 1971, and passed away from an illness soon after.
Enduring Legacy
On the 250th birthday of the United States Marine Corps, it is fitting to honor the legacy of Gen. Keith B. McCutcheon, an extraordinary leader who helped shape the modern Marine Corps. McCutcheon’s prototype Randall Airman remains as a tangible link to his many accomplishments and to the connection between the Marine Corps and Randall Made Knives.
Sources
William R. Fails. 1978. “Marines and Helicopters 1962-1973.” History and Museums Division, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps. Robert L. Gaddis. 1993. “Randall Made Knives: The History of the Man and the Blades” Paladin Press. James Anthony Ginther, Jr. 1999. “Keith Barr McCutcheon: Integrating Aviation into the United States Marine Corps, 1937-1971.” Doctoral Dissertation, Texas Tech University. Norman W. Gourley. 1955. Marine Corps Equipment Board report A9-E-1039 on Project E-1039. Frank Trzaska. 2001. “Randall’s Model 15 & the U.S.M.C.” February 2001 Knife World.
The Paring knife is there when you need it most, from big tasks to small. Here are options for every type of user.
Paring knives may often get overlooked in the kitchen for their flashy big brothers—chef’s knives—but like EDCs, they’re there when you need them most and there’s one for every type of user.
TOPS Knives embraces the paring knife market in conjunction with its Dicer line of kitchen knives. “We noticed, in the process of wanting to design a kitchen knife, that there were some amazing U.S.-made custom kitchen knives, but there weren’t many high-quality domestically made production kitchen knives,” TOPS spokesperson Jeremiah Heffelfinger observed. “This was a void that we were more than happy to fill, especially with the plan for a full line of kitchen knives in the near future.”
The Dicer 3 has balance, a great blade steel—CPM S35VN stainless—ergonomics and looks.
A design contest between the staff of TOPS Knives in 2017 yielded the Dicer, an 8-inch chef’s knife. TOPS President Leo Espinoza designed a companion paring knife. The Dicer 3, released with the chef’s knife in 2019, that sports the same steel and handle material. The paring knife has become a popular offering as the company has filled out its culinary lineup, including bread and steak knives.
“The chef’s knife typically gets the majority of the attention, but for fine and detail tasks the paring knife can’t be beat,” the TOPS spokesperson advised. “It affords more control for tasks like peeling and trimming meat, fruit or vegetables.”
Heffelfinger said the Dicer 3 is a package that sports balance, a great steel, ergonomics and looks. When company officials designed the chef’s knife, they wanted it ground from CPM S35VN stainless steel, a material they carried over to the diminutive blade.
“We hadn’t seen many kitchen knives using S35VN and, having used the steel before on our Camp Creek hunting knife, we knew it would perform very well with great edge retention and durability,” he said. “Being a stainless steel, it is much less prone to corrosion and rust, making user maintenance just a little bit easier.”
The blade is flat ground to reduce friction in cuts, a .09-inch-thick steel that tapers to .032 inch near the tip, and sharpened to about 20 degrees to balance clean slices and durability when chopping, Heffelfinger added. It’s a blade described as a medium-to-heavy weight for a paring knife.
“We have a reputation for overbuilt hard-use tools that are able to hold up under extreme-use scenarios. We brought this philosophy with the full-tang design on every one of our Dicer line of knives,” he explained, “but we also wanted a classic feel and look for them, with a TOPS flair.”
He indicated knife enthusiasts have noticed that overbuilding and some have taken the blade far from the kitchen knife drawer.
“We have had a number of customers purchase the Dicer 3 to use as an EDC knife,” Heffelfinger said. “Due to the size of the blade, the S35VN stainless steel and smooth, contoured handles, they have attached a clip to the sheath and roll with it on their belt every day.”
Dicer 3 Specs Designer: Leo Espinoza Blade length: 3.5” Blade steel: CPM S35VN stainless Blade grind: Flat Blade thickness at its thickest: .09” Handle material: Black canvas Micarta® and Blue-black G-10 Handle thickness range: .1875 to .75” Weight: 4.7 ozs. Overall length: 7.88” Sheath: Black Kydex Country of origin: USA MSRP: $200
Case Household Cutlery 3-Inch Clip Point
Sometimes it is best not to change the paring knife beloved by cooks through the decades, designs that have seen food crazes come and go: Jell-O salads, fondue pots, casseroles and avocado toast. Enter Case Knives’ Case Household Cutlery 3-inch clip point paring knife.
Case has two paring knife blade styles: a spear and a clip point (shown here). “The clip-point version excels at chopping smaller food items because of its blade design and the blade edge, which mirrors the flat cutting surface when used correctly,” Case spokesperson Fred Feightner noted.
“We use classic walnut wooden handles that have been used in millions of kitchens over time,” said Fred Feightner, Case senior marketing communications manager. “We purposely wanted these new kitchen knives to look, feel and perform like the Case household knives of old, and we feel our current offerings do just that very well.”
Case debuted the knife in 2012 while reintroducing its household line—in part by demand from its fans and also as a way to expand its brand and possibly place the knives with retailers who emphasized kitchen supplies.
Consumer advocates insisted on a simple handle design: a straight .5-inch-thick wooden handle, Feightner said. For the blade, the company turned to its Tru-Sharp™ surgical steel—the Case version of 420HC stainless—sabre ground and polished to a satin finish to resist the corrosion that can occur working around food.
The company has two paring knife blade styles. While the spear point slices and dices with ease, Feightner confided, “The clip-point version excels at chopping smaller food items because of its blade design and the blade edge, which mirrors the flat cutting surface when used correctly.”
It’s a knife Feightner says, despite its size, can hold up to kitchen tasks most anywhere. As he noted, “We think our paring knives are perfectly weighted so that intricate work is as easy as tougher jobs around the kitchen and at the barbecue pit.”
Household Cutlery 3-inch Clip Point Paring Knife Specs Blade length: 3” Blade steel: Tru-Sharp™ Stainless Blade grind: Sabre Handle material: Walnut Handle thickness at its thickest: .5” Overall length: 6.75” Weight: 1.7 ozs. Country of origin: USA MSRP: $27.99
V Nives Emerald Paring Knife
Mike Vellekamp, owner and founder of V Nives, indicated his company has recently entered the world of kitchen knives, too. At his house, the 8-inch chef’s knife is most often used to prep food thrown in a wok or barbecued.
The green handle—an exclusive color for V Nives—of the Emerald Paring Knife is injection molded around the blade tang.
“However, for day-to-day utility in the kitchen, the paring knife is definitely a must have,” Vellekamp said, adding the genre of blade is “optimal for intricate cutting, mincing, slicing and dicing fruits and veggies, deveining prawns/shrimp, and cutting herbs.”
And what V Nives offers won’t be the type of model found moldering in grandma’s cutlery drawer: the angular and green-hued Emerald Paring Knife. Vellekamp said it’s an example of a modern, innovative kitchen implement.
“DiaFire actually developed the knife,” Vellekamp said. “We have a close relationship with the brand, and we are the exclusive distributor for the Americas. We chose their kitchen products because of their dedication to innovation and quality.”
The Taiwan-made blade is 1/16-inch thick and flat ground from 8Cr13MoV stainless steel. “This is a great blade steel because it holds an edge very well for its intended uses, it’s highly corrosion resistant and it’s very easy to resharpen,” Vellekamp noted.
The green handle—an exclusive color for V Nives—is injection molded around the blade tang, making an ergonomic handle that runs between .417 to .645 inch thick. It’s a grip Vellekamp calls tough and light. And while he and other knife enthusiasts will tell you it’s a terrible way to treat your most important tool in the kitchen, the handle can survive a trip through the dishwasher if the, er, less knife enlightened put it there.
“These knives are a perfect example of high value at an affordable price,” Mike said, “and I believe it is a perfect complement to the modern kitchen.”
Emerald Paring Knife Specs Blade length: 3.5” Blade steel: 8Cr13MoV stainless Blade grind: Flat Blade thickness at its thickest: .059” Handle material: Nylon and fiberglass injection molded Handle thickness range: .417 to .647” Weight: 4.25 ozs. Overall length: 8.15” Country of origin: Taiwan MSRP: $42
Bradford Knives Blue G-Wood Paring Knife
Brad Larkin of Bradford Knives said a wise knife collector once told him that any good chef’s knife needs a paring knife sidekick. As a result, he’s happy with the Washington state-based shop’s flagship paring knife.
Brad Larkin of Bradford Knives said the handle of the company’s Blue G-Wood Paring Knife is designed to be held in a surgical-like pinch grip. He indicated the result is a lightweight knife focused on fine cutting.
“It complements our chef’s knife so well and we do find that customers seem to enjoy a ‘set’ of kitchen knives as opposed to our EDC knives, which are very carefully built around specific daily uses,” Larkin explained. “In the kitchen you need to be ready for a quickly changing, dynamic environment, and our hope is that the paring and chef’s knives can accomplish these mission-critical chores.”
Over the years, Bradford has released different versions of its paring knife. Recently, the company issued a limited run of handles made from blue G-wood, a composite of G-10 and wood veneer. Stainless blade steel choices are edge-holding, corrosion-resistant AEB-L or tough M390.
Bradford, which is known more for its tactical and EDC models, returned to its culinary roots with the paring knife. The first edged tool it made was the Gatsby, a steak knife.
The company’s paring knife features thin blade geometry—just the way Bradford Knives prefers it. The .09-inch-thick blade has a distal taper. “Our process allows for a full flat grind. It does produce a very mild hollow-grind effect,” Larkin qualified, “but it is hardly worth mentioning.”
The handle is designed to be held in a surgical-like pinch grip. Larkin said the result is a lightweight knife focused on fine cutting, such as making fruit twists for cocktails, for instance, though it could be considered a medium-weight model compared to most paring knives.
“A paring knife can be the best for overall utility, especially considering our blade size is larger than the typical paring blade and it shares design elements with our chef’s knife,” he opined. “It’s a real slicer!”
Blue G-Wood Paring Knife Specs Blade length: 3.8” Blade steel: Choice of M390 or AEB-L stainless Blade grind: Full-height flat Blade thickness at its thickest: .09” Handle material: Blue G-wood Handle thickness range: .2 to .55” Weight: 1.8 ozs. Overall length: 7.5” Country of origin: USA MSRP: $129
