Knife collecting is an extremely rewarding experience for knife enthusiasts. There truly is a knife for everyone. Many increase or hold their value throughout the years, making collecting knives something to pass on to the next generation of knife collectors.
According to BLADE® subscriber surveys, one of the topics subscribers request BLADE cover most is steel—specifically, steel for knife blades. It is not much of a stretch, then, for the latest installment of “BLADE Quiz” to challenge your knowledge of the most popular of blade materials.
The answers are at the end of the story. Be sharp!
1) Damascus or a damascus type of steel has been traced as far back as: A) the 11th century A.D.; B) second century A.D.; C) 500 B.C.
2) Wootz steel is believed to have originated in: A) Damascus, Syria; B) Indian and/or Sri Lanka; C) Japan.
3) A Swedish steel with 2 percent nickel is known as A) Sandvik 12C27; B) Damasteel damascus; C) 15N20.
4) According to most authorities, for a steel to be stainless, it must contain what percentage range of chromium? A) 11.5 to 12; B) 12.5 to 13; C) 13 to 13.5.
5) The Japanese word for “blade steel” is: A) ha-gane; B) hada; C) ha-machi.
7) A material that is dissolved in another metal in a solid solution or that results when two or more elements combine in a solid solution A) is ductile; B) has been sintered; C) is an alloy.
8) The measure of a steel’s resistance to deformation is its A) wear resistance; B) toughness; C) hardness.
9) Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Bill Moran introduced damascus steel to modern custom knives at the Knifemakers’ Guild Show held in A) 1972; B) 1973; C) 1974.
10) At the aforementioned Guild Show, Moran’s knives fetched how many dollars per blade inch of damascus? A) $50; B) $100; C) $150.
11) The relative resistance of a steel to breakage, chipping, or cracking under impact or stress is its A) toughness; B) hardness; C) wear resistance.
12) The Crucible Particle Metallurgy steel originally called CPM 440V is now called: A) CPM M4; B) CPM S90V; C) CPM S60V.
13) To harden to the 60 HRC level during heat treating, a steel must have at least what percentage of carbon? A) 0.5; B) 0.75; C) 0.90.
14) The first CPM steel created exclusively for knife use was: A) CPM S30V; B) CPM 440V; C) CPM 3V.
15) If the first symbol of a steel’s designation is a letter and the second symbol is a number, it is probably a: A) high-carbon steel; B) tool steel; C) high-speed steel.
16) The point at which a steel becomes permanently deformed is its: A) yield strength; B) tensile strength; C) impact strength.
17) Tool steel contains a number of different elements that combine with the steel’s excess carbon to form A) ferrite; B) austenite; C) carbides.
18) In order to cool fast enough, low-alloy steels such as O1 must be quenched in A) oil; B) water; C) a mixture of both A and B.
19) Steel handmade from electrolytic sponge iron and antique wrought iron is called A) tamahagane; B) bulat; C) oroshigane.
20) The carbon steel D.E. Henry claims to have used for knives in the 1940s and that BLADE® field editor Ed Fowler is known best for today is: A) 52100; B) 5160; C) 1084.
Answers: 1) C; 2) B; 3) C; 4) B; 5) A; 6) B; 7) C; 8) C; 9) B; 10) B; 11) A; 12) C; 13) A; 14) A; 15) B; 16) A; 17) C; 18) A; 19) C; and 20) A. Scoring: 0-3—You’re rusty. 4-7—You just went from Man of Steel to Man of La Mancha. 8-12—Come back when you can say molybdenum without chipping a tooth. 13-17—You are starting to become abrasion resistant. 18-19—Wayne Goddard just looked over his shoulder at you. 20—Your initials have officially been changed to HRC (hardness Rockwell C).
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The author’s system is designed to help you accurately price custom knives.
After I wrote a recent BLADE® article on custom knife pricing, editor Steve Shackleford suggested I write a follow-up on the system I use to price custom knives—Robertson’s Maker Market Matrix or RM3. I wrote it to provide a basic guide for each collector or maker on how to do their own pricing. You can find many examples of weighted score tables with a quick Internet search.
A collection or business is a very individual thing. The research required to create a successful Matrix for either one depends on the individual doing it. Let’s dive in.
Market Position
A maker’s position in a market is not always apparent. While in graduate school, I wrote a paper on the impact of pricing and how it can apply to products. As a custom knife dealer, I was looking for a business advantage. I applied the findings in my paper to my business.
I opened my copy of KNIVES ’92 and, using a weighted score table, started to compare makers I found in the book’s index. Initially, I placed the knives in recognized categories, for example, hunters, fighters, bowies, tactical folders, etc. I wanted to compare similar knives/apples to apples. Each category had several hundred entrants.
My goal was to create a top-third, middle-third and bottom-third strata. This is where the weighted aspect of the table comes in. I developed essential criteria, such as quality of work, demand in the primary market, demand in the aftermarket, materials used, delivery time, awards and other gauges. Once I established the criteria, I gave each criterion an importance weight.
Maker: Steve Randall Model: Feather Damascus Fighter Blade Length: 8” Overall Length: 14” Blade Steel: Feather Pattern Damascus Guard Material: Feather Pattern Damascus Handle Material: Ancient Walrus Ivory Author’s Comments: “Steve is the quintessential ABS master smith. He is versatile, inquisitive, loves a challenge and always strives for perfection in every aspect of his knifemaking.” (Robertson’s Custom Cutlery image)
After the Matrix determined the maker’s position in the strata, the ultimate goal of the RM3 took shape in determining which makers’ prices accurately reflected their position in a particular market sector. My research showed that hundreds of makers’ prices were above their position in the market. In other words, many of these makers who were in the second strata were asking first-strata prices. The same was true for third-strata makers asking second-strata prices. The main reason for this is that the makers asked their knifemaking friends to price their knives.
Knifemakers are not knife buyers and, as such, generally do not have a real sense of what knives should sell for. This is especially true if they don’t know their market position. Additionally, asking your competitors/fellow makers to price your knives is not a recommended business strategy.
Among other things, one aspect of the RM3 I was surprised to find is that it identified makers who offered value pricing. At first glance, many people mistakenly think this means the least expensive price. Instead, given the maker’s position in the market, a value price provides the buyer value regardless of the price tag. The makers who came to my attention were those pricing their knives commensurate with the pricing in lower strata, e.g., a first-strata maker asking for a second-strata price.
Blade Game
When knife shows or knife sales are slow, the blame game begins. The reasons for the slowdowns usually center around the show promoter not doing the job. The economy is a favorite reason, along with the weather, lighting and position in the room. A maker once told me his sales were slow because he was facing a wall. Note that we were in a square room; everyone was facing a wall. What seldom, if ever, is brought up as a reason for slow sales is the maker’s prices.
Maker: Jimmy Lile Model: 20th Anniversary SLY II Fighter Blade Length: 6” Overall Length: 10.5” Blade Steel: 440C stainless Blade Finish: Bead blast Guard Material: Stainless steel Handle Material: Aluminum tube w/cord wrapping Author’s comments: “A BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member, Jimmy did more to introduce the knife world to the tactical fixed blade than any other custom knifemaker. This young infantry lieutenant saw a Rambo movie and it changed my world.” (Robertson’s Custom Cutlery image)
Very few people will tell makers their prices are too high, as makers can be touchy about their pricing. At the same time, few makers ask collectors or buyers what they think of their knives. This interaction is a prime opportunity for a maker to work on his or her Matrix. Further, this is an opportunity to educate the collector on why the maker’s knives are priced the way they are, and to give the collector a chance to work on his or her Matrix.
I cannot overstate how vital this flow of information is for both the maker and the collector. For the past 30+ years, at every show I have attended I have heard, “Les, come and look at my knives and tell me what you think.” I have the utmost respect for the makers who ask me to do that. It can be daunting for a maker to ask someone to critique the maker’s knives and prices. A quick “good job” may be nice for the maker’s ego, but a critical examination of the work and pricing will ultimately improve the maker’s knives and bottom line.
Hype Cycle
The Hype Cycle occurs when a custom knife market sector takes center stage. In 1988, interframe folders were all the rage—many sold for over $10,000 each. In 2001, I bought one of the same knives for $600 at an auction. The original sale price was $14,000. What happened? Answer: the Hype Cycle. The hype drove up the prices, and when the hype went away, the prices crashed. The Hype Cycle is a Matrix killer as prices become skewed to the point that they are unsustainable.
Whether you’re a collector or a maker, the Matrix can benefit you. Identifying the maker’s position in the market aids in an appropriate price, thus increasing sales for the maker. At the same time, it gives the collector a chance to sell or trade a knife at a fair price in the aftermarket, as it is in the aftermarket where collectors pay to go to school.
Custom knife markets are small cycles inside of larger cycles. New criteria will always enter a Matrix. Consequently, both makers and collectors must be sensitive to the ever-changing markets. Retirements, new materials, awards, bad reviews and other factors can all impact pricing.
R&T
Reading this, some may think the RM3 is a quick and easy solution for pricing knives. I assure you, it is not. The amount of research and time you put into your Matrix will directly affect your ability as a collector or as a maker to identify the maker’s position in his or her market. It also will give valuable insight as to whether the maker is offering value pricing. Makers will gain useful knowledge on how to price their knives correctly for their position in the market, helping them eliminate the blame game.
Maker: David Broadwell Model: MLR Sub-Hilt Fighter Blade Length: 8” Overall Length: 14” Blade Steel: Wolf’s Tooth Pattern Damascus Guard, Sub-Hilt and Pommel Material: Wolf’s Tooth Pattern Damascus Handle Material: Ancient Walrus Ivory Author’s Comments: “Dave has been making some of the finest sub-hilt fighters for over 40 years. His knives are the epitome of the 4 F’s; Fit, Finish, Form and Function.” (Robertson’s Custom Cutlery image)
More On the Robertson Matrix
How do you give what you call an “importance weight” to each criterion in a Matrix? What makes specific criteria more important than others? ROBERTSON: One criterion that has moved up my list and now carries more weight is customer service. We deal in so much poor customer service in our everyday lives. We don’t need this in our hobby. I am still amazed at the number of clients who tell me they have emailed or called a maker, often several times, with no response. Everyone is busy but it takes literally 60 seconds to respond to an email acknowledging receipt and indicating a response will be forthcoming asap. Those makers who don’t respond in a timely manner are telling you it is about them and not you. If they are making it difficult for you to give them your money, don’t.
What makes the ratings for your criteria change? ROBERTSON: Actually, it is the ratings of knife organizations that have caused me to change the weight the ratings carry in my criteria. When I first started in custom knives, to be a Knifemakers’ Guild voting member carried a lot of weight in the knifemaking community. Today the Guild is more of a club, though still a good idea that provides insight and help for makers. For me, at least, if a maker tells me he or she is a Guild voting member, that mostly tells me the maker is serious and has shown improvement in his or her knifemaking skills over the years, but it does not carry the weight in my criteria it once did.
How often do you update the ratings, and why? ROBERTSON: The custom knife market is never static and is always evolving. This evolution demands that weight associated with each criterion evolve as well. The weight I associate with a particular maker changes with the maker’s ability to incorporate the changes the collectors want, be it materials or design elements.
How often do you change the criteria themselves, and why? LES ROBERTSON: I’m generally one-to-two years ahead of where a market sector that interests me is going. Given this extended lead time, I often have to account for new information and tweaking of the weight within a particular criterion or the criterion itself. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of this is to not put too much weight into a criterion due to my personal biases. In other words, just because a particular style of knife is my favorite does not mean the majority of other collectors feel the same way. I try to take my feelings out of the equation and I am not always successful. The Matrix is not an exact science.
Sandra Brady of the Elephant Protection Association urges citizens of Washington state to fight against a new anti-ivory initiative.
A ban-all-ivory law supported by billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and other 1 percenters is on the ballot in Washington state and will succeed unless you help stop it NOW!
The measure, I-1401, would ban not only elephant ivory but also the ivory of mastodon, mammoth and other extinct species.
Sandra Brady of the Elephant Protection Association said help is needed at the grassroots level to defeat the measure supported by rich billionaires such as Allen and other non-governmental organizations, which have raised more than $2.7 million—including $1.7 million from Allen—in an effort to pass it in the state legislature.
“It really is a David versus Goliath situation,” she observed of the fight against the 1 percenters who are supporting I-1401. She urged those who oppose the bill to write their local newspapers and use social media to voice their opposition. “On the upside we are having an impact,” she said of the grassroots effort. “On the down side, the more states that pass such ridiculous measures, the more likely other states will follow suit. This is why your help to defeat this in Washington state is so important.
“Write letters to the editors of the state’s newspapers, use your voice on Facebook and other social media. Help us get the word out that I-1401 is a bad law and should be voted down.”
A small organization, the Legal Ivory Rights Coalition Committee (LIRCC), is fighting against Allen and the other fat cats who are supporting I-1401. However, the LIRCC has no budget and relies on people contacting newspapers and working social media to spread the word. The good news is that editorial pages across Washington state are calling I-1401 misguided. While acknowledging the noble goal of preserving elephants, many editorial pages recognize the futility of a state law designed to stop crime in Africa and Asia. It would punish the state’s citizenry without stopping poachers. They also recognize the redundancy with existing federal laws that prohibit import of ivory and other endangered species, together with the unnecessary burden it would place on the state’s fish and wildlife officers.
Recommended:
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To mark the special military issue of BLADE on newsstands now, here are my picks for four of the best military knives of all time. For the full list, be sure to pick up the December 2012 issue, or watch your mailbox if you’re a subscriber.
BLADE salutes all who serve, as well as the heroes who made a difference 11 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001.
U.S.N. Mark 2/U.S.M.C. Fighting-Utility Knife
Known by many simply as a “Ka-Bar” or, generically, “kabar,” it was made not only by Union Cutlery/KA-BAR but also, among others, Pal, Case, Camillus, Utica, Conetta and Robeson Shuredge during World War II.
To me, it is the quintessential military knife of all time. The iconic picture of it on the hip of the U.S. Marine on the black sands of Iwo Jima tells it all. It was there and so were the Marines. The only thing missing is Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison.
Though I cannot imagine having to insert four fingers into such a knife and using it—the possibility of breaking my fingers if the blade were somehow stuck into something and/or wrenched away awkwardly is too likely for my tastes—I love the knife’s looks. It reeks of Doughboys, Over There and Jimmy Cagney’s The Fighting 69th.
Randall Model #1-8 with Leather Handle
Though the leather reportedly did not hold up well later in the jungles of Vietnam, the stacked-leather-grip Randall Model #1-8 has some of the most beautiful lines of any knife ever made.
The thin, slightly dropped handle, double guard and narrow tang opening into a magnificently ground clip-point blade does it for me in aces.
Case V42
Classic Skull Crusher, cylindrical/swell-center handle, double guard, dagger blade and the clincher, the thumbprint indentation with grooved lines on the ricasso, alone would guarantee the V42 a place in my pantheon of military knives, but the fact it was tailor made for the First Special Service Force of World War II, the forerunner to today’s U.S. Special Forces, steps its already impressive bona fides up yet another notch.
The Browning Black Label Decoded assisted opening knife sits somewhere between an EDC and a tactical. (Browning photo)
A Workhorse EDC Knife
Generally speaking I am not a fan of tanto blades. In the case of the Browning Black Label Decoded Assisted Open, however, I like the blade design quite well.
Its squared-off tip made for a perfect cutting edge on rope and rubber tubing, and made my work easier. If I had to cut rope or tubing all day, this would be my knife of choice. The modified tanto blade worked equally well on other materials.
The handle is contoured and reasonably comfortable, though the edges could do with some rounding. The grip is a tad heavy but nothing most folks would notice. The clip was very strong and positioned the tip-down blade for an easy, natural grip.
Testing the Browning Black Label Decoded.
The Verdict
It’s a handy-sized assisted opening knife that does pretty much everything I would need it to do.
Taking great photographs of knives is no easy task—unless you’re a professional, in which case you can stop reading. Essentially, you’re taking a highly detailed shot of something that fills the entire frame, not something small like a bee in the center of a background of blurred petals, but a long, thin item that needs to be in focus from point to butt. But there’s so much more. Every line must be fully revealed and a depth established to convey thickness or thinness. I know close to zero about the mechanics of the art. There are plenty of videos and online courses out there that’ll give you the science of the “study of light.” They can speak to you of aperture, ISO and shutter speed in infinite combinations. All I know is a good photo when I see one, and how I have tried to improve my own photography. Here are the 6 things BLADE looks for in a knife photo. It’ll be up to you to make it happen. Why? Because there are “5 Ways To Get Your Knives Featured In BLADE” and you want to be ready.
Dan Eastland of Dogwood Custom Knives used professional photographer Chuck Ward to take this exquisite image of his Hawkins knife. Chuck will be the official photographer at the 2017 BLADE Show. Contact www.dogwoodcustomknives.com for more about this outdoorsman’s knife.
Hire A Professional
Knife manufacturers, like good real estate agents, know that great photos will close a sale. They understand that the investment in a professional photographer pays off. When BLADE asks for a photo of their latest release, for example, some even allow high-resolution downloads right from the consumer website without having to go through a media relations person. That can be a time-saver at deadline. I’ve even experienced a large company resubmitting photos with even better ones. There’s nothing that says a one-man-show can’t learn from that level of perfectionism. It’s the same effort you put into crafting your knives.
Hiring a professional photographer will cost you some money, and it’s worth every penny. But like all professionals, some are more versed in what we’re trying to accomplish than others. A portraitist, wedding photographer or photojournalist may or may not be able to give you the results you’re looking for. You want to make sure you chose someone who can show you a portfolio of knives, guns, tools or similar items that looks…well…perfect.
The handle on Tim Tracey’s everyday performer doesn’t stand out as much as it could against the similarly colored background. The caramel color ends up saturating everything in the photo. Also, although the focus on the blade is crisp, the topline on the handle is a touch soft.
Tim Tracey took his knife outside and got not only a good image of the blade and handle, but good contrast and a better depiction of the piece’s fullness. The recurved blade is made of 1095 steel and sports exhibition grade curly maple scales. Makers list price: $220. Contact [email protected], Timtraceyknives.com on Facebook or @TimmTracey on Instagram.
You will want two kinds of photos. Photos for your website and social media will create an emotion, an atmosphere. Instagram is full of examples of survival, bushcrafting and hunting knives being photographed outdoors and tactical knives being shot in gritty workshops or light-painted in darkness. Makers create everyday carry still lifes with folders, wallets and watches. Typical? Sure, but each one tells a story that has been told a thousand times before in a slightly different way. Nobody reads just one novel, and nobody looks at just one knife photo. They are all beautiful in their own way. The other kind of photos you will need are those of just the knife itself on a simple background, what is often referred to as glamour or beauty shot.
The question you have to ask yourself is: Are you willing to put as much study and effort into your photography as you are your knifemaking? Answer honestly. There’s no shame in shelling out cash for stunning work. Fill your website with those choice images and have them on hand for BLADE, and then you can practice your own photography skills for social media. Even on social media, though, take the time to post only your best images. Plenty of knife-related Facebook Groups out there are looking for banner photography and have to reject knifes they’d like to showcase because the image is, say, out of focus.
Although this image clearly shows the blade on this skinner by Bobby Toerck, the multicolored handle gets lost in the textured bark.
In this image, the handle on Bobby Toerck’s drop-point skinner is nicely contrasted against the still-textured, but now single-colored burlap. And the 80CrV2 blade still looks terrific. The handle is triple-dyed box elder burl by Terry Dunn. Maker’s list price: $175 with Kydex sheath. Contact T4 Custom Knives on Facebook or call 903-812-1173.
Do-It-Yourself
Let’s say you can’t justify the expenditure at this point in your knifemaking journey. Or, more likely, by the very nature of your interest in crafting, you’re determined to take quality photos of your knives yourself. You think, How hard can it be? Very. It can be very challenging to produce the kind of photos needed for a glossy magazine.
“Real” Camera Vs. Camera Phone
You can take the cost of a few sessions with a photographer and buy yourself a decent camera, for starters. Keep in mind, however, that lenses that come with a camera are usually not very good. Be prepared to buy a decent mid-range lens at a minimum.
In this vertical image of a horizontal knife, the butt is cut off. There is also glare on the handle and the blade looks dull. Will Thompson decided to get some help for the reshoot.
Even though Will Thompson’s handle has to work to stand out against the tree bark, it succeeds. The pattern is now discernible and the blade looks great. This drop-point finger skinner is made of 1095 steel and the Plantstone (stabilized pine branches with aluminum flakes) scales are from Robert Belcher. Maker’s list price: $75. Contact [email protected] or on Facebook at Dusty’s Cutlery.
Then again, there are some excellent photos being taken with newer camera phones. Do NOT attempt this with an older model. You will only frustrate us both because they do not allow for high enough resolution of the images. Be sure if you submit a photo from your phone that you email it at its largest size. If there are settings on your phone that need to be changed to allow for taking photos at higher resolution, then you’ll need to set those accordingly. Those settings will apply only to photos you take going forward; you cannot retroactively apply them to photos already taken. Whether you use your phone or a “real” camera, the same fundamentals of photography apply.
Tip: If you smoke or if you have your phone in your shop, there could be resin or dust on your lens. You’ll want to clean that—gently—before you begin.
Be sure to take great photos of all your work before they are sold, and to back them up, either in the cloud, through an online backup service or on a thumb-drive.
6 Things BLADE Looks For In A Knife Photo
Focus
The entire knife must be in focus, from point to butt. Are there some artsy shots of crystal clear blades and blurred handles or vice versa? Sure, but that’s not what we’re looking for in print. Online, we’re more open to considering some of those shots, provided we have some conventional full-focus shots to accompany the story as well.
If you are taking what we call a “using” shot where you’re photographing the knife in use for an online story or if we are working on a story together for print, be aware of where your camera is focusing. I have seen crystal clear shots of a leaves on the ground while the knife and the hand it’s in are both blurry. Focus is probably the single most important aspect of a good photo.
Contrast
Be aware of the color of your background. A grey knife on gray pavement, a black knife on a blackened tree stump, camouflage your knife. It’s like a silver or gray car against gray pavement on a gray winter day—you can’t see it. No contrast. This applies to multicolored handles against multicolored backgrounds as well.
In this image of Andrew Griggs’ knife, the blade looks dull and the focus on the handle is somewhat soft. Also, if this image were being used for a BLADE Magazine section that required a cutaway, the prop would be in the way of the blade.
Andrew Griggs got outside to reshoot his knife. Now you can see the pattern-welded steel! The Southern Comfort gentleman’s fixed blade has a Vintage Paper Micarta handle. Maker’s list price: $300 with leather sheath. Contact Griggs Knives on Facebook.
Composition
For two of BLADE’s sections, “What’s New” and “Knifemaker Showcase,” only cutaway images of the knife are used. (See the “5 Ways To Get Your Knives Featured In BLADE.”) This means that you don’t need to worry about the background at all. In fact, white paper is fine, but watch for any shadows. It’s fine to have a slight shadow, provided the lines of the knife are clearly visible. If the edge or spine of your knife bleeds into the shadow to the point where you can’t tell where the knife starts and the shadow ends, that’ll need to be reshot. Our designers need to able to see those lines.
Mood images are fine for both a feature in print and for online stories. Feel free to get as creative as you want, but ensure that the knife is the main attraction. Photographing knives is one of those times when the rule of thirds really isn’t applicable. The knife is the main attraction and we’re not going for proportional sharing with a background. If the image you’re submitting for consideration is for a section of the magazine that uses cutaways and there’s moss or grass, fabric or fur encroaching on the blade itself, that’ll impede the designers in their work.
Make sure no part of the knife is cut off, and don’t crowd the point or butt. If you place the knife in a stand and that stand encroaches on the knife, it can’t be used for a cutaway, but it could possibly still be used for an online story or in print.
Devin Bliss has taken a very good photograph here. However, there is shadow at the handle, which would make it challenging for the designers to see where to make the cutaway image for inclusion in say, BLADE’s “What’s New” or “Knifemaker Showcase” sections.
In Devin Bliss’s second attempt, the handle is more visible, but looks less rich in the harsher lighting. The inclusion of the pinecones makes a nice vignette without encroaching on any line of the knife, so it could still be used for a cutaway or as is. As a side note: Artists will tell you that the eye finds odd numbers more pleasing. I did not tell Devin that. I simply told him the truth: He had surpassed my level of being able to offer suggestions for improvement. He contacted another knifemaker for guidance.
At this point, knifemaker Devin Bliss has reached a level of photography that serves his knives well. What did he do? “I changed the direction, propped up the handle onto the antler, moved the lighting around and used a foil reflector to get…a bit more light on the handle and a white reflector to mask off some glare on the blade and bolster.” This modified pronghorn is made of CTS-XHP steel with a curly koa handle. Maker’s list price $300 with stamped leather sheath. Contact [email protected], 903-736-3052 or on Facebook at DB Custom Knives.
Depth and Angles
In layman’s terms, you need to ensure your knives don’t look flat. You’re trying to capture something that’s three-dimensional in a two-dimensional medium. This is where some knives can look disproportionate because you’re focusing on the handle and the blade is in the fuzzy background, so to speak. A shallow depth of field is fine as long as your knife is standing out crisply from point to butt.
Finding the right angle will also help prevent your knife from looking flat. Prop up your knife somehow. Even just leaning it against a pebble allows you to move and capture the thickness or thinness of the piece. Laying it on your hand can work as long as your flesh doesn’t obstruct any of the knife’s lines.
Tip: Take dozens of photos from many different angles and distances and pick the best one of the bunch. If you don’t nail it, don’t compromise, don’t settle, get back there and take dozens more. Pros will take hundreds of impressions to deliver 30. Seriously. Take more shots. No, more. Get a ladder and shoot down, circle your quarry and shoot multiple shots from each hour of the clock, and get down and shoot at eye level. Shoot at morning, noon and night, but mostly late afternoon, to see how different types of sunlight affect your knife images. It’s what the pros did when they were starting out. Now, after years of experience, they can judge the sun’s angle and know how to get what they need.
Charles Hawkins has a hard time taking a bad photo, but he pulled out all the stops on this one. That is a stovetop background, complete with streaks and a red glow. The glare on the handle deadens the handle and the pattern in the steel also appears dull. Note the photographer’s hands reflected on the cooktop. Analyze the entire photograph closely.
Charles Hawkins took his knife outdoors, and now the focus is as sharp as can be. The background adds interest while still allowing for plenty of contrast. The 3.5-inch blade is made of pattern-welded steel from Alabama Damascus Steel. The handle is ironwood. Maker’s list price: $300. Contact www.hawkcustomknives.com.
Lighting
Natural light is easiest for the amateur to master. A cloudy day is good to reduce blade glare but sometimes it will dull colors. Try a sunny day, but shoot in the shade. Avoid glare on either the handle or the blade whether you’re shooting indoors or out. You also don’t want dappled light coming through the leaves of a tree to interfere with the hamon, for example, so try to find a solid overhang. You also don’t want reflection to make your blade look different than it is in reality.
Indoor lighting is infinitely more challenging. Low light, fluorescent light, light-painting in a dark room—they all have the potential to become “noisy,” grainy, soft. I will leave it to the articles and videos you’re going to pour over to explain why, but trust me, it’s not easy. Sometimes, in light-painting for example, the pins might absorb all the light and they take over the picture. Or the handle’s too dark, or the handle’s visible, but the blade looks dull. Changing the countless variables on this project will help you get the right shot out of your many attempts. It can help to take notes so you know what you’ve tried and whether or not it worked.
Avoid using the flash inside your camera. It will only give you an overlit image that makes your work look flat. An external flash, shot off a wall or ceiling or even a white T-shirt, or an extra light diffused with a white paper bag, may help, but now your knifemaking shop has turned into a spaceship and you’re behind in your orders.
Specs
Images need to be 300 dpi for print with the photo at least 8 inches on the longest side, preferably 10. The image size should be at the very least 600 KB. It’s not that we’ll run it that large, but we need to have the option to do so, especially if we’re doing a cutaway and the knife doesn’t fill the frame.
We prefer .jpg format, and that you attach the image file rather than dragging it into the email. Sometimes that can make a difference in resolution quality, though it admittedly shouldn’t. Also, for similar reasons, submit originals and not versions scraped from Facebook or other social media platform, even for online stories.
Remember, it’s all about the knife here at BLADE. Oh, and makers and manufacturers, too. But without a fantastic photo of a knife as a starting point, how are we ever going to get to know you better?
“101 Knife Designs” is not only filled with great comparisons of blade designs and design theory, but offers terrific examples of exceptional knife photography by Hiro Soga.
Knifemakers of all skill levels will enjoy comparing knife designs in this book by Murray Carter. The photographs by Hiro Soga are exquisite! There is even a discussion on the theory of knife design to help you better understand your craft. Save 35 percent off the cover cost of $29.99 for a total of $19.99.
The Harpoon designed by Jerry Hossom is new from Outdoor Edge.
The factory knife industry is always evolving and the evolution of change exhibited by the latest and greatest sharp stuff at the 2015 Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas was a case in point.
Automatics appeared in increasing numbers, both by companies known for them, such as Pro-Tech and Benchmade (CLA or Composite Lite Auto), and those not known for them as much, including Buck (Impact), Kershaw (Launch 1, 2 and 3), Hogue (EX-AO1, AO3 and AO2) and Timberline (18-Delta). Machetes were in abundance, including those by Outdoor Edge (Brush Demon), CRKT (Mah-Chete designed by Liong Mah), Timberline (Machete Survival System), Condor (Duku and Mini Duku) and the CHOP slated for a BLADE Show debut by DPx Gear. More in big fixed blades included a bolo (Jungle Bolo) and a bowie knife (Jungle Clip-Point) from Benchmade, the Camp 12 by Kershaw, a Steel Will bowie and also tactical fixed blades, the latter including a stretched-out-and flatter version of the Jerry Fisk Sendero in CPM S30V from White River, and Canal Street Cutlery’s Green River Tactical Knives in D2 tool steel with handle slabs by VZ Grips and model numbers based on special dates/battles of the Iraq and Persian Gulf Wars.
Also proliferating were models in a tomahawk, hatchet or hatchet configuration from 5.11 Tactical, Hogue, Spyderco (Szabohawk), Kershaw (Tinder), SOG Specialty Knives & Tools (Survival Hawk), Timberline (Tomahawk CBT/Combat Breaching Tool) and Puma (Tomahawk XP and Packable Hatchet). A design collaboration with Allen Elishewitz, the Hogue model is especially noteworthy with hammer poll and spike attachments to make it two hawks in one.
The new Chef’s Choice Hybrid AngleSelect from Edgecraft combines electrice and manual sharpening stages and is desgined for sharpening traditional European/American at a 20° angle and Asian style knives at a 15° angle.
Knives designed by or dedicated to military heroes were highlighted by a Case V-42 based on vintage drawings of the original model made for World War II’s First Special Service Force, the father of today’s spec ops units, with two surviving FSSF members—93-year-old Eugene Gutierrez and Del Stonehouse, 90—on hand at the Case booth to visit with show attendees. Buck offered the 245 Matt Would Go Knife designed by Navy SEAL Matthew J. Leathers, who was lost at sea during open ocean training exercises in 2013. Camillus featured new tactical fixed-blade designs by retired Green Beret Grady Powell and retired Navy SEAL Jared Ogden of National Geographic TV’s Ultimate Survival Alaska. (Editor’s note: All of the preceding military knives will be featured in special stories in an upcoming BLADE®.)
Other knives with a celebrity influence include new Kutmaster fixed blades inspired by the Pigman TV series. Condor premiered the Primitive Bush Knife used by survivalist Matt Graham on the Discovery Channel’s Dual Survival reality show.
It’s not a knife event without new tactical folders. Emerson Knives, Inc., debuted four entries—the Sheepdog, Iron Dragon, Hattin and Combat Systems Fighter—and Kershaw a larger version of its most popular Emerson collaboration, the CQC-4KXL. Coast Cutlery presented three smooth-opening, economical tactical folders (models TX399, TX395 and TX360) with design input from Spec Ops personnel. Krudo had four new folder designs—three flippers and an Asian-influenced model with a modified tanto blade called the Dao.
Other introduced models and items of note include:
ESEE’s long-awaited Camp-Lore bushcraft series, the Ontario Bushcraft Woodsman chopper and the Saker, a bushcraft design by BLADE contributor Abe Elias for CRKT;
Zero Tolerance addressed the lower-end and smaller-knife industry segments with smaller folders (the 0450 and 0452CF) designed by Dmitry Sinkevich in the $200 MSRP range, and also introduced the model 0630 folder which includes Ernest Emerson’s wave-opening feature;
DPx is working on a new version of its pivoting-handle-and-blade-guard design, also set for a BLADE Show debut, that is easier to operate and will be in a skinning knife configuration;
White River’s hunting knife collaborations with Fisk, the Sendero Bush knife, with CPM S30V blade steel and an MSRP of $220;
Hogue and Benchmade (a river knife) fixed blades with lock-and-switch-release sheaths for both secure knife carry and easy deployment;
For the ladies, 5.11 Tactical’s black folders with assorted handle color inserts with matching anodized liners;
Traditional pocketknives by Queen that include Schatt & Morgan Anglo-Saxon patterns and those by Case in handles by Eagle Grips;
Timberline’s Trophy Drop-Point hunters designed by knifemaker/professional Alaskan hunting guide Russ Kommer;
Spartan Blades is developing a lapel dagger and a redo of an old Bill Harsey tactical folder design;
Smith’s and its new Edgesport outdoor specialty tools and product line includes a natural tinder maker w/fire starter ($8.99 MSRP); Pack Pal Sharpener and Fire Starter w/emergency whistle ($9.99 MSRP); Pocket Pal X2 Sharpener and Survival Tool (sharpener, LED light, compass, whistle and fire starter, $14.99 MSRP); Survival Knife (a folder w/sharpener, whistle and fire starter, $19.99 MSRP); Survival Knife and Kit (w/collapsible silicon cup, fishing kit, duct tape, safety pins, emergency blanket, zip ties and tinder, $39.99); and Ultimate Survival Kit and Multi Tool 10-N-1 Multi-tool w/basic survival and first-aid kit, $49.99 MSRP).
Recommended:
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