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.
BLADE MATERIAL: Mosaic damascus of W2 tool and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels in a checkerboard pattern accordion cut, flattened and forged to shape
BLADE PATTERN: Clip point
BLADE GRIND: Flat
HANDLE: Copper pipe covered inside and out w/vitreous glass enamel
FITTINGS: 303 stainless steel
MAKER’S LIST PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE: $4,200
The Story
ABS master smith Dan L. Petersen is a professor at Washburn University. When astronomers found the first real black hole last spring and shared photos of it, it intrigued him so much so that he made a knife inspired by the wonder of it all. In fact, one of Petersen’s knives won the Custom Knife Collectors Association‘s (CKCA) annual Fisk Cutlery Challenge, earning the prof a cool $20,000.
“One of the [black hole] photos looked similar to the circular white and red patterns in the handle,” Dan explained. “I tried to get a bluish-black-of-the-universe effect, then the white swirls showing matter spinning around the red center black holes.”
The black hole image that inspired Petersen. (Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration image)
To taper the copper-pipe handle, Petersen spun it on a lathe using metal-spinning techniques. He added vitreous glass enamel to the outside and inside of the handle. He heated the handle to 1,500-degrees F and rotated it until it melted and fused to the metal. He repeated the glass procedure with a layer of dark blue glass and then black glass for the universe effect.
Oh, and as for the $20,000, it helped Dan buy a lathe for metal spinning.
* Want to see more incredible custom knives? BLADE Show is the place to go.
Brilliant red jasper caps off the grip of Bill Duff’s miniature dagger. (Caleb Royer image)
One of the better ways to celebrate Old Rock Day (you do celebrate, don’t you?) is with a custom knife sporting a handle of anything stony or fossilized.
What is Old Rock Day?
Celebrated on Jan. 7, Old Rock Day salutes rocks of all kinds. In some locales, children are encouraged to discover their first “pet rock,” and festivities may include painting and decorating the “faces” of rocks. Some gather attractive pebbles and stones to make original pieces of jewelry. Some build rock gardens, and some towns and villages hold competitions for the best-looking rock garden.
BLADE has You Covered on Old Rock Day
To avoid getting your Old Rock Day off to a rocky start, we recommend you check out some stone-cool knife handles made of rocks and fossilized materials. You may not get your rocks off, but, if you love knives like we do, you will most definitely rock on.
Jerry McClure outfits his Little Mama Folder with a handle of green nephrite jade. (Caleb Royer image)Mastodon ivory comprises the grip of a Tony Hughes bowie in a 9.5-inch blade of Turkish twist damascus. (Caleb Royer image)Bruce Bingenheimer’s BingaLor folders have handles of mammoth ivory. (Caleb Royer image)Sodalite stone caps off Bertie Rietveld’s Pinnacle dagger in nebula damascus. (SharpByCoop image)The Protégé by Johnny Stout boasts mammoth ivory scales and fileworked titanium liners. (Caleb Royer image)Ancient walrus ivory in a forged integral frame rocks the Slim Bad Fighter by David Lisch. (Caleb Royer image)Don Hanson opts for fossil ivory on his clip-point bowie with handsome hamon. (Caleb Royer image)
See More Beautiful Knife Photos
Knives 2018 features full-color photos of the world’s best custom knives. It’s THE book for knife collectors, knifemakers and anyone interested in functional art.
After over 30 years of operation, the National Knife Museum (NKM) is “being dissolved.” However, the old museum’s knife inventory will carry on at three separate museums, according to Lisa Sebenick, president of the National Knife Collectors Association (NKCA) and secretary of the NKM.
The only museum of its kind in the USA, the NKM had been housed on the mezzanine of Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville, Tennessee, since late 2006. The original rent for the space was all of $1 per year. “The officers, directors and staff of the National Knife Museum sincerely thank Smoky Mountain Knife Works/Kevin Pipes for giving our collection of cutlery a home these past seven years,” an NKM release stated.
The National Knife Museum is being dissolved. Its knife inventory will be relocated to three new locations. (Mike Carter image)
According to Sebenick, the museum’s knife inventory will be donated to three different museums: the National Rifle Association Museum in Springfield, Missouri, the Berman Museum of World History in Anniston, Alabama, and the Janney Furnace Museum in Ohatchee, Alabama.
As for the 50 or so Bill Moran knives that were exhibited at the NKM, an official statement from the Moran Foundation was that no decision had been made for those knives at press time. At some future date, perhaps some of the Moran knives would be put on loan elsewhere, the statement concluded.
According to Pete Cohan in BLADE’s Guide to Knives & Their Values, 7th Edition, while many NKCA members were heavily involved in the original museum’s creation, it was the donation of three major individual knife collections—those of Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Frank Forsyth, Dr. James Wilkison and Dr. William Rosenthal—that created the foundation for a comprehensive museum display collection.
During its run at Smoky and in addition to the many other knives it exhibited, the NKM also included the custom knife collection of Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Joe Drouin, a number of club knives from knife clubs around the country, various knife ephemera and more.
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Knives come in all types and sizes. The knives in Brittany Gambee’s collection, for instance, are miniatures, all of which, with the exception of one, are made by ABS journeyman smith Dale Huckabee. And the genesis for them all started with a hug—or the lack thereof.
“Give Me A Hug For A Knife”
It started almost two decades ago when Brittany was 6. She and her mom, Dianna, were visiting their first Batson’s Bladesmithing Symposium, a three-day celebration of bladesmithing seminars and knives at the Tannehill Ironworks and park in McCalla, Alabama. Then a fledgling bladesmith, Huckabee was displaying his knives at his second or third Batson event, when up walked Brittany.
“This little girl about 2 or 3 feet high came up and said she’d give me a hug for a knife,” Dale recalled. Huckabee was feeling pretty chipper back then because he had just won a scholarship to the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing.
Brittany holds the knife at 6 (left) and wears it at 16 (right). In the background of the latter image is Brittany’s mom, Dianna.
“I had this miniature knife and sheath and reached over and hung it around her neck and said, ‘Where’s my hug?’—and she ran,” he grinned.
Dianna remembers the incident almost like it was yesterday.
“Dale told me when he gave the knife to her that it was sharp and to be careful, but he wanted her to have it,” she said, adding that Brittany wore the knife and neck sheath for many years. “Well, in our silliness we didn’t get his name, we just took the knife and sheath and figured ‘no big deal.’”
The DH Mystery
Fast-forward 10 years to when Brittany was 16. “The dog chewed the edge of the sheath and Brittany was very upset and wanted to replace it,” Dianna remembered. “Well, the knife had a ‘DH’ on it, but we didn’t know who DH was.”
Enter “Uncle Bill.”
“We’d been coming to Batson’s every year and there was this wonderful man who used to come here, ‘Uncle Bill’ Richardson—he’s passed away now—and he told us, ‘You bring the knife to the symposium and have Brittany wear it and somebody will recognize you.’”
Richardson—who Dale said didn’t make knives but was “a heck of a blacksmith”—was at least half right. Dale recognized Dianna but he didn’t recognize Brittany because at 16 she was 10 years older than the young lady he originally had met.
“This lady and this girl walk up and the lady said you don’t recognize her [Brittany], do you?’” Dale recalled. “I said no but I recognize the knife.”
Collecting Miniature Knives
Gambee’s collection includes 12 miniatures. The neck knife and sheath are at lower left.
The Gambees have been coming to Batson’s Symposium—including this year’s rendition April 7-9—ever since and each year Brittany, now 25, buys a Huckabee miniature knife. This year’s addition: a miniature chef’s knife. The only piece in her collection that Dale did not make is one miniature damascus tomahawk by ABS master smith Ken Durham.
“Ken made the hawk for me because Dale always makes knives,” Brittany noted. “He saw Dale’s knives and said he could make a small hawk for me, and then Dale saw Ken’s hawk and said he could make a small one of those and made one for me, too.”
A Lasting Friendship
Dale Huckabee, Brittany and her collection at the 2019 Batson’s Bladesmithing Symposium.
The lasting relationship between Dale and the Gambees is something all concerned seem to relish.
“It’s been a good journey. She’s grown up with me now,” Huckabee reflected. “When I get to the BLADE Show I see her over there some and she’s like family. I try to make something different for her every year. Last year I made the miniature damascus tomahawk, but I have to keep my head working to try to make something new and different each year. I don’t know what it will be next year. I’ll have to try and come up with something new.”
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Dale replaced the sheath for Brittany’s knife, too.
Knife sheaths usually don’t get a lot of press. However, occasionally some particularly interesting developments in the area necessitate attention. While it may seem a rather mundane topic to expound on how to get your knife from here to there in a manner other than carrying it in your pocket or hand, there are some vehicles of transport that require notice.
Derick Kemper’s Sailor’s Delight
Derick Kemper’s Sailor’s Delight rigging set incorporates 30 individual pieces into a sheath outfit that makes mobile a rigging knife, including a marlinspike with individual sheaths for each, all harnessed together on a free-swinging swivel system.
(SharpByCoop images)
Smith & Wesson Bullseye Combo Sheath
The Smith & Wesson Bullseye Combo sheath holds two tools as one unit and orients them in opposite directions. This offers full purchase of each handle without interference of the other, and doesn’t take up as much space by having the axe handle hang down on your leg. Blade steel: 420 stainless. MSRP: $54.96
The sheath, knife and axe come as a set.
Benchmade 10 Rescue Hook Boltaron Sheath
The shape of the Benchmade 10 Rescue Hook’s Boltaron sheath is a symmetrical polygon, allowing it to cradle and engage the detent from either a left- or right-side mounting. By designing the sheath to allow multiple mounting positions, it increases the versatility of how the tool can be accessed. MSRP for the knife and sheath: $75.
Brian Tighe Fighters Sheaths
Brian Tighe matches the carbon fiber handles of his Tighe Fighters with a carbon-fiber pattern with the accompanying sheaths.
Like Creativity in Knives? You’ll Love BLADE Show 2018
The world’s largest and foremost knife show, BLADE Show, is taking place June 1-3 in Atlanta. You’ll find the planet’s most innovative knifemakers in one spot. Learn more about how to attend BLADE Show 2018 here.
The Boker Plus Gemini NGA Coyote offers extra heft as an EDC knife. (Boker image)
Tough Like a Gorilla
The Boker Plus Gemini NGA Coyote carries tip down, which I prefer because it places your thumb on the blade opener without requiring a shift of grip. The clip was strong and secure, even in athletic pants, and positioned just enough of the handle to protrude above the belt line to allow a secure grip with no fumbling or shifting required. The handle has a slightly tacky feel with checkering on the sides of the scales.
The assisted opener flings the blade strongly from the handle with a slight touch on the opening stud. Make sure you have a firm grasp on this one before pushing the stud. The linerlock was solid.
The knife balances perfectly right at the index finger, which makes it seem light in hand and makes for ease of use.
If you like your EDC knives to pack bite, the Boker Plus Gemini NGA Coyote is a great choice. (Mary Lou Ayres photo)
The Verdict
The Gemini is a well-made knife and the one I would choose if I had to cut up a garage full of cardboard.
