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.
Anywhere from 50-to-60 people attended the March 20 public meeting held by the Advisory Council to the Presidential Task Force on combatting wildlife trafficking, with more than twice as many voicing opposition to the ivory ban as those supporting it.
Over twice as many against the ivory ban as for it voiced concerns at the March 20 meeting. Jim Crowell’s fixed blade sports a fossil ivory handle. (Ward photo)
Among those representing the knife industry at the meeting held in Washington, D.C., were scrimshander Sandra Brady, knifemaker Edmund Davidson and others.
“There were about 27 people who stood up to make statements and only about eight were in favor of the ban,” Brady noted. “Even though the words ‘ivory ban’ were not used at all by the committee, that is the ONLY thing that was talked about.
“We had statements from three antiques people, cane collectors, scrimshanders, musical instruments, a knifemaker and knife rights people, among others. So what I came away with is that the committee didn’t expect such a [pro-ivory] turnout. I can only imagine how many more statements were submitted via e-mail. We may have turned the tide at least a bit.”
On the other hand, the pro-ivory ban forces continued their full-court press, and there is much to be done to fight a number of punitive measures federal officials are considering, including making all illegal ivory sales felony violations. Committee members also talked about requiring violators to pay restitution and basically treat selling ivory as selling illegal drugs. “It was three hours of the ‘for-the-greater-good’ stuff, so that was the bad news,” one observer stated.
Several initiatives were mentioned by the knife industry group against the ivory ban, including finding a congress person to champion the anti-ivory ban cause and also the possibility of setting up an official fight-the-ban organization.
Craig Hoover of U.S. Fish & Wildlife said he expected someone on the advisory council to post more information, perhaps a summary video of the meeting, on its web page at some point. The link to the page is
The Adventure Flipper by Lee Williams features a “pivot-less” build. Closed length: 5 inches. (Dave Stark image)The L46 flipper in Bohler N690 stainless steel and an earth-brown G-10 handle is hot from Andre Thorburn. (BladeGallery image)
If you’re looking for what the knife trends are in custom blades or what the knife trends are going to be later on in the factory cutlery industry, some of today’s hottest custom folders is a great place to start.
Michael Walker is still going strong after all these years and his folders remain hotter than ever. (Dave Ellis image)Kirby Lambert named his flipper folder after his son, Augustus. (SharpByCoop image)Brian Nadeau’s “Cyclone” appears here in three different versions. (SharpByCoop image)Tashi Bharucha’s “Machine” features a 3 5/8-inch blade of CPM 154 stainless. (Dave Stark image)Johnathan McNees makes the Copper Baby Bolt Flipper. Closed length: 4 inches. (Andrew Delavan image)If you’re looking for what the knife trends are in custom blades or what the knife trends are going to be later on in the factory cutlery industry, some of today’s hottest custom folders is a great place to start.
These are but two examples. There are many more. There are also some really cool custom folders on today’s market, some of which no doubt will inspire other custom and, later, factory makers to emulate them in some form or fashion. A few of those sharp studies in standout steel would include:
The Tactical Front Flipper by John Arnold. Closed length: 5 inches. (BladeGallery image)
•John Arnold’s Tactical Front Flipper. “He creates some of the most elegant daily carry folders, yet with collector-grade quality, that I have come across,” noted Daniel O’Malley of BladeGallery;
•The Copper Baby Bolt Flipper in CPM 154 stainless by Johnathan McNees;
•The Adventure Flipper by Lee Williams with Lee’s “Kick Stop” flipper mechanism;
•Kirby Lambert’s “Augustus” flipper, named after the Lamberts’ newborn son;
•Brian Nadeau’s “Cyclone,” termed by custom knife purveyor Les Robertson as “a great EDC, compact and lightweight”;
•The aforementioned Michael Walker and his large folder in Damasteel damascus;
•Andre Thorburn’s L46 flipper. “Of all the knives that I open and close each day,” O’Malley noted, “Andre Thorburn’s have the most consistent, smooth action of any”;
•Tashi Bharucha’s “Machine” with frames of blasted titanium and a blade-tip-up pocket clip.
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Troney Troler of Knives Plus likes the Victorinox Trekker as a fish knife—and it also has a bottle opener for your favorite ale.
Opening your favorite beer will be on tap Thursday, Sept. 28, for National Drink Beer Day, and you can cap off the festivities with one of the latest in beer knives.
Boker’s Tech Tool takes the traditional bottle-can opener approach to beer knives.
There are a number of new beer knives, from the traditional combo bottle/can-opening tools on Swiss Army and other multi-implement knives, to the more recent trend toward knives with the bottle opener in the butt of the handle or otherwise incorporated into the body of the knife. Examples of the latter style include the TOPS Pit Stop 3 and F.O.R.K. IT, Timberline Javelin BOK, the Kershaw Shuffle, Hops and Malt, Boker Plus Toucan, Coast FX200, DPx Gear HEST 2.0, White River Knife & Tool GTI 2.5 and Knucklehead, and Buck Selkirk Firestarter, Examples of the former include the Boker Tech Tool, Victorinox Walker and Trekker, and Great Eastern Cutlery Beer Scout Knife (a tip of the hat goes to the latter for the title of the knife category).
Since it provided the fizz for the headline, let’s start with the Great Eastern Beer Scout Knife. It employs a bottle opener of 1095 carbon steel to accompany a highly utilitarian sheepfoot blade. Since it’s carbon steel, be sure to wipe your bottle-opening implement and knife down after use and corrosion should be held to a minimum.
The White River Knife & Tool Knucklehead makes a great beer knife with a bottle opener in the butt and has a blade of CPM S30V stainless.
While we don’t think White River Knife & Tool was trying to insinuate anything about beer drinkers in general with the name of its Knucklehead beer knife, we DO like the name—Moe Howard of Three Stooges’ fame problem would, too—and we also like both the Knucklehead’s 2.875-inch blade of CPM S30V stainless steel and the bottle-opener in the butt. As Curly Howard might intone, get yourself a Knucklehead and “whoop-whoop-whoop” on down to National Drink Beer Day.
The preceding two are but a sampling of the latest beer knives. Check out those herein and be sure to drink responsibly and let someone else drive on National Drink Beer Day!
The Kershaw Shuffle has the bottle opener in the butt of the handle for easy opening.The bottle opener on the TOPS Pit Stop 3 is on the handle spine and should be used when the knife is sheathed.The Timberline Javelin BOK has a long handle for great leverage in popping your top.Four beer knives, from left: the TOPS Pit Stop 3, Boker Plus Toucan, Kershaw Shuffle and Timberline Javelin BOK (Bottle Opener Knife).The Beer Scout from Great Eastern Cutlery has a traditional bottle opener and a sheepfoot blade of 1095 carbon steel.Cap off your day with the bottle openers of, from left, the Victoinox Walker, TOPS F.O.R.K. IT, Buck Selkirk Firestarter and White River GTI 2.5.KnifeCenter’s Jason Kunkler used the bottle opener on the blade spine of the DPx Gear HEST 2.0 while on vacation in Peru. He did not mention whether he opened a cold one at Machu Picchu, however.The Coast FX200 is one of the new breed of beer knives with the bottle opener in the butt.
The Art of the Knife, an exploration of the history of the handmade knife as a tool of value in both function and aesthetics, will run July 10 through Aug. 18 at the Guilford Art Center in Guilford, Connecticut.
Mace Vitale, a journeyman smith in the American Bladesmith Society and also a blacksmith and coppersmith, will jury the invitational event. An awarding-winning bladesmith and a regular exhibitor at the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.blademag.com), he also serves as an instructor at the Guilford Art Center.
Mace Vitale, maker of this damascus dagger, will jury the Art of the Knife exhibit beginning July 10.), Vitale also serves as an instructor at the Guilford Art Center.
Vitale started out working with his father in a pre-cast concrete business that specialized in architectural reproduction. Mace learned a lot from his dad, from how to use tools to “how to make something from nothing.”
Mace bounced from job to job after the family business closed in the 1990s until he found work as a coppersmith. “Its effect on me was less than subtle,” he writes on his website. “I was hooked!”
He attended a blacksmithing class at the Guilford Art Center and subsequently found out about the ABS. He took the ABS “Introduction fo Bladesmithing” class and has been making knives ever since, obtaining his ABS journeyman smith stamp in 2006.
“I pride myself on my attention to detail,” he observed. “The way I see things, the only way I’ll possibly be able to garner a customer’s satisfaction is through my own satisfaction. I fashion everything I make as if it will be my own.”
The opening reception for the exhibit will be Wednesday, July 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. It is free to the public, as is admission to the exhibit. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m.
New Alliance Foundation sponsors the exhibit in part.
For more information contact the Guilford Art Center 203-453-5947 or visit www.guilfordartcenter.org.
Knifemakers, knife manufacturers, knifemaking suppliers, purveyors—anything and everything to do with knives, gear, lights and toys, particularly of the tactical kind—will party down this Labor Day weekend for the Usual Suspect Network’s Gathering 5 in Las Vegas.
Held at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and billed as the “Ultimate Party for USN Enthusiasts,” The Gathering is set up in “quads,” where a novice and two established makers or suppliers join a major maker. A circular traffic flow ensures you won’t miss any exhibitor and makes it easy to re-locate them as well.
One of the world’s fastest growing knife shows begins Friday, Aug. 30, at 9 a.m. The show closes at 6 p.m. and many show exhibitors and patrons will reassemble at 7 p.m. until the wee hours in Traders’ Cove, a watering hole and gathering spot. The same show hours apply for Saturday, Aug. 31, with the reassembly in Traders’ Cove at 7:30 p.m. to late. Thursday is registration day for all exhibitors, though the show will unofficially kick off that night at 7 p.m.—yes, until very late again—in Traders’ Cove.
Though subject to change, the lottery schedule includes exhibiting knifemakers Brad Southard, Todd Begg, Pete Carey, Rick Hinderer (he will have two), Ernest Emerson, Jeremy Marsh and Todd Rexford, Derek Munroe and Sal Manaro, Gerry McGinnis, and Brian Fellhoelter.
How did you use your knife over the weekend? The Fallkniven PXLim gets a workout here. (Mary Lou Ayres photo)
How did you use your knife this weekend? Did you cut open a box or two, prepare meals, cut loose thread from an item of clothing, peel an apple or just whittle to pass the time? Maybe you performed some survival or bushcraft tasks, such as carving a drinking cup, practice building a makeshift shelter or some baton work to split small kindling. Whatever it was, tell us about it—the circumstances, what job you put the knife to, what knife you used, and how the operation came out. Did the knife do the job or did you have to go to your knife array for a smaller/bigger/different type of knife to complete the task?
I had the opportunity to use my carry knife of the day, a Spyderco Native5 in a G-10 handle and 3-inch blade of CPM S35VN stainless steel, yesterday while with my great nephew Carter at the annual Cherokee Pow-Wow at Red Clay State Park just south of here on the Tennessee side of the Georgia border. Carter and I were watching the American Indians perform a traditional dance when Carter spied a young girl holding a toy bow with rubber-tipped arrows. We asked where she got it, made a beeline for the exhibitor tent that sold them and bought one.
Carter wanted to test the bow, of course, so we proceeded to an open field in the scenic park, where we inspected the bow and arrows. The arrows were taped tightly to the bow with masking tape, so I pulled out the Native5, cut the multiple winds of tape and Carter proceeded to launch arrow after arrow into the cool October sky. “It’s a good thing you brought that knife,” Carter said.
How about you? How did you use your knife?
For the latest knives and knife news, stay tuned to www.blademag.com (www.blademag.com)
Once upon a time a long time ago, my idea of the perfect everyday carry knife was a Randall Model 1. Most of the guys I worked with back then carried 16- to 18-inch pangas every day.
Times change. People change. I no longer carry a Randall in an inside waistband clip sheath every day, or at all, really. No doubt there are many folks today who strap on a 10-inch bowie or a USMC fighting/utility knife every morning before breakfast. To that you can add the legions who EDC a tactical folder.
There are, however, many folks who prefer to carry simple pocketknives. Almost every cowboy I know carries an old school Schrade or Case stockman in the watchpocket of his Wranglers. Many other folks, some constrained by knife laws, EDC more contemporary versions of the traditional pocketknife, the knife that at one time was in every schoolboy’s and every man’s pocket—for some, a gentleman’s folder.
My team and I recently did a field review of four very different contemporary versions of the EDC folder. If we were cowboys I reckon we could have trimmed hoofs, done minor surgery on cows and other cowboy things. But we’re not cowboys. So, we used them for the stuff we tend to do. We opened boxes and cut up cardboard. We did cut rope, which felt kind of cowboyish. We went for a hike and picked and sliced fresh rose hips for tea, peeled and sliced oranges for a trailside picnic, cut pine limbs and whittled fuzz sticks to start a lunchtime fire. Not exactly gentleman stuff either, but hey, everyone has his own EDC needs.
Four of the latest in EDC knives, counterclockwise from right: V Nives Killabite, Pro-Tech Knives Malibu Wharncliffe, Medford Knife & Tool Gentleman Jack and Smith’s Edgework-Site Wharncliffe Knife.
SLIM JACK: Medford Knife & Tool Gentleman Jack
Sleek, slim and lightweight, with a blade long enough to slice a watermelon without getting your hand wet, the Medford Knife & Tool Gentleman Jack is a gentleman’s folder in appearance, in feel and in fact. With little effort, its slim blade excelled at cutting nylon kernmantle rope, and at food preparation and slicing thin peels of bark for tinder. The slender handle looks as if it would be uncomfortable, but the edge was so sharp and the grind so slim that little force was required to cut stuff. Hence, the thin handle was not uncomfortable. The slenderness made it easy to carry—we all hardly knew we had a knife in our pocket when carrying it.
With little effort, the slim blade of the Medford Knife & Tool Gentleman Jack excelled at cutting nylon kernmantle rope.
Most folders in this size range tend to be tactical, with black blades and other features the uninformed consider fearsome. This folder, however, is so nice looking, so polished a piece of pocket jewelry, that it’s unlikely to alarm the clueless, which means you could use it in mixed company without getting weird looks.
SPECS: Medford Knife & Tool Gentleman Jack Blade Length: 3.1”
Blade Steel: CPM S35V stainless
Blade Width: ¾”
Blade Thickness: .125”
Handle Material: Anodized titanium
Action: Slip joint
Closed Length: 4”
Country of Origin: USA
MSRP: $375
The Smith’s Edgework-Site Wharncliffe Knife is a workaday folder that equals many high-priced limited-production knives in durability and function. Robust, with a very comfortable handle and a good edge grind, it was our preferred blade for getting up some wood for a fire. Press cuts with modest effort cut deep into, and through, wrist-thick pine branches. In fact, it was the most effective of all the review knives at cutting wood for the fire. Shaving bark and curls for tinder was a piece of cake.
According to the author, the Smith’s Wharncliffe is a workaday folder that equals many high-priced limited production knives in durability and function.
I am not a fan of wharncliffe blades, but the long straight edge and overall cutting efficiency might make me a convert. The edge was very welcome when cutting nylon rope laid across a tree stump, and cutting cardboard boxes into strips. Did I mention the handle? Clearly it is designed by someone who understands hard work, and for someone who must do a day’s work. This is a very good tool and, for the price, a great value.
The edge of the Smith’s Wharncliffe was very welcome when cutting nylon rope laid across a tree stump, and cutting cardboard boxes into strips.
The Pro-Tech Knives Malibu Wharncliffe is handsome, modern in appearance and detail, and resembles a 21st-century knife designed to be carried by an astronaut. In fact, the knife looks a little like a rocket—and has a high-tech lock to boot.
The Pro-Tech Malibu Wharncliffe easily and cleanly crunched through nylon rope and kept its edge cutting cardboard.
It also performs well. The overall blade design with its flat grind, fine edge and up-tipped point was terrifically efficient at all slicing tasks. At first glance I thought the point design might inhibit penetration, and it did. But something in the geometry that eludes me made it very efficient at all cutting and slicing tasks. It easily and cleanly crunched through nylon rope, kept its edge cutting cardboard, and was just the thing for slicing rose hips for tea. It did very delicate cuts cleanly and with precision. With its modestly sized blade, brilliant blue handle and overall polished appearance, it qualifies as a large gentleman’s folder, albeit one with more function than the usual run of that type of knife.
Something in the geometry that eluded the author made the Pro-Tech Malibu Wharncliffe very efficient at all cutting and slicing tasks. He uses it here to collect pine sap to help start a fire.
I don’t usually use that word when discussing knives, but, truth be told, this little puppy is cute. High-tech, too. The damascus blade, carbon fiber handle and framelock all say dress tactical folder. Miniature, yeah, but still pretty tactical.
Don’t let little knives fool you, though—they are useful. I’ve been beating the drum for tiny blades for years ever since I learned a little bit about flintknapping and worked with some experimental archaeologists. (One of the latter was the lithic expert who consulted on Otzi the Iceman, the 5,000-year-old mummy discovered in the Alps who had a complete tool kit with him, including his flint knife with a 1.5-inch blade.) I’ve taught survival classes during which I use a folder with a 2-inch blade to make a tool kit consisting of a spear, bow and arrows, haft for a stone axe, and more. I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same with the Killabite.
The V Nives Killabite peeled and sectioned an orange with aplomb. The handle has a nice curved profile and is comfortable as such a small handle can be, comfortable enough for the kind of work that you would do with the knife.
The trailing point design and smooth edge with no ricasso or other fripperies makes the most of the short blade. The edge is just a tad thicker than I prefer, which makes it strong at the cost of a little slicing ability, but allowed it to bite deep into wrist-thick pine with no trouble. For long term use I might reprofile the edge—or maybe not. I like the notion of such a small blade being so strong.
The V Nives Killabite vanquished pine pieces for firewood. It bit deep into wrist-thick pine with no trouble.
The handle has a nice curved profile and is comfortable as such a small handle can be, comfortable enough for the kind of work that you would do with the knife. Keep in mind, too, a surgeon’s scalpel is only 1.5 inches long. Must work gets done with small blades. A keeper this one is.
The trailing point design and smooth edge with no ricasso or other fripperies makes the most of the Killabite’s short blade.
SPECS: V Nives Killabite Blade Length: 1.4”
Blade Steel: Stainless damascus
Blade Thickness: .097”
Blade Style: Trailing Point
Blade Opener: Flipper
Blade Grind: Flat
Handle Material: Carbon fiber
Handle Thickness: .35”
Pocket Clip: Tip-up
Lock: Framelock
Weight: 1 oz.
Closed Length: 2.25”
Countries of Origin: USA and offshore
MSRP: $95.95
ONLY YOU KNOW
Which would be the best EDC? There’s no such thing, really. The right question is, which is the best EDC for you?
