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.
If you talk about Greatest Loveless Knife Designs, a Bob Loveless chute knife has to be included in the list. Originally designed for a Spec Ops parachutist working in jungle climates, the “chute” knife was fashioned to cut the lines of a parachute should the operative become entangled in them, a tree or other obstruction.
The recent Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas introduced many new factory knives from many production companies, including several fresh models from CRKT. Here are eight of CRKT’s latest cutters.
CRKT Saker
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The CRKT Saker is a bushcraft knife designed by BLADE® Magazine contributor Abe Elias. It features a Scandi-ground blade of 1075 carbon steel, a walnut handle and leather sheath. It includes a special bushcraft tool for scraping, pitch harvesting, wedge splitting or prying.
This is a numbered Official BLADE Show Exclusive knife with limited quantity – only 300 available! Each custom Tighe Rade™ knife touts the Blade Show logo.
Designed by Brian Tighe, this knife is anything but understated. The textured and grooved aluminum handle complements the multi-purpose compound ground blade. The tip of the blade is reinforced, making it ideal for stronger cutting applications, while the area of the blade closer to the handle is optimal for finer cutting tasks and wire stripping. Keeping the blade secure is a button lock, allowing you to efficiently deploy the blade with a flipper or ambidextrous dual thumb studs. If you’re looking for a versatile blade with extreme style and sophistication, this is it. Learn more
Veteran knifemaker Bill Herndon long has put a little bit of himself into each of the knives he builds, but his Bill’s Knee Knife takes the concept to new heights.
Also a contributor to BLADE® Magazine, Herndon, who goes by the acronym of OFAU (Old, Fat And Ugly), employed a part of his surgically removed knee bone as an escutcheon for the handle of his reproduction of an antique bowie knife.
“At the time of my first of four knee surgeries, I asked the surgeon to save the bone he removed from my left knee. After the two small pieces of bone were delivered and dried, I asked Ken McFall of Knife & Gun Finishing Supplies to stabilize the bone. He did so but under protest!” Herndon noted, doing his best to keep a straight knee, er, face. “Some eight years later, I decided to put that bone to use. The inlaid helm—my logo—in the ebony handle on this Samuel Bell bowie reproduction is the result. I have really put a part of myself in this knife!”
For more on the latest knives, knife legislation, knifemaking instruction, knife trends, knifemakers, what knives to buy and where and much more, subscribe to BLADE Magazine, the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication. For subscription information click on http://www.shopblade.com/product/blade-magazine-one-year-subscripti…?r+ssfb032312#BL1SU.
The Hunter Pro from Victorinox is hard to miss in the new orange handle.The Kershaw booth was abuzz with activity at the SHOT Show.
The latest in factory knives and accessories were among the surest of bets at the recent Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor, Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas.
New automatics—no doubt spurred in part by the recent repeal of antiquated switchblade bans in a number of states, a move led by pro-knife groups Knife Rights and the American Knife & Tool Institute—were introduced by such companies as Buck, Kershaw, Hogue, Timberline, Pro-Tech and Benchmade. Tomahawks/hatchets were also a hot item, with new versions offered by Spyderco, Puma, 5.11 Tactical, Hogue, Kershaw, SOG and Camillus. Big knives, including machetes, bowies, bolos and camp models, also sizzled, with DPx Gear, Benchmade, CRKT, HK, Steel Will, Outdoor Edge and Condor Tool & Knife among those in the mix.
There were a number of other knives of note, including a new lightweight tactical fixed blade designed by ABS master smith Jerry Fisk based on a longer, flattened out version of his Sendero hunter for White River Knife & Tool. Canal Street Cutlery, in a departure for it, also offered a new tactical fixed blade with slabs provided by VZ Grips and models named after battles of the Iraq War.
With its Impact model, Buck was among the companies introducing new automatics at the SHOT Show.
“Celebrity steel” also proliferated, including a new Utica/Kutmaster knife inspired by the Pigman TV series, tactical fixed blades designed for Camillus by retired Green Beret Grady Powell and retired Navy SEAL Jared Ogden of TV’s Ultimate Survival Alaska, and a chopper from Condor used by survivalist Matt Graham on TV’s Dual Survival.
Meanwhile, Buck presented the 245 Matt Would Go knife based on the design of Navy SEAL Matthew Leathers. Leathers gave his life for his country in 2013 when he was lost at sea during open ocean training exercises.
Smith’s Edgesport 10-N-1 Suvival Multi-Tool offers 10 different survival tools in one.
Mora introduced what for it is a higher-end kitchen knife set—three models in birch handles and 14C28N Swedish Sandvik steel at an MSRP of $299. Zero Tolerance offered new, smaller folders in the $200 MSRP range, and Kershaw introduced a new, larger version of its CQC-4 Ernest Emerson collaboration. Spyderco presented a number of new models, including a Craig Douglas (aka “Southnarc”)/Michael Janich “two-way” fixed blade called the “Reverse” in which the handle slabs can be detached and the knife flipped/reversed and the handles reattached, resulting in mirror-image “edge-out” ergonomics, or two knives in one. Meanwhile, ESEE announced the debut of its long-awaited bushcraft line of fixed blades.
Case introduced its “reborn” version of the V-42 with a special hollow grind based on the original blueprint of the knife made famous by the First Special Service Force, the father of today’s spec ops units, of World War II. A special treat was two surviving members of the FSSF—90-year-old Del Stonehouse and 93-year-old Eugene Gutierrez—on hand at the Case booth. Look for a special story on them in a future issue of BLADE® magazine.
For the complete rundown on the knives from the SHOT Show, see the June BLADE in March.
See the latest knives, swords, and edges of all types, and explore the latest trends in blades, steels, styles, and materials. Gaze upon a “State of the Art” section parading engraved, scrimshawed, jewel-inlaid, carved, etched, sculpted and forge-welded, and Damascus and mosaic-damascus knives. Click here.
In the April 2015 issue of BLADE® is a fascinating feature article about four knife collectors whose collections each consist overwhelmingly of the knives of one knifemaker only. The collectors and the makers they collect? The article, written by Stephen Garger, lists Chris Schluter, who enjoys accumulating the knives of Bob Terzuola; Tony Wang, who began collecting Bob Lum knives in the late 1980s; Tashi Bharucha, whose collection focuses on Tom Mayo knives; and Don Deckert who collects Ernest Emerson knives.
Don Deckert’s collection of Ernest Emerson customs includes these seven (left) very early “garage make” pre-tac knives.
The feature starts:
You’ve heard of people collecting dozens, even hundreds of assorted genres of knives, but have you heard of collectors amassing up to 100 or more knives of a single maker? Chris Schluter knows of such collectors and suggested the phenomenon as a topic for a BLADEstory.
Chris enjoys accumulating the knives of Bob Terzuola and is one of several who practice the one-maker approach to knife collecting. See the April 2015 issue of BLADE to read the rest of the article, or click here.
Tashi Bharucha’s Tom Mayo collection (left) features at least 55 of the popular maker’s knives, including one of Bharucha’s designs, the “Mayo Chopper,” though Mayo calls it “The Tashinator.”
Fit and finish is bandied about so often in cutlery circles it’s almost become one word, pronounced something like fittenfinnish. A newbie collector who hangs around seasoned custom knifemakers, purveyors and collectors soon learns the “fit-and-finish thing” is a mighty nice trait for the knives in his or her stable to have.
All that being said, is fit and finish the key to a knife being all it can be, or does a knife exhibiting it simply look nicer and cost more? Or does the answer lie somewhere in between? We recruited a panel of authorities to help sort through it all, including purveyors Neil Ostroff of True North Knives, Dave Ellis of Exquisite Knives, Dan Delavan of Plaza Cutlery, and seasoned custom maker Tim Britton.
We started by asking our authorities how they define fit and finish. Britton, who makes highly finished customs, said, “There should be no adhesive or solder showing anywhere. No gaps in inappropriate places. Metal-to-metal joints should be indiscernible. And no visible scratches or grind marks, period. One thing custom knifemakers should be able to do well,” he observes “is finish metal.”
Having the grinds match on each side of the blade as on Marcus Lin’s Andalusian bowie is an indication of fine fit and finish.
In addition to being a purveyor, Ellis also is a retired ABS master smith and knows fit and finish from the maker’s point of view as well. “I define fit and finish of a custom knife to mean is it overall appealing to the eye,” he begins, “are there any obvious gaps in guard or handle fitting, is it a design that will truly work?” Ellis stressed that good, sound design is a factor. “The first thing I look for is the overall appearance. Is the design clean? Is there an organic flow? How does it feel in the hand in different grips? Then I look at the finer details such as guard fit, blade finish, handle design and comfort,” he explains. “As an ABS master smith I also look at things like edge geometry, tapered tangs and plunge cuts. All of these should be [executed properly] in a piece with excellent fit and finish.”
Equality of all aspects on both sides of the knife is one sign of top fit and finish. Greg Cimms achieves it on his kitchen knives.
“Fit and finish is a standard required for all knives,” Ostroff says. “It used to be almost exclusively for custom knives—which are at a higher price level—but more and more the buyers are demanding the same standard for a factory or mid-tech knife which will sell for a remarkably lower price. Fit and finish is generally a well-centered blade—in the case of a folder—no blade play in either direction, flush-fitting bolsters, and a blade finish as the maker intended. By this I mean one cannot expect a stonewashed blade, or handle, not to have scratches. Recently the matter of the strength of the detent has become an issue—again, another subjective item.”
The late Bruce Bingenheimer centered the blade of his folder in the closed position (right), splitting the gold anodized standoffs right down the middle. Note the symmetry between each side of the knife (left) and the slick fit between bolster and handle material (center).
“The criteria for fit and finish depend on the expectations of the buyer,” Delavan qualifies. “Plaza Cutlery also believes design as well as craftsmanship is important. Most important is the design. It has to make sense to me. Any guards should be clean with no gaps, bevels should be the same and no 2-inch glitches. Also, handles have to be clean to the tang or guard with no gaps.”
According to Tim Britton, metal-to-metal joints should be indiscernible. Note the partial knife image second from left. The seam between the blade and backspring of BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Ron Lake’s tail-lock interframe is invisible.
PERFORMANCE
Does fit and finish affect a knife’s performance? “Poor fit and finish will really show when a knife is put to hard use,” Ellis advises, pointing out potential problems such as hot spots from badly designed and finished handles, guards or buttcaps with sharp edges, bad edge geometry that might cause the blade to dull quicker and be difficult to remove from the sheath, and so on.
David Mirabile achieves a nice, tight fit between the habaki (collar) and tsuba (guard) of his Asian-style piece.
Britton’s take was interesting, to say the least.
“One of my first knives was made in 1972. It was ugly and poorly finished,” he recalls. “[BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member] Frank Centofante helped me sell the knife to a hunting guide from Montana. The guide later wrote to me wanting four more just like it. The knife skinned and dressed three elk before needing sharpening. Steel was Latrobe D2 and Paul Bos did the heat treat. Fit and finish had little or nothing to do with function. Quality of steel, heat treat, grind and sharpening angle were much more relevant.”
Mark Bartlett gets the bolster of case-hardened mild steel and gold-anodized titanium spacers to meld seamlessly with the curly koa handle of his fixed fighter.
“A good finished knife just has a better feel, but a lot of people will not use it,” Delavan notes. “A knife with a lot of cosmetic issues can still be a good tool, and there are makers that don’t worry about those details. Most makers say a knife is meant to be used, not to sit in a safe.” Ostroff tends to agree. “Performance is not typically an issue [with fit and finish]. For example, a knife with an off-centered blade will still function as well as one that is centered—but the customer has the right to get what he or she wants, so we do whatever it takes to make them happy.”
Top fit and finish includes the knife exhibiting no visible scratches or grind marks. Tim Britton’s lockback follows this dictate. As Tim noted, “One thing custom knifemakers should be able to do well is finish metal.”
F&F: OVERRATED?
Are there cases where fit and finish is overrated? In other words, are there knives that perform very well even though they may not have the polish of an expensive model but have excellent heat treat, blade geometry, comfort and a more affordable price?”
“Fit and finish is not overrated when trying to satisfy the buyer,” Ostroff opines, “but taking out the collector/safe-queen members of our community, all knives are meant to cut, and all will do so if built to industry standards.”
“I have seen a few knives that performed well with poor fit and finish,” Ellis says. “Usually if a maker takes the time to finish their piece to tight tolerances, they also have taken the time to be sure that the piece has a credible heat treat, edge geometry and an overall good feeling in the hand.” Adds Delevan, “Many of the small production companies do a good job. Fit and finish is good, not perfect, but you have an excellent tool at a more affordable price.”
Note how each grind, bolster and slab mirrors its opposite on the Fenix fixed-blade hunter by Evgeny Khokhlov.
WHAT do YOU WANT?
Our authorities made excellent points for and against performance being a factor in fit and finish. Though there were several substantive points about design, in this writer’s opinion it isn’t really a fit-and-finish issue. Design is, of course, very important because no matter how well a knife is made, if the design is poor so will be the performance. From an aesthetic standpoint fit and finish is everything, but, as Delavan points out, many collector-grade knives become safe queens, never seeing action in the field.
A good analogy here would be comparing a Bark River Knives fixed blade to a comparably sized one made by ESEE Knives. Both companies have a huge, extremely dedicated following. Bark River’s fare is finely finished while the ESEE knives are more roughly done, but the latter are half the price or more of the former, depending on materials. Will both knives perform well? You better believe it. Both have stellar performance records. It really depends on whether you want to pay extra for a nicely finished knife or a rough finished one. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and both do their job in spades.
Bottom line is you have some very good options available—and choices make the world of knives go around!
Note the tight fit with no gaps between the color-case-hardened bolster, stainless steel spacers and stabilized ringed gidgee handle of Steve Filicietti’s bowie.
A person’s likeness is equally—some might even argue more—important than his/her name. All of which came crashing down on me on page 42 of the April BLADE®.
On that page is the likeness of knifemaker Tom Krein. Only problem is, the caption identifies him as maker Michael Burch. The knife on the page is by Michael and, for some reason I cannot quite fathom, I gave instructions for our graphic designer to insert the likeness of Tom with the knife, thinking it was Michael’s likeness. I know Tom when I see him and I know Michael when I see him. Again, I can’t explain my mistake.
I could blame it on Mom. I have two sisters, Chris and Juli, and a brother, Pat, and, for as long as I can remember, Mom has often called each of us a smorgasbord combo of all four. “Uh, Chris-Juli-Pat-Steve,” she goes through a checklist of all four names before finally arriving at mine, “tuck your shirt in, stand up straight,” etc. On the other hand, she has never mistaken me/my picture for any of my siblings/their likenesses (though on more than one occasion during my misspent youth she made me wish she had).
Similarly, at last year’s BLADE Show I saw Gavin Hawk, talented knifemaking son of talented knifemaking father Grant, walking into the show, and for some reason I called him Grant. “That’s Gavin, Steve, Gavin!” he stressed. I sheepishly ducked my head and muttered, “Oops! Sorry.” Of course, I can understand Gavin’s frustration. He no doubt is called Grant from time to time, it being natural for people to associate him with his father, and he is no doubt extremely proud to be the son of such a creative dad. At the same time, Gavin wants to be recognized for his own achievements, and understandably so.
In case you think I am getting old and forgetful—which, of course, I am—there have been a number of times over the years when I wasn’t so old that I misidentified people in person, too. There was the time at a Guild Show when I stopped at knifemaker Dennis Bradley’s table and carried on a conversation with him for several minutes, calling him Gayle (after knifemaker Gayle Bradley) repeatedly. Finally, when we were through talking, he said, “And oh, by the way, I’m Dennis.” Ugh. I slinked away.
Another is production knife guru Vince Ford. On more than one occasion I have called him Paul, thinking he was knifemaker Paul Fox. Each time Vince has been gracious enough not to lose his temper, just shaking his head and giving me that funny little look he gives so well.
On the other hand, some people in the knife industry simply look like others. I always thought in his later years Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Bob Loveless resembled the older, heavier Peter Lorre. (And no, I never told Bob that. What, do you think I have a death wish or something?) I also think our managing editor, Joe Kertzman, looks like retired Major League Baseball catcher Mike Piazza. Heck, one time Mrs. Debbie Voyles told me I looked like Tom Hanks. Of course, that was a long time and many hair follicles ago. Or maybe it was just that I reminded her of Forrest Gump.
Anyhow, I caught my mistake with Michael and Tom, though it was a day late and a dollar short—the day after the April BLADE went to the printer. I immediately fired off an e-mail with the subject line, “Man, did I screw up!” to Michael and Tom, as well as Mike Searson, the photographer of Tom’s picture that we used. Both Michael and Tom were equally gracious. “Now that will be funny!” Michael replied via e-mail. “I always wanted to be Tom for a month.” Not to be outdone, Tom e-mailed, “No worries! Michael never looked so good!”
Thank you, Michael and Tom, for being good sports. And thank you, BLADE readers, for putting up with a well-meaning but often all-too-imperfect editor.
For more on the latest knives, knife legislation, knifemaking instruction, knife trends, knifemakers, what knives to buy and where and much more, subscribe to BLADE® Magazine, the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication. Click on http://www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us for more information.
