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.
New from Case is the Collector’s Tour Tear Drop and Ambassador Tour’s muskrat.Think pink with Bear & Son’s new Model 114PK butterfly knife.
What’s hot and new in factory knives for the fall? Among them are 6 hotties ready to cut. Let’s start with Case. Its 2015 Collector’s Tour Knife is a traditional tear-drop pattern with an embellished smooth chestnut bone handle and the company’s famous “XX” scrolled bolsters. Case Collectors Club Manager Lisa Boser-Miller’s signature appears on the Tru-Sharp stainless spear blade.
The 2015 Ambassador Tour Knife is a muskrat in a smooth dark red bone handle and bolster engraving. One of the clip blades bears the signature of the owner of Coffman Hardware who doubles as a Case ambassador, Dennis Mikus.
The CRKT Viva is a pry tool, hex wrench, bottle opener and screwdriver all in one keychain multi tool.
Bear & Son offers up a cool butterfly in hot pink handles—the Model
114PK in a 3 5/8-inch stainless blade. The handles are epoxy-coated aluminum. Weight: 5 ounces. Closed length: 5 inches.
If you’re looking for a stout fixed blade, look no further than the Argonaut 800 from Steel Will Knives. The 6.3-inch blade is AUS-8 stainless in a satin finish and a Rockwell hardness of 56-58 HRC. Weight: 9.59 ounces. The $99.99 MSRP includes a Nylon sheath.
The Baja 4.5 is TOPS Knives’ “stretched sibling” of the Baja 3.0.
OK, so it’s not really a knife. So? Designed by Liong Mah, CRKT’s Viva is one of a growing number of key-ring multi-tools that includes a pry tool, screwdriver, bottle opener, hex wrench and more—all for a measly $9.99 MSRP.
The TOPS Knives Baja 4.5 is the “stretched sibling” of the TOPS Baja 3.0, sporting a 4.5-inch blade of 1095 high-carbon steel in a Black River Wash and a green canvas Micarta® handle. MSRP: $200 (includes a leather dangler sheath).
The Argonaut from Steel Will Knives is one stout fixed blade.
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Knives 2016, 36th Edition
The trusted guide for knife collectors, enthusiasts, knifemakers, and dealers around the world, this knife book covers the latest and greatest from front to back. A collection of feature articles explores the latest developments, history, and transformation of knives, swords, and edges of various kinds. Get your copy
The Kydex sheath attaches to a belt or gear via a rotating spring steel clip.The sheath protects the blade and makes for a handsome package, too.The G-10 handle is textured in a Rocky Mountain Tread for enhanced gripping.The 5-inch blade is 1095 high-carbon steel in a Coyote Tan powder coat.
Gear up with the Team Jackal Survivor fixed blade from TOPS Knives, a great everyday utility and/or bug-out-bag knife.
The Team Jackal Survivor sports a 5-inch blade of 3/16-inch-thick 1095 high-carbon steel heat treated to a Rockwell hardness of 56-58 HRC. The cutting edge is 4 5/8 inches long. A steel favored by many bladesmiths and a growing number of factory knife companies, 1095 is easier to sharpen than some of the higher-grade stainless steels such as CPM S30V. This is a valuable trait to have in the field and/or for novice knife enthusiasts who have not quite mastered the proper sharpening techniques required or do not have the proper sharpening equipment to put an edge on the higher-grade steels.
Of course, the trade-off with carbon steel is that it tends to rust more easily than stainless steel, though if you wipe the knife down after each use rust should not be a problem. However, just in case, the Team Jackal Survivor blade features a Coyote Tan powder coating to help reduce rust. The coating also holds down on glare. Still, though, a wipe down after each use never hurts!
The contoured, straight-backed handle is a black G-10 hard synthetic textured in TOPS’ Rocky Mountain Tread for secure purchase and a cool look. Enhancing purchase is a jimped blade ramp just forward of the handle spine and a finger groove behind the choil. The knife’s overall length is 9.75 inches. Without the sheath, it weighs 8.9 ounces.
The sheath is a black Kydex with a rotating spring steel clip. Counting the sheath, the complete knife package weighs 11.7 ounces.
The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the made-in-the-USA Team Jackal Survivor is $175, but if you visit topsknives.com while its sale lasts you can get it for $140.
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Fossil ivory could be banned with elephant ivory if federal and state governments are not stopped. Don Hanson uses fossil ivory on his folder.
Fossil ivory may well be on the way to being banned with elephant ivory if federal and state governments are not checked.
At least that’s the opinion of one informed source who wishes to remain unnamed, blademag.com has learned.
Ivory from the long-extinct mammoth and mastodon may be banned along with elephant ivory simply because many inspectors won’t be able to differentiate between elephant and ancient ivory.
As reported in blademag.com on July 29, proposed changes to the federal ivory laws are finally out and are designed to stop all trade in elephant ivory in the USA, no matter how old the ivory is. The proposed laws do not mention fossil or ancient ivory such as that of the long-extinct mammoth and mastodon. However, the concern is that the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) officials who would be charged with inspecting elephant ivory to determine its legality would have no problem with fossil ivory IF they can differentiate it from elephant ivory.
“The way I see it,” the source stated, whether the inspectors can differentiate between elephant and fossil ivory “will depend on [the inspectors’] training, or lack thereof, and level of enthusiasm.”
Meanwhile, it is the state legislatures that the source is most worried about.
“In all the states that have had [ivory] bills introduced, mammoth, fossil walrus and all forms of ivory are included [because, the state legislators say] ‘it’s so hard to tell the difference,'” the source noted. “Now, we’ve defeated almost every applicable bill that’s been introduced so far, but these guys are not going to roll over and play dead.”
For more information on how to protect your right to own and sell mammoth and other fossil ivories, and how to defeat the proposed changes to federal ivory laws that are designed to stop all U.S. trade in elephant ivory, visit elephantprotection.org.
The proposed change to the federal ivory laws proposed 13 months ago is finally out, and the news is as bad as expected. In essence, the change is designed to stop all trade in elephant ivory in the USA, no matter how old the ivory is.
According to the Elephant Protection Association, winner of the BLADE Magazine 2015 Publisher’s Award for its efforts to protect the legal ivory of all Americans, the new regulation is based on three false premises. Those are:
•Elephant poaching in Africa is escalating. This is false. CITES data indicate poaching numbers have fallen since 2011 due to enhanced enforcement of existing law;
•Large amounts of illegal ivory are being imported into the USA and this is driving the elephant poaching problems in Africa. Again, false. The truth is that both CITES and U.S. data indicate illicit ivory imports to the USA are insignificant;
•Since the law punishes Americans and their ivory, the Chinese consumers who are causing the poaching problems will abandon their cultural need for ivory. This is patently absurd. Chinese demand for illicit ivory is independent from U.S. trade in domestic legal ivory.
According to Sandra Brady of the Elephant Protection Association, one thing to remember is that for you to qualify for the small amount of elephant ivory that will be allowed under the new regs, you have to meet ALL the requirements and be able to PROVE it. She added that the association would be sending out letter suggestions to concerned citizens on how to defeat the new regs. The letters should go to Fish and Wildlife Service, your congress people and senators.
For more information on how you can fight this oppressive federal elephant ivory grab, visit elephantprotection.org.
The World War II vintage Ek Model 4 had a wider blade and a wooden handle.
KA-BAR has announced its long-awaited reintroduction of the Ek Commando Knife line with its update of the Ek Model 4.
The Model 4 sports a 6.625-inch double-edged blade of 1095 Cro-Van carbon steel, an “S” double guard, a textured glass-filled nylon handle and traditional X-head fasteners. It features a Celcon® sheath with a retaining strap, a self-locking function and multiple tie-down points. MSRP: $125.40.
With its modern materials, double guard and much-more-streamlined shape, the new Model 4 is a far cry from the World War II-vintage version, which had a wider blade and a wooden handle with an integral single guard and a bulbous pommel. The new Model 4’s handle shape with X-head fasteners is in keeping with later versions of Ek knives.
EK BACKGROUND
The new KA-BAR Ed Model 4 is streamlined and made of modern materials.
John Ek created Ek Knives in 1941. He contributed to the World War II effort by overseeing the production of knives for most all American service branches from his Hamden, Connecticut, shop. He employed disabled Americans to help build six knife models during the war.
He called the knives “Ek Commando Knives” for their intended purpose of close-quarter combat. He began registering each knife’s serial number to its original owner in 1943. The Ek Commando Knife became a hallmark of the U.S. Marine Raiders and other American special operation units during the war. At the peak of wartime production, he employed three shifts working seven days a week making knives, and is reported to have sold over 100,000 models by war’s end.
U.S. troops have carried Ek Commando Knives in every major American conflict since World War II.
Ek moved his shop to Miami, Florida, in 1949, and continued to make knives for private sale to military men, with thousands of his knives seeing service in Korea and Vietnam. He died in October 1972 and his son, Gary, took over the business. Robert A. Buerlein obtained the rights to Ek Knives in 1981 and resumed production in 1982. Blackjack Knives bought Ek in 1993 and sold it to Century International Arms in 1997. KA-BAR acquired the Ek knife brand last year.
Find out how author, knife collector, BLADE® Magazine field editor and antique knife authority Richard D. White ranked his favorite price and information guides to collectible knives.
White says he asks a series of questions, such as, “Does the book accurately document a brand history, its years of production, and have enough sidebar histories, distinctive specimens and interesting stories that provide ‘meat to the bone?'” Or, “Is the book a ‘quality publication’? Are the photographs professionally done? Are the line drawings clear, accurately scaled and detailed? Is the book well printed? What about the book’s organization? Does it have a glossary of commonly used terms? Does it include a value guide? Does it have widespread appeal?”
See the August 2015 issue of BLADE for the other titles he names, as well as for the complete, detailed and fascinating story of how he finally came up with a final five.
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).
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Knives 2016, 36th Edition
White says he asks a series of questions, such as, “Does the book accurately document a brand history, its years of production, and have enough sidebar histories, distinctive specimens and interesting stories that provide ‘meat to the bone?'” Or, “Is the book a ‘quality publication’? Are the photographs professionally done? Are the line drawings clear, accurately scaled and detailed? Is the book well printed? What about the book’s organization? Does it have a glossary of commonly used terms? Does it include a value guide? Does it have widespread appeal?”
