Knife Collecting

An unusually high number of knifemakers have died recently, all of whom left more than their fair share of lifelong marks on family, friends and the knife industry. In terms of influence on knife design, though, the two that probably had the largest impact were Ed Halligan and Kit Carson.

Ironically, both men designed wildly popular folding knives for CRKT, and it is those folders that have been so influential on the knife industry.

A member of the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame©, Carson passed away Sept. 5. Halligan passed away Nov. 8. Though both made many great knives, each will be remembered most for their industry standards: Carson for the M16 and Halligan for the K.I.S.S.

The K.I.S.S. is a simple yet ingenious folding knife. In the closed position, its two-piece frame-lock construction and safe, user-friendly design “seals” the cutting edge of the chisel-ground blade against the handle. As Halligan once explained, “With the K.I.S.S., the frame and the lock are all one piece … I made the original knife with the blade chisel ground on one side only so it would slide against the frame when folded and make a seal so you wouldn’t cut yourself.”

In fact, when it first came out, I recall talking to one long-time industry observer who thought the K.I.S.S. was a lawsuit waiting to happen because he thought consumers would cut themselves on the blade edge despite the blade’s seal against the handle in the closed position. However, Halligan’s version of the design works so well that such accidental cuts never happen. One of the main reasons the design is safe is that Halligan tested it in real-life conditions to be sure that such accidents never occur. “Safety is a big reason why I carried the knife around so much to make sure it worked properly,” Halligan said.

In 1997, Halligan signed a deal with CRKT for the company to reproduce the K.I.S.S., and CRKT launched the repro of the knife at the 1998 SHOT Show. Only four years old at the time, CRKT was struggling to find a knife that would help “drag the rest of the product lines along,” as CRKT’s Rod Bremer put it. The K.I.S.S. was that knife. Unfortunately, a number of unscrupulous companies blatantly knocked the K.I.S.S. off so much that it eventually became one of the most copied sporting knives worldwide. CRKT and Halligan weathered that storm, though, and Ed designed a series of K.I.S.S. iterations and spinoffs for CRKT that included the Delilah’s P.E.C.K. (for Precision Engineered Compact Knife), Samson’s K.I.S.S., the H.U.G. (Halligan’s Ultimate Gadget), the Slip K.I.S.S., the Neck P.E.C.K., the blackened K.I.S.S. In The Dark, even a fixed-blade version called the Stiff K.I.S.S. and others.

Just as they were linked in their passing, Halligan and Carson were also linked in their CRKT collaboration deals. CRKT must have been living right back in those days because it was just a year after signing the deal with Halligan to reproduce the K.I.S.S. that it signed the deal with Carson to reproduce Carson’s M16 folder. Even though Carson did not invent the flipper, his M16 is universally credited as the model that popularized flipper folders—folding knives with one-hand-opening “flippers” that double as guards when the blade is opened. “The M16 with the Carson Flipper was a huge improvement on non-assisted blade opening, making a manual knife open almost as fast as an auto without a secondary thumb stud or hole mechanism,” observed long-time knife writer Mac Overton. “Because it had less moving parts and its opening relied on inertia rather than a spring or torsion bar, the mechanism was inherently stable and reliable.”

The M16 and its military look—Carson was a U.S. Army career man—soon became not only immensely popular with consumers but with service personnel as well. In fact, by many accounts, the M16 was the most popular knife among active duty service personnel in the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, as with the Halligan/CRKT K.I.S.S., Carson’s M16 begat a number of CRKT iterations and spinoffs, including the M16-10KZ, M16-13Z, M16-12Z, M16-14ZSF, M16-13ZM, M16-14SFG, M21-14SFG, M21-02G, M16-13FSG and others. And, most fittingly, the K.I.S.S. and M16 were ranked third and fourth, respectively, in a BLADE® Magazine poll of veteran industry observers of the top factory knives from 1989-2000.

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Choosing the custom knives that are best for you can be a tricky proposition. There are a number of things to consider, including how much money you have to spend, whether you’re buying the knife to use, collect or resell, and other factors. Especially if you’re new to the market, looking to change the focus of the kinds of knives you buy or simply unsure which knife is best for you, a custom knife purveyor (also known as a dealer) is out there who can help you.

There are a number of different types of custom knife purveyors. Some specialize in one type of knife only, such as art knives or tactical knives. Since tactical knives have been hot for a long time, there are probably more tactical knife purveyors than any other type.

On the other hand, some purveyors may specialize in two or more knife genres, such as tactical and handforged, for instance. Others may sell one maker’s knives only, such as those made by BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Bob Loveless. Still others may sell the knives of a select iconic few, such as Loveless, Jim Schmidt, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famers Bill Moran and Ron Lake, and a few others.

The serious ones have websites with professionally photographed images of the custom knives they offer for sale, and/or advertise their purveying service in knife magazines and/or other media. A sign of a purveyor who is in business for the long haul is one who advertises consistently over an extended period of time. (The latter also goes for knifemakers.) Still other purveyors may photograph their knives for marketing purposes—with some being quite good at it—own a brick-and-mortar retail knife store, and a very few produce/coordinate their own knife shows. Some purveyors do two or more of the preceding and at least one does all three.

To find out which purveyor fits your needs, ask around at knife shows, knife discussion forums, social media sites and other venues, check websites and knife magazines, etc. Talk to your friends or acquaintances who buy custom knives or ask them for the names of others who buy custom knives. Tell them what kinds of knives you’re looking for and ask them which purveyors are the best at providing such knives and offer the best customer service. Get as many opinions as you can. It’s better to have more information than not enough. Whittle the purveyors down to a select few you think you might want to work with and call them and feel them out. Go with the one you connect with best—in other words, go with your gut feeling in picking the one you want to use.

Before we continue, some fundamentals on how purveyors obtain the knives they sell is in order. It’s really pretty cut and dried: the purveyors attend select knife shows in search of the top knives and makers and/or establish relationships with those makers—and a select knife show is always a great place to both meet the maker and see some of his/her best work. The best purveyors work with proficient makers who are good at meeting deadlines on the knives they agree to make, offer good customer service if something goes wrong with the knife, and who, in general, appeal to custom knife enthusiasts of most all stripes. The purveyor will reach an agreement with the maker to buy one or more of his or her knives and then sell the knife/knives at enough of a markup to make a profit, stay in business and buy more knives for sale. That’s pretty basic, but that’s essentially how it works.

Why should you buy from a purveyor instead of a maker? Actually, if you can bypass the purveyor and buy directly from the maker, you probably should. However, that’s not always possible and is where purveyors come in. (Besides, as noted, if you’re new to the market or unsure of what to buy, the guidance a capable purveyor can provide in buying a custom knife can be invaluable.) Through the working relationships they establish with leading makers, purveyors have access to knives from those makers that most individual custom knife enthusiasts do not. Many makers have to struggle to make deadlines for other custom orders and knife shows, and often cannot fill your order quick enough or before the knife loses some of its luster and is no longer “hot.” Purveyors, on the other hand, may have the knife in question in stock or something from the maker that will fill your needs immediately.

As an aside, if you look around enough, you will no doubt hear from some that one purveyor or another is prejudiced in favor of a certain maker or makers. Whenever you hear this, take it with a grain of salt because most all purveyors will indeed be prejudiced in favor of makers that are a) easy to work with and b) make deadlines—traits that you would probably like in a maker as well.

These are just some of the things to look for in a custom purveyor. The more you look and ask around, the more you will find other traits that will make the custom purveyor the best for you and your knife needs.

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KNIVES 2015

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.

Robbins Fighter

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This Landon Robbins fixed blade in 1084 carbon steel won Best Fighter at the Branson Hammer-In & Knife Show. (Chuck Ward image)

Today’s red-hot forged knives include some of the best in utility and other patterns, most all in blades of high-carbon steels such as 5160, 1095, 52100 and others. Though the steels are not classified as stainless, you can control the pitting and rust on the blades by simply wiping them down after each use. No biggy, really, if you think about it. Properly heat treated and ground, the blades are easy to sharpen and cut like bandits.

Here are eight knives hot from the forge, starting with a sexy fighter in 1084 carbon steel by American Bladesmith Society journeyman smith Landon Robbins of Crane, Missouri. The understated hamon or temper line of the clip-point blade, S-guard and “dropped” blackwood handle make this puppy stand out—and it also took home the award for Best Fighter at the recent Branson Hammer-In & Knife Show.

David C. Lemoine embellishes the blade of 5160 on his drop-point hunter with a short burst of filework on the spine. A single mosaic pin accents the contrasting brown and black lacewood bird’s beak handle. Overall length: 8.25 inches. A pouch sheath completes the package.

ABS master smith Don Fogg says a sign of a well-done hamon is one that stands out and is easy to describe. We christen the hamon on the W2 tool steel blade of ABS journeyman smith Tad Lynch‘s bowie “thundercloud” for its resemblance to an oncoming storm. The handle is Micarta®. Overall length: 14.5 inches.

Lyons and tigers and bears—oh my! In this instance the Lyons is ABS journeyman smith Bill Lyons of Palisade, Nebraska, maker of a slick hunter with a deep-bellied blade of 5160. The silver-wire-inlaid handle is separated from the blade by a minimalist guard. Overall length: 7.5 inches. The knife includes a leather belt sheath.

ABS journeyman smith Don McIntosh captures the “Musso Style Bowie” in a brass-backed blade of 5160 carbon steel and an ironwood handle. The brass guard and ferrule augment the blade’s brass back. For those unaware, “Musso” refers to bowie authority Joe Musso, who reportedly has every prop knife used in the early 1950s classic movie about BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Jim Bowie, The Iron Mistress, the film that inspired many a knifemaking legend to build knives.

ABS master smith Jerry Lairson enjoyed past success on the cutting competition circuit and parlays some of that experience into his kukri in 5160 carbon blade steel and an ironwood handle. The kukri designs lends itself to chopping, one of the main requirements of any good competition cutter. Overall length: 16 inches.

Raymon Hunt of Irving, Texas, chose O1 tool steel for the 5.25 inch blade of his boot dagger. A silver ferrule separates the knife’s double-ground blade from the ebony coffin handle. Overall length: 9.75 inches. Boot daggers, a very popular style in the early days of the modern custom knife movement, aren’t seen much anymore, so Mr. Hunt’s offering is a welcome window on a bygone style long overdue for a comeback.

Another carbon steel blade with an understated hamon—this time in 1095—highlights Joel Austin‘s bowie. The straight-back blade and Spartan features make this a knife we could see Jim Bowie wearing back in the day walking down some dark alley in Natchez-Under-The-Hill, Mississippi. The handle is ironwood. Overall length: 13 inches.

Do you know your knife terminology? Yes, I agree that it probably doesn’t matter much if you do or not as long as you’re into knives and love to use them, collect them and otherwise celebrate your favorite sharp tool. On the other hand, there’s a certain satisfaction in knowing your knife terminology. In other words, it’s nice to be secure in the knowledge that your understanding of knife speak is current and that you can hold your own in conversation with knife aficionados.

For instance, a relatively new term introduced by BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Ken Onion is gentical. One of the world’s foremost custom knifemakers and factory knife designers, Ken has designed knives for Kershaw/Shun, CRKT and Chef Works, to name three. He’s even designed a motorized sharpener for Work Sharp! His cutlery designs have ranged from hunting to tactical to kitchen knives and beyond. In the process, he came up with the gentical name for a knife that boasts features of both a gentleman’s knife—small in size, blades 3 inches or shorter, lightweight, etc.—and a tactical knife—bigger, bolder designs, the latest blade steels, non-glare/matte blade finishes, etc. Gentleman’s plus tactical equals gentical—get it? (For more on genticals, see BLADE’s Complete Knife Guide Spring 2015, on newsstands Dec. 2.)

Of course gentical is a newer entry in knife speak. There are others, some of which go back years, even decades.

For instance, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Bob Loveless is famous for a hunting knife that many call a drop-point hunter or simply a drop point. However, drop point is a misnomer—at least it is in regard to the name Loveless originally gave the design, which was dropped hunter. Both drop point and dropped refer to the point of the blade in the design, which drops or rests below the midpoint of the blade’s plane. Somewhere along the line someone called it a drop point instead of a dropped hunter and the name stuck. In my opinion, drop point is more descriptive of the blade design than dropped—besides, dropped hunter sounds like a knife you dropped and/or lost in the woods somewhere. But I digress.

Then there’s finger choil. Finger guard is another one. The word finger in either is superfluous—in other words, it’s not needed. It’s a guard or it’s a choil, period. Finger groove or grooves is correct, but not finger guard or finger choil.

The guard is the cross/double guard with two quillons and/or single guard with one quillon—quillon is another entry in knife speak covered below—at the juncture of blade and handle that keeps your fingers/hand from sliding forward onto the blade from the grip.

A choil is a small cutout at the base of the edge of the blade. Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer A.G. Russell once said the choil’s original purpose was to indicate where to stop the stroke with the sharpener on the blade during the sharpening process. Some knives have larger cutouts at that juncture for placement of a finger for more detailed-type cuts. However, even then the cutouts are still choils, not finger choils. In addition, some companies and makers put a single groove in the handle just before the guard. Though they may call it a finger choil, it is really nothing more than a finger groove.

Now, for the quillon. According to Websters, a quillon is “either of two transverse projecting members forming the cross guard of the sword.” In other words, a cross or double guard consists of two quillons and a single guard consists of one quillon. The cutlery community uses the term for knife guards as well.

Moreover, you will often hear quillon incorrectly pronounced quill-yun. How the word obtained that pronunciation I do not know, though I suspect it came from someone who saw the word, did not know how to pronounce it, and simply did what many do in such circumstances—took a “stab” (forgive the pun) at saying it and arrived at quill-yun. The correct pronunciation is key-yun (or a reasonable facsimilie. Hey, I’m a writer, not a pronunciation expert). However, many, including a large number in the bladesmithing community, continue to refer to it as a quill-yun. Hence, if you hear that pronunciation, you’ll know what it means. (By the way, I don’t recommend trying to correct bladesmiths on their pronunciation of quill-yun. Trust me on this one.)

There are many knife terminology concepts you might want to know. I will cover them sometime in the future here at blademag.com.