Knife Collecting

Act now to contact members of a House Subcommittee hearing that will meet June 24 to help decide the fate of the sale of all items containing elephant and other ivories.

“This is our best chance to stop the ivory ban without mega-money lawsuits,” observed scrimshander Linda Karst Stone. Though Stone and others worked on BLADE Show auction knives that should bring a “decent amount of money” to fight the anti-ivory mania in Washington, D.C., she fears it will be nowhere near enough. “It does not feel like we have deep enough pockets to fight an expensive lawsuit,” which is what it will take if the ban is not stopped before it is fully enacted, she noted.

As a result, she encourages those who value their elephant ivory knives to contact their representatives who will be sitting on the June 24 House Subcommittee hearing.

“I caution everyone not to be too optimistic, but the oversight hearing of June 24 could put a stop to this if they think there is enough support and hear from enough of us,” Stone noted.

Those on the House Subcommittee are Chairman John Flemming (Louisiana); Don Young (Alaska); Rob Wittman (Virginia); Glenn “GT” Thompson (Pennsylvania); Jeff Duncan (South Carolina); Steve Southerland II (Florida); Bill  Flores (Texas); Jon Runyan (New Jersey); Vance McAllister (Louisiana); Bradley Byrne (Alabama); Doc Hastings (Washington); Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (North Mariana Islands); Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (American Samoa); Frank Pallone Jr. (New Jersey); Madeleine Z. Bordallo (Guam); Pedro Pierluisi (Puerto Rico); Carol Shea-Porter (New Hampshire); Alan Lowenthal (California); Joe Garcia (Florida); and Peter A. DeFazio (Oregon).

For the full subcommittee membership, complete with links to contact each member, visit http://naturalresources.house.gov/subcommittees/subcommittee/?SubcommitteeID=5063. The best strategy is to focus on  members with whom you have a connection, you are one of their constituents, you have a business in the official’s district, etc.

The battle to stop federal measures that punish law-abiding citizens and do little to address the issue of elephant ivory poaching has entered a new phase.

If you are a duly authorized representative of a company with “significant commercial operations and employees,” now is the time to present U.S. Fish & Wildlife with a letter to oppose the pending federal measures, the first round of which reportedly is due to be released sometime this month. However, if you act no later than April 14 and send the letter to FWS, you will be in time to have your voice heard by those who can amend or even stop those measures before they happen.

Simply email the following letter to Doug Ritter of Knife Rights at [email protected], and he will forward it with others to FWS officials expressing concern over the harm the new federal measure would cause, not only to worldwide elephant populations but also to law-abiding citizens who own ivory knives and other ivory products and have owned the very same ones for years, if not decades.

The letter is as follows:

Subject: Ivory Ban Knife Community Letter

My name is (insert your full name) and I am (insert your executive position in the organization or company) of (insert name of your organization or company). As its duly authorized representative, I request that you add our name to the Knife Community letter opposing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed ban on commercial trade in elephant ivory.

(Insert Official Address of your Organization or Company)

(Insert Organization of Company Website)

(Insert your phone number in case of questions)

Regards,

(Insert Your Name)

(Insert Your Title)

(Insert Your Company’s Name)

(Insert Your Mailing Address)

(Insert Your Website Address)

(Insert Your Email Address)

(Insert Your Phone Number)

For the latest knives, knife news, trends and more, stay tuned to blademag.com.

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.

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

http://www.fws.gov/international/advisory-council-wildlife-trafficking/

For further developments stay tuned to www.blademag.com.

If you think it’s too late for you to do anything about the oppressive ivory ban being implemented by federal officials, think again.

You can act now to have your voice heard by congressional and federal officials to stop more language adverse to those who buy, sell and collect ivory knives being added to the federal government’s “use after import” regulations.

One of the issues that apparently remains unsettled in the official language of the new ban is the exact wording concerning the legality of the sale of ivory, including ivory knives, across state lines. The updated regulations are due to be completed and released sometime in April, sources said.

As a result, you have time to contact your representative and other federal officials now before it’s too late. For more on the specifics of the ban, frequently asked questions and more, visit http://www.fws.gov/

To determine the name and contact information for your Congressional representative, visit http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

In addition, make your views known to Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior, and Daniel M. Ashe, director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife. The mailing address for the Department of the Interior is 1849 C St., NW, Washington, DC 20240. It can be reached by phone at 202-208-3100 or e-mail at [email protected]. The mailing address for U.S. Fish and Wildlife is 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203.

We recommend hitting all of them on all fronts—by phone, e-mail and snail mail. They say a written letter carries more weight, so it may be time to break out the pen and paper and attack this issue old-school style.

For the latest knives, knife news, trends and more, stay tuned to www.blademag.com.