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 your knife is a damascus folder, all eyes are on it when you pull it from your pocket and deploy the blade. Is that damascus? Is it sharp? Who forged it? What’s the pattern? The questions flood in and the conversation starts. Enjoy the discussion!
Bob Hook: Dress Locking Folder
ABS journeyman smith Bob Hook employs a damascus of 1080 carbon and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels forged by Salem Straub for the clip-point blade of his dress locking folder. The scales are Alaskan mammoth ivory and the bolsters are mokume gane. Blade and closed lengths: 2.75 and 3.25 inches.
David Kramp: Navy Rope Knife
Rose pattern damascus from Damasteel comprises the sheepsfoot blade of David Kramp’s Navy Rope Knife. The slipjoint is modeled after a Sheffield, England-built U.S. Navy rope knife likely issued around the time of the Spanish American War of 1898. A frame of 410 stainless steel supports the stag scales. Bolster: 416 stainless. Closed length: 4.5 inches.
Dirk Loots: Engraved
Dirk Loots opts for Fracture pattern damascus by Bertie Rietveld for the 3.5-inch hollow-ground blade of his exotic folder. Scales and liners/bolster: Mammoth ivory and bronze. Inlays: 24k gold and fine silver. Closed length: 5.5 inches. Dirk also did the engraving.
Tom Overeynder: Dagger
A 3.62-inch blade and 4.66-inch frame of Gysinge pattern damascus forged by Damasteel highlight Tom Overeynder’s folding dagger. The spanner bolts used in the construction of the knife are Blue Tongue pattern damascus, also by Damasteel.
Ted Moore: Hollow Grind
Larry Donnely forged the damascus for the blued, hollow-ground blade of Ted Moore’s folder engraved by Madeline Crumling. The frame and liners are 416 stainless steel and the inlay is black pen shell. Blade and closed lengths: 2.5 and 3.5 inches.
Manuele Messori: Halo
Damasteel forged the Thor pattern damascus for the 4.13-inch blade of Manuele Messori’s Halo. The blade inlay is white and black-lip mother-of-pearl, and the handle is zirconium, Timascus®, mother-of-pearl and Gibeon meteorite. Liners: Timascus. Closed length: 4.9 inches.
Andrew Takach: Harpoon
A damascus blade in a harpoon pattern, crosscut mammoth ivory handle in a bird’s-beak-butt pattern, and a flared damascus bolster with 24k-gold inlay complete a dress locking folder by Andrew Takach.
Jesse Harber and Coy Baker forecast the hottest damascus steel for ’26.
There’s something about predicting the future that has intrigued humanity for ages. If you could just somehow know which stocks would turn a profit, which crypto would “go to the moon,” or which numbers were coming in the PowerBall, you like to imagine that you could really take advantage. Thus far the ability to accurately predict the future has been a challenge, which begs the question—what damascus steels and patterns will be hot for 2026?
Jesse Harber of Vegas Forge doesn’t hesitate to jump right in.
“Our Reptilian pattern stayed hot in 2025,” he observes, “and it should continue to do well.” Vegas most often uses a combination of AEB-L, 440C and 302 stainless steels for contrast in its stainless billets. It prefers the combination of O1 tool, 1075 carbon and nickel-alloy steels for its carbon varieties.
Jake McCoy used Baker’s Zeus stainless damascus for the blade of his folder.
Twenty-twenty-five was a fun year for Vegas Forge. It was able to continue making the steel it loves, the steel most knife enthusiasts all love to use—and it still managed to find time to innovate.
Makers have been using EDM cutouts in canisters to make unique figures and shapes for some time now. Over the past few years, a few have experimented with 3D-printed shapes inside canisters for truly limitless possibilities. Vegas has taken a different approach of using smaller cutouts within canisters that are then layered into “regular” damascus. There are obviously other critical details of the process not mentioned here, but the end result is small shapes or logos within the layers of the steel, not just as a shape like the other canister types you usually see.
Hammering Away At Baker Forge & Tool
Coy Baker said Baker Forge & Tool is “really moving and shaking” for 2026, partly because of a new Chambersburg steam hammer converted to air. With a die surface of 6-by-14 inches and a 750-pound ram, the whole shop shakes when the hammer pounds on a giant billet. The hammer originally was used to make jib cranes for the Charlotte Railroad and runs on a 50-horsepower compressor with multiple 750-gallon air tanks. Coy stated he hasn’t pushed the hammer to its max, but said he thinks it can handle billets up to 35 pounds.
Baker’s Tsunami copper-mai steel is the material for the blade of a piece by Hans Molenkamp of Crimson Knife Co. (crimsonknives.com).
Why in the world would Baker Forge need such a giant hammer? Because the company, too, has been innovating and expanding into the production of stainless damascus. After two years of research and development and fine-tuning Baker’s processes for production, the prodigious pounder is finally up to speed. Baker prefers a combination of AEB-L and 154CM for its stainless damascus.
“The steel is really hard even when it’s hot,” Coy said. “Even with our 350-pound hammer it was like pounding on a rock.” The giant Chambersburg, on the other hand, moves a giant stainless billet with ease.
For those of you who don’t know, forging stainless damascus is quite a challenge, beyond the capability of many backyard smiths. Stainless steels contain high chromium, sometimes 12-to-15 percent, and chromium oxide doesn’t forge weld. Any oxygen at all in the forging environment and the welds simply will not stick. There are multiple ways to get around that, including inert gas purges and welding inside canisters. Add that to the fact that the stainless doesn’t like to move under the hammer and has only about a 100-degree-temperature window when you can safely work it, and you get a very difficult process.
Baker Forge & Tool’s Will Spears forges a billet of stainless damascus on the Chambersburg high-frame power hammer at Baker. Built in 1946, the power hammer has a 750-pound ram and weighs just shy of 11 tons. “It took us 14 months to install,” Coy Baker laughed. “The foundation for it is over 12 feet deep.”
Baker isn’t just producing stainless damascus in run-of-the-mill patterns, it is innovating. It has developed patterns it will use in its stainless steel exclusively, particularly one called Zeus.
Copper damascus has long been Baker’s hottest commodity, and it’s still producing it at high volume and quantity. The company is pushing the limits there as well and has developed a method to weld and manipulate copper on the end grain. While the technique is under wraps, the results will be broadcast far and wide: copper damascus in formerly unobtainable mosaic patterns. When clad over a monosteel or carbon damascus core, the patterns stretch the imagination of what’s possible.
Steel Industry Challenges
Both Baker and Harber mentioned challenges and areas for growth in the steel industry. Baker was the first to put BLADE® on the story about Buderus apparently closing its primary mill for 10xx series steels. Coupled with the recent closing of Crucible on the stainless side (see our article on Crucible Industries closing), both Baker and Harber have been exploring new steel options in case their mainstays become unavailable. Vegas in particular is moving toward more cores of Nitro-V and Elmax and moving away from MagnaCut and XHP.
Vegas Forge team member Franklin draws out a 40-pound canister of stainless Raindrop-pattern damascus on the company’s 5B Nazel hammer.
The hot new kid on the block is ProCut, the brainchild of a partnership between Larrin Thomas and Pop’s Knife Supply. Both Vegas and Baker are looking forward to pushing the limits of ProCut. As a high-alloy steel, when combined with Apex Ultra, the maker achieves high performance out of what looks like “ordinary” 1084/15N20 damascus. If you think of the difference in performance between 1084 and 52100 carbon steels, you’re on the right track. Baker Forge is currently in the lead on the ProCut “arms race” but Vegas Forge has steel in hand and is ready to go.
What fun new things can we expect in the world of damascus in 2026? Vegas Forge is entertaining a few recent orders that sound interesting. There’s a maker in Alaska using Vegas material to make high-end custom ice skates, and another customer using the company’s material to make stainless damascus computer keyboards. Who’d a thunk it? For those who enjoy a good picture show, Vegas has another top-secret project in the works. Think aliens with amazing damascus weapons and tools and you’re on the right track.
Take two leaders in the field like Baker and Vegas, factor in the demand for their top steels and add lots of innovation, and you get the makings of a really great year to come in the world of damascus.
The men behind the Huber Foxworth Bowie are as captivating as the knife itself.
This is the story of a knife named in honor of an incredibly special man. In this highly populated world not many people get their name attached to anything. I do, however, know for a fact that Craig Fox Huber was very proud of the idea that people would be wanting the knife that bore his name for decades to come. He told me so in person. He lived a life that so many would aspire to but very few would have the moxie to follow through on. He was the real deal.
So, how did Craig impact a knifemaker to the point of naming a knife the Huber Foxworth Bowie? Here’s what my father, BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Dan Dennehy, wrote about Craig in his 1970 Dan-D Knives Brochure:
Many self-styled “experts” have stopped by my shop from time to time to suggest to me how I should design the “perfect” knife … Not long ago a trim bearded crewcut type found his way to my shop, and we started talking knives. [Circa the late 1960s] I took an immediate liking to this handsome, rather cocky gent and was pleasantly surprised to learn that he spoke about knives with a rather rare understanding of design and more than just a rudimentary knowledge of metallurgy that I found uncommon even among some men whose names would be familiar to you as supposed “experts.” He not only talked good theory and design, but he spoke with considerable authority on how a fighting knife should be used.
That’s Craig Fox Huber inset circa 1970 at the Fox Den’s second location in Mountain Home, Arkansas.
During our conversation I learned that he had earned three Purple Hearts while serving with a Marine Recon Unit in Viet Nam, and enough other “breast hardware” that when he spoke, I listened with both ears, and rather attentively.
Those who knew Dan might realize that these comments mean he really respected the “cocky gent.” And Craig respected Dan. Their long friendship stayed the course until the end. I also had a lot of respect for Craig and his vast knowledge of knives and other things.
I met him in the early ’70s at The Fox’s Den, his gun shop located in the small ranch community of Kirkland, Arizona. Dan took me there to meet Craig when I was about 13. I shook hands with a man wearing a drop-loop gun belt with rounds in every loop and a .45 Long Colt pistol in the holster. I was in awe. I also got to see some of the knives he carried and to learn why he carried them.
About a year later my family bought a small ranch in the area. I visited the gun shop at every chance. Dan would take me to Craig’s home occasionally. I was equally impressed at his collections. The next summer I worked for Craig, helping with his horses and other stuff around his place. They were good times and I must say that it was from his influence that I went to see the United States Marine Corps recruiter a few years later.
Craig Huber: Christian Patriot
Craig’s son Hunter can tell you better than anyone about his father. Of Craig he wrote:
Dad was a lot of things. He was a soldier, a gunfighter, inventor, storyteller, adventurer, hunter, fisherman, survivalist, outfitter, collector, gunsmith, writer, and the list goes on. He was a patriot and a Christian. He lived his life to the absolute fullest and would fight for everything he believed in and loved.
In his vast collection of Dan Dennehy knives, Craig’s favorites were the Dan-D Alamo Bowie and the Huber Foxworth Bowie. The Alamo Bowie has a 12-inch hollow-ground blade a quarter-inch thick and 2 inches wide. The blade’s non-mark side is etched with an eight-line poem that commemorates Col. Travis’s call for “defenders to step forward.” The handle is walrus ivory inlaid with 18 turquoise cabs. Overall length: 16.5 inches. The custom sheath is cowhide. (Bob Glassman image)
Despite having the option to go work for his father’s rapidly growing company in York, Pennsylvania, that was obviously of no interest to Dad so he went into the military. Even though he had trouble with authority and rules, he thrived in the Marines.
After the military his life got really interesting. His resume speaks for itself but here is a summary: police officer; sheriff; private investigator; horse wrangler; hunting guide, Ozark Mountains; fishing guide, French River, Canada; gun shop owner, Fox’s Den (Kirkland, Arizona, and Mountain Home, Arkansas); salesman, Camillus Knives and Levis; personal protection, bodyguard for Saudi Royal Family; professional hunter, South Africa; writer, Whitetail Times magazine and several personal protection books; gunsmith; gun dealer; private security, consulting and training; fugitive recovery; and much more. This is a very general overview and it took him to some very interesting places and dangerous spots, and he met some really interesting people along the way.
So here is what Dad loved. He loved his country and God. He loved our mom. He loved me and my sister. He loved adventure. And he loved guns and knives. Dad was an encyclopedia of firearms, handloading and ballistics. He had a real passion for Rugers, Ruger M77s in any and every caliber they make, but especially 7×57 and Ruger single action pistols. He was also a 1911 fanatic. I don’t remember a single occasion in my life where I ever saw Dad without a 1911 on his side or in a shoulder holster.
And he loved knives. Man did he love knives. I don’t know exactly where in his life this interest started, but he was as passionate about knives as guns, and maybe more. And this is coming from a guy whose gun collection is over 500. He loved all knives and always carried at least two at a time. He had a real appreciation for a good blade and considered knives the most valuable tool an outdoorsman or soldier could have.
Here’s the second iteration of The Fox’s Den Gun Shop as it appeared in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Note the sidewalk parking meter.
As you would expect, just like factory rifles with factory ammo were not suitable for Dad’s standards, neither were factory knives. As a result he started reaching out to custom knifemakers and collaborating. He formed relationships with Bo Randall, Jimmy Lile, Art Wiman, Clyde Fischer, Blackie Collins, Harold Corby and George Herron, and most notably Dan D. Dad spoke of Dan D. with a manner of respect and admiration that he did not offer up lightly to many. A shared respect and appreciation for the art and skill behind making the ultimate tool, something that was practical and efficient, beautiful and deadly. Dad’s collection of Dan D. knives is vast but his two most prized are the Alamo Bowie and the Huber Foxworth Bowie.
Dad was the toughest man I’ve ever known. A real fighter, rock solid, set in his ways and unshakeable. No matter, if you had a problem, my Dad would be your first call and the man you wanted in your corner. Dad had a lot of fans and a lot of enemies. He had many acquaintances and peers and only a small handful of good friends. He always said if you get through life and only have a few good friends, real true friends, then consider yourself lucky. Dan D. was a true friend of Dad’s.
Two of Craig’s favorite Dan-D users included a survival machete and a Woodsman model. Craig designed both, with Dan-D making the former and helping Craig make the latter in the Dan-D shop. Craig carried the Woodsman more than any other knife for over 40 years.
Craig was one of those rare characters you meet along the road of life and always remember. Later he told me stories of discussions with Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Bo Randall and knife designs for different purposes. Another story was how he talked to Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Bob Loveless about the simplicity of balancing a knife using his personal theory of the tapered tang. He visited with his friend Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Jimmy Lile long before the Rambo knife was created. John Horrigan told me about their hunting trip in Africa. Since Craig was a licensed guide the trip was arranged in exchange for a knife identical to the one John presented to President George W. Bush.
Huber Foxworth Bowie
But back to the Huber Foxworth Bowie. The brochure description continues:
This knife is a pure and simple Bowie style but with the handle dropped slightly which seems to give it a much better “pointing” ability and maneuverability not found in most common Bowie styles. [Craig] had a prototype of this knife made for him by a Philippine Negrito instructor while he was attending the armed forces Jungle Survival School in the Philippines. Pound for pound these little Negritos are about as slick and fierce a knife fighter as will be found anywhere.
In a 2011 email to the author Craig wrote, “This [image] shows all four pair of boot knives your Dad did for me, including two pairs of my Model III. All have been carried extensively over the past 40 years, and two of the knives have saved my life.”The blade is 8 inches long, 1.75 inches wide and in quarter-inch stock of 154 CPM stainless steel heat treated by Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Paul Bos. It has a double guard and a 4.75-inch handle. According to the brochure, “This is a knife you could bet your life on.”
A couple of years ago, Hunter contacted me and told me of his father’s passing. Craig lived 76 years his way and made his mark in the world. His passion for God, his country and living life to the fullest extent had been accomplished. Hunter went on to explain that out of all the knives they cannot find the one that meant more to Craig than the Huber Foxworth Bowie.
Kevin Casey feathers his cap with an outstanding array of custom throwback blades.
Kevin Casey may have hit on a great idea for knives with both a custom touch and an antique look and feel.
Taking some old yet inexpensive late 19th/early 20th-century dinner knives with mother-of-pearl handles and silver ferrules, he replaced the original blades with those forged of assorted patterns of his feather damascus. The result, the Little Feathers, went fast at the Solvang Show, with two selling individually and five going to one shrewd buyer.
Kevin Casey
Kevin said similar versions of the original antique knives are available on eBay, Etsy, at jewelry stores, flea markets and the like. He cleaned the insides of the ferrules with acetone before epoxying his damascus blades into them. He cleaned the ferrules with Flitz and a toothbrush, polished the handles and the knives basically were ready to go. He plans to do more like them in the future.
Little Feathers Specs Maker: Kevin Casey Model type: Dinner knives Blade lengths: 2.5 to 4.25” Blade material: Assorted patterns of feather damascus in 1080 carbon and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels w/a thin layer of pure nickel; depending on the pattern, the layer count ranges anywhere from 50 to 500 Handle material: Mother-of-pearl Ferrules: Silver Overall lengths: 6.5 to 8” Maker’s list price range for similar knives: $600 to $900 each
John Horrigan will auction Serial No. 1 on Veteran’s Day.
On June 17, 2005, while conducting military operations against known terrorists, United States Army Master Sergeant Robert M. “Bob” Horrigan was killed in action in Al Qaim, Iraq. In recognition of the 20th anniversary of Bob’s supreme sacrifice for his country, ABS master smith John Horrigan has made a series of 20 special knives in his twin brother’s honor.
Robert started his military career in 1984 with the 3rd 75th Ranger Battalion under the command of Captain Stanley McCrystal, going on to serve as a Ranger instructor in Mountain Phase in Dahlonega, Georgia. Robert was a light weapons sergeant with the 7th Special Forces Group ODA. His last assignment was with 1st Special Forces Group, detachment Delta. MSG Horrigan served 9½ years with the Counter Terrorist Unit. He had three tours to Afghanistan and was killed on his fifth tour in Iraq.
To say Robert was special would be an understatement. He excelled in everything he did. Pete Blaber, a former Delta commander, wrote about Bob in his book, The Mission, The Men and Me. George Hand wrote about Robert in SOFREP, chronicling his exploits in A Better Man Than I and Walking Among Giants. Robert was the fictional character of Bob Harrington in Brad Thor’s books Blow Back and Take Down. Sean Naylor also wrote about Bob in his book, Not a Good Day to Die.
John Horrigan will auction off Serial No. 1 of a special series of 20 knives this coming Veteran’s Day in memory of the 20th anniversary of his twin brother Bob’s death in action in Al Qaim, Iraq. (Jocelyn Frasier image)
Bob was nicknamed the “pack mule.” He would carry the gear of others when they became fatigued. He had a never-quit motto and was there to help his fellow service members through.
President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “… credit in life belongs to the man in the arena whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood. It belongs to the man who strives valiantly, who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions, and spends himself daring greatly in a worthy cause so that he will know the triumph of high achievement; and whose place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Master Sergeant Robert Horrigan was exactly such a man.
Legacy Design
ABS master smith John Horrigan introduced his brother to knifemaking about five years before Robert was killed in action. The original Bob Horrigan Military Fighter is a model Robert designed, built and made famous.. The legacy design rightly named in his honor is 11.25 inches long with a 6.375-inch blade and a linen Micarta® handle.
Robert competed in the Best Ranger Competition in 1987 and finished in second place. John also was a Ranger in the 3rd 75th. He continues to stay connected by awarding the warriors who place second in the Best Ranger Competition with a Bob Horrigan knife in honor of his brother.
In recognition of the 20th anniversary of Robert’s death, John has made 20 commemorative knives with Robert’s touch mark—a bear paw with Horrigan through it. The knives are numbered 1 through 20. Robert designed the knife for the military elite who continue to carry it with service, pride and a brother’s love.
Robert loved where he worked and when someone asked him which unit he was in, he’d tell them “1st SOFT D.” He was all about secrecy of the unit. He’d let them try to figure it out. (Robert had a dry sense of humor). His nickname in the unit was “Puddy,” Elaine’s boyfriend in Seinfeld.
Robert (left) and John Horrigan enjoy the 2004 BLADE Show.
Serial No. 1 of the Bob Horrigan knife will be auctioned off this coming Veteran’s Day, November 11, with the proceeds going toward a great cause.
For more information on the auction and the entire series of 20th anniversary Bob Horrigan knives, visit John Horrigan Instagram page or visit eliteknives.com.
The 12th president was and is a hot knife commodity.
Some examples from the article of “Old Zach” bowies that included the American general and president’s name, slogans or likeness. The lower bowies have his visage, the second from bottom a stamp motif on the ricasso of Taylor on horseback, the bottom a bust of the celebrated general.
Ever in tune with what’s popular at the moment, knifemakers have never been afraid to cash in on a hot trend. William R. Williamson documented one of the more peculiar vogues of the middle 19th century when Zachary Taylor and bowie knives were all the rage.
Fresh off his triumphs in the Mexican-American War, Taylor was the 1850’s version of a rock star—Americans just couldn’t get enough of him. And while not known to carry a bowie nor affiliate with the hero of the Alamo—Jim Bowie—the general and president’s likeness began to pop up on the most American of knives.
Funny thing is, as William’s points out in his article “Old Zach and the Bowie Knife,” from the March-April issue of The American Blade®, it wasn’t the Yanks cashing in. Instead, England Sheffield’s makers had the pulse of the USA and stamped Taylor’s visages on blades and bolsters.
Unfortunately, Old Rough and Ready’s short-lived presidency didn’t inspire the same outpouring of effigies. But modern collectors did and do find these unusual and patriotic blades desirable, as Williamson points out in his article.
Peyton Ramm uses the 3D printing process for canister patterns to make his dream knife.
It was ABS journeyman smith Peyton Ramm’s dream to make a knife themed after his favorite childhood TV show, Dragon Ball, and the new 3D printing process for canister patterns provided him with the perfect vehicle to do so.
“Before I heard about 3D printing, I dreaded the idea of paying someone to wire EDM every single dragon ball out, but my good friend Ron Hardman introduced the idea,” Peyton wrote. “I sent him pictures of Gohan [a prominent character in the Dragon Ball series] and the dragon balls, and asked him to recreate the image in the best way possible to forge down. His students at Kilroy’s Workshop got a rough draft for me and once I approved it, they printed and sent it.”
Peyton stated he had to build a new forge just to do the canisters, as he only had a vertical forge and it’s important to forge weld lightly on the two end caps first before welding the sides.
“My first billet fell apart because of this, a mistake I didn’t [repeat],” he wrote. He combined the two images with a flower mosaic he made with a damascus of 1095 carbon and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels to break the pattern up, and finally had his damascus. From there he matched the blade and bolsters as best he could so it would look like an uninterrupted transition.
