Knife News Wire

$10 Knife Tops 2017’s Best-Selling Knives at Blade HQ

If you want to know what kind of a year 2017 was for knives, it’s best to start by asking a retailer. Blade HQ put together a nice roundup of its top seven best sellers. Spoiler alert: The number one spot goes to a knife priced at $10.

Prediction: Best-Selling Chef Knife of 2018

Not one to be late to the party, Gadget Review is already calling 2018’s best-selling chef knife as the 10-inch Shun Classic. From the article:

Forged with 33 layers of high-carbon VG10 steel at a 16-degree angle, the Shun Classic is the perfect beginner’s knife for anyone who’s looking to upgrade their cutlery game and want a knife that will last them for the long haul. A Rockwell hardness rating of 61 means you’ll rarely have to re-sharpen it on your own, while its resin-impregnated Pakkawood handle fits comfortably in any size hand.

We here are BLADE will provide all the fainting couches you need to deal with the shock of a Shun knife on a list of best blades for the kitchen. I doubt we’ll be busy.

A Knife Made Out of a Solid Piece of Fish

Katsuobushi is a smoked and dried type of tunafish used in Japanese cuisines. It’s also about as hard a food as you can find. That’s why it’s shaved into flakes and used as a base for soups or sauces. 

So why not make it into a knife?

Knives and Political Commemoratives: Pure Americana

Mentioned only in passing in the article here at the Hartford Courant, there apparently exists a switchblade made to commemorate President John F. Kennedy’s run for the White House. It’s now on display at a museum that celebrates the “Kennedy Mystique.” 

A switchblade, made during his campaign, has a carved face that bears little resemblance to JFK.

A photo was not attached to the article.

Pairing politics with commemorative knives is an act of undiluted Americana that continues to this day. At the 2016 BLADE Show, in the heat of a summer of politicking, presidential candidates’ faces and slogans adorned many knives and accessories. 

This is a good sign for collectors. Wait a while, and that political commemorative – even if it features a face bearing “little resemblance” to a candidate – could fetch a nice price.

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Custom Knives Heating Up in Australia

Australian knifemaker Leila Haddad is impressive for many reasons. She’s only 14, but she’s already turning out forged blades that fetch thousands of dollars. This profile from ABC in Australia is worth reading for those reasons, but one quote from the young knifemaker should be highlighted:

“I think there is still a future for knife making, because people are starting to realise again the importance of handmade things,” she said.

Read the full article here.

Buck Knives Makes 1,500,000th Knife

Buck Knives announced last month that it reached the 1.5 million mark for total knives produced at its Idaho facility. A Model 119 Special took home the title of the 1,500,000th knife. That’s no accident.

From Buck:

This milestone was achieved due to the increased USA production needs and sales on their 119 Special and 110 Automatic models.

Knife Restrictions Re-Introduced in Kansas

Introduced in the closing days of 2017, a proposal in Kansas is looking to renew some expired knife prohibitions. From Knife Rights:

HB 2442 is ostensibly a “bump stock” ban bill, but it sneakily also would reinstate “dagger, dirk, … dangerous knife, straight-edged razor, stiletto” as prohibited knives.

Read more here.

Video: Heat Treating 154CM Stainless Steel

Nothing beats stepping inside a knifemaker’s shop and watching how the magic happens. Knifemaker Kyle Daily, of KH Daily Knives, generously shared this video showing how he treats 154CM stainless. 

BLADE staff found this video on Twitter. Are you following us? You should be.

Gerber & Boy’s Life Team Up to Clean Filthy Pocketknives

Boy’s Life put together a great spread on cleaning pocketknives, with some assistance from Gerber. It’s basic, sure, but it’s full of great tips, such as using toothbrushes to clean serrations.

Read the full piece here.

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People’s Republic of China Tracks Knife Purchases with QR Codes

At least in some parts of the People’s Republic of China, authorities are matching knives to consumers with QR codes as part of an anti-terrorism initiative. What could go wrong? About everything you could expect from something as punitive as this. From Fast Company:

A knife shop owner in the midwestern city of Aksu told the Journal he had to spend thousands of dollars on a machine that turns every “customer’s ID card number, photo, ethnicity and address,” encodes the data as a QR code and lasers it into the blades of even the kitchen knives they buy. The Aksu policy, which was previously reported by Radio Free Asia, is intended to trace a knife back to its owner in the event it’s used to commit acts of violence.

And from Twitter comes this disturbing report from a Wall Street Journal reporter:

In Aksu, we interviewed a salesman at a knife shop that had to spend thousands of dollars on a machine that turns a customer’s ID card data into a QR code and laser-etches it into every knife they sell. pic.twitter.com/T1FMkhdnHR

— Josh Chin 李肇华 (@joshchin) December 19, 2017

If this doesn’t sound terrifying to you, you need to sit down and think about it some more.

Nothing similar to this is on the table in the United States, but the general technique is not unfounded. California’s “bullet stamping” initiative is one example.

Bill Loosening Switchblade Restrictions Introduced in Ohio

And now for something completely different.

Ohio law allows for the carry and possession of switchblades, but not the sale or manufacture of them. This quirk could soon be corrected, per Knife Rights:

Ohio State Senator Frank LaRose today introduced, Senate Bill 242, Knife Rights’ bill to repeal Ohio’s irrational ban on the manufacture and sale of “switchblade, springblade, and gravity knives.” Ohio statutes allow for the possession and carry of these knives, but they cannot be manufactured or sold in the state. Ohio loses out on jobs and tax revenue as Ohioans spend their money outside the state’s borders. Co-sponsors include Senate President Larry Obhof and Senators Joe Uecker, John Eklund and Kris Jordan.

Read more about this proposal here from Knife Rights.

Read the bill as written on the Ohio Legislature’s official site here. 

Why are So Many Bladesmiths from Arkansas?

It’s not your imagination. Many of the most renowned knifemakers call Arkansas home. The Magnolia Reporter went to find out why with a profile on Jerry Fisk.

According to Fisk, 10 percent of the world’s recognized master bladesmiths are Arkansans. “The first bladesmithing school (Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing) was started here in 1987,” he said. “People from all over the world would come here to learn the basics and get inspired as they do to this day.”

Good point. Read the full article here.

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Knife Used to Free “Cocaine Smuggler”

The United States Coast Guard is used to intercepting drug runners, but it wasn’t expecting a sea turtle shepherding cocaine bricks across the ocean.

During their 68-day Eastern Pacific counter drug patrol, the crew of USCGC Thetis rescued a large sea turtle entangled in $53 million worth of cocaine. Read here to learn more about this patrol: https://t.co/x9VCINZ25I pic.twitter.com/Zhddcb4lgg

— U.S. Coast Guard (@USCG) December 21, 2017

All joking aside, this is yet another reason to keep a knife handy. You never know what you’ll come across. Good job, Guardsmen.

How to Bone Out Venison Shoulders

You’ll never appreciate a sharp knife as much as when you’re butchering. This video from sister pub, Deer & Deer Hunting, shows why with a tutorial on boning out venison shoulders.

Save the neck for me, Clark.

Trendy Knife Blocks

Knife blocks don’t get much attention in the world of knives, but designers are nonetheless pushing forward with new takes. Perhaps this is overdue, as this article in Business Insider points out:

When you think of a knife block, you may envision the traditional, slanted wood block that sits on your counter. There are many excellent blocks in this style, but none of them made our list. The main problems we have with the classic block is that it is difficult to clean and you can’t readily view the type of knife you are grabbing for. There are plenty of modern styles that sufficiently address these issues.

Check out some of the knife blocks catching eyes here.

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City Shuts Down Knifemaking Operation in Garage

The first phase of a knifemaking business likely starts in the garage. If that sounds familiar to you, keep in mind that fire safety isn’t the only concern, as one knifemaker in Maine found out. City ordinances can hit in a hurry once you cross the line from “it’s just a hobby” to “making several knives per week.”

From the Sun Journal:

…city officials shut him down. Neighbors had been complaining about the noise and smell and his Auburn neighborhood wasn’t zoned for blacksmithing.

Read the full article here.

Knives as Status Symbols in the UK

Finally, a bright spot for knife enthusiasts in the United Kingdom. In a country saturated with imported knives, domestically made knives are becoming tokens of pride in certain pockets. This is especially the case with chefs and custom knives. 

From Big Hospitality:

Until just a few years ago, a British made knife was a rare sight in kitchens with German and Japanese-made blades favoured by most chefs.

But a small group of artisans are starting to change that, enabled by a number of factors including an increased interest in British handmade products and the marketing power of the Internet and social media.

See? Hipsters don’t always ruin everything. Read the full article here. 

Flying for Christmas? Here’s How to Transport Your Knives

Everyone’s favorite federal agency, the Transportation Security Agency, generally prohibits knives from being placed in a carry-on. Yes, there are stories of exceptions for this or that multitool, but it’s better to follow this guide from the TSA.

Here’s the quick rundown:

However, that chart goes only for knives you could stand losing. For transporting anything valuable (or, I suppose, invaluable), it may be better to ship it separately through a courier, such as FedEx or UPS. That way, you have a tracking code and know where your $75,000 work of art is hiding.

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Designer of Apple Watch Collects Rare Knives

You’ve probably seen Marc Newson’s work before, but the knife world may not know him by name. He’s designed Apple Watches and airplanes, but knives are his true passion. If you missed this CNN profile, be sure to watch the video here.

From the profile:

“The thing that really fascinates me about knives is that they’re man-made … They’re probably the very first tool that we made, so it’s a little bit like the wheel in a way, it’s a monumental invention and evolution.”

Read more.

Guide to Visiting NYC: Leave Knives at Home

Above the Law, a website covering the legal industry, recently published 5 Holiday Tips On How Not To Get Arrested In NYC. If you guessed that the loose definitions of “switchblades” would make an appearance, you guessed right.

From the article:

The size of the blade and how it opens could make carrying a knife criminal. If it’s a switchblade (opens by centrifugal force), it’s criminal. It doesn’t matter if you’re not using it, just carry it for work, or bought it legally. It’s still a crime.

Let that “centrifugal force” comment sink in, and hope you’re not working in a trade that requires turning one piece of something into two. Read the full article here.

Scouting Knives and School Safety

School safety is an important issue, but what happens when disciplinary policies can’t forgive honest mistakes?

Such is the case with a 13-year-old student in Massachusetts, who apparently didn’t intend to bring a Boy Scout knife to school. The district levied a suspension, although it denied that it has a zero tolerance policy for such items.

From the Patriot Ledger:

[The student’s parent] says the school overreached in its punishment of her son who never took the knife out of his backpack while in school and also objects to the classification of the scouting knife as a weapon.

Read the full article here.

Video: Using Balloons to Test Knife Sharpness

What to do with those leftover birthday balloons? Here’s one idea. If you can cut the plastic ribbon that hangs down after you let the balloon float to the ceiling, you’ve got yourself a nice edge.

Thanks to @bc_cutlery on Twitter for the demo.

pic.twitter.com/xpcEcv5dem

— BC Cutlery Co. (@bc_cutlery) December 18, 2017

Video: Knife Used to Save Raccoon

“Knives Save Lives” is a slogan you’ll hear often in stories about first responders, but what about raccoons?

This video made the rounds on social media depicting just that. Here’s a hint for the next time this happens: There’s no reason it has to take that long to cut through tarp. Time for a bigger knife, dude.

This guy found a raccoon tangled in his car tarp and choking to death. Most intense rescue ever! 👏 pic.twitter.com/uAa1C6FUzp

— The Dodo (@dodo) December 15, 2017

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