Kevin Casey uses ancient walrus tusk for the handle of his knife. (SharpByCoop image)
Your help is needed to derail bills designed to ban not only ivory but also mammoth ivory—the latter ivory from animals extinct for thousands of years—that are pending in several states. Meanwhile, your support is needed for a federal bill (HR 697) that would effectively end U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s draconian moratorium on the sale and trade of legal ivory and also assist anti-poaching efforts in countries with elephant populations. (For more on the latter, visit http://elephantprotection.org/app/write-a-letter)
Hawaii, Maryland (HB713), Iowa (SF 30), Oklahoma (HB1787) and California (AB96) are all considering legislation that would or could be used to ban both ivory and mammoth ivory, and four bills are pending in Connecticut that could do the same. The penalties for violating any of the state bans if they were to pass run anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 in fines up to classifying as felonies.
Meanwhile, a house bill in Washington (HB1131) eliminated mammoth from the definition of ivory, though the bill (SB5241) has yet to pass the state’s senate.
For more on these laws and what you can do to protect your right to sell legal ivory and mammoth ivory, including your knives with handles of the materials, visit elephantprotection.org.
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.
One of the most revered and admired of all factory knife industry executives, Buck had been suffering from poor health for a few years. However, as recently as the summer of 2013 he ignored health concerns and appeared at the 25th annual anniversary of the Buck Collectors Club Inc., shaking hands with club members, attending the club’s banquet along with his wife of so many years, Lori, and otherwise enjoying himself during the celebration.
Please keep the Buck family in your prayers, stressed the Buck Collector Club’s Larry Oden. “Obviously, there are also many Buck Knives employees who are greatly saddened by Chuck’s passing,” he noted. “He was loved by so many and was a highly respected man. The entire cutlery world has lost an icon.”
“It is with heavy hearts that we regret to inform everyone that we have lost a legend,” Buck Knives, Inc., noted in a statement on its Facebook page. “[Mr. Buck] was an industry icon and friend to all.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those touched by this industry giant. Legacy planning for a company is always difficult; many companies do not survive the transition to the second generation, fewer still the third. Chuck was the grandson of company founder Hoyt Buck. It is a testimony to his leadership that the company remains strong today, still widely respected under the fourth-generation leadership of Chuck’s son, Buck Knives President and CEO CJ Buck.”
Along with his father, fellow Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Al Buck, Chuck was a member of Buck’s board of directors appointed after the company was incorporated in 1961. Three short years later the Buck 110 folding hunter was introduced and the factory knife industry would never be the same. The Buck 110 just celebrated its golden anniversary last year.
A Celebration of Life for Chuck Buck will be held at 2 p.m. PST on Friday, Feb. 13, in Post Falls at Real Life Ministries Church. The service will be open to the public. Real Life is located at 1866 North Cecil Road, Post Falls, ID 83854/ 208-777-7325.
The family also will have a memorial service in San Diego, California, on May 13. Chuck was born on May 13, 1936. He will be laid to rest in his family plot there. More details are to come on the memorial. It also will be open to the public.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse, www.samaritanspurse.org, or by calling 1-800-528-1980. Please ask that the call be directed to donations in honor of Charles T. Buck.
Jerry Hossom/Outdoor Edge Brush Demon is the cover knife for the new BLADE, on newsstands TODAY!
The Jerry Hossom/Outdoor Edge Brush Demon is the cover knife for the latest issue of BLADE®, on newsstands TODAY! The Brush Demon is one of the latest examples of the many factory/custom knife collaborations that dot the cutlery landscape. The new BLADE highlights it and three other hot examples of a genre that showcases the great knives that can come of such joint projects. How do they come about? What problems do both the makers and the knife companies face in putting such knives together? Find out in the new BLADE.
Knife collecting comes in many approaches, from amassing scores of the same pocketknife pattern, to collecting specific brands such as Case and Buck, and many others. An approach BLADE focuses on this issue is the collecting of knives by one custom knifemaker—in some cases, as many as 100 knives or more by a single custom maker! Join Stephen Garger as he interviews several such collectors and the knives and the knifemakers they collect.
If your car were to flip and your loved ones were pinned by jammed seat belts, would you be prepared to cut those seat belts and save your loved ones’ lives? One way to be prepared for such an eventuality is to keep a “car blade” in your vehicle. Abe Elias examines some of the latest examples of the genre in his story “5 Sharp Car Blades.”
One of the most followed aspects of knives is the latest steels used for blades. Four of the newest steels to hit the cutlery scene are 80CrV2, CTS-PD1, CTS B75P and PSF-27. Find out from the manufacturers and the makers how well these steels perform, how easy they are to maintain and sharpen and much more in Mike Haskew’s “What’s Hot In Knife Steels.”
There’s much more in the latest issue, including Dexter Ewing’s review of the Work Sharp Ken Onion Knife & Tool Sharpener, tests of fixed blades by Sam Stoner Jr. and Darrin Sirois by Kim Breed, part two of Jim Hammond’s educational three-part series on the ivory ban, a comparison of four hot contemporary automatics, a recap of an exclusive new Italian knife show, the Art in Metal Show, an obituary of long-time knifemaker Joe Kious who lost his life tragically in a truck accident, and much more—all in the new BLADE, on newsstands TODAY!
Designed by custom knifemaker and big blade expert, Jerry Hossom, the Brush Demon is the ultimate outdoor and survival tool. Made of sturdy 65Mn carbon steel with a black powder coat finish, this is one aggressive high-speed chopping tool you’ll want on your side. Be prepared for extreme conditions with the non-slip grip provided by the rubberized ergonomic TPR handle. Learn more
Charles Houston Price, founder of Knife World, passed away Dec. 29.
Charles Houston Price, publisher of Knife World, passed away Monday, Dec. 29. He was 79.
Of New Market, Tennessee, the man known to many simply as Houston was a rock in the world of knives and knife publishing. Next to BLADE®, his Knife World monthly publication is the longest-running knife periodical. Knife World’s support of the knife business, including a long, successful relationship with the American Bladesmith Society (ABS), has been one of the constants in an industry that, like many, has had its share of attrition and turnover.
In addition to his role as publisher of Knife World, he wrote about knives for both it and other publications, authored six editions of The Official Price Guide to Collector Knives and, along with his fellow Cutlery and ABS Hall-Of-Fame compatriot B.R. Hughes, authored the quintessential book on Cutlery and ABS Hall-Of-Famer Bill Moran, Master of the Forge. Houston also was a recipient of what many consider the most prestigious of ABS honors, the Don Hastings Award, for selfless giving above and beyond the call to the ABS in a manner similar to the man for whom the honor is named.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, at the Farrar Funeral Home (865-475-3892) with the Rev. Robin Lindsey officiating. Family will receive friends from 10 until 11 a.m. prior to the service at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, 3800 Fettler Park Dr., Ste. 104, Dumfries, VA 22025 or on line at marineheritage.org, or to American Bouvier Rescue League, ABRL, c/o Deborah Abeles, PO Box 689, Cheshire, MA 01225.
Knives are no doubt on the target list of New York and New Jersey ivory and ancient ivory sting campaigns.
New York Department of Environmental Conservation agents conducted an ivory sting on a 72-year-old woman for selling a mammoth ivory bead necklace.
In its effort to stop elephant poaching and the trade in illegal ivory, the government has insisted that it does not care about small-time, mom-and-pop-type ivory owners, that it’s more concerned with international crime syndicates and environmental terrorists. However, the recent ivory sting operation by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) on a 72-year-old woman for selling a necklace containing beads of mammoth—that’s right, mammoth, not elephant—ivory at the Pier Antique Show in New York City indicates the NYDEC apparently failed to get the government memo on the matter.
For knife enthusiasts, the question now is how soon the NYDEC—as well as its counterpart in New Jersey—will start targeting knives with handles of mammoth, mastodon and other ancient ivories, as well as elephant ivory.
Of course, though beyond all reason, mammoth ivory—the tusks of an animal extinct for thousands of years—has been declared illegal to sell in the state of New York and also New Jersey. However, since the senior citizen at the Pier Antique Show is from North Carolina, it’s understandable that she was completely oblivious to the New York law—especially considering how ridiculous it is to outlaw something millennia old in the first place. In addition to the necklace, the agents seized $1,400 worth of jewelry from her in all.
NYDEC agents did not stop with stinging the little old lady from Carolina. They also seized a couple of sets of “teethers”—whale bone or ivory sticks crudely carved by 19th-century sailors for babies to cut their teeth on—from a New York folk art dealer. The agents seized the teethers and issued both the folk art dealer and the little old lady from Carolina summons to appear in court.
Following the show, the folk art dealer and his wife learned he would need a lawyer because he faces a $5,000 fine if convicted of dealing illegal ivory. When he asked about getting a license to sell ivory in accordance with New York law, he said he was told all such license applications sit in a pile in the state capital, ostensibly collecting dust.
“This kind of government heavy-handedness is what we warned people about when the President’s Advisory Council started talking about imposing an ivory ban in March 2013,” noted Rob Mitchell of elephantprotection.org. “Instead of going after Chinese smugglers and criminal syndicates, the government is persecuting the most vulnerable and least culpable citizens in zealous pursuit of ivory ban enforcement statistics. No living animal was helped by this, but innocent small businesses will be crushed.”
The fight against the domestic ivory ban—a ban that won’t save a single elephant but will needlessly punish innocent Americans who own and trade legally imported ivory—is ongoing, and many Americans have been helping. Their “activism is why the federal government is taking its time publishing the regulation we expect will alter or revoke the Special Rule on African elephants that allows pre-ban ivory trade in the USA,” Mitchell noted. “Unfortunately, non-government organizations like the Humane Society of the United States and the Wildlife Conservation Society have been busy with a PR campaign against ivory. They are continuing to lobby both the federal government and many individual states for an ivory ban.”
You can help stop them and protect commerce in pre-ban ivory. For information on how you can contact all of your elected officials and voice your concerns, CLICK HERE.
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.
Veteran knifemaker Joe Kious, popularizer of the “Pocket Locket” style of high-end art folder and long-time Knifemakers’ Guild member, passed away Dec. 5 as a result of injuries suffered in a vehicle accident.
A resident of Kerrville, Texas, Kious was a full-time knifemaker who sold his first knife in 1969. He specialized in investment-quality interframes and bolstered folders, some bringing up to as high as $10,000 apiece.
However, it is his Pocket-Locket models for which he may be best remembered. Featuring elaborate engraving, the folding knives include a small compartment in the handle with a sliding panel that slides back to reveal another engraved scene inside.
“Joe was a staunch supporter of the Knifemakers’ Guild and believed in handmade knives,” said knifemaker and fellow Guild member Edmund Davidson. “Joe had a wonderful personality, was very easy to speak with and would tell you anything you wanted to know. He held nothing back and had no secrets. His knives reflected a great deal of thought, craftsmanship and artistry. He was a true master and genuine person. He will be sorely missed. When we lose a man of his caliber, we are all diminished.”
“Joe was a gentleman who loved his family, friends, enjoyed shooting, fine scotch and making knives,” noted Michael Donato of KnifePurveyor.com. “Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
A member of a close-knit group of Texas-based Guild knifemakers that includes Warren Osborne, Tom Overeynder and others, the stately Kious was liked and respected by most everyone who knew him in the industry. A lean, handsome man with a full head of grey-white hair, he was soft-spoken but never at a loss for words or a well-thought-out opinion.
Though he did not make BLADE® Magazine’s 40th anniversary list of top knifemakers—he received enough votes to make honorable mention—his Pocket Locket was chosen No. 6 among the most important custom knives of the period from 2001-2012 in the magazine’s 40th anniversary list of top custom knives.
“Joe’s Pocket Locket is important because it is the most flexible engraving platform ever offered,” noted custom knife purveyor Paul Shindler of KnifeLegends. “It includes many models and styles but offers pretty much endless possibilities for the imagination of any collector. The Pocket Locket may be the most important engravable knife ever conceived.”
Added Donato, the Pocket Locket “has a very high ‘cool factor’ to it and has served as a canvas for many of the best engravers to work their magic. Joe’s Pocket Lockets are featured in many books, magazines and great collections worldwide.”
Joe Kious, popularizer of the “Pocket Locket” art folder, was killed in a vehicle accident Dec. 5. His “two-door Pocket Locket” in a King Tut theme with Ron Skaggs engraving won Best Knife Collaboration at the 2007 BLADE Show and served as the cover knife for the December 2007 BLADE®.
New BLADE’s Complete Knife Guide on newsstands NOW!
BLADE’s Complete Knife Guide Spring 2015 is your knife bible for most every cutting need in the coming year and is on newsstands NOW!
In addition to providing you with the contact information for every factory knife, knife accessory and cutting need, the new BLADE’s Complete Knife Guide (BKG) keeps you in the loop for the latest industry trends, including the new wave of genticals that is flooding the cutlery landscape.
Want that special custom knife but are not exactly sure how to go about it, where to look or who to contact? In “7 Keys to Getting the Best Custom Knives,” Mike Haskew picks the brains of those who buy and sell the best custom knives for a living—custom knife purveyors/dealers. Read what the pros recommend on page 78.
Neck knives—aka neckers—are those handy little blades you can wear around your neck and are instantly accessible for whatever cutting job is at hand. Abe Elias takes you through some of today’s leading examples and also shows you other ways to wear them other than around your neck.
Are silky smooth folders at the top of your Christmas list? If so, join Stephen Garger as he explores a quartet of the top ones on both sides of the Atlantic in “4 Silky Smooth Folders.”
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