Knife News Wire

A pending New Jersey bill that needs no more than the governor’s signature would ban all ivory, even the fossil ivory of animals long extinct.

Not only would it be the first bill to target fossil ivory in addition to elephant and other ivories, if passed, it reportedly would be the first state bill to ban both the import and sale of ivory.

Meanwhile, in an unseemly effort to smear owners of legal ivory, bill co-sponsor and Jersey City Assemblyman Raj Mukherji went so far as to link them to poaching profits that he said funds the operations of terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab, the Lord’s Resistance Army and Janjaweed. Linking the owners of legal ivory with poaching and Al-Qaeda not only is blatantly false but an example of just how far mealy-mouthed politicians and pro-ivory-ban extremists can go to further their corrupt agenda.

Anyone and everyone with any connection to New Jersey who values their ivory items, from knives to pianos and much more, is encouraged to contact New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie immediately and urge him not to sign the bill. As noted, it would appear to be the first bill to ban fossil ivory—the ivory of animals of mammoths, mastodons and other creatures long extinct. It would, of course, have no impact on animal populations that no longer exist but would impact the legal owners of items made of such materials, including knives.

The Elephant Protection Association has contacted Christie to urge him not to sign the bill. For more information on how to do so, send a message online, call Christie at 609-292-5000, email him at [email protected], or write him at Office of the Governor, PO Box 001, Trenton, NJ 08625.

Keyhole integrals, knives made in the USA, movie fantasy swords and much more highlight the new BLADE®, on most newsstands now!

ABS master smith Rodrigo Sfreddo appears to have been the first to make knives with the integral-style handle in the shape of a keyhole where the handle material and fittings meet, and other ABS bladesmiths have taken the concept and run with it. ABS master smith Ron Newton’s modified keyhole integral graces the cover of this issue and Mike Haskew’s story examines the concept in detail.

With Independence Day a couple of weeks away, we thought a story on some of the knife companies who make their knives in America would be a great way to celebrate the 4th. And, in the realm of blade grinds and finishes, we offer stories on what to look for in the best blade grinds and the latest look in blade finishes—including those used on the swords of the hit movie, The Hobbit™: An Unexpected Journey.

We continue our “Riddles Of Steel” series with a story on the mystery of the kukri notch, and Bill Simmermacher details how he had a 21st century sheath made for a 19th-century antique bowie. If you like knife tests, Kim Breed compares the Ammo Daddy Alpha and KSR Field/Camp knife, and on the slip joint front, Pat Covert studies models that include both the traditional and those tailored to be “global legal.”

There’s much more, including part two of both Ed Fowler’s “Quest For Cut” and the series on Plaza Cutlery observing its 40th anniversary of selling knives in the South Coast Plaza Shopping Resort in Costa Mesa, California; some of the latest in damascus patterns on custom knives; Eric Ochs’ chute knife flipper; “The Knife I Carry”; and much more, all in the latest BLADE.

Get the lowdown on the upcoming BLADE Show with the BLADE Show preview issue of BLADE® Magazine—on newsstands now!

Set to invade Atlanta’s Cobb Galleria Centre June 6-8, the BLADE Show is the world’s largest and most important knife event. The people who move and shake the knife industry will descend on Atlanta for three days of the latest knives, sharpeners, swords and more, and the people who make, use and collect them, as well as free seminars, in-depth knife classes taught through the new BLADE University, the selection of the BLADE Magazine 2014 Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards—including the latest one voted on by knife enthusiasts everywhere, the People’s Choice Award—and a whole lot more. The latest issue of BLADE has the complete lowdown on the who’s, what’s, why’s and where’s of the BLADE Show and is a must-have for BLADE Show patrons.

Also in the new BLADE:

•19 of the hottest factory knives that will debut at the BLADE Show;

•Learn how 12 hot custom knives made by some of the world’s leading cutlers with the latest in steels perform in extensive tests;

•See the past 40 years of the cutlery industry through the eyes of knife retailer/purveyor Dan Delavan, a person who has lived it and loved it, in “Plaza Cutlery: 40 and Still Sharp”;

•How to pick the best big chopping knife/machete and some of the latest factory examples;

•A tour of the cutlery venues of Budapest, Hungary, and the blades that made “the old country” cut;

•See how a drop-point bushcraft knife and fixed-blade skinner fare in Kim Breed’s “Spec Sheet” knife test.

There’s also knives for Father’s Day, mini-profiles of knifemakers Jason Tippy, Joey Cordova, Alain and Joris Chomilier, Gary Martindale Sr., Chuck Hawes and Max Harvey, and bunches more, all in the latest BLADE.