Song Knife Highlights New BLADEĀ®

Song knife for BLADE.
Song Knife collaboration between Buck and country music star Craig Morgan highlights the new BLADEĀ®, on newsstands now!

Country music star Craig Morgan’s “Song Knife” for Buck, what’s “next” in custom knives, “Blades of the Bog” and much more sharp stuff highlights the new BLADEĀ®, on newsstands now!

Morgan, who also stars on the Outdoor Channel’s Craig Morgan All Access Outdoors, recently released his latest album, A Whole Lot More To Me. In collaboration with Buck, two songs from that album including the title track are downloaded on a card and paired with a special collector edition of the legendary Buck 110. Slated to go on sale in most every Walmart in America by the end of this month if not sooner, the “Song Knife” is reportedly the first promotion of its kind. Get the full story on page 28.

Tactical folders have been king of the knife hill for decades now but the question everyone wants answered is “what’s next” in terms of the knife that will replace those of the tactical kind at the top of the heap? Les Robertson has been buying and selling custom knives for over three decades and weighs in on what he thinks will be the next big thing on page 12.

Since knives are man’s oldest tool, the ways in which they have been made over the millennia are many. One was by retrieving iron ore from the bottoms of bogs and lakes and smelting it in furnaces to make blade steel. Daniel Jackson explores how today’s makers have revisited the old methods to make knives. Journey into the past on page 20.

Have you traded or sold a knife or knives you wish you had kept instead? Mike Haskew picks the brains and memories of three veteran collectors for such pieces in “Knives I Traded I Wish I Hadn’t” (page 44).

As with most things in today’s world, the more functions you can get out of an item the better. So it is with edged tools, especially today’s “gizmo knives.” Check out some of the leading examples of the genre that do more than cut  on page 78.

There’s much more in the latest BLADE—buy it on newsstands today, get the digital copy or subscribe to the digital or print editions—or both!

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Ron Popeil, TV Knife Pitchman, Passes Away

Ron Popeil, best known as a TV infomercial pitchman, passed away on July 28, 2021, at the age of 86, according to multiple news media outlets.

The company Popeil founded, Ronco, is synonymous with as-seen-on-TV products, and the “set it and forget it” and “but wait, there’s more” catchphrases. While he wasn’t the first to apply salesmanship to the screen, Popeil did popularize the personality behind the product.

Popeil’s Showtime knife set is a perfect example. Well into his career as a “name” on TV, Popeil brought on his family to pitch his blades:

While Popeil’s contributions to all things sharp didn’t bring him to BLADE Show, there’s no doubt that his ubiquitous media presence influenced the consumer knife market and countless imitators.

Top Lady Smiths Highlight New BLADEĀ®

Lady smiths' knife highlights new BLADE.
Top lady smiths collaborate on the knife that serves as the cover for the new BLADE®—debuting on newsstands TODAY!

Five top lady bladesmiths and their International Ladysmith Collaboration Knife, the “Mount Rushmore of Knifemakers,” rock-solid integral knives and much more highlight the new BLADEĀ®, debuting on many newsstands TODAY!

A quintet of the world’s top lady smiths—Dellana, Haley DesRosiers, Audra Draper, Grace Horne and Julie Warenski-Erickson—collaborated on this issue’s cover knife. Forged by Draper, the 7.25-inch blade is a damascus ground, heat treated and etched by DesRosiers, who also did the final assembly. Dellana embellished the handle with five gold dots—one for each “blade sister”—and a bezel-set ruby, and Warenski-Erickson engraved the bolster in gold. Horne built the display box lined with red glove leather and used black glove suede for the cushion. Find out how the knife came about and what the “Sisters of the Blade” have planned for it in our special cover story feature.

In “The Mount Rushmore of Knifemakers,” some of the custom knife industry’s leading professionals weigh in on the four makers they consider the greatest in the history of modern custom knifemaking. We would tell you who the four are, but then that would spoil the surprise. You’ll just have to buy the new issue and find out for yourself.

Popularized by the late, great knifemaker, Ted Dowell, integral knives are one solid piece of steel—including both the handle and blade—that are reduced via grinding to an equally solid one-piece knife. Pat Covert visits with two talented practitioners of integral knifemaking, Edmund Davidson and Marcus Lin, for their take on how they make knives made in a style that arguably is the world’s strongest.

There’s much more—including part one of RJ Martin’s story on how he makes his award-winning precision flipper folders, some of today’s hottest factory tactical fixed blades, the conclusion of Jim Hammond’s story on the past, present and future of ivory’s use on knives, two tests of top factory folders, the mystery of the ancient Viking Ulfberht sword, custom knives in “crossover” styles and other of today’s sharpest knives and knife news—all in the latest issue of BLADE.


The latest issue of BLADE is on newsstands now!Recommended:

Stay abreast of the latest developments on this and many more knife rights issues with a subscription to BLADE.

Ivory Ban Targets Possession & Ancient Varieties

New Jersey targets fossil ivory. (SharpByCoop.com image)
Draconian New Jersey ivory ban includes the ancient ivory of animals that have been extinct for millennia. (SharpByCoop.com image)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed the nation’s most draconian ivory ban into law yesterday, one that targets not only elephant ivory but also the ancient ivory of animals extinct for over 10,000 years!

The ban also contains wording that appears to make it possible for the mere possession of any ivory to be an offense punishable by law.

According to Knife Rights, the measure bans the “import, sale, purchase, barter or possession with intent to sell” ivory from any species, including ancient ivory from mastodons and mammals, with no exceptions whatsoever.

The part of the measure that reads “possession with intent to sell” is especially disturbing as those with any experience with the law know that such language is open to any number of interpretations by law enforcement and prosecutors.

In other words, the language of this ban could make mere possession of ivory an illegal act. At the very least, it could make those wrongfully charged with possession with intent to sell have to spend the money and time to hire a lawyer, miss time from work, etc., that fighting such a charge can require.

Of course, as has been noted elsewhere, the banning of ancient ivory—that is, of animals that have long been extinct—flies in the face of the purpose behind other such bans. The stated purpose of those bans is to save living animals. A ban against extinct animals can have no effect on those animals because they have been dead for millennia. Of course, some may argue that ancient ivory may be mistaken for elephant ivory and thus should be banned, but that is a specious argument because there are scientifically proven ways of telling ancient ivory from elephant ivory.

The ban will go into effect in six months, during which time those in the Garden State who own ivory items must sell them or face fines of $1,000 on the first offense and $5,000 on the second.

For more information on how you can help fight draconian ivory bans and, at the same time, help save the elephant, visit elephantprotection.org.

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

Knife News Wire 2/5/18 – Medieval Knives Doubled as Erasers?

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Medieval Knives Doubled as Erasers?

Medieval knives
When writers in medieval times made a typo, they reached for knives.

Nothing brings back grade school memories like those big, pink erasers. However, medieval students used knives instead of rubber.

From Atlas Obscura:

The job of a scribe was to copy the text from an existing manuscript using a quill pen and an inkhorn. When they made mistakes, they had to scrape the ink off the page with a sharp knife, a painstaking job that could easily ruin a piece of parchment.

Read the full article and see an example of such a knife here.


Video: How Well Can a Wooden Knife Perform?

How well can a knife made out of wood perform? Pretty dang well.

This video details how a man in Japan, identified only by his YouTube channel Kiwami Japan, shaped a knife from a wooden blank using sandpaper and whetstones. 

Here’s the video, featuring a few cutting tests:

The key is the lignum vitae wood the man used. It’s “the densest and hardest wood known,” according to the Forest Legality Initiative

Lignum vitae is regulated under Article II of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species. That means you’re not doing to pick this type of wood up from Home Depot. Still, it’s another admirable example of creativity meeting craftsmanship.


New Hollywood Steak Restaurant Will Feature Knives Made In-House

Adam Perry Lang gained renown for running a barbecue smoker outside the studio of Jimmy Kimmel Live in Los Angeles. Now, Lang is set to open a steak restaurant with something sharp on the menu: knives made by the chef himself.

From Variety:

Walking into Lang’s man-cave/test kitchen, the first thing you spot is the double-barreled smoker rig that Lang tows to various barbecue events. The next thing is the forge. Glowing at something like 2000 degrees, the renowned pitmaster heats a piece of vaguely knife-shaped raw steel until it glows bright orange, puts it on the anvil and gives it a dozen or so good thwonks with a mallet on the way to making a sharp edge. Making Damascus steel knives by hand is just one of his clutch of obsessions — and APL diners will be able to slice into their aged steaks with Lang’s own carefully-forged blades.

Read the full article here.


Knifemaker Turns Out Blades with 14-Year-Old Grandson

The Tribune-Review out of western Pennsylvania recently profiled a grandfather/grandson combo keeping the tradition of bladesmith alive. The article was originally about a heart attack the grandfather experienced, but to BLADE that’s second to the fact a multi-generational pair was pounding steel in the first place.

From the article:

After his heart attack, Eyth had three stents placed in his major coronary artery. But, he said, ā€œIt didn’t stop or slow me down much. They wanted me to take it easy for a month or two.ā€

The pace of production at Eyth’s forge has slowed some, mainly because his son doesn’t participate as much, he said. But his 14-year-old grandson, Joe, has stepped in to help fill the gap.

ā€œWe’re still turning out 120 to 130 knives in a year,ā€ said Eyth, who puts some of his knives to use when he hunts deer.

Read the full article here.


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    We Need Your Help Again! Knife Law Preemption Goes Before GA Senate

    Those traveling to the BLADE Show through Georgia need Knife Law Preemption to be passed to protect them from a patchwork of inconsistent knife laws from one jurisdiction to another in the state. Here, Busse knife fans are all eyes at the Busse booth during last year’s BLADE Show.

    According to Knife Rights, the Georgia House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee has been assigned  SB432, the Knife Law Preemption bill that would repeal all local knife ordinances more restrictive than state law. The committee will consider SB432 in the coming days.

           If you are a Georgia resident it is vital that you call the committee members.    

          If you are a BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) attendee from outside of Georgia, then you need to email and/or call ALL of the committee members (listed below) and ask them to vote YES on SB432.  

        Once again, we need your help to get this bill passed. Your calls and emails made a big impact in the Georgia Senate when they passed the bill last week. Now, please call or email and ask the members of the committee to vote YES on SB432 when it is before them for consideration.   

        In your email or when you talk to each representative’s secretary, tell him or her that that you are a BLADE Show attendee or exhibitor and that the BLADE Show represents MILLIONS of dollars to the Georgia economy. It also represents many hundreds of JOBS in Georgia. All those hotels and restaurants we stay at and eat in during BLADE Show employ many hundreds of people and SB432 will help support the BLADE Show! You deserve to not have to worry about local knife restrictions when traveling to and attending the BLADE Show, and even a single unjustified and highly publicized arrest could adversely affect BLADE Show attendance!

        Use Email SUBJECT: Please Vote Yes on SB432. 

    Ann Purcell – Chairman Dist 159 – [email protected] Phone: 404-656-5139

    Willie Talton – Vice Chairman Dist 145 – [email protected] Phone: 404-656-5116

    Bob Hanner – Dist 148 – [email protected]  Phone: 404-656-7859

    Bill Maddox – Dist 127 – [email protected]  Phone: 404-656-3947

    Jay Neal – Dist 1 – [email protected] Phone: 404-656-5138  

    Billy Horne – Dist 71 – [email protected] Phone: 404-656-0287

    Scott Holcomb – Dist 82 – [email protected] Phone: 404-656-6372  

    Gloria Frazier  -Dist 123 – [email protected]  Phone: 404-656-0265

    Kevin Cooke  -Dist 18 – [email protected] Phone: 404-656-0325  

    Darlene Taylor – Dist 173 – [email protected] Phone: 404-656- 0177

    Yasmin Neal  -Dist 75 – [email protected] Phone: 404-656-0265  

    Doug Collins  -Dist 27 – [email protected] Phone: 404-656-7737

    Tim Bearden  -Dist 68 – [email protected] Phone: 404-656-0287

        Knife Law Preemption protects honest citizens from a patchwork of local ordinances and rules that can entrap those traveling within or through a state in possession of knives that meet state law or wherever they live in the state. A person can be charged with a violation of law when they have no intention of violating the law.

        For more information, click on www.KnifeRights.org.

    For more on the latest knives, knife legislation, knifemaking instruction, knife trends, knifemakers, what knives to buy and where and much more, subscribe to BLADE Magazine, the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication. For subscription information click on http://www.shopblade.com/product/blade-magazine-one-year-subscripti…?r+ssfb031512#BL1SU.

    Pirate-Pistol-Packin’ BLADE On Newsstands TODAY!

    Learn how to make a cut ‘n shoot “pirate pistol,” what effect the federal ivory ban has on your knives, all about the BLADE Show’s groundbreaking new BLADE University and much more in the latest issue of BLADEĀ®, on many newsstands today.

    Hitting many newsstands today—the new, pirate-pistol-packin' issue of BLADEĀ®!
    New, pirate-pistol-packin’ BLADEĀ® hits many newsstands TODAY!

    Steve Culver won “Best Of The Rest” in the 2013 BLADE Show custom knife judging competition with his “Laffite’s Revenge” cut ‘n shoot, and he takes you through the building of his award-winning knife pistol in this month’s issue.

    On the ivory knife front, the federal government is targeting any and all items made of elephant ivory, including the very same knives that have been legal to sell for decades! Find out what the new regulations mean for you and your knives on page 10.

    BLADE University is a brand new approach to knife show seminars. In fact, instead of seminars, BLADE University is a curriculum of classes, each concentrating on specific subjects and including some of the world’s best-known knife professionals as teachers, including knifemakers Jerry Fisk, Chris Reeve, Jerry Busse, Tony Bose and Bill Harsey, to name a few.

    A chief concern among many in the knife industry is there are far too few young people making knives. In “Kids Just Want To Make Knives,” three young aspiring makers show off the knives they’ve made and tell how they make them, and also explain the support system of family and friends that has sustained their knifemaking endeavor.

    Other stories in the new BLADE include: the heartwarming tale of how many in the knife community came together to help damascus maker Zoe Crist and family after he suffered a debilitating shop accident; the end of an era is saluted with a story on the closing of Aldo and Edda Lorenzi’s famous retail knife store in Milan, Italy; and much more, all in the new BLADE.

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