Knife News Wire Archives

New BLADE On Newsstands NOW!

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July 16, 2013

The eye-popping ESEE-3VG in a Venom Green blade, orange G-10 handle and a lanyard to match is the cover knife for the October BLADE® (www.blademag.com), on newsstands now!

The knife is an appetizer for the lead-in story on lanyards and beads, a growing accessory trend on today’s finest knives.

Want the inside story on the real reason the TSA decided to tuck its wings and rescind its approval of carry-on knives on commercial airliners? American Knife & Tool Institute’s Jan Billeb fills you in via the special question-and-answer story, “TSA Carry-On Knife Plan Grounded.”

The hottest makers’ hottest custom knives are the focus of BLADE (www.blademag.com) Managing Editor Joe Kertzman’s “Knives & Makers Catch Fire!” and custom knife purveyor Les Robertson offers the conclusion of his informative story on “What To Look For In A Forged Knife.”

If you like knife tests, MSG Kim Breed (5th Special Forces, retired) puts the Boker Plus G4 through the paces in “Wharncliffe Warrior,” and new BLADE (www.blademag.com) contributor Alan Clemons reveals his trio of favorite hunting knives in the aptly named “One Man’s 3 Favorite Hunters.”

Bladesmiths basically sprouted from the blacksmithing trade, but there are differences between the two vocations. ABS master smith Joe Szilaski outlines those differences in “Bladesmiths vs. Blacksmiths: What’s the Difference?”

Ever think about what goes on in a maker’s mind before he designs a knife, how he arrives at a certain line or curve, a rounded edge here or a palm swell there? ABS master smith Lin Rhea explains some of those thought processes in “Line & Flow: A Key To Top Knives.”

Factory/custom collaboration knives go back over 40 years, but they didn’t really take off until the early 1990s–and they’re still going strong. Dexter Ewing takes you on a tour of the latest versions in “Stylish Steel: It Never Gets Old!”

There’s much more in the latest issue of BLADE. Check it out on newwstands now or subscribe digitally at www.shopblade.com/blade-1-yr-digital-subscription?lid=ssfbbl071713

Loerchner Wins CKCA/Fisk Cutlery Challenge

Steve Shackleford

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July 11, 2013

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Loerchner Wins CKCA/Fisk Cutlery Challenge

It took four judges over two hours to reach a decision, but Elizabeth Loerchner was chosen the winner of the Custom Knife Collector Association Jerry Fisk Cutlery Challenge.

Elizabeth won for her folder set with glass inlay. The announcement of the winner was made in Atlanta during the 2013 CKCA Banquet held the same weekend—May 31-June 2—as the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.bladeshow.com).

Elizabeth won over knife projects submitted by knifemaker Robert Kaufmann and ABS master smith J.R. Cook. All three were awarded $15,000 endowments last year to make “a more innovative knife,” with all three resulting knives judged prior to this year’s CKCA Banquet. The innovation could be in a new process, new design, anything that produces a knife “more innovative than what is being done.”

The artisan trio represented an international cross section of makers: Loerchner of Ontario, Canada, Kaufmann of Aitrach, Germany, and Cook of Nashville, Arkansas. The entries will be on display at various museums to introduce non-knife art collectors and others to the fast-growing collectible field of custom knives.

The CKCA accepted applications until May 1, 2012, and a committee met to select the three winning makers. “Each maker consistently stretched themselves to do something outside their norm,” a Cutlery Challenge news release noted. “The selected makers are recognized for their enthusiasm, support for the industry, and are a positive representation of the CKCA organization.”

The benefactor of the $45,000 challenge has agreed to sponsor another one, and details regarding how to enter and more will be released by the CKCA in the near future. The challenge is open to CKCA members who are full- and part-time knifemakers who specialize in the forged or stock removal methods.

The CKCA is dedicated to the promotion and artistic significance of handmade knives. For more information, visit http://customknifecollectorsassociation.com/.

Knifemaker Phil Boguszewski Passes Away

Steve Shackleford

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July 8, 2013

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Long-time knifemaker Phil Boguszewski, one of the world’s leading crafters of cool, smooth-operating custom folders, has passed away.

A resident of Lakewood, Washington, Boguszewski was known for such folders as his “Spike” and, later, the “Cobra.” In the July 2013 BLADE® Magazine, a panel of veteran industry observers chose the Cobra as the top custom knife for the years 2001-2012.

A full-time knifemaker, Boguszewski sold his first knife in 1979. According to “Phil Boguszewski: Folding Knife Specialist” in the May/June 1988 issue of BLADE, the first 40 knives he made were all folders. He specialized in utility folding knives, including those in the latest materials, filework and slick mechanisms. He joined the Knifemakers’ Guild as a probationary member in 1984 and became a voting member in 1986.

His folders were highly sought after and sold for anywhere from $550 to $3,000 each—and he rarely if ever had trouble selling them. He was a regular at such exclusive knife shows as the Tactical Invitational and others.

“Phil was an amazing, innovating man,” began Larry Brahms of BladeArt.com. “I guess he is best known for the incredible smoothness and fluidity of his flipper folders, specifically the Cobra, a smoothness that really set the standard for what has become a mainstay in a knifemaker’s stable.

“He really is a legend in his own right and our community will miss him.”

Of Boguszewski’s Cobra, purveyor Les Robertson of Robertson’s Custom Cutlery noted, “With its recurve blade, handle that fits like a glove and that signature smooth opening, it is always a sought-after knife. Phil set the standard for all other makers wanting to build a knife with a flipper opener.” Added Neil Ostroff of True North Knives, “The Cobra excels for its durability as Phil’s best-selling knife.”

For the latest on the hottest knives, knifemakers and more, stay tuned to www.blademag.com.

New Measure Will Revamp Alaska Knife Law

Steve Shackleford

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June 25, 2013

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New Measure Will Revamp Alaska Knife Law

With the stroke of a pen, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell has signed a new measure known as HB33 that will result in sweeping reform of Alaskan knife law.

The new law will go into effect Sept. 18. Until then, however, existing Alaska knife laws remain in place.

According to Knife Rights, HB33 will legalize the possession, transfer and carry of automatic knives, aka switchblades, and also enact knife law pre-emption, which repeals all local knife laws and prevents new ones from being enacted—in this case, in Alaska.

Alaska will become the 7th state to enact knife law pre-emption, Knife Rights reported.

The new law will be particularly beneficial to the state’s outdoor and hunting industries, both of which rely heavily on hunters and outdoors people—and most hunters and many who spend time outdoors use and carry knives.

Knife law pre-emption, meanwhile, prevents the oppressive practice used by many towns, cities and counties within states whereby the knife laws are contradictory and you may literally be legal, illegal and then legal again when you carry a knife and pass from town to city to county.

Gov. Parnell invited Todd Rathner, Knife Rights director of legislative affairs, to the signing ceremony in Palmer, Alaska. Also in attendance were Ray Thibault of Northern Knives retail knife store, Sen. Charlie Huggins, HB33 Sponsor Rep. Mark Neuman, House Speaker Rep. Mike Chenault, Rep. Wes Keller and Rep. Bill Stoltze.

For more information on the new law and pro-knife laws in general, contact Knife Rights and/or stay tuned to www.blademag.com.

ABS Announces 1st School Outside USA

Steve Shackleford

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June 19, 2013

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The American Bladesmith Society (ABS) will offer its first-ever bladesmithing school outside the USA beginning in October.

Operated in partnership with The Forge at Ostiches, Belgium, the school’s first class will be “Introduction to Bladesmithing.” Limited to seven students, the class will have as its primary instructor ABS master smith Jean-Paul Thevenot of Dijon, France. Belgium’s Dirk Bourguignon and Frederic Taquet, both ABS bladesmiths, will assist.

The school site is in a beautiful village south of Brussels. Accommodations are nearby within two to three miles. English will be spoken.

The first ABS school of bladesmithing outside the USA was approved in a vote of the ABS Board of Directors during the ABS annual meeting at the 2013 BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.bladeshow.com) May 31-June 2.

The Belgian facility is the fourth ABS school of bladesmithing. The others are the original—the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing in Old Washington, Arkansas—and the Haywood Community College in Clyde, North Carolina, and the New England School of Metalwork in Auburn, Maine.

“We now have members in 18 countries,” noted ABS Webmaster Dan Cassidy, “and it is not unusual for my wife Sally and I to communicate with our ABS members around the world in Spanish, Portugese and French on a routine basis. The Internet makes all of this possible today.”

Cassidy credited ABS master smith and new ABS president Joe Keeslar with making the new school possible. Winner of the 2013 BLADE Magazine Industry Achievement Award, Keeslar has been a groundbreaker in bringing modern bladesmithing to both France and Belgium. “Joe was the one who made all the arrangements for the new school,” Cassidy noted, “and it was done over the course of more than a year.”

For information on dates, tuition and accommodations for the new school, contact [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].

For the latest in knife news, stay tuned to www.blademag.com.

New BLADE on Newsstands Today!

Steve Shackleford

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June 18, 2013

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The knives from the Battle of Gettysburg, the best EDCs for your money, the blades of summer and the hottest flipper folders are but a sample of the topics covered in the new BLADE® (www.blademag.com), on newsstands TODAY!

On the eve of the battle’s 150th anniversary, we caught up with Paul Shevchuk, museum specialist at the Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War. He was most forthcoming in providing pictures of and information about the knives, bayonets and other edged tools used by both sides in Pennsylvania in 1863. From a Confederate saber bayonet found on a Gettysburg street after the battle to side knives, pocketknives, D-guard bowies and more, Shevchuk’s contributions to the story make for an enlightening glimpse on how soldiers on both sides used their knives during the War Between the States.

Joe Kertzman tapped the know-how of a number of industry experts to get the lowdown on today’s best EDCs for the money. From the damascus and ebony of the Boker Plus Damascus Gent II—this issue’s cover knife—to the CRKT Carajas designed by Flavio Ikoma and many more, you’re bound to find an EDC that fits your pocket and pocketbook.

Speaking of EDCs, it’s always good to know what the legal ramifications are when you carry a knife. Mike Haskew consulted such industry authorities as attorney Evan Nappen, AKTI Executive Director Jan Billeb and Knife Rights’ Doug Ritter for their recommendations on what you need to consider when you carry a knife.

With the beginning of summer mere days away, it’s time to replenish your summertime blade array. James Morgan Ayres suggests any number of ways to do it—including camping, picnic and just about every other knife need in the good ol’ summertime—in “The Blades of Summer.”

There are many more entertaining stories in the new BLADE (www.blademag.com). Check it out on newsstands NOW!

No Knives On Planes After All

Steve Shackleford

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June 5, 2013

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After much hue and cry from those who equate knives with all that’s evil and wrong with the world, the Transportation Security Administration has backed off from its plan to allow small carry-on knives on commercial flights.

Knives will continue to be allowed in checked luggage.

The goofball wording that also would have allowed bats, golf clubs, hockey sticks, pool cues, ski poles and lacrosse sticks probably didn’t help the original ruling that would have allowed knives.

A big reason it failed, though, was due to such anti-knife zealots as Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, as well as 145 House members signing a letter to TSA Administrator John Pistole to keep the current rules in place. Also, flight attendant union protests and airline officials’ opposition played a part, too.

Meanwhile, more anti-knife mania reared its ugly head in the form of a Homeland Security spending bill that would block the TSA from spending money to implement the change. That bill is still in the works and is expected to pass.

While some, such as Debra Burlingame, whose brother was the pilot of one of the planes that hit the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, reversed their opposition to the change after hearing Pistole’s arguments, it wasn’t enough to hold off the anti-knife circus.

For more, stay tuned to www.blademag.com and BLADE® Magazine.

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New BLADE On Newsstands NOW!

Loerchner Wins CKCA/Fisk Cutlery Challenge

It took four judges over two hours to reach a decision, but Elizabeth Loerchner was chosen the winner of the Custom Knife Collector Association Jerry Fisk Cutlery Challenge.

Elizabeth won for her folder set with glass inlay. The announcement of the winner was made in Atlanta during the 2013 CKCA Banquet held the same weekend—May 31-June 2—as the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.bladeshow.com).

Knifemaker Phil Boguszewski Passes Away

New Measure Will Revamp Alaska Knife Law

ABS Announces 1st School Outside USA

New BLADE on Newsstands Today!

No Knives On Planes After All

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