A 1-of-1 Raven First Blood model Lile originally made for Sylvester Stallone, the knife is in the collection of Randy Rousseau. It is one of four 1-of-1 Ravens of the Rambo movie knives—two by Lile for First Blood and Rambo: First Blood II, and two by Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Gil Hibben for Rambo III and Rambo IV—that are in Rousseau’s collection.
The Raven First Blood has the same specs as one of the original 100 First Blood models—the only difference is that the flip side of the tang is marked “1 OF 1” over “LILE” over “RAVEN.” The 9-inch blade is 440C stainless steel with a non-glare matte finish and polished edges. The stainless-steel hollow handle is pinned to the tang and wrapped with 36 feet of duck-decoy nylon line.
Act now to contact members of a House Subcommittee hearing that will meet June 24 to help decide the fate of the sale of all items containing elephant and other ivories.
“This is our best chance to stop the ivory ban without mega-money lawsuits,” observed scrimshander Linda Karst Stone. Though Stone and others worked on BLADE Show auction knives that should bring a “decent amount of money” to fight the anti-ivory mania in Washington, D.C., she fears it will be nowhere near enough. “It does not feel like we have deep enough pockets to fight an expensive lawsuit,” which is what it will take if the ban is not stopped before it is fully enacted, she noted.
As a result, she encourages those who value their elephant ivory knives to contact their representatives who will be sitting on the June 24 House Subcommittee hearing.
“I caution everyone not to be too optimistic, but the oversight hearing of June 24 could put a stop to this if they think there is enough support and hear from enough of us,” Stone noted.
Those on the House Subcommittee are Chairman John Flemming (Louisiana); Don Young (Alaska); Rob Wittman (Virginia); Glenn “GT” Thompson (Pennsylvania); Jeff Duncan (South Carolina); Steve Southerland II (Florida); Bill Flores (Texas); Jon Runyan (New Jersey); Vance McAllister (Louisiana); Bradley Byrne (Alabama); Doc Hastings (Washington); Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (North Mariana Islands); Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (American Samoa); Frank Pallone Jr. (New Jersey); Madeleine Z. Bordallo (Guam); Pedro Pierluisi (Puerto Rico); Carol Shea-Porter (New Hampshire); Alan Lowenthal (California); Joe Garcia (Florida); and Peter A. DeFazio (Oregon).
For the full subcommittee membership, complete with links to contact each member, visit http://naturalresources.house.gov/subcommittees/subcommittee/?SubcommitteeID=5063. The best strategy is to focus on members with whom you have a connection, you are one of their constituents, you have a business in the official’s district, etc.
Such classic elephant ivory knives as those by George Herron and others will be barred from sale under the proposed ban. (Herron knives from the Duncan Rutherford display at the 2014 BLADE Show)
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.
The Buck Model 119 Special. (Image via Buck Knives)
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.
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.
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.
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.
U.S. military issue of BLADE® is on newsstands now!
The annual U.S. military issue of BLADE® includes what to look for in a 4.0 military knife, special presentation Buck knives for a unique unit of National Guardsmen who fought during the Vietnam War, the knives from Johnny Strong’s latest movie and much more—and is on newsstands now!
What kind of knife do professional soldiers favor when they go on active duty? BLADE interviewed Special Ops veterans Jack Stottlemire, Kim Breed and Rob Cude, as well as veteran military knife designer William “Bill” Harsey Jr., for their recommendations. All give specifics and their reasons why in Mike Haskew’s informative story.
The stories of valor are many from the Vietnam War but the one about Company D 151st Infantry, the “Indiana Rangers,” is especially intriguing. They represent what is reportedly the only instance of a unit of National Guardsmen that stayed together from activation and served in combat in Vietnam throughout until being deactivated about one year later. Today many unit members are still living and belong to the Company D 151st Association. All of them were presented with engraved Buck 110 folders in recognition of their service and are saluted in the story, “A Lot of Brothers.”
Johnny Strong is the only actor we know of who also makes knives—knives that also appear with him in two of his films, including his latest, Daylight’s End, which premiered Aug. 26. Check out his movie knives—and a Bill Coye knife that also appears in the flick—Strong’s views on knifemaking and more in “The Knives of Daylight’s End.”
Also this issue:
•A test of four military-style knives in “Sharpest Steel on a Soldier’s Pay,” by Abe Elias;
•Some of the best in portable sharpeners for use in the field in Dexter Ewing’s “On-The-Spot Sharp”;
•Four of the latest military daggers and how they perform in “Daggerous!” by James Morgan Ayres;
And much more, all in the latest BLADE—on newsstands now!
Forged tacticals are heating up in the new BLADE®, on newsstands NOW!
Forged tacticals as a trending new niche market, perhaps the best knives to use in corrosive saltwater environments, four hot new butterfly knives, the latest machetes and a comprehensive preview of the 2nd Annual BLADE University highlight the new BLADE®, on most newsstands today.
Purveyor Les Robertson specializes in tactical and handforged knives, so it only stands to reason he would be on the cusp of the edge if forged tactical knives were to become hot as firecrackers—and apparently such is the case. Find out why, which ones are hot and more in Robertson’s “A Niche Market In The Making?”
Spyderco has long touted its H1 steel as being not just stainless but stain proof. Ocean kayaker Lance Clinton decided to try out the company’s Pacific Salt model while floating off the coast of Costa Rica. Find out what he found out about this intriguing blade material in “Down To The Sea With Knives.”
Balisongs—aka butterfly knives—have long intrigued edged enthusiasts, and the latest examples of the genre will capture your fancy in “Enter The Spin Zone.” Factory machetes, meanwhile, are appearing in ever-increasing numbers. Check out some of the latest of the long blades in “Those Magnificent Machetes.”
BLADE University, a fresh approach to knife education at knife shows, was a huge hit at last year’s BLADE Show—and this year’s 2nd Annual BLADE University has been expanded to cover a wider range of topics, including knife grinding, collecting, how to have your design picked up by a knife manufacturer, 3D CAD/CAM knife design, how to engrave, how to design combat knives, how to make handles and guards, introduction to bladesmithing, how to sharpen, what to look for in the best high performance knife and much. Get the complete lowdown in “School of Steel.” BLADE University will commence a day before through the show Saturday of the BLADE Show, which will be June 5-7 at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta.
There’s much more in the latest issue of BLADE. Check it out at your local newsstand.
Recommended:
Stay abreast of the latest developments on this and many more knife rights issues with a subscription to BLADE.
A measure that would have banned the sale of such beautiful mammoth ivory knives as this one by Ron Welling failed to pass muster in Washington state. (Chuck Ward photo)
Knife and ivory legislation that affects your right to own, carry and sell knives at both the federal and state levels has been heating up lately, including a victory for proponents of the sale of legal elephant and mammoth ivory in the state of Washington.
Washington’s proposed bans were overcome by a combined effort that included Knife Rights, the NRA and the Legal Ivory Rights Coalition, Mike Vellekamp of Fox Knives USA and Tim Wegner of Blade-Tech.
According to Knife Rights’ Doug Ritter, the proposed bans would not have saved a single living elephant while “taking hundreds of millions of dollars from millions of honest, law-abiding Americans. It makes no sense to unfairly penalize Americans for the illegal and immoral activities that continue to threaten elephants, and which these proposed ivory bans do nothing to ameliorate.”
Meanwhile, among the new or pending measures at the state and federal level are:
•Knife law preemption bills in Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Vermont, measures that ensure consistent enforcement of state laws everywhere in each applicable state, and a special federal knife preemption law that would protect transporting knives from state to state in certain instances;
•Laws affecting switchblades and other specific knife styles/patterns in Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New York and Oklahoma;
•New ivory bans in Florida, Illinois, Vermont, New York and Hawaii, with ivory bans pending in Connecticut, Maryland, Iowa, Oklahoma and California, and the African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act on the federal level, and;
•In one of the world’s leading anti-knife nut capitals, New York Sen. Tony Avella of Queens proposed a ludicrous ban on machetes after several recent local attacks involving the utilitarian tools.
U.S. Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the federal Knife Owners’ Protection Act (KOPA) this past Wednesday. KOPA would allow legal interstate travel of those transporting knives, provided the knives are transported to and from states where the law allows possession of said knives, and the knives are transported in closed containers. For more information, visit AKTI.org.
Oklahoma bills for knife preemption and to repeal the switchblade ban cleared major hurdles recently when both were passed by the Oklahoma House Public Safety Committee. Both measures head to the state House before going to the Senate. For more information on them and other state knife laws—including the ridiculous anti-machete bill in New York—visit kniferights.org.
At least two of the new state ivory laws—in Florida and Illinois—ban not only the sale of ivory but also the sale of mammoth ivory and/or make no exemptions for the sale of mammoth ivory. Meanwhile, the new punitive measure in New York would increase the criminal and civil penalties in its already existing laws banning the sale of ivory from living animals and mammoth ivory. On the up side, Hawaii has tabled its proposed ivory bans, though that scheduling “could change at any time.” For more information, visit elephantprotection.org.
