ABS master smith Wally Hayes will show you how to use simple tools to make a throwing knife at the 4th Annual BLADE University. Here he teaches flipper folders at last year’s BLADE U.The 4th Annual BLADE University will feature such classes as how to checker knife handles taught by ABS master smith Timothy Potier.
The 4th Annual BLADE University will offer knife enthusiasts an almost completely overhauled curriculum of classes on the subject of knives and knifemaking June 1-3 in conjunction with the BLADE Show at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.
Beginning the day before the BLADE Show and ending BLADE Show Saturday, this year’s BLADE University offers a wide-ranging selection of courses on how to make knives—including blade grinding, handle checkering, embellishment, color-case-hardening knife parts, chatoyance and others—all about blade steels, how to use knives, how to price them and much more.
ABS master smith (MS) Timothy Potier will kick off the instruction in Thursday’s “Knives The ABS Way” with his class on how to checker knife handles, followed by fellow MS Jim Rodebaugh‘s “How To Design A Purpose-Built Knife” and “How To Etch and Polish a Damascus Blade.”
In his fourth appearance for BLADE U., MS Joe Keeslar will show you how to make a brut de forge knife, and ABS journeyman smith (JS) Butch Sheely will end the day’s classes with his tutorial on how to make a pipe tomahawk.
Friday’s instruction will begin with MS Joe Szilaski‘s class on how to filework knives and Tom Krein‘s three-part class entitled “How To Grind a Blade.
ABS master smith Joe Keeslar will teach you how to make a brut de forge knife at the 4th Annual BLADE University.
In the last two parts of his class Tom will demonstrate how it’s done on a Burr King grinder under the Burr-King-sponsored tent in “The Courtyard”—the adjoining parking lot of the BLADE Show host hotel, the Renaissance-Waverly.
Other classes will include two by knifemaker/BLADE® field editor Abe Elias: one on how blade steel is made and blade geometry and how it affects edge retention, and the second on which blade edge and grind is best for which cutting job.
MS/BLADE contributor Wally Hayes will show you how to use simple tools to make a throwing knife, and MS Steve Culver will demonstrate how to design a slip joint with a half stop. Niagara Specialty Metals will wind up the day’s instruction with a class designed for the veteran knifemaker and novice knife enthusiast alike that will include a discussion on the properties of various elements in the steel, proper heat treating, tempering and what it does to the steel, CPM vs. air-melt steels and more.
Saturday’s final sessions will commence with “Knifemaking for Kids” taught by Jason Brous. (Youngsters need not be accompanied by a parent/guardian, though if the youths are so accompanied the parent/guardian will be admitted free of charge.)
Knifemaker Grace Horne of Sheffield, England, will conduct a class on how to make one of her specialties: custom scissors. Knife and sword maker Wally Hostetter will present a two-part class on how to do the Japanese handle wrap, or tsuka maki, and knifemaker/U.S. Marine veteran Les George will show you how to color-case-harden knife parts—that is, the process of adding a multi-colored hard surface to mild steel for use in various knife fittings.
Learn to make a pipe tomahawk in the style of ABS journeyman smith Butch Sheely at the 4th Annual BLADE University.
JS Brian Thie‘s class will cover how to give damascus blades chatoyance—an effect that exhibits an almost mirror-polished look within the damascus pattern itself. MS David Lisch will present a class on how to make the best stag handle, including sharing his “tricks” in working with the material. Knifemaker Johnny Stout‘s class will be on how to price custom knives, including actual costs in building knives, how to price the knives to make a profit (or at least break even) and more. And, finally, knifemaker L.T. Wright of L.T. Wright Handcrafted Knives will present “Draw It, Grind It, Sharpen It: The Beginner’s Guide to Knifemaking,” which will feature knives in various stages of completion to show you how your knife should look all along the way to a finished product, with L.T.’s helpful insights and educational visuals.
Visit BLADE U. for enrollment information, dates, times, classroom locations and more.
The June issue of BLADE® magazine features a story about wilderness survivalist Creek Stewart and his line of Whiskey Knives, made by Hank Gevedon and crew at Reptile Toolworks in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky. Whiskey Knives are carefully tested, but Hank likes to destroy a few from time to time to spot-check their quality. He starts by bending a Whiskey Corvid model to show that the hard outer layer of the A36 carbon steel will crack when bent in half, but that the knife will stay intact because of the tough inner core. Then he gets to shooting them. Besides, Hank’s just entertaining to listen to.
A Bent Whiskey Corvid Knife Still Chops and Slices
Hank Shoots A Whiskey Corvid with an 8mm Mauser FMJ
So what does all that mean to the knife owner? Well, you won’t want to bend your knife in a vise or shoot it at the range, but the following review of the destructive testing explains how the makuri method of construction can produce a sharp, yet tough knife, ideal for hard-use bushcrafting needs.
What Does Destructive Testing Reveal About Whiskey Knives?
Sure They’re Sharp, But How Sharp?
Know How to Sharpen Your Knives
A collection of knives is only as good as it is sharp. Understand how to sharpen all styles of grinds, along with other tips on caring for your collection.
The blades on Whiskey Knives are asymmetrical hollow-ground, meaning that you only need to sharpen one side, the one with the Creek logo on it. The other side just requires a touch-up. Reptile Toolworks puts instructions in the crate with each Whiskey Knife it sends out, but what about your other knives? “Sharpen A Knife, And Care For Your Collection” by BLADE editors covers all aspects of sharpening, demystifying the process and ensuring you have the knowledge to keep your knives sharp at home and in the field.
Knife bill SB 49 would affect this year’s BLADE Show and needs your help by Friday. Bladesmith Butch Deveraux (in cowboy hat) waits on a customer at last year’s BLADE Show. (PointSeven image)
A Georgia knife bill that would reform law and impact the 2017 BLADE Show needs your help by Friday, March 3, or it will die.
According to Knife Rights, SB 49 would increase the legal carry length of a knife blade in the state from 5.5 to 12 inches, but before that can happen the Georgia state Rules Committee must release the bill for a vote.
A recent applicable Knife Rights email stated that “efforts to completely eliminate the carry length limit have been stymied due to the manner in which a knife is defined in Georgia law. [If enacted, SB 49 would] make life much better for knife owners in Georgia without hampering future efforts to completely eliminate the carry length limit at some future opportunity.”
That’s where you come in.
If you plan to attend the BLADE Show June 2-4 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta or live, travel or work in Georgia, please call or e-mail the Rules Committee members now. Whether you call or email—if emailing, enter on the subject line “Please Move SB 49″—tell them you respectfully request that they please pass SB 49 out of the Rules Committee so that it may be voted on by the full Senate. Also, be sure to thank them after you make your request. As noted in a recent Knife Rights email on the subject, “Please be polite and respectful and remain on point.” Hey, as with any request, sugar always works better than sulphur, right?
Below is a list of Georgia legislators to contact concerning the matter:
Together with Browning, tactical knife fighting instructor Jared Wihongi has released a signature knife line.
Jared Wihongi’s life and career is built on the warrior spirit of his Maori ancestors. He has practiced martial arts since he was a 10-year-old living in New Zealand, and the Filipino style of knife fighting, since he was 20, some 20-plus years ago. He also has his own signature line of edged weapons through Browning, knives that he hopes inspires “the warrior spirit that lives in each of us.”
Jared has reached the tuhon or master level of Pekiti Tirsia Kali and instructs police officers and elite military operatives in what he calls close quarter force integration tactics, or CQ-FIT. He applies the circular arm movements, the footwork, angling and distance control of Pekiti Tirsia Kali, using empty hands, sticks, knives and even guns, to reality-based training so that police officers are better able to subdue threats, or a special forces member is able to eliminate enemies in close-quarter combat.
One of Jared’s most interesting-to-watch training sessions involves using a tomahawk in close-quarter fighting. Essentially, the circling motions, overhand and underhand, forward and backhand, are coordinated for attacking your opponent while simultaneously avoiding his advances. The tactical tomahawk in the Wihongi Signature Series is a true straight-handled tomahawk. The blade is made from ¼-inch 420 stainless steel, and the spike end includes a semi-sharpened blade. Three lightening holes are drilled into the blade, maintaining the integrity of the head while removing material to lighten the weapon, making it easier to wield in a fight—or to be fast as lightning.
The Jared Wihongi Signature Series Tomahawk includes acid-etched motifs from the Maori warrior culture.
The forked tang is secured with three flush-mounted screws but is also reinforced by a wide metal ring surrounding the handle. The Wihongi Signature Series Tomahawk carries Browning’s Black Label tactical line logo, along with the familiar Buckmark. The handle is wrapped in paracord, a lighter weight than 550 to eliminating bulkiness, Jared explained.
What is most notable about the weapon is the Maori tribal motif acid-etched into the steel. The warrior culture often carved facial features into woodentaiaha, or fighting staffs. These weapons would include eyes and ornate details that culminated in the familiar out-stuck tongue. Having these designs in a tattoo or engraved on a weapon meant that the warrior was carrying the strength and courage of his ancestors with him into battle.
Jared’s mother hailed from the Lone Star State, but being Mormon she decided to move to Utah. Jared’s father, living in New Zealand, attended a private school run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He excelled and was granted a scholarship to attend a university, also in Utah. The rest is history. By the time Jared was 1, the couple had returned to New Zealand, raising a brood of six.
Although native New Zealanders only make up 15 percent of the country’s population, the Wihongis lived in a small town that was predominantly Maori. Having grown up the late 1950s when there was little opportunity for Maori youths other than to become farmers, Jared’s father put great importance on education and became a school principal. Two of his sons followed in his footsteps, but Jared and another brother became police officers, with Jared going on to become a SWAT operator for 14 years and counting. He now teaches knife-fighting skills to SWAT teams and elite special forces in the U.S. and allied countries. “I’m an educator too,” Jared said, just in the warrior arts and lifestyle.
Jared Wihongi reviews his tomahawk fighting tactics.
Jared’s father died at a young age and when Jared was 17, the family moved back to the Salt Lake City area. Mormons are expected to go on a two-year mission before attending college. Jared served in the Philippines, which is where he began training in the Filipino knife-fighting arts. He attended college in Hawaii, where he worked as a bouncer, often having to apply his skills in a real-world application. He then returned to the Salt Lake City area and has advanced exponentially in his martial arts practice and his real-world curriculum, which incorporates both the warrior spirit of his Maori ancestors and the premier knife-fighting skills of the Filipinos.
He recommends that anyone who wants to be able to defend themselves against a knife attack seek out a Pekiti Tirsia Kali instructor who offers real-world-scenario training. “Take a sample class,” Jared suggested. “You’ll be able to tell.” Learning to defend yourself against a knife attack is part of learning how to wield a knife in close proximity. Amazingly, this can be done with a tomahawk by choking up on your grip to right under the head. Don’t worry, practice is conducted with training knives. “But you have to make contact to understand knife fighting,” Jared explained
“When I presented this line to the sales force, I asked Jared to lead a haka dance,” said Diane Carver, knife and light product manager at Browning. The feedback she received was intense. Some had never seen the Maori warrior dance that has now been made popular by the New Zealand rugby team and others on social media. Some were inspired to see it live. “I’m so excited about this line,” Diane said.
Jared Wihongi introduces his signature knife line−and leads a haka.
If you’d like to read more about Jared and the four styles of knives in the Jared Wihongi Signature Series by Browning, be sure to pick up the July issue of BLADE® magazine or subscribe.
If you’ve ever wanted to try making your own tomahawk, this digital download will provide answers to your questions.
This digital download is an economical way to learn how to select and forge your tomahawk billet, how to drill and fill the eye hole, how to fit the haft to the head and grind it to rough shape. At only $4.99 this volume by BLADE field editor and ABS master smith Joe Szilaski is a fun and needed addition to your weapon-making library.
This skinning knife is ready for hard work. It’s made in the USA with USA materials. (Ridgeline photo)
The Skinner from Ridgeline Knife Works was designed with a big skinning belly in the 3-inch blade (think back to the old Dexter skinners), without sacrificing the ability to cut tendons and gut.
The G10 handle provides comfort regardless of the way the knife is held, and jimping adds additional finger grip. With a skeletonized full tang and no heavy bolsters or pommel, the weight is about 5 ounces — just enough to feel good in your hand.
Whether you choose the traditional route with D2 or opt for the advanced S35-VN stainless steel, you can count on a knife that will keep its edge through the job, and the next.
Even better, the knife is made in the USA from USA materials.
“I started this company because I saw a distinct lack of knives that were actually designed for what we do as hunters,” said Zack Waddle, Ridgeline owner. “As an engineer I believe that there should be a knife available to outdoors enthusiasts that has every detail engineered to make tasks faster, more comfortable, and well, more fun.”
Knifemaker Stefan Neil Palmer made a knife in memory of Dustin Chamberlain to be auctioned off. He never knew it would change his life.
While at his parents’ Siloam Springs, Arkansas, home for Christmas break 2011, 20-year-old Dustin Chamberlain was shot dead by an intruder. Nearly five years later, knifemaker and racecar driver Stefan Neil Palmer was asked by his racing mentor if he would make a knife to auction off to raise money for Dustin’s Dream, the charity foundation organized in Dustin’s memory. Stefan agreed, but when he laser-engraved Dustin’s favorite saying on the handle, everyone agreed that the knife could never be auctioned off.
On Dec. 15, 2011 Dustin, a biology-pre-med sophomore at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, was resting at home after a minor outpatient procedure. Both his parents left for work with Dustin’s reassurance that he didn’t need anyone to stay with him. His father, Don, had planned to have lunch with him. At approximately 10:45 a.m. Dustin’s mother, Deondra, called the house and Dustin’s cell phone repeatedly but got no answer. She called Don and asked him to check on their son.
Don walked into the Chamberlain home to find his son lying dead just inside the door with four gunshot wounds. In the family room, he found a stranger with what police subsequently said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound that later proved fatal. The investigation revealed that the stranger was a local man who had been reported missing, depressed and possibly suicidal. He had wandered onto the Chamberlain property, and evidence showed he’d been on the premises for two hours before the Chamberlains left for work.
It’s an understatement to say that the Chamberlain’s lives were changed forever, but as day followed day, God showed them how they could carry on Dustin’s name and spirit, Don explained. “It’s been therapeutic,” he said, referring to the charity they set up in remembrance of their son. In honor of Dustin’s dream to one-day become a doctor, Dustin’s Dream sets up medical clinics in third-world countries and funds teams to conduct medical mission trips to those countries. They also offer scholarships for aspiring medical students.
Knifemaker Stefan Neil Palmer made a knife to auction off in benefit of Dustin’s Dream.
In 2013, two years after Dustin’s murder, Chamberlain family friend Steve Butler decided to use his racing hobby to support Dustin’s Dream. Steve introduced Stefan to Dustin’s Dream Racing, which raises money for the foundation “while being a positive, Godly influence” in the sport of racing, according to their web page. In the summer of 2016 it was suggested that Stefan make a knife to auction off to benefit Dustin’s Dream.
So Stefan set out to make the best knife he could to honor Dustin. The 3.112-inch hollow-ground drop-point hunter was constructed using buckshot-pattern steel forged by Brad Vice’s Alabama Damascus. “It’s my favorite pattern,” Stefan said. And buckshot- or raindrop-pattern damascus is his favorite steel. The handle was made from camel bone and brass with—fittingly—a checkerboard inlay front and rear of the handle. The shinbone of the camel is an economical choice, but it’s the ideal medium for laser engraving, explained Stefan. The rubbing compound left in the pores of the bone lend it that gray undertone. Signature filework runs from the tip to the butt of the spine. “It turned out great,” stated Stefan.
Stefan Neil Palmer’s accompanying sheath notes Hebrews 12:1-2, which includes in part “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
He went to Steve to see if there was anything that Dustin was known for saying. Steve showed Stefan what the Chamberlains had written about Dustin. “Whenever anyone asked Dustin how he could consistently make wise choices and live his faith, Dustin would say, ‘Because I love God with all my heart and I don’t want to give Him anything less than my best.’” Stefan explained, “I put that on the knife. When I looked at the finished product, I knew the knife was not for someone to buy. It was priceless and needed to go to Don.”
Stefan took his dilemma to Steve and it was agreed that a second knife would be made for the auction. The trick was to keep Don’s knife a secret, made harder by the fact that Don expressed great interest in the knife. Steve suggested to Don that he not bid on it because people would then back off their own bidding in an attempt to make sure that Dustin’s father ended up with Dustin’s knife. The racing team wanted the knife to bring in as much money for the foundation as possible.
In the end, at Dustin’s 5th Heavenly Birthday Chili Supper and Baked Goods Auction on Dec. 10, 2016, Stefan presented the original knife to Don, with both giver and receiver ending up in tears. “It changed my life,” Stefan said. “I’m not so likely to cut someone off on the race track with the Dustin’s Dream sticker on my car,” he added with easy laugh. (The T in the Dustin’s Dream logo is in the shape of a cross.) He relates how so many people have been affected for the better through Dustin’s example and the strength of the Chamberlains. “So much beauty has come out of it,” Stefan said.
Dr. Carl Duncan, left, ended up with the knife Stefan Neil Palmer, center, made in honor of Dustin, the son of Don Chamberlain, right.
The Chamberlains never returned to their home. Don manages a beef cattle ranch and other properties for his boss, and the couple and their daughter stayed at the ranch the night of the murder. They found a place to rent, but the two payments nearly put them under financially. All the while, Don said he was thinking, “I wish I could afford to just give it away to a couple who could help foster children.” Two years later, a doctor—surprise, surprise—Carl Duncan and his wife, Carol, purchased the home, and—you guessed it—they had foster children.
It was Carol who ended up with the winning bid of $3000 on the second knife, and she presented it to her husband. According to the Dustin’s Dream website, the racing team has raised $45,000 for the foundation.
Stefan’s wife, Raquel, bringing the story full circle, is returning to school to become a doctor—in the same specialty as the doctor who purchased the house and the knife. She and Stefan hope one day to accompany a medical mission team through Dustin’s Dream. Don and Deondra, a nurse, are returning to Guatemala through Dustin’s Dream for his second trip and her third. If you want to know what you can do to get involved, visit www.DustinsDream.net/give.
When Don returned to the house that fateful day, he thought it was odd that the family’s Jack Russell-rat terrier cross was out in the yard. Cricket was trembling in fear, and, uncharacteristically, she would not come to Don. It is believed that she raised a ruckus when the intruder broke into the house near her bed. Dustin came to see what the fuss was about. In yet another connection, I breed Jack Russells.
According to what police revealed to Don, the shooter asked his wife what it meant if someone was very depressed. She answered that it meant the person needed professional help. The husband and father of four reportedly said that he felt he was too much of a coward to do that. He took a gun and left the home.
I asked Don if he knew how the family was doing now. He said he didn’t, but that it had been on his heart to find out, and that my asking had solidified that course of action for him. And “no,” he said quietly, “I could never use that knife.” He has it on a dresser, along with the sheath and some photos. He wants to put it in a shadow box. “I could never use that knife,” he repeated.
“Art of the Knife” doesn’t require anything more than being appreciated for its beauty.
If you want inspiration for your own knifemaking, here’s your eye candy. Over 500 knives are pictured, and they run the gamut from highly polished and bejeweled to hunters with artistic flair. Author and former BLADE managing editor Joe Kertzman covers scrimshaw and engraving, as well as the art of each style of knife. Normally, $35, this beautiful book is now on sale for $21, a 40-percent savings.
A contemporary version of the Mount Rushmore of Knifemakers is one of many feature stories in the latest BLADE®, on newsstands now!
A contemporary version of the Mount Rushmore of Knifemakers, a secret of knife collecting, knives with nice butts, the Bob Loveless knife that changed knife history and more touch up the edge of the latest BLADE®, on newsstands NOW!
BLADE did an all-time “Mount Rushmore of Knifemakers”—the top four makers of the modern era—in the May 2015 issue. Afterward, one of the participants, Dan Delavan of Plaza Cutlery, suggested we do a Mount Rushmore saluting contemporary makers. The result is our poll of leading industry observers that pinpoints the top four makers—four to fit on our Mount Rushmore—from 2000 to 2017. Check out who they are, as well as the ones who just missed, in the latest issue.
Collecting custom knives must be fun and rewarding for you or else why do it? One way to make it fun and rewarding is to be successful at it, and one way to do that is to be aware of the life cycle of popular knife genres. BLADE field editor Les Robertson makes a living staying abreast of the life cycles of hot custom knife genres, something he has been doing for almost 35 years now. Learn what the cycles are, their history and how you can use them to enhance your collection in “The Circle Remains Unbroken.”
In knife parlance the end of a knife handle is called a butt—and knives with the nicest butts often are the kind that attract knife aficionados most. See why this is so and some examples of some of the best of their kind in “Knives With Nice Butts.”
