Saddle up for Valentine’s Day with the Case John Wayne peanut.Whether you’re spoken for or not, the Kershaw Spoke will cut it for you and/or your sweetie-pie.
Valentine’s Day is a heartbeat away and there’s no better gift than his/her knives. These knives especially fit the bill because they are smallish folders that work well for both men and women. Featuring blades under 3 inches, they make the ideal everyday carry knife in most any venue.
Boker’s Damascus African Thuya is just such a knife. Boasting a 2.25-inch blade of Chad Nichols ladder-pattern damascus, it has a handle of tight-grained African thuya wood. MSRP: $299.
The Buck Apex is a sporty little folding knife with a 2 5/8 blade of 420HC stainless and a carbon fiber handle with carabiner, pocket clip and integrated bottle opener. Weight: 1.7 ounces. Closed length: 3.75 inches. MSRP: $45.
Boker’s Damascus African Thuya makes a great Valentine’s Day gift.Buck’s Apex features a carabiner, pocket clip and bottle opener in the carbon fiber handle.
If you’re into the Duke—John Wayne for you tenderfoots—Case’s John Wayne peanut pattern should be your cup of cattle-drive coffee. Sporting clip and pen blades—the former with Wayne’s signature—the Red River “D” shield and “The Duke” inscribed on the bolster, this one is made for Wayne fans everywhere.
The black-oxide-coated Spoke from Kershaw is an assisted-opening flipper folder with a 2-inch blade of 4Cr14 stainless and a forged steel handle. Closed length: 2.8 inches. MSRP: $27.99.
Finally, yet another great small knife for Valentine’s Day is the SOG Cash Card. The 2.75-inch blade of 8Cr13MoV stainless and full-metal construction make this minimalist’s dream knife come true.
SOG’s Cash Card should appeal to him or her on Valentine’s Day.
His/her knives—you can’t beat ’em! For more on these classics and other great knives, stay tuned to blademag.com and the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication, BLADE®.
According to a new History™ Channel video trailer and television commercial, Season 2 of Forged In Fire premieres on February 9th at 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. CST. All-new participants/bladesmiths are ready to forge edged tools and weapons, so tune in to History Channel and see for yourself.
ABS master smith J. Neilson tests a blade on History Channel’s Forged In Fire. (Miller Mobley/HISTORY image)
Forged In Fire (page 84, December BLADE) pits bladesmiths against each other to see who can make the best knife in a limitedamount of time, with the winner of each episode earning a $10,000 first prize. Last year’s FIF included such well-known forgers as ABS master smiths Murray Carter, Ray Kirk and J.D. Smith, David Goldberg, Peter Martin, ABS journeyman smith Mace Vitale and others, as well as many relatively unknown bladesmiths.
The combination of having to complete knives in a set time limit along with the other contestants before television cameras and over a million viewers makes for a great pressure environment and high drama. As a result, some of the smiths struggle to perform at their best. See the December 2015 issue of BLADE to find out more.
BLADE picks the hottest custom makers’ hottest knives and features a bunch more sharp stuff in the latest issue. The cover knife is the Vanquish Pocket Deploy from Browning.
The hottest custom knifemakers’ hottest knives, a field test of four of the latest factory fixed blades sold for under $50 each, and how factory knife companies and custom makers arrive at collaboration knives are but a sample of the stories in the new BLADE®, on newsstands now!
To fulfill reader requests for the best in economy knife buys, the new BLADE introduces “Budget Knife Buyer,” the first in a regular series of stories on quality knives obtainable from one or more retailers for $50 or less. First up are utility fixed blades. Join Abe Elias as he puts the CRKT Sting 3B, Condor Tool & Knife Tarpon, Gerber Ghostrike and Puma USA Badlands through the paces.
Twice each year, BLADE canvasses leading custom knife purveyors for the hottest custom makers’ hottest knives. The latest rendition of “What’s Hottest” features some of the world’s leading makers’ best recent efforts. Many of the makers’ names remain the same but the knives are hotter than ever. Check out which ones are sizzlin’ in “Sharp Studies in Standout Steel” by BLADE editor Steve Shackleford.
Also this issue: Join Michael Janich as he visits his friend, Fred Perrin, perhaps the most revered maker of tactical knives in France, in “Blademaker of Burgundy”; ABS master smith Larry Fuegen details his one-of-a-kind forged scroll folder in “Mad About Max”; the latest in straight razors and the secrets to keeping them sharp in Pat Covert’s “Razor Blades by a Whisker”; Zoe Crist’s hot stainless san mai steel and the knives that have it; James Morgan Ayres’s field test of four of the latest tactical folders, including this issue’s cover knife, the Browning Vanquish Pocket Deploy, in “Tactical Folder Field-Test Fest”; and much more, all in the latest issue of the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication, BLADE.
The repeal of automatic/switchblade knife bans will be one pro-knife effort among several by AKTI in 2016. The knife is the Hogue EX-03.
Increased lobbying efforts to pass knife law reform on both the federal and state levels will be a major focus of the American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) in 2016, the AKTI announced in a press release.
At the top of the list of reforms the AKTI will pursue are the Knife Owners’ Protection Act (KOPA), repeal of restrictions on automatics/switchblades, and Knife-Law Preemption.
To increase its pro-knife effort, AKTI is enlisting the services of ADS Ventures, a government and public affairs firm specializing in national security and defense issues with offices in Washington, D.C., and Boston, Massachusetts. ADS has worked with AKTI for several years. The new contract calls for increased efforts to pass KOPA and overturn still-existing bans on autos and pass Knife-Law Preemption in areas that don’t have it.
Patchwork laws related to the ownership and possession of knives, laws that are inconsistent from state to state, county to county and even town to town, are the bane of law-abiding knife owners. AKTI’s efforts will be redoubled to make laws consistent and Constitutional in these areas. “We support reasonable, responsible legislation and measured non-partisan efforts to resolve issues,” said David Fee, AKTI’s legislative chair. “We’re excited to see how we can further this objective in this and coming years.”
“We are confident that through AKTI’s leadership and the work of ADS Ventures, it will be a successful year for the organization as we further our mission to ensure [law-abiding citizens’] right to own, carry, and use knives and edged tools,” observed CJ Buck, president of the AKTI board of directors.
Along with Knife Rights, AKTI is your go-to service for questions concerning any and all knife laws. In terms of laws concerning elephant and ancient ivories, a specialist in such matters is the Elephant Protection Association. For more information, visit akti.org, kniferights.org and elephantprotection.org. To know your rights if arrested for carrying knives, to know what to say and not say in such situations and more, get your copy of Knife Laws of the U.S. by Evan Nappen.
When it comes to knives, an array of products sits ready to address the issues of protection and maintenance. Depending on personal preference you have your choice of paste waxes, aerosols, oils and cloths to get the job done. Price points vary widely as well.
Tracy Mickley of Midwest Knife Supply suggests the old reliable 3-In-One Oil or another petroleum-based product called Nano-Oil. The 3-In-One Oil sells for about $3 in a 4-ounce applicator container.
“There are hundreds of different things out there,” remarked Tracy Mickley, owner of Midwest Knife Supply in North Mankato, Minnesota. “Many of them are very good, including carrying cases that are protective and sometimes fleece lined. They are inexpensive at $5 to $20 depending on the size.”
An example of one of Warren Osborne’s Benchmade collaborations is the Emissary.
Long-time knifemaker Warren Osborne passed away Jan. 4 after a long illness. His death comes almost 13 months to the day after his good friend and fellow maker Joe Kious was killed in a truck accident.
A native of Australia, Osborne moved to Texas, where he resided in Waxahachie for many years. He was a full-time knifemaker and sold his first custom knife in 1980. In his trademark cowboy hat and cowboy boots, Warren was a fixture at knife shows and BladeSports International (BSI) cutting competitions. Despite failing health, he exhibited at the recent International Custom Cutlery Exposition in Kansas City, the first-ever knife show coordinated by both the Knifemakers’ Guild and the American Bladesmith Society.
He was known for his high-end custom folding knives, many of them interframes ornately engraved by some of the industry’s leading embellishers. He joined the Knifemakers’ Guild as a probationary member in 1985. He later became a voting member and served on the Guild’s board of directors for a number of years. His knife designs may be best known among the largest number of people through his many collaborations with Benchmade Knife Co.
More recently he was instrumental in the founding of BSI, the world’s leading association of those who compete in knife-cutting competitions. He competed successfully on the BSI circuit for several years and designed and made his own competition knives. He was among the first to use CPM M4 carbon steel for the blades of his competition cutters, a steel that takes a great edge and is tough enough so that M4 blades can be ground very thin without damage to the edge or chipping while in use, great traits for competition cutters to have. He was also among the first to use horse-stall-mat rubber for the handle of a competition cutter. The material excels in enhanced purchase and non-slip qualities. His knives were recognized by many BSI observers for high performance in the competitions. The BSI coordinates the BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition at the BLADE Show each year. This year’s event will be held during the BLADE Show June 3-5 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Georgia.
As he noted on his website, Warren was fascinated by “anything with a blade” from early childhood in his native Australia, and made knives from crosscut saws, chainsaw bars and anything else he found “laying around.” “Bladed weapons were a family thing, so between three brothers and myself, we had quite a collection,” he noted. Later on during his work as a ranch hand in Australia and as a horse trainer in the USA, sharpening and making knives became a spare-time endeavor.
In the March 2014 BLADE® he tied for No. 13 with Shane Taylor and Jason Knight among the top custom makers of the years 2001-2012. As Larry Connelley of KnifeArt.com noted in that issue of BLADE, “Warren’s knives exhibit extremely clean workmanship, combined with outstanding design and a solid business ethic.” The story went on to note, “From art knives to utility and higher-end designs to competition cutters, Osborne’s work has covered as many bases as just about any other maker.”
As good friend and fellow award-winning maker Tom Overeynder observed, “What a great friend and craftsman Warren was. He will be missed by all who ever met him.” Added BSI Executive Director Donavon Phillips, “Warren was a friend and mentor to so many. I feel like I should say more but the words won’t come to me right now.”
Funeral services were held Thursday, Jan. 7, at the Wayne Boze Funeral Home on 1826 W. Hwy. 287 in Waxahachie. Instead of flowers, please make any donations to The Wounded Warrior Project.
As popular as tactical folders are and have been in the knife industry and with the knife-buying public in general, flipper folders have taken that segment of the industry by storm. They fly off the store shelves and Web pages as fast as the blades are deployed.
If you’ve ever wondered how they’re made, how they work or what makes them so quick, the February 2016 issue of BLADE® Magazine includes a feature article by ABS master smith Wally Hayes on “How To Make A Flipper Folder.” Within the story, the author takes you through the main process of flipper folder making step-by-step. Now that’s as cool as flipping open a blade and hearing that proverbial click as it locks into place, ready for use!
