Today’s red-hot forged knives include some of the best in utility and other patterns, most all in blades of high-carbon steels such as 5160, 1095, 52100 and others. Though the steels are not classified as stainless, you can control the pitting and rust on the blades by simply wiping them down after each use. No biggy, really, if you think about it. Properly heat treated and ground, the blades are easy to sharpen and cut like bandits.
Here are eight knives hot from the forge, starting with a sexy fighter in 1084 carbon steel by American Bladesmith Society journeyman smith Landon Robbins of Crane, Missouri. The understated hamon or temper line of the clip-point blade, S-guard and “dropped” blackwood handle make this puppy stand out—and it also took home the award for Best Fighter at the recent Branson Hammer-In & Knife Show.
David C. Lemoine embellishes the blade of 5160 on his drop-point hunter with a short burst of filework on the spine. A single mosaic pin accents the contrasting brown and black lacewood bird’s beak handle. Overall length: 8.25 inches. A pouch sheath completes the package.
ABS master smith Don Fogg says a sign of a well-done hamon is one that stands out and is easy to describe. We christen the hamon on the W2 tool steel blade of ABS journeyman smith Tad Lynch‘s bowie “thundercloud” for its resemblance to an oncoming storm. The handle is Micarta®. Overall length: 14.5 inches.
Lyons and tigers and bears—oh my! In this instance the Lyons is ABS journeyman smith Bill Lyons of Palisade, Nebraska, maker of a slick hunter with a deep-bellied blade of 5160. The silver-wire-inlaid handle is separated from the blade by a minimalist guard. Overall length: 7.5 inches. The knife includes a leather belt sheath.
ABS journeyman smith Don McIntosh captures the “Musso Style Bowie” in a brass-backed blade of 5160 carbon steel and an ironwood handle. The brass guard and ferrule augment the blade’s brass back. For those unaware, “Musso” refers to bowie authority Joe Musso, who reportedly has every prop knife used in the early 1950s classic movie about BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Jim Bowie, The Iron Mistress, the film that inspired many a knifemaking legend to build knives.
ABS master smith Jerry Lairson enjoyed past success on the cutting competition circuit and parlays some of that experience into his kukri in 5160 carbon blade steel and an ironwood handle. The kukri designs lends itself to chopping, one of the main requirements of any good competition cutter. Overall length: 16 inches.
Raymon Hunt of Irving, Texas, chose O1 tool steel for the 5.25 inch blade of his boot dagger. A silver ferrule separates the knife’s double-ground blade from the ebony coffin handle. Overall length: 9.75 inches. Boot daggers, a very popular style in the early days of the modern custom knife movement, aren’t seen much anymore, so Mr. Hunt’s offering is a welcome window on a bygone style long overdue for a comeback.
Another carbon steel blade with an understated hamon—this time in 1095—highlights Joel Austin‘s bowie. The straight-back blade and Spartan features make this a knife we could see Jim Bowie wearing back in the day walking down some dark alley in Natchez-Under-The-Hill, Mississippi. The handle is ironwood. Overall length: 13 inches.
Loss of Knife Rights, New York
Doug Ritter of KnifeRights.org has been forwarding information about a couple articles New York Village Voice reporter Jon Campbell has written condemning the persecution of knife owners in New York City. Campbell’s How a ’50s-Era New York Knife Law Has Landed Thousands in Jail is a detailed exposé on New Yorkers, particularly Richard Neal who spent six years in jail, being wrongfully prosecuted under New York’s antiquated gravity knife law.Â
(gravity knife image from snyderstreasures.com)
Read Jon Campbell’s full feature article here.
For folders that you can carry just about anywhere EXCEPT New York City, click here.
Do You Know Your Knife Terminology?
Do you know your knife terminology? Yes, I agree that it probably doesn’t matter much if you do or not as long as you’re into knives and love to use them, collect them and otherwise celebrate your favorite sharp tool. On the other hand, there’s a certain satisfaction in knowing your knife terminology. In other words, it’s nice to be secure in the knowledge that your understanding of knife speak is current and that you can hold your own in conversation with knife aficionados.
For instance, a relatively new term introduced by BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Ken Onion is gentical. One of the world’s foremost custom knifemakers and factory knife designers, Ken has designed knives for Kershaw/Shun, CRKT and Chef Works, to name three. He’s even designed a motorized sharpener for Work Sharp! His cutlery designs have ranged from hunting to tactical to kitchen knives and beyond. In the process, he came up with the gentical name for a knife that boasts features of both a gentleman’s knife—small in size, blades 3 inches or shorter, lightweight, etc.—and a tactical knife—bigger, bolder designs, the latest blade steels, non-glare/matte blade finishes, etc. Gentleman’s plus tactical equals gentical—get it? (For more on genticals, see BLADE’s Complete Knife Guide Spring 2015, on newsstands Dec. 2.)
Of course gentical is a newer entry in knife speak. There are others, some of which go back years, even decades.
For instance, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Bob Loveless is famous for a hunting knife that many call a drop-point hunter or simply a drop point. However, drop point is a misnomer—at least it is in regard to the name Loveless originally gave the design, which was dropped hunter. Both drop point and dropped refer to the point of the blade in the design, which drops or rests below the midpoint of the blade’s plane. Somewhere along the line someone called it a drop point instead of a dropped hunter and the name stuck. In my opinion, drop point is more descriptive of the blade design than dropped—besides, dropped hunter sounds like a knife you dropped and/or lost in the woods somewhere. But I digress.
Then there’s finger choil. Finger guard is another one. The word finger in either is superfluous—in other words, it’s not needed. It’s a guard or it’s a choil, period. Finger groove or grooves is correct, but not finger guard or finger choil.
The guard is the cross/double guard with two quillons and/or single guard with one quillon—quillon is another entry in knife speak covered below—at the juncture of blade and handle that keeps your fingers/hand from sliding forward onto the blade from the grip.
A choil is a small cutout at the base of the edge of the blade. Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer A.G. Russell once said the choil’s original purpose was to indicate where to stop the stroke with the sharpener on the blade during the sharpening process. Some knives have larger cutouts at that juncture for placement of a finger for more detailed-type cuts. However, even then the cutouts are still choils, not finger choils. In addition, some companies and makers put a single groove in the handle just before the guard. Though they may call it a finger choil, it is really nothing more than a finger groove.
Now, for the quillon. According to Websters, a quillon is “either of two transverse projecting members forming the cross guard of the sword.” In other words, a cross or double guard consists of two quillons and a single guard consists of one quillon. The cutlery community uses the term for knife guards as well.
Moreover, you will often hear quillon incorrectly pronounced quill-yun. How the word obtained that pronunciation I do not know, though I suspect it came from someone who saw the word, did not know how to pronounce it, and simply did what many do in such circumstances—took a “stab” (forgive the pun) at saying it and arrived at quill-yun. The correct pronunciation is key-yun (or a reasonable facsimilie. Hey, I’m a writer, not a pronunciation expert). However, many, including a large number in the bladesmithing community, continue to refer to it as a quill-yun. Hence, if you hear that pronunciation, you’ll know what it means. (By the way, I don’t recommend trying to correct bladesmiths on their pronunciation of quill-yun. Trust me on this one.)
There are many knife terminology concepts you might want to know. I will cover them sometime in the future here at blademag.com.
8 Hot Knives For The Fall
Boker 145th Anniversary Knife
Tailor-made for a three-piece suit, jeans or purse, the Boker 145th Anniversary Knife salutes the Solingen, Germany, manufacturer's landmark birthday. The 2-inch blade is high-polished stainless steel with a laser-engraved 145th anniversary logo. The handle is Grenadill wood with the classic Boker Tree Brand logo shield, and the bolsters and liners are nickel silver. Closed length: 2 inches. The lockback pocketknife carries an MSRP of $149.
Check out the photo gallery of eight new, hot knives for fall 2014. See any keepers?
Now that you’ve seen what’s new, turn back the clock with BLADE‘s digital collection of annual KNIVES books. Get every KNIVES book from 2004 to 2015 in one PDF download for just $79.99.
Click here to get the best knife books in one spot.
Knife Users Are Our Neighbors
Sometimes we get so carried away talking about the coolest new knives, the hottest tactical folders, the neatest mechanisms, latest locks and hottest handle materials, we forget about the average knife user, the end user, the guy or gal who carries and uses a knife everyday as a tool. That person might or might not be interested in the most state-of-the-art steels and most wicked blade grinds. Few of their knives are probably embellished with scrimshaw, engraving or jewel inlays. Even fewer probably have gold, silver, diamond or precious stone inlays.
AKTI—the American Knife & tool Institute, a knife legislative body fighting for our knife rights—has a cool link on its homepage titled “Everyday People Use Knives Every Day.” Clicking the link, web browsers land on a page that says “We’re your neighbors. We use knives every day in our work or carry them for other activities,” and it lists jobs and occupations in which people employed in those areas use knives every day. The page also has a query, simply reaching out with “Let us know if you’re not on the list.”
So, BladeMag.com visitors, please let us know if you’re not on the following list (from the AKTI website [and click here for more everyday using knives]):
Accountants
Adventure Racers
Advocate (for homeless)
Aircraft Mechanic
Antique Collectors
Archeologists
Architects
Artists
Armorer
Attorney
Automotive Technicians
Backpackers
Bakers
Basket Weavers
Beekeepers
Bicycle Repairmen
Bicyclists
Big Game Hunters
Bioscience / Biomedical Workers
Bloggers
Boaters
Book Binders
Bow Hunters
Boy Scouts
Business Executives
Butchers
Cable Installers
Campers
Canoeists
Carpenters
Carpet Installers
Carvers
Citizens Emergency Response Team
Chefs
Christmas Tree Dealers
Clammers
Clothing Designers
Cobblers (Shoe Makers)
Knife Collectors
Computer Technicians
Construction Workers
Cross Country Skiers
Curriers
Dairy Farmers
Deep Sea Fishermen
Deli Workers
Doctors
Downhill Skiers
Editor
Education Aministrator
Electricians
Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs)
Engineers
Factory Workers
Farmers
Firemen
Fish Farmers
Fish Mongers
Fishermen
Floor Layers
Florists
Forensic Investigators
Forest Rangers
Four-Wheelers
Furniture Makers
Furriers
Game & Fish Rangers
Gardeners / Horticulturists
Garment Workers
Girl Scouts
Glaziers
Geocache Hunter
Greenhouse Worker
Gunsmith
Helicopter Pilots
Highland Game Participants
Hikers
Historical Re-enactors
Horse Breeders
Horse Drawn Carriage Drivers
Horseback Riders
Hunters
Ice Fishermen
Industrial Workers
Information Techs
Investigators
Janitors
Jewelers
Kayakers
Knifemakers
Landscapers
Leather Workers
Legislators
Licensed Firearms Dealers
Line Workers
Locksmiths
Loggers
Machinists
Mechanics
Metal Casters
Military Personnel
Miners
Milliners
Model Makers
Mold Makers
Moms
Motorcyclists
Mountain Climbers
Movers
Museum Curators
Musicians
Nurses
Nursery Workers
Office Workers
Outdoorsmen
Paramedics
Park Rangers
Photographers
Physical Therapists
Physicians
Plumbers
Police Officers
Potters (ceramic workers)
Precious Stone Setters
Printers
Private Pilots
Probation / Parole Officers
Project Managers
Railway Workers
Ranchers
Retired People
Roofers
Sailors
Salespeople
Scouts
Scout Leaders
Scuba Divers
Sculptors
Seamstresses
Search & Rescue Teams
Security Guards
Sheriffs
Shipping Clerks
Short Order Cooks
Sky Divers
Snowboarders
Snowmobilers
Sporting Goods Dealers
Stage Hands
Stone Workers / Masons
Surgeons
Survival Instructors
Tailors
Taxidermists
Teachers / Instructors
Telephone Repairmen
Television Repairmen
Tile Workers
Tow Truck Drivers
Tower (Cell/Phone/Radio) Climbers
Tractor Trailer Drivers or Commercial Truck Drivers
Trail Runners
Trappers
Veterinarians / Vet Techs
Warehouse Workers
Watchmen
Watchmakers / Horologists
Water Skiers
Weavers
Welders
Wood Workers
The Living Knife Highlights New BLADE®
The Living Knife by Jean-Marc Laroche will literally grab you from the cover of the new BLADE®, on most newsstands today.
Featuring a damascus blade forged by Sweden’s Roger Bergh, the Living Knife includes a mechanical “hand” for a handle, the fingers of which will grasp your hand in return when you grip it! Find out more about this ingenious creation by Laroche, a French knifemaker and sculptor well known for his otherworldly approach to knives.
Speaking of out of this world, ABS master smith Lin Rhea visited Steve Arnold, one of the stars of the Discovery Channel’s “Meteorite Men” TV show, and obtained some meteorite material from Arnold for use in the damascus blade of a special bowie. Get the complete story on the meteorite material and its origin, how Lin made the knife and much more in this issue.
Speaking of damascus, it is one of the most fascinating materials for knife blades, among both knife neophytes and aficionados alike. How did this storied material first come about? How many different versions have there been? Get the inside scoop on this ancient material in the new BLADE.
The American Bladesmith Society traces its creation to the man who reintroduced damascus to the modern custom knife movement—Bill Moran. One of if not the largest organizations of knifemakers in the world, the ABS presented its annual best knife and bladesmith honors at the 2014 BLADE Show. See what those top knives and who those premier smiths are this issue.
Hunting season is in full swing and hunting knives are in hot demand. But is just one enough? Find out why two hunting knives are better than one in the new BLADE.
There’s much more, including a test of two automatics, the latest ceramic kitchen knives, a Nordic knife for every budget, the sharpest Christmas gifts anywhere, how Dan Keffeler won the BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition and much more in the January BLADE, on newsstands NOW!
ABS Master Smith John White Passes Away
Award-winning ABS master smith John White of Valparaiso, Florida, passed away Oct. 4 after a sudden illness. He was 71.
One of the most talented smiths in the ranks of the ABS, John was known for his elegant fixed blades in his beautiful damascus steel blades, natural handle materials and exquisite embellishment. He was also quite adept at such fixed blades in a take-down construction—that is, the knife was specially built to be easily disassembled and reassembled.
As John’s friend and fellow ABS master smith Terry Vandeventer noted in the American Bladesmith Society’s Express Email, “This is not only the greatest loss to Jill, [John’s] wife of 40 years, but to the knife community. Those who knew him saw a vivacious, smart, funny, and highly skilled artisan.” Vandeventer added that there would be no services and John’s ashes will be spread on the bayou near the Whites’ home.
The little man with the big smile enjoyed a meteoric rise in the fraternity of ABS smiths, winning a number of awards for his work, including several at the BLADE Show. Among them: Best Fixed Blade, 2014 BLADE Show; Best of Show and Best Damascus (see accompanying picture), 2013 BLADE Show; Best Bowie and Best Damascus Knife, 2011 BLADE Show; and Best Damascus, 2010 BLADE Show. Somehow it seemed fitting that John enjoyed so much success at the BLADE Show, as he was among the most vocal supporters of the event.
If you wish to make a comment on John’s passing and your memories of him, Click Here. A visit there will show you how many great makers and collectors thought the world of John. He will be missed.
