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Embrace the Skull-Cutter Craze

The issue of BLADE on newsstands now addresses the skull-cutter craze.
The skull-cutter craze is addressed in the current issue of BLADE®, on newsstands now.

If you like knives, swords, cleavers and other edgeware embellished with skulls, the knife industry’s skull-cutter craze is for you. And it’s ideal for Halloween, too!

Knives with skull motifs are nothing new. Knifemakers long have offered knives embellished with skulls, along with other ghoulish characters such as goblins, gargoyles, dragons, witches and warlocks, ghosts, the Grim Reaper—the current issue of BLADE® (www.blademag.com), on newsstands now, has such a knife made by D.B. Fraley and owned by Jon Ukman on the cover—and others. However, the veritable explosion of the motif in recent years seems to have sprinkled skull shards worldwide on the knife scene.

"Butch the Cleaver" is Anders Hogstrom's answer to the skull-cutter craze. (SharpByCoop photo)
Anders Hogstrom’s “Butch the Cleaver” is one of several models addressing the skull-cutter craze. (SharpByCoop photo)

Meanwhile, the skull motif has engendered a knife cottage industry of sorts. Ernest Emerson, one of the world’s leading makers and author of the legendary CQC-6, has an apparel line through his Emerson Knives, Inc., that features skulls on any number of clothing items. Companies such as Schmuckatelli sell small skulls that serve a dual purpose of both adorning knives and anchoring knife lanyards. There are others.

Of course there will be those who slam the knife industry for introducing morbid themes on what they are utterly convinced are gruesome tools of death. But we’ve heard all that balderdash and even the most irrational of anti-knife fanatics know better by now.

What about you? Do you subscribe to the skull theme, even just a little bit? If not, don’t worry. There apparently are scores of knife enthusiasts who can’t get enough of it. And with Halloween just around the corner, many knifemakers and those in the knife/skull cottage industries are loving every minute of it.

For the latest knives, knife news and much more, keep it edgy with www.blademag.com (www.blademag.com).

Ohio Classic Knife Show Starts at 1 p.m. Today

The Ohio Classic Knife Show hopes to build on the momentum of recent knife shows as it holds its annual event today and tomorrow.

 

Both the California Custom Knife Show held this past weekend and the Knifemakers’ Guild Show held last month were successes by a number of accounts, and the Ohio Classic hopes to build off their momentum as well as some of its own.

 

For instance, purveyor/collect Jon Ukman noted of the Cal show, “It was outstanding! I bought about 70 knives—and that is a good show.” Purveyor Dave Stark of Steel Addiction Custom Knives also had words of praise for the Cal show. Meanwhile, ABS bladesmith Johnny Perry, who helped display a collection of Bill Moran knives for the Moran Foundation at the Knifemakers’ Guild Show last month, said the Guild Show was a good one as well.

 

Held at the Pritchard-Laughlin Civic Center in Cambridge, Ohio, the Ohio Classic runs from 1 o’clock this afternoon until 7 tonight, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow. In addition to some of the custom industry’s top makers, the show will include some leading factory knife exhibitors and also a cutting competition tomorrow. In addition, Jeff Fournier from Mule Team Canvas will give a demo on canvas dying.

 

Exhibiting knifemakers include Tom Downing, Blind Horse Knives, Ryan Daniels of Queen Cutlery, Phillip Booth, Wayne Hensley, Pete Crowl, Andrew Demko, George Trout, Mickey Yurco, Greg Gottschalk, W.C. Johnson, James Downs, Thad Yeater, Gary Wheeler, BLADE® field editor Kim Breed, Lon Humphrey, Craig Steketee, Mark Carey of Spartan Blades, Bill Behnke and many others. Also exhibiting will be Charles Turnage of Turnage Productions, photographer Terrill Hoffman, purveyor Jerry Schroeder, Pop’s Knives and Supplies, Brad Vice of Alabama Damascus, Brad Stallsmith of Peters Heat Treat and many others.

 

For more information visit www.ohioknifeshow.com.

 

For the latest knives, knife news and more, keep an edge on it with www.blademag.com (www.blademag.com).

Attend the Ohio Classic Knife Show this afternoon and tomorrow to see makers like Wayne Hensley (right) and many others.
The Ohio Classic Knife Show welcomes knifemaker Wayne Hensley (right) and others this afternoon and tomorrow.

It’s a Hard-Use Knife

I don’t generally abuse knives. Though I do fish, camp, hike and ski whenever I get the chance, using knives hard and putting them away wet is pretty unusual for me. The hardest I ever used/abused a knife was out in the horse pasture, and I laugh about that.C14SBK3_Both

It had been a long day. I’m also not the “horse person” in my family. That would be my wife, and I wasn’t thrilled to be replacing fence posts, a job I’ve since become accustomed to yearly. Anyway, I was tired. Did I mention I’m an editor and writer? And I needed to cut some high-tensile electric wire (the fence was unplugged at the time—at least I had that right). I didn’t have a wire cutter on me, and the garage had to be at least 50 yards away. I pulled out my serrated Spyderco folder. The model escapes me, but it was a good knife, pocket clip, one-hand opener, lockback, the works. I figured the serrated blade could cut the wire, and cut the wire it did. The thick wire also chipped a blade serration, but it was well worth saving a trip to the garage. I cut several more wires that day with the Spyderco, and by the time I was done for the day, the blade looked like a toothless mountain model rather than a big-city blade. Oh well, there were more knives in the drawer, and that Spyderco holds a place of honor among them, though missing a few teeth.

What’s the hardest you ever abused a knife? Need a new one, click here, or just share your story with BLADE and KnifeForums users.

Enter KA-BAR’s Pumpkin Carving Contest

Show your knife skills in KA-Bar's Pumpking Carving Challenge.
Enter KA-BAR’s third annual Pumpkin Carving Challenge. The knife is the KA-BAR/Becker Knife & Tool BK-13.

Break out your favorite KA-BAR knife, grab a pumpkin and commence to carving—it’s time for KA-BAR’s third annual Pumpkin Carving Contest!

The winner will receive a free KA-BAR knife. The contest runs through Halloween, Oct. 31.

Using your favorite KA-BAR knife, carve a pumpkin and photograph the result. The photograph must also include the KA-BAR knife you used to do the carving. Upload the image to any of the KA-BAR social media channels—see below for a list of them—and you are officially entered.

Since you’ll need to upload the shot, you’ll need to use a digital camera. If you don’t have a digital camera, borrow one from a friend, or shoot a print and have a friend scan the image and upload it for you.

Be sure to follow all standard safety procedures when carving, including using a sharp knife—to ensure it’s sharp, touch the edge up beforehand—and when carving, cut AWAY from you and anyone else in the vicinity. You might even want to keep a box of bandages and other medicinal items on hand while you carve. You never can tell when you might get a bit klutzy (hey, it happens to all of us from time to time, right?).

If you have any questions about rules, eligibility, etc., contact [email protected]. They will be happy to help.

KA-BAR social media channels include https://www.facebook.com/KABARKNIVES and

https://twitter.com/KA_BAR

https://plus.google.com/u/0/108773739377759118633/posts

For the latest knives, knife news and more, keep it at www.blademag.com (www.blademag.com).

And happy trick or treating and Happy Halloween!

 

Video: How to Make Mosaic Damascus Steel with Ed Caffrey

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In this video from the American Bladesmith Society, master smith Ed Caffrey details how to make mosaic damascus. This technique yields stunning steel for beautiful blades.

How to Make Mosaic Damascus: The Billet

From the video:

First, I built a 4″x4″x6″ “can” and plugged one end with piece of 3/8″ place, then laid out a stack of 1080 & 15N20 diagonally. I filled the remaining space in with 1/4″ W1 rods, then took up all the air space with 1095 powder, to which I added 10% nickel powder.

Caffrey wound up cutting the billet in half after forging for a bit. This made the halves easier to work.

How to Make Mosaic Damascus: Two Becomes Four

From the video:

Next, I forged the two halves down to about 1 1/2″ square, anneal, and mill off the can, then cut each in half again.

That will give me four pieces to decide how to orient and 4-way. Depending on what I come out with, it go to an 8- or even 16-way.

I then performed a quick clean-up of the ends with a 220 belt and an etch so I could orient everything.

How to Make Mosaic Damascus: The Trick

The “trick” to getting what you want is being able to visualize in your mind how the pattern will look after welding and accordion cutting/folding. You might be surprised at just how different a pattern will look from where it is now.

How to Make Mosaic Damascus: Welding

Finally, I face mill off the mating faces of each piece. Then it’s just a matter of placing them together and forge welding. It can be wet welded, dry welded or whatever you’d like. Each method will have an effect on the finished product.

Watch the video for full instructions on how to make mosaic damascus.

Keep Learning with This Great Download from BLADE

How to make mosiac damascusThis video was only a taste of the richly rewarding craft of making mosiac damascus. Once you get going, you won’t want to stop creating these incredible designs.

For only $4.99, you can learn much more in this excellent download from BLADE on how to make mosiac damascus.

 

How To Reserve Your Hotel Room For the BLADE Show

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If you're struggling to make hotel reservations for the 2014 BLADE Show, here's how.
Here’s how to reserve your hotel room for the world’s biggest knife show, the 2014 BLADE Show.

It’s that time of year again—when people start tearing their hair out trying to reserve their hotel rooms for the following year’s BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com).

Of course, the fact people are already lining up for their lodging seven months before it starts is testimony to just how important the show has become worldwide. And, needless to say, we love it!

Slated for June 6-8, 2014, at the spacious Cobb Galleria Centre just outside Atlanta, the show is the world’s largest and assembles more exhibitors, knives, seminars and assorted cutlery events than any other. As such, all knife enthusiasts want to attend and the rush for hotel rooms starts earlier every year.

Many folks have been calling the show’s host hotel, the Renaissance Waverly, and the Sheraton located across the street from the Galleria, requesting hotel rooms with the the special BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) discounted rate—and they have been told by both hotels’ reservation officials that they cannot call the applicable hotels direct to reserve a room for the show.

Those hotel reservation officials are, of course, correct.

There are two ways to reserve a room for the show: either visit

https://aws.passkey.com/event/10704610/owner/2698962/home or call 855-547-8429. The website is now live and the phone number is for our special call center.

By the way, this is NOT a new hotel reservation system for the show. It’s the same format as it has been for the past three years. Again, do NOT contact the hotels direct to make reservations for the weekend of the world’s largest knife show.

For the latest knives, knife news and more, stay with www.blademag.com (www.blademag.com).

 

New BLADE Says Boo! on Newsstands Now!

New BLADE on most newsstands today!
D.B. Fraley’s Grim Reaper says Boo! on the cover of the new BLADE—on most newsstands today.

D.B. Fraley’s Torrent 5.0 “Grim Reaper” says boo to you on the cover of the latest BLADE® (www.blademag.com),  on most newsstands TODAY!

Sporting extensive gold-inlay by engraver C.J. Cai in a fitting Halloween motif, the big flipper folder was five years in the planning and completion stages and its owner, Jon Ukman, is thrilled with the spooky result.

Elsewhere in the new BLADE (www.blademag.com):

•Discover which is best for you—a hunting knife that folds or is fixed—and why;

•See who our expert panel selects as the top 14 makers of the Golden Age of Modern Custom Knifemaking;

•Choose from a gaggle of top factory or custom slicing knives for that holiday turkey or ham;

•Learn whether the “Agent” by Jonathan Mcnees can pass the “steel-door-can-opening” test;

•Know a top traditional folder when you see it through “What To Look For in the Best Slip Joints”;

•Sample the top annual hammer-forged knives of the American Bladesmith Society as named at the 2013 BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) & Living Ready Expo;

•Read how collectors’ custom knives almost caused at least one divorce;

•Experience the week-long festivities of the Buck Collectors Club’s 25th Anniversary Celebration in concert with Buck Knives;

•Follow the chops, cuts, slices and other blade-performance derring-do of the 11th Annual BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) World Championship Cutting Competition;

•Learn what it takes to get started making tomahawks;

•Check out the latest knives, including the new bushcraft fixed-blade design for Colonial by Abe Elias, in “What’s New”;

•Absorb 3 keys to functional sheaths;

•Get the lowdown on makers Ron Appleton, Peter Rassenti, Ryan Lemaire, Patrick Randall, Rusty Waide and Robert Weinstock in “Knifemaker Showcase”;

•Also: see what the next knife show is nearest you; what to look for in the next issue; and much more, all in the January 2014 BLADE (www.blademag.com).

For the latest knives and knife news, stay glued to www.blademag.com.

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