In this video from the American Bladesmith Society (ABS), master smith Jay Hendrickson gives some insight on ABS founder Bill Moran. His story offers a fascinating look at important pieces of knifemaking history.
Hendrickson is just one of the many knifemakers influenced by the legendary Bill Moran. Other than his highly-coveted originals, Moran’s work lives on through styles emulated by a number of other makers and companies, including this excellent Spyderco Bill Moran Drop Point Blade at ShopBlade.com.
One of the many things that make knives so fascinating is the unusual pieces that turn up from time to time. Such is the case with a bowie knifemaker Steve Hill (www.stevehillknives.com) dubbed the “Iron Waitress” as a play-on-words salute to the famous “Iron Mistress.”
He found the Iron Waitress on eBay a few years ago. He and I had been emailing back and forth about the upcoming Bowie Knife Show in Natchez, Mississippi, and he emailed pictures of the knife and gave me a brief history.
“It was listed as a World War II theater handmade knife,” he wrote. “It’s for sure inspired by the ‘star’ of the Alan Ladd flick—or is that vice versa? Perhaps the designer of the movie knife remembered seeing this back in ‘The Big One’?
“I have fitted it with a brass spine since acquiring it. Joe Musso [the leading authority on knives from the Iron Mistress movie] thinks it’s most likely a Korean War theater knife. It’s an impressive piece of work with a sharpened false edge and cool stacked-leather handle with an escutcheon plate engraved Normand(y?). There’s good steel in the blade and it even has a tight radiused and sharpened point so it keeps on cutting through a slash maneuver without hanging up like a needle point could.
“To paraphrase Nez Coupe, the fictional Cajun friend of Jim Bowie in Paul Wellman’s Iron Mistress book, ‘This knife, she is death!’ Of all the knives in my collection,” Steve noted, “this one does seem to intimidate those who see it.”
According to Steve, the knife made the front page of a Vidalia, Louisiana, newspaper with a close-up of Knife World Editor Mark Zalesky looking cross-eyed—“Too funny!” Steve added—at it during a previous Bowie Knife Show.
It’s nice to do something you know is right, and even better when the intentions are pure, and that’s exactly what BLADE® did four years ago with its December 2010 issue. Since then, every December issue, including the upcoming December 2013 BLADE, has been and will continue to be devoted entirely to our fighting men and women in the military.
It was an idea hatched four years ago in an editorial meeting. The staff had two questions: What could BLADE do that no other knife magazine does?; and How can we honor soldiers fighting for our freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan?
I was and am extremely proud of the fact that we’re able to set aside a single issue each year and devote it to the military. It’s the very definition of freedom. The December issue will hit newsstands and subscribers’ doorsteps on September 10th, 2013. Please look for it and help us support our troops. I can’t think of anything more honorable than that.
Ten dollars from each Arkansas Veterans knife sold by A.G. Russell Knives will go toward an emergency fund for military veterans who are students at the University of Arkansas.
A.G. Russell Knives’ Arkansas Veterans knife will support military veteran students at the University of Arkansas.
The handle material remains the same—molded fiberglass re-enforced nylon. The handle color is the U of A’s school colors—cardinal red, with the center of the Arkansas flag inlaid in the grip’s front side. The knife does not have a pocket clip. The words “Arkansas Veteran” are etched on the blade’s obverse side. A.G. Russell Knives’ price: $19.95.
The project adds to A.G. Russell Knives’ history of supporting the U.S. military. Its “War On Troop Boredom” sent over 20,000 care packages containing books, magazines, tools and other useful items to units in Iraq and Afghanistan—and also garnered A.G. and Goldie Russell the BLADE Magazine 2004 Publisher’s Award for their efforts.
In fact, it was the War On Troop Boredom program that led A.G. and Goldie to be invited to sit on a board for the Veterans Resource and Information Center (VRIC) at U of A. The VRIC did not have an emergency fund to help its military vet students facing economic woes. Enter A.G. and Goldie and the Arkansas Veterans Folder.
Learning how to make knives from someone who has done it for over 60 years and written about it professionally for about 30 years is exactly what you get with Wayne Goddard’s The Wonder of Knifemaking.
In The Wonder of Knifemaking he takes you on a fascinating journey explaining most everything every knife fan wants to know about knives and how they are made. From imparting his wisdom on how you should approach knifemaking in general, to getting started, insider tips, developing your own unique style, the pitfalls each maker must beware of and much more, Goddard guides you through the process in his measured, forthright writing style.
He tells you what steel is and how each of its constituent elements affects it; working with such old-fashioned materials as files, saw steel and horseshoe rasps; what you should know about heat treating, quenching, and selective hardening and tempering techniques; the best hardnesses for blades; clay back hardening; handles, guards and tangs, including narrow tang vs. full tang; grinding and finishing; material for pins; logo etching; tools for the knife shop; and more.
A huge proponent of knife testing, Wayne explains exactly what a testing program should consist of and what it should gauge: slicing cuts vs. pull cuts; the differences in the types of ropes to cut; tests for chopping ability and edge strength; and more. He also covers sharpening comprehensively, including methods and hones. Sharpening is a subject he knows extremely well, having taught it at many seminars over the years at the BLADE Show, BLADE Show West and many other events.
Knifemakers, knife manufacturers and dealers, knifemaking suppliers and knife lovers in general will descend on A.G. Russell’s Knife Event 2013 Friday through Sunday, July 26-28, in Rogers, Arkansas.
According to www.knifeevent.com, custom knifemakers who plan to exhibit at the show include, in alphabetical order, such well-known names as Canada’s Gaetan Beauchamp, Arno Bernard, Tim Britton, ABS master smith Jim Crowell, W.C. Davis, Bob Dozier Knives, Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer D’ Holder, Larry “The Hammer” Harley of National Geographic TV’s Lords of War, Bill Mace Imel, Germany’s Dietmar Kressler, W.D. Pease, Johnny Stout, ABS master smith Brion Tomberlin and many more. Committed factory knife companies include, again in alphabetical order, Al Mar Knives, Benchmade, Boker USA, Buck, CRKT, KA-BAR, Kershaw, Leatherman, Ontario, Queen, SOG Specialty Knives & Tools, Spyderco and others.
Show hours include early VIP admission Friday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., with general admission from 2-6 p.m. Saturday hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Buy a three-day VIP pass for a chance to win a free one-night stay during the show (July 27 or 28) at the Embassy Suites, and a Saturday lunch with A.G. and Goldie Russell.
For the latest knife news, stay tuned to www.blademag.com (www.blademag.com
Larry “The Hammer” Harley—here with A.G. Russell Knives’ Debbie Myers during the 2013 BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) Awards Banquet—will be among the exhibitors at the A.G. Russell Knife Event 2013.
The HTM Lightfoot Bullwhip in the tanto blade is a ShopBlade exclusive and gets the once over in our “Cutting Critique.”
The HTM Lightfoot Bullwhip Tanto is one of those deceptive heavy-duty tactical folders that feels big to the touch but, at 6.5 ounces, is surprisingly lightweight—and is our latest entry in our “Cutting Critique” series.
Designed by award-winning knifemaker, motorcycle racing enthusiast, kayak builder and all-around man of many talents, Greg Lightfoot of Alberta, Canada, the HTM tanto version of the knife is exclusive to ShopBlade (www.shopblade.com). The 3.5-inch hollow-ground blade with a hint of a recurve is coated black and the factory edge is razor sharp for any number of cutting jobs straight out of the box. The tip is also razor sharp and thickened on the spine end, ideal for penetration, a hallmark of any classic tanto blade design.
The robust, hump-backed handle is 5/8-inch thick and features Lightfoot’s “shark-skin” texture on the non-clip side for enhanced purchase. A slight finger groove in the bolster, reverse bird’s-beak butt and flipper guard keep your hand squarely in control of the knife.
The Maxx Glide Pivot Bearing System, designed by Darrel Ralph, operates effortlessly by way of the flipper opener. The tension on the locking liner spring is nice and tight—though not too tight—to keep the blade securely open during use.
The only thing I do not like is the sharp end of the flipper. While it provides excellent traction for opening the knife, the sharp end can jab you at inopportune times—not enough to seriously injure you but enough to be uncomfortable. However, it’s nothing that can’t be remedied with a few swipes of your favorite abrasive.
A cool black zippered pouch with the HTM (Hand-Tech-Made) logo completes the package. ShopBlade’s price: $299.99.
