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“Art of the Knife” Starts July 10

Steve Shackleford
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“Art of the Knife” Starts July 10

The Art of the Knife, an exploration of the history of the handmade knife as a tool of value in both function and aesthetics, will run July 10 through Aug. 18 at the Guilford Art Center in Guilford, Connecticut.

Mace Vitale, a journeyman smith in the American Bladesmith Society and also a blacksmith and coppersmith, will jury the invitational event. An awarding-winning bladesmith and a regular exhibitor at the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.blademag.com), he also serves as an instructor at the Guilford Art Center.

Juried by ABS master smith Mace Vitale, maker of this damascus dagger, the Art of the Knife will run July 10-Aug. 18.
Mace Vitale, maker of this damascus dagger, will jury the Art of the Knife exhibit beginning July 10.), Vitale also serves as an instructor at the Guilford Art Center.

Vitale started out working with his father in a pre-cast concrete business that specialized in architectural reproduction. Mace learned a lot from his dad, from how to use tools to “how to make something from nothing.”

Mace bounced from job to job after the family business closed in the 1990s until he found work as a coppersmith. “Its effect on me was less than subtle,” he writes on his website. “I was hooked!”

 

He attended a blacksmithing class at the Guilford Art Center and subsequently found out about the ABS. He took the ABS “Introduction fo Bladesmithing” class and has been making knives ever since, obtaining his ABS journeyman smith stamp in 2006.

 

“I pride myself on my attention to detail,” he observed. “The way I see things, the only way I’ll possibly be able to garner a customer’s satisfaction is through my own satisfaction. I fashion everything I make as if it will be my own.”

 

The opening reception for the exhibit will be Wednesday, July 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. It is free to the public, as is admission to the exhibit. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m.

New Alliance Foundation sponsors the exhibit in part.

For more information contact the Guilford Art Center 203-453-5947 or visit www.guilfordartcenter.org.

What Are The Best EDC Knives?

Joe Kertzman
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What Are The Best EDC Knives?

Lately I’ve been carrying a Gerber Bear Grylls clip-point, lockback folder. I love the feel of the rubber handle inserts, and I’ve gotta tell ya, the black and orange combo just looks cool. But this isn’t about me. It’s about what knife industry professionals say are selling, being carried, receiving positive feedback and working well as EDC’s.

Carajas duoI recently interviewed a few industry pros, and following is an excerpt from what they had to say. To read the entire article, see the September 2013 issue of BLADE® on newsstands now, or subscribe to BLADE by clicking here. For more EDC knife options, click here.

“You could poll 10 people and have 10 different opinions on what the ideal EDC knife is,” suggests Dan Weidner of Boker USA. “A construction worker is not going to select what an office worker or traveling salesperson carries, and a first responder won’t choose what an outdoorsman wants.Cover

“Most folks have a few EDC knives,” he adds. “I carry the Boker Plus Damascus Gent II to the office. It does everything I need during the day, feels good in my pocket, is easily accessible, and when a visitor arrives, I have a beauty that I can say, ‘Look what I have.’ After all, at the end of the day we like to show off what we carry.”

What the Damascus Gent II locking-liner folder (this issue’s cover knife) has to show off is a 2.75-inch, 67-layer-damascus, drop-point blade, ebony handle scales, dual thumb studs and a detachable pocket clip. Weighing 1.6 ounces, its manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) is $89.95.

“It’s just a classy looking knife, and the damascus blade and ebony handle blend into artistic cutlery,” Weidner comments. “When it comes to packing for a hike into the Rockies, it goes on top of the dresser and out comes a more formidable piece that can handle rugged duty. Yard work calls for good old-fashioned high carbon steel, sharp as can be, with a totally blackened blade. SAK_0_9410_3__S1

“It’s this chameleon EDC change-up that keeps the industry rolling!” Weidner concludes. “I think most will agree, there is no best EDC material that covers all bases.”

Rob Sterner, senior vice president of sales for Swiss Army Knives, says the Victorinox Hunter Pro Folding Blade has been designed to meet the needs of the serious hunter, as well as the general outdoors enthusiast, making it a versatile knife. “For the first time, we have incorporated the blade steel from our professional knives, which we’ve provided to the slaughterhouse and meat-packing industries since 1884,” he explains.Case 1 WHIT

To read the entire article, see the September 2013 issue of BLADE® on newsstands now, or subscribe to BLADE by clicking here.

ABS Youth Hammer-In at SMKW June 28-30

Steve Shackleford
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ABS Youth Hammer-In at SMKW June 28-30

The American Bladesmith Society (ABS) Youth Hammer-In will be held Friday through Sunday, June 28-30, at Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville, Tennessee.

Youths from all over the country will descend on Sevierville to learn how to forge a knife under the expert direction of ABS master, journeyman and apprentice smiths. Safety is always the No. 1 concern when forging, and that concern is magnified when children are involved. The ABS has an exemplary record in this regard, and its bladesmiths/teachers are among the finest in the world. Leather shoes or work boots (no tennis shoes), cotton shirts and long cotton pants, work apron and leather work gloves will be the uniform of the day. Safety glasses will be provided. Feel free to bring your favorite hammer and tongs.

Classes will include safety talks, forging demos, hand finishing techniques, a chalk talk on handles and guards, individual instruction on the anvil and more. Lunch and dinner will be provided.

The hammer-in is open to participants ages 9 to 18 who are accompanied by a parent or guardian. Registration fee is $65.

While there, the kids and their parents/guardians can tour Smoky Mountain Knife Works (SMKW), one of if not the world’s largest retail knife stores. The latest in knives, sharpeners, knife accessories, displays, knife maintenance kits, tomahawks, swords and everything that has to do with cut are on display and for sale.

SMKW is also home to the National Knife Museum, which houses an incredible array of antique pocketknives, custom knives, swords and much more. Tour the facility’s historical displays to learn all about the history of man’s oldest tool in a modern, air-conditioned environment.

For more information on the ABS Youth Hammer-In, contact BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© (www.blademag.com) member Houston Price 865-397-0053 choustonprice.att.net or visit www.americanbladesmith.com.

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

ABS journeyman smith Wes Byrd instructs young students on the art of the forged blade at a past ABS youth hammer-in.
ABS journeyman smith Wes Byrd instructs youngsters at a past ABS Youth Hammer-In.

New Measure Will Revamp Alaska Knife Law

Steve Shackleford
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New Measure Will Revamp Alaska Knife Law

With the stroke of a pen, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell has signed a new measure known as HB33 that will result in sweeping reform of Alaskan knife law.

Northern Knives retail knife store in ??????, Alaska, will be among the many who benefit from Alaska's sweeping new knife reform law. (Northern Knives photo)
Ray Thibault, owner of Northern Knives in Anchorage, Alaska, was among those who witnessed the signing of Alaska’s sweeping new knife law. (Northern Knives photo)

The new law will go into effect Sept. 18. Until then, however, existing Alaska knife laws remain in place.

According to Knife Rights, HB33 will legalize the possession, transfer and carry of automatic knives, aka switchblades, and also enact knife law pre-emption, which repeals all local knife laws and prevents new ones from being enacted—in this case, in Alaska.

Alaska will become the 7th state to enact knife law pre-emption, Knife Rights reported.

The new law will be particularly beneficial to the state’s outdoor and hunting industries, both of which rely heavily on hunters and outdoors people—and most hunters and many who spend time outdoors use and carry knives.

Knife law pre-emption, meanwhile, prevents the oppressive practice used by many towns, cities and counties within states whereby the knife laws are contradictory and you may literally be legal, illegal and then legal again when you carry a knife and pass from town to city to county.

Gov. Parnell invited Todd Rathner, Knife Rights director of legislative affairs, to the signing ceremony in Palmer, Alaska. Also in attendance were Ray Thibault of Northern Knives retail knife store, Sen. Charlie Huggins, HB33 Sponsor Rep. Mark Neuman, House Speaker Rep. Mike Chenault, Rep. Wes Keller and Rep. Bill Stoltze.

For more information on the new law and pro-knife laws in general, contact Knife Rights and/or stay tuned to www.blademag.com.

Featured Knife: Tom Kreger Carolina Field Knife

BLADE Staff
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Featured Knife: Tom Kreger Carolina Field Knife

SK-934

New from Sarge Knives is the SK-934, also known as the Tom Kreger Carolina Field Knife. Among the crowded field of fixed blade knives for outdoor duty, this one stands out for the little extras that come with it, along with an outstanding price point. That’s why it’s a BLADE featured knife.

That’s a bone handle for starters, polished off with red liner and brass fasteners. It adds up to a handsome look and feel.

The steel on the 3.5-inch, mirror polish blade is 440C stainless. The drop point offers plenty of room for the thumb along the spine. This increased control is important when the job gets demanding.

When paired with the handle, the overall length of the Tom Kreger Carolina Field Knife is 7.5 inches.

As a finishing touch, Sarge Knives is offering a black leather sheath with each Tom Kreger Carolina Field Knife. That’s real leather, not the plastic stuff that sometimes gets passed off as such.

Here’s the best part. The price point clocks in at only $59.95. That’s one heck of a deal.

To recap, here are the specs again:

  • SK-934, Tom Kreger Carolina Field Knife
  • Handle: White Bone with Red Liner and Brass Fasteners
  • Blade: 3 ½”
  • Overall: 7 ½”
  • Finish: Mirror Polish
  • Steel: 440C Stainless
  • Includes: Black Leather Sheath

You’ll have to go right to Sarge Knives to get this super deal. Click here to get a Tom Kreger Carolina Field Knife for just $59.95 from Sarge Knives.

Video: Jenn Coffey Keynote Address

BLADE Staff
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Video: Jenn Coffey Keynote Address

Best knife book
Knives 2014 is available for pre-order now. Click the cover to order.

The Hon. Jenn Coffey offered this keynote address at the 2013 BLADE Show. Although a good deal of her speech talked about knife rights, she also mentioned counterfeiting.

“We have all seen the hard work, dedication and imagination of our friends and family stolen, and knock-offs made and sold as if they were the real thing,” Coffey said.

Another idea she addressed was pairing knife manufacturers with car dealers. Seat belt cutters are an important tool. Could it be time for the two sides to meet and offer seat belt cutters in new vehicles?

What are your thoughts on these important issues? Leave a comment below.

 

ABS Announces 1st School Outside USA

Steve Shackleford
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ABS Announces 1st School Outside USA
An example of knives made in Belgium is the Hurak Fighter by new ABS journeyman smith Samuel Lurquin. (SharpByCoop.com photo)
The ABS will open a new bladesmithing school in Belgium in October. The Hurak is by Belgium’s Samuel Lurquin, who earned his ABS journeyman smith stamp at the 2013 BLADE Show. (SharpByCoop.com photo)

The American Bladesmith Society (ABS) will offer its first-ever bladesmithing school outside the USA beginning in October.

Operated in partnership with The Forge at Ostiches, Belgium, the school’s first class will be “Introduction to Bladesmithing.” Limited to seven students, the class will have as its primary instructor ABS master smith Jean-Paul Thevenot of Dijon, France. Belgium’s Dirk Bourguignon and Frederic Taquet, both ABS bladesmiths, will assist.

The school site is in a beautiful village south of Brussels. Accommodations are nearby within two to three miles. English will be spoken.

The first ABS school of bladesmithing outside the USA was approved in a vote of the ABS Board of Directors during the ABS annual meeting at the 2013 BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.bladeshow.com) May 31-June 2.

The Belgian facility is the fourth ABS school of bladesmithing. The others are the original—the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing in Old Washington, Arkansas—and the Haywood Community College  in Clyde, North Carolina, and the New England School of Metalwork in Auburn, Maine.

“We now have members in 18 countries,” noted ABS Webmaster Dan Cassidy, “and it is not unusual for my wife Sally and I to communicate with our ABS members around the world in Spanish, Portugese and French on a routine basis. The Internet makes all of this possible today.”

Cassidy credited ABS master smith and new ABS president Joe Keeslar with making the new school possible. Winner of the 2013 BLADE Magazine Industry Achievement Award, Keeslar has been a groundbreaker in bringing modern bladesmithing to both France and Belgium. “Joe was the one who made all the arrangements for the new school,” Cassidy noted, “and it was done over the course of more than a year.”

For information on dates, tuition and accommodations for the new school, contact [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].

For the latest in knife news, stay tuned to www.blademag.com.

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