Master Smith Joe Keeslar demonstrates Silver Wire Inlay work techniques including stabing chisel cuts, wire forming, wood selection, and wire cutting.
Veteran Knifemaker Ted Dowell Passes Away
Ted Dowell, long-time knifemaker, past Knifemakers’ Guild president and popularizer of the integral knife design, passed away Oct. 5.
In a statement, Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member and current Guild president Gil Hibben noted, “It is with a heavy heart that I report the passing of my friend and Knifemakers’ Guild Founding Member and Past President, Ted Dowell. Our hearts go out to his family and especially to his beloved wife, Betty. As soon as I know the arrangements and details I will post them. Ted was a true pioneer of the KMG and a great master knifemaker. He will be deeply missed.
Also known for his “Funny Folder” design, among many others, Dowell was the only Guild member to exhibit at every Guild Show—40 in all—until the streak came to an end in 2010, Betty always by his side, smiling and flying the “Dowell banner.”
According to Hibben, the family of Ted Dowell has requested that in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to the Knifemakers’ Guild (www.knifemakersguild.com) in Ted’s memory. “Ted truly loved the Guild, and the Dowell family’s request reflects that love,” Hibben added.
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Viking “Ulfberht” Sword Stars on Nova Tonight
Watch Nova on PBS tonight as Ric Furrer takes you through the creation of the legendary Viking sword known as the “Ulfberht.”
Specializing in the forging/making of steel via the ancient methods, Furrer has conducted seminars and demonstrations on how to make steel from sand at a number of venues, including the Batson Bladesmithing Symposium at the Tannehill Ironworks in McCalla, Alabama.
Little is known for sure about the legendary Ulfberht sword. Believed to have been made somewhere around the 10th century, the Ulfberht is described thus by the late Hank Reinhardt (pictured above in a photograph by Patrick Gibbs at a past DragonCon event) in his The Book of Swords:
“Sometime early in the 10th century, the ability to produce a large enough bloom of steel to make a full sword was developed … [The resulting] steel swords also had a slightly different shape [than their predecessors]. Instead of the edges being parallel, there was a defined slope to the point. The point was still rounded but the slope put weight closer to the hand, thereby making them somewhat quicker on the stroke and on the return. These new swords all had the name ‘Ulfberht’ engraved on the blades. It’s fun to speculate how this sword was developed and who this person was.”
For more on tonight’s program, click on http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/secrets-viking-sword.html
For more on the latest in everything that cuts, subscribe to BLADE®. For subscription info, click on http://www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us?lid=SSfbbl101012
Kickin’ Up a Couple Fixed Blades Colt Style
When Mickey Yurco set out to fashion a pair of 440C fixed blades with colt-style pistol grips, even the accomplished knifemaker couldn’t have foreseen how sweet the twosome would turn out to be. With wooden handle slabs and gold-colored Colt logo shields, they are shaped like the grips of a .45 ACP Colt Pistol.
And they qualify as Editor’s Favorites From the Knives 2013 book.
The clip-point blades, one with a steeper clip than the other, sport integral finger guards and full, thick-to-the-butt tangs. These are hefty little fixed blades meant for use and accompaniment, no doubt, for a favored Colt pistol. Terrill Hoffman took the photo.
NEW BLADE ON NEWSSTANDS TODAY!
What do many of today’s custom tactical folders have in common? Find out in the latest issue of BLADE® Magazine, on most newsstands TODAY!
Featuring the DMF tactical folder by Sniper Bladeworks on the cover, the World’s No. 1 Knife Publication covers the globe’s sharpest knives from all angles, including:
•A special 25th anniversary salute to the Sebenza by Chris Reeve Knives, one of the most influential folders in modern knife history;
•Part one of a two-part story on how to polish a Japanese sword by sword guru Leon Kapp;
•The top annual knives of the American Bladesmith Society as determined at the 2012 BLADE Show (www.blademag.com);
•A rundown of the latest and greatest factory hunting knives;
•A profile of one of Brazil’s hottest knifemakers, Gus Cecchini;
•BLADE field editor and ABS master smith Wayne Goddard’s four shop tips and quick fixes covering grinders, drill-bit sharpening, holes in hard tangs and more;
•A short history of the K.I.S.S., the knife that helped make Columbia River Knife & Tool a major player on the world knife stage;
•And all the latest in everyday carry knives, the results from the 10th Annual BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition, a test of A.G. Russell’s “Super Storm Knife” and much, much more.
For information on how to subscribe to BLADE, click on http://www.shopblade.com/blade-magazine-one-year-subscription-us?lid=SSfbbl100912
The Hunter’s Edge: 3 Hot Fixed Blades
You can’t beat fixed blades for down-and-dirty, heavy-duty hunting knife use, and three hot factory examples from ShopBlade are more than ready for the woods.
Designed for fish and small game, the Buck 102BR Woodsman (second from top) boasts old-time Buck styling in an affordable ShopBlade price of $39.99. Overall length: 7.75. inches.
For more click on www.shopblade.com/buck-102br-woodsman-knife-y4511?lid=SSfbbl100912
The Medium Hunter “O” Style (third from top) by Scagel Knives features a 5.5-inch blade of A2 tool steel heat treated to 58 HRC. Sporting the convex grind—the favorite grind of Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Bill Moran—the blade is designed for all types of hunting uses.
For more click on www.shopblade.com/scagel-design-knives-medium-hunter-o?lid=SSfbbl100912
Speaking of Moran, Spyderco’s Bill Moran upswept hunter (top) boasts a VG-10 stainless blade and a comfy palm swell handle of fiberglass-reinforced nylon (FRN) at a ShopBlade price of $99.96. For out-of-the-box sharpness, this one is hard to beat.
For more click on www.shopblade.com/bill-moran-black-frn-w-kraton-inlay-upswept-plainedge-w8522?lid=SSfbbl100912
Tools for Silver Wire Inlay by Joe Keeslar, Master Smith
Master Smith Joe Keeslar describes the tools needed for Silver Wire Inlay work on knife handles and sheaths.
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