BLADE Magazine

 The Second American Bladesmith Society “Battle of the Bladesmiths” was conducted on the evening of March 4th, at the Great Smoky Mountain Bladesmithing Symposium and was won by Master Smith Burt Foster. The hard fought contest was conducted before an enthusiastic crowd at Haywood Community College in Clyde, North Carolina. The contestants included American Bladesmith Society Master Smiths Joe Keeslar, Jason Knight, Jim Rodebaugh, and Burt Foster.

The Great Smoky Mountain Bladesmithing Symposium began on Friday and will continue through Sunday, March 6th. ABS Store Manager Cindy Sheely emailed the results of the contest and the below photos.

Go to the ABS Forum for more news about the events at the Great Smoky Mountain Symposium.

Click: ABS Forum                                                            Burt Foster and BR Hughes
                     The contest knives..Clockwise starting lower right: Keeslar, Foster, Knight, and Rodebaugh

Larry Bailey, vice-president and one of the founders of the Custom Knife Collectors Association (CKCA), passed away March 2.

According to an e-mail circulated to CKCA members by CKCA president Kevin Jones, “This is a sad day for the CKCA and the custom knife community in general. Larry loved custom knives and I can’t think of a collector who has spent so much effort for so many years moving our community forward.

“Larry was an ambassador for custom knives, always preferring to work behind the scenes, shying away from getting credit. My heart and condolences go out to the family and Larry’s many, many friends. I/we are going to miss this fine man so much.”

There is no word on funeral arrangements at this time.

For the month of March, enter for a chance to win a Kershaw Energ2 knife, courtesy of BLADE magazine and Kershaw. It’s free to enter. Click here.

Here are some specs about the knife:

– Uses Kershaw’s Flipper opening system
– Sandvik 14c28n stainless steel 3 1/2-inch blade with DLC coating
– Textured G-10 handle
– Measures 4 3/4 inches closed
– Weighs 4.9 ounces

Click here to enter the sweepstakes.

Bob Glassman, aka the man behind The Custom Knife Gallery of Colorado, is the winner of the BLADE/Kershaw Whiplash sweepstakes.

Here’s a closer look at the Whiplash:

Here are the specs:

– Built-in parachute cord wraps into handle
– Fixed 4.5-inch blade of 8CR13MOV stainless steel
– Titanium carbo-nitride coating
– Glass-filled nylon scales
– Overall length: 9 inches
– Weight: 6.4 ounces

If you’re interested in learning more about this knife, click here to visit its official Kershaw page.

Stay tuned for another chance to win a terrific Kershaw knife from BLADE in the next sweepstakes.

From Montgomery Community College:

At a recent meeting of the North Carolina Custom Knifemakers Guild, (NCCKG) over 60 craftsmen from around the state gathered to present a hydraulic forging press to Montgomery Community College’s (North Carolina) continuing education department.

The press was donated in memory of Georgia knifemaker John Poythress, charter member and founding president of the Georgia Custom Knifemakers’ Guild.

Poythress was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2005. His long-time friend Tommy McNabb, was instrumental in arranging the donation. McNabb is a professional custom knifemaker, NRA knifemaking instructor at Montgomery, and member of the NCCKG. He met Poythress at a knife show in Georgia and the two became friends after Poythress joined the NCCKG.

Poythress would travel from his home in Swainsboro, Ga. to Montgomery Community College to take knifemaking classes. He was an avid custom knife enthusiast and member of the NCCKG before he chartered the Georgia guild. Many other Georgia guild members also attended knifemaking classes at the college, leading to a decision to donate the press to help the college with future classes. The North Carolina guild members presented the donation on behalf of the Georgia guild in Poythress’ memory.

Knifemaking students will be able to use the press to flatten and shape hot metal pieces quickly, saving time in the classroom. Classes range from three to four days in length and students leave the class with a custom knife they make themselves.

“The forging press will greatly enhance our students’ ability to complete their projects in a short amount of time,” said Gary Saunders, Montgomery Community College’s dean of continuing education.

The college has been offering NRA Short-Term Gunsmithing, Knifemaking and Armorer’s Courses for over 20 years. Students from across the country and other parts of the world come to Montgomery County to learn these specialties from well-known craftsmen. The college is one of only four in the country offering these classes, sponsored by the National Rifle Association.

For more information about the 2011 NRA short-term classes at Montgomery Community College visit www.montgomery.edu/cenra.htm.