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These Daggers Are Dope!

Joe Kertzman
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These Daggers Are Dope!

Phillips_140606B
If a guy was going to Tweet about something, “Dope Daggers” would be a good subject, with a hash tag in front, of course, for good measure. Yes, #DopeDaggers is an awesome Twitter message, alongside a .pdf or link to an image of a sweet handmade dagger fresh from the forge. It’s not a bad thing to talk about, bring to the forefront or communicate to a mass audience, and much more interesting than the latest thing Kim Kardashian or Miley Cyrus had to say, neither of whom, I’m quite certain, could come close to building an acceptable dagger.
Tabor 001

Not many folks have the skills to fashion symmetrically accurate daggers, those with edge-holding blades, comfortable, non-slip grips and protective yet non-clunky or hand-pinching guards. The utilitarian pieces are purpose built for piercing and cutting, ground to even edges and stout but pointy tips, easy to slide into custom sheaths. These are not tools to be taken lightly, but lifesaving measures that serve multiple purposes and satisfy many needs.

Knapp_140701CYes, there are worse things to Tweet about than Dope Daggers. One could brag on a hot girlfriend, a great singing voice or the sighting of a movie star on a street corner, you know, such things as those that keep the world spinning on its axis. Or a simple message like “#DopeDaggers” could go out and someone might just contact the Twitter account holder, purchase one of the maker’s pieces and carry the tool for a lifetime. #MostAwesomeDude

The preceding was excerpted from the KNIVES 2016 book. Click here to reserve your copy today and view beautiful, full-color photos of daggers and other works.

Custom Knives: Reproductions Of Ancient Knife Designs

BLADE Staff
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Custom Knives: Reproductions Of Ancient Knife Designs

The great ancient knife designs aren’t history as they top-notch reproductions prove.

The ancient history of knife design is long, storied and colorful. From Bronze Age daggers to 19th-century dress bowies alone, vintage configurations capture the imagination like a gladiator’s net from the early days of the Roman Coliseum. Tour the classics with these remarkable reproductions.

Colton Arias Scylla

Colton Arias Scylla

Named after an Etruscan-era mythological monster, Scylla is a repro of an Etruscan Bronze Age dagger by Colton Arias. The 7-inch blade with tapering fuller is a triple feather mosaic damascus of 1084 carbon and 15N20 nickel alloy steels. The spiked-pommel handle is a goat leather wrap and the bolster is mild steel with brass accents. Overall length: 12 inches. (Jocelyn Frasier image)

Dane Standen Cinquedea

Dane Standen Cinquedea

Dane Standen outfits his modified cinquedea with a three-fullered blade in multiple welds of 1084, cu-mai, 1084, cu-mai and 1084 carbon steels. Blade length: 8.27 inches. The handle of a takedown construction is stabilized black palm and the fittings are mild steel, copper and nickel damascus. Overall length of the centuries-old Italian design: 14 inches. (Rod Hoare image)

Nick Bachtel Dress Bowie

Nick Bachtel Dress Bowie

A 7-inch blade of wrought-iron in a san-mai construction and a handle of elk antler and curly ash highlight a repro of a 19th-century dress bowie by Nick Bachtel. Overall length: 12 inches. The guard is steel and bronze and the knife comes with a traditional bronze sheath (not shown). (SharpByCoop image)

Ken Hall Scottish Dirk

Ken Hall Scottish Dirk

A 12-inch fullered/fileworked blade of an absorbing mosaic damascus and a handle of stained stabilized cherry carved to symbolize a thistle distinguish a stunning Scottish dirk by ABS journeyman smith Ken Hall. Pommel stone: amethyst crystals. Overall length: 17.5 inches. Sheath (not shown): tooled leather. (SharpByCoop image)

Matthew Berry Edinburgh Skean

Matthew Berry Edinburgh Skean

The Edinburgh Skean by Matthew Berry is a reproduction of a knife by the same name from 1677. The originals were combat knives of Ireland. The blade is 1075 carbon steel and the intricately carved handle is boxwood. Blade and overall lengths: 15.25 and 19 inches. The form-fitting sheath (not shown) is highly detailed leather with a wrap strap. (SharpByCoop image)

J.J. Simon Samuel Bell Dirk

J.J. Simon Samuel Bell Dirk

ABS journeyman smith J.J. Simon forged the 12-inch flat-ground blade with Spanish notch for his repro of a 19th-century Samuel Bell dirk from bloomery steel. The handle is blackwood with silver pins and the fittings are nickel silver. Overall length: 17 inches. (SharpByCoop image)

Vincent Soriano Mainz-Pattern Gladius

Vincent Soriano Mainz-Pattern Gladius

ABS apprentice smith Vincent Soriano goes full Roman with his Mainz-pattern gladius. Called the Proeliator, it boasts a 14-inch damascus blade of 1075 carbon and 15N20 nickel alloy steels and pure nickel. The handle is curly maple and the guard and pommel are eucalyptus. Overall length: 22.5 inches. Sheath (not shown): leather. (SharpByCoop image)

More On Knife Collecting:

What is the best all purpose tactical knife?

BLADE Staff
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This thread is excerpted from a previous version of blademag.com. It’s presented here again for reference. Feel free to leave your responses below.

I am looking for an all purpose tactical style knife. The criteria is that it has to have a blade that is very strong and holds a very good edge that can be used outdoors, such as Bucks 420 High Carbon Stainless Steel. The handle has to have a clip and it can be made fro any material. It has to be under 200 dollars. I have tried the Benchmade Prestido and the blade broke on the first day of use. Any Suggestions?

 

Flipper Folders Fly Off Shelves

Joe Kertzman
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Flipper Folders Fly Off Shelves

As popular as tactical folders are and have been in the knife industry and with the knife-buying public in general, flipper folders have taken that segment of the industry by storm. They fly off the store shelves and Web pages as fast as the blades are deployed.

finished folderIf you’ve ever wondered how they’re made, how they work or what makes them so quick, the February 2016 issue of BLADE® Magazine includes a feature article by ABS master smith Wally Hayes on “How To Make A Flipper Folder.” Within the story, the author takes you through the main process of flipper folder making step-by-step. Now that’s as cool as flipping open a blade and hearing that proverbial click as it locks into place, ready for use!

See more on page 20 of the February 2016 issue of BLADE.

Custom A-2 Steel Bowie Knife hardness and toughness test

BLADE Staff
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“”

KA-BAR Issues WWII Theater Knife

Joe Kertzman
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KA-BAR Issues WWII Theater Knife

KA-BAR announces an exciting project to manufacture and release a limited edition of 350 iconic E.W. Stone WW II theater knives. E.W. Stone, Jr., Stone’s son, has collaborated with KA-BAR to use his father’s original handle casts of what has now become legendary to WW II knife collectors—skull and cobra grips. The grips will anchor 350 KA-BAR USMC Fighting/Utility knives with blued blades.EWStoneKnifeStoneKnife

The climate and the nature of combat in the South Pacific led to the creation of the Stone Knife.  The leather handle of the KA-BAR USMC Fighting/Utility knife often fell prey to the humidity, rainfall and combat conditions of the Pacific campaign. Though the blade remained intact, the handles occasionally suffered from jungle rot. In a display of resourcefulness, E.W. Stone, Sr., who worked in the foundry of the USS Holland, cast new handles onto the KA-BAR blades. Stone salvaged material from downed Japanese aircraft to make his signature handle. Approximately 250-300 E.W. Stone theater knives were made during World War II, and according to his son in a video (see video at end of story), about 95 percent of the cast handles were on KA-BAR knife blades.

The modern KA-BAR E.W. Stone Knife features a JRE semi-custom sheath, a golden oak Gerstner display case, an informational booklet and DVD, and a certificate of authenticity signed by KA-BAR President John Stitt and E.W. Stone, Jr.

The KA-BAR E.W. Stone Knife can be purchased only at KA-BAR.com, or by calling KA-BAR at 800-282-0130. The cost of the E.W. Stone is $1,000.  The E.W. Stone Knife is sold on a first come first serve basis and is limited to five per customer.

Make sure to watch this fascinating video interview with E.W. Stone, Jr.:

KA-BAR E.W. Stone Knife Limited Edition from KA-BAR Knives on Vimeo.

For more on military knives, click here.

Betty Dowell, Driving Force Behind Knifemaker Ted Dowell, Passes

BLADE Staff
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Betty Dowell, Driving Force Behind Knifemaker Ted Dowell, Passes

Betty Dowell was the juggernaut that made Ted Dowell’s knifemaking business move.

Elizabeth “Betty” Ann Dowell, the driving force behind BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Ted Dowell, teacher, mother, grandmother and friend of the knife community for over half a century, passed away July 2. She was 93.

Most fittingly, she lived long enough to watch on Zoom as Ted was inducted into the Cutlery Hall of Fame June 5 at BLADE Show 2024.

Betty and Ted were married in 1953 and moved to Madras, Oregon, in 1954, where Betty was a part-time substitute teacher and homemaker raising three children: Scott, Lynn and Jeff. The family moved to Bend, Oregon, in 1964, where Betty became an accomplished substitute teacher in the Bend Public School System.

Ted, meanwhile, accepted a professorship at Central Oregon Community College, where he was dean of the mathematics department. He sold his first knife in 1967 and helped found the Knifemakers’ Guild in 1970, along with Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Bob Loveless writing the organization’s bylaws in the process. Ted also later served as Guild president.

Betty and Ted Dowell
Betty and Ted at the 2009 Knifemakers’ Guild Show in Louisville, Kentucky, the last of their 40 consecutive Guild Show appearances as an exhibiting team. Ted passed away in 2012.

Ted went full time making knives in 1974 and started TMD Knives in 1975. That same year the Dowells suffered the tragic loss of their son Scott, 19, in a car accident. Betty took the lead role in getting her family through such a trying time, as well as maintaining the knifemaking business.

As Jeff noted when he inducted his father at the Hall-of-Fame ceremony this past June, “My mom was galvanized and determined to have a family to take care of and a household to run, and she ran every bit of the business. [Dad made the knives] but everything else she did. She attended to every detail of the business. She had two kids to take care of and she had a grieving husband and a knifemaker and a business to support, and she did so for another 40 years.”

In fact, until the Dowells closed their knifemaking operation in 2010, Betty was the rock of TMD Knives, handling all of the purchasing, inventory management, accounting, correspondence, promotions, and travel logistics for the company. Her attention to detail and level of documentation of the business was as comprehensive and complete as possible.

Betty’s work accomplishments at TMD Knives and the Dowells’ ground-breaking efforts in getting the Guild established early on earned her the Guild’s coveted Nate Posner Award in 2015 for support “above and beyond” of the Guild and the custom knifemaking industry.

More About Custom Knives:

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