Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2023 i Blade

Blade|January 2023

[READERS RESPOND]

Outside Looking In By all accounts it seems Blade Show 2022 was a success. It appears universal that those who attended were enthusiastic and had money to spend. Given the past couple of years, that’s all very encouraging. Some of the awards given out seem to contradict that, however. The BLADE Magazine 2022 Over-all Knife Of The Year®, which has to be considered prestigious, was given to a generic, nondescript $400 Pro-Tech. There’s nothing about that knife to draw attention to it at the Pro-Tech table, let alone for the overall show. Bland design, standard materials and a high price don’t seem like a recipe for any award (or even much in the way of sales). Pro-Tech was then awarded for an equally unimaginative model, the Terzuola ATCF—and not once,…

3 min

Blade|January 2023

COMIN' IN HOT

“THE BLADE OF HIS COKE BOTTLE SLIP JOINT HAS A SMOOTH, CONSISTENT ACTION.”—DANIEL O’MALLEY “THE COMPOUND GRIND PROVIDES THE PENETRATION OF A TANTO-STYLE BLADE AND SLICING ABILITY OF A RECURVE BLADE.”—LES ROBERTSON “RJ NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME HOW HE INCREMENTALLY IMPROVES THIS KNIFE.” —LES ROBERTSON “"THE BLADE IS P PERFECTLY F CENTERED AND HASSILKY-SMOOTH ACTION."-DANIEL.”—O'MALLEY ’ For the contact information for the pictured u knives, see "Where To Get 'Em" on page g 43.…

5 min

Blade|January 2023

JIM DANDY RESCUE TOOLS

When it comes to edged, prying, breaching and other tools for emergencies, there is no one-size-fits-all remedy as no two situations are ever alike. Because of this, many such tools are made to perform a broad range of tasks. I have taken a fair number of classes and am certified in a wide variety of emergency skills. What I have learned across-the-board is there is no one right answer, and the tools you have on hand you had better know how to use. (Having these tools on hand or in your vehicle is really what we are looking at here; they must be readily accessible to be of use.) WHITE RIVER KNIFE & TOOL LIFESPIKE KNIFE TYPE: Self-contained rescue multi-tool BLADE LENGTH: 4.65” BLADE MATERIAL: 80CrV2 carbon steel BLADE GRIND/EDGE:…

10 min

Blade|January 2023

The People’s Knife

At ease in any setting, the formal night out or the work-day, the gent’s knife has long been popular for everyday carry (EDC). Handy and functional, it offers good looks, pride of owner-ship and is a sure-fire conversation starter. The gent’s knife genre is always a setting for artistic expression, innovative design, and the introduction of new handle and blade materials. Gent’s knives make excellent gifts, and more and more are appearing with a greater cross section of the population—including women. Today’s gent’s knife continues the trendsetting style, aesthetics, and user-friendly access it’s always been known for, and the latest factory offerings include some dazzling possibilities. “A great gent’s knife is a fully functioning tool that stands strong in the ‘looks and class’ department,” explained Jim Wirth of Giant-Mouse. “It’s…

8 min

Blade|January 2023

[SHORT CUTS]

AKTI Hits Social Media Censorship The American Knife and Tool Institute (AKTI) is undertaking a cutlery industry initiative to “gain clarity and insight into the wide array of social media rules and regulations that suppress knife brands’ social media accounts.” The initiative’s aim, according to AKTI, is the reduction or outright removal of such rules and regulations. The first step in the new initiative is a social media survey that will allow the pro-knife advocacy organization to establish a clear understanding of the impact of social media censorship on the knife industry. AKTI’s survey of knife brands, custom makers, retailers and sales reps will help complete a picture of the depth and breadth of social media challenges the industry faces. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have allowed knife…

3 min

Blade|January 2023

WIN A KNIFE

“My daily carry for years has been a 1964 Case folding hunter. Knives taught me my work ethic. At age 8 I would go into the general store and look at the displays of knives and wanted them all! My father bought me one when I was 11 and told me if I wanted more I’d better get a job. I did that day—mowing lawns, snow shoveling, car washing, anything to make a buck. My collection is a good one now, and I have not lost 1 percent of my appreciation and love of reaching in my pocket and feeling that security.” Doug Lobaugh, Monarch, Montana Tell us what knife you carry. Add a little history or an anecdote. Try to include a photograph—if digital, at least 600 KB but…

1 min

Blade|January 2023

2-Carry EDC

Jim Poor provides two modes of EDC in one with his slip-joint folding hunter—carry it the traditional way in your pocket or, for a change of pace, on your belt in a leather pancake sheath. Jim made the knife and he and his son Tyler collaborated on the sheath. Tyler did the leather tooling, cut it out and laser engraved it, and Jim glued and sewed it together. The knife features milled liners of 416 stainlesss steel, with the liners and bolsters all one piece. A blacksmith by trade, the 63-year-old Poor has been making knives about eight years, starting with fixed blades before going to pocketknives four years ago. He forges damascus, including the Riptide pattern on his folding hunter, and also sells his damascus, including to a number…

2 min

Blade|January 2023

[COVER STORY]

Chosen Best Factory Folder at BLADE Show West 2022, the WE Knife Nitro Mini (page 58) designed by Peter Carey has much of what you need in a handy EDC, including overall looks, an ambidextrous blackened blade of premium CPM 20CV stainless steel, a ridged thumb ramp and backspacer, and a skeletonized pocket clip. Another EDC in CPM 20CV and equally as totable is the GiantMouse Nibbler. The compact linerlock folder with lanyard and wire clip is designed by Jesper Vox and Jens Anso, and is one of today’s fashionable gent’s folders (page 44). Carabiner knives are great for EDC and the CRKT Compano Sheepsfoot is a representative example of cutters that can hang from your clothes, pack or other gear. See how it fares among three more carabiner review models…

1 min

Blade|January 2023

CARRY 'N CUT

SPEC CHART MODEL NAME: Forte KNIFE PATTERN: Flipper folder BLADE LENGTH: 3.5” BLADE MATERIAL: Stainless damascus san-mai BLADE GRIND: Hollow HANDLE: TiDamascus BACKBAR SPACER: Stainless steel POCKET CLIP & PIVOT COLLARS: TiDamascus BOLSTERS: Damasteel damascus LINERS: Titanium LOCK: Linerlock CLOSED LENGTH: 4.9” MAKER’S REMARK: “The blade has my own forged stainless damascus, AEB-L/304 with a CPM S35VN core. The scales, pocket clip and pivot collars are my own forged titanium damascus that I call ‘TiDamascus.’” MAKER’S PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE: $2,500 MAKER: Bastian Knives, attn: Alistair Bastian, Adelaide, SA, Australia 0424-158-025 bastianknives@gmail.com (Rod Hoare image) SPEC CHART MODEL NAME: Swamp Clipper KNIFE PATTERN/STYLE: Flipper folder BLADE LENGTH: 2.98” BLADE MATERIAL: 300-layer feather-pattern damascus of 1084 carbon and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels BLADE GRIND: Hollow HANDLE FRAME: Titanium colored via heat and quenching technique…

4 min

Blade|January 2023

POTENT TOTABLES

When talking EDC, it’s only natural to think of a folding knife of some sort. Folders are more convenient for everyday carry and that’s what most if not all of us started with for the purpose. Many, including me, still use a folder for EDC. On the other hand, there are some who prefer a fixed blade for everyday carry. No, not some big-honkin’ bowie-style knife because, in general, society frowns on that. Rather, some sort of compact fixed blade that can easily be con-cealed and carried in a sheath on a belt or elsewhere on the person. At the same time, the design must be not only useful but comfortable and secure as well. Exhibit #1 is the Gerber Dibs, a one-piece, skeletonized-handle knife common among small examples of…

9 min

Blade|January 2023

HANGIN’ OUT

1. DPX HEAT HIKER BLADE STEEL: CPM S30V stainless BLADE LENGTH: 2.5” BLADE TYPE: Drop point HANDLE MATERIAL: Skeletonized steel CARRY: Carabiner or Kydex neck sheath SPECIAL FEATURES: Bottle opener/breakaway sheath WEIGHT: 2.15 ozs. OVERALL LENGTH: 6.25” COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA MSRP: $125 2. FOX KNIVES FEROX DESIGNER: Tommaso Rumici BLADE STEEL: Bohler N690 stainless BLADE PATTERN: Drop point BLADE LENGTH: 3.54” HANDLE MATERIAL: Black G-10 CARRY: Carabiner or sheath SPECIAL FEATURES: Integral design, flat-head and Phillips driver bits WEIGHT: 5.29 ozs. OVERALL LENGTH: 7.27” COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Italy MSRP: $299 3. KERSHAW REVERB XL BLADE STEEL: 8Cr13MoV stainless BLADE LENGTH: 3” BLADE PATTERN: Trailing point HANDLE MATERIAL: Carbon fiber, G-10, stainless steel LOCK: Framelock CARRY: Carabiner or blade-tip-up pocket clip SPECIAL FEATURES: Framelock, groove blade opener WEIGHT: 2.31 ozs. CLOSED LENGTH: 4.25” COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:…

8 min

Blade|January 2023

QUEST WITHOUT END

It was the 1980s. BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Wayne Goddard was working on his wire damascus and doing some original and beautiful work. The demand for wire damascus knives was strong and he was highly motivated in developing the potential dynamics of his idea. Wayne actively encouraged me to work with 52100 ball-bearing steel. Every week I would receive a package from him containing one or more 2-inch ball bearings, just a friendly reminder that one of us should explore the steel’s potential. Looking at the steel’s chemistry and physical properties one day, we figured that with a lot of elbow grease we could make the grail of what we call a truly high-endurance performance knife (HEPK)—maybe even my Excalibur! CONTROVERSY, PROS & CONS I had already written some…

10 min

Blade|January 2023

[SHOW CALENDAR]

DECEMBER DEC. 10-17 TEXARKANA, TX Hybrid Intro to Bladesmithing Class, the ABS Moran School of Bladesmithing, Texarkana College. Call 903-823-3270, visit cbe.tex-arkanacollege.edu or contact Don McIntosh mcintoshknives@gmail.com.** 2023 JANUARY JAN. 17-20 LAS VEGAS The SHOT Show (retail trade only), The Venetian Expo and Caesars Forum. Visit shotshow.org. JAN. 20-22 LAS VEGAS Las Vegas Invitational Knifemakers Show with Las Vegas Antique Arms Show, Westgate Resort & Casino. Call 877-968-8880 or visit anti-quearmsshow.com. JAN. 27-29 LAKELAND, FL The 45th Annual Gator Cutlery Club Show, RP Funding Center (formerly Lakeland Center). Contact Dan Piergallini 813-754-3908 or 967-1471 gatorcutlery.com.* FEBRUARY FEB. 4-12 HARRISBURG, PA Great American Outdoor Show, Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex. For more visit greatamericanoutdoorshow.org. FEB. 25 BREA, CA California Knife Expo, Brea Convention Center. Contact California Knifemakers Association 714-719-6858 info@calknives.com, calknives.org.* FEB. 25…

4 min

Blade|January 2023

Ever-Present Energy

The response from those who attended BLADE Show West 2022 (page 58) was very upbeat and most welcome to the BLADE Show staff—especially considering BLADE Show West’s checkered past. While the BLADE Show in Atlanta is and has been a runaway freight train of success for decades, and BLADE Show Texas met with boffo reviews in its two installments under the BLADE Show umbrella, BLADE Show West has been the red-headed stepchild of the three. The event originally was called the California Custom Knife Show. Run by BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Dan Dela-van, it was one of the headline knife shows in the country, attracting some of the world’s best knifemakers throughout the 1980s and early ’90s, as well as a number of entertainment industry celebrities. Delavan sold the…

3 min

Blade|January 2023

MAGICIAN OF SOUTH AFRICA

I’ve been in the blade-making business right at 50 years. I’ve met and befriended hundreds of bladesmiths and knifemakers. I have a long history of designing and making knives and other edged tools in carbon steel and mosaic damascus. I have pioneered many of the modern techniques used in the production of these blades. The techniques are now in their third generation. The newer smiths and makers—especially in the damascus end of the business—do things with steel and design that border on magical. Some of these modern magicians have been in the business only a few years. I feel very privileged to have met some of them and spent shop time with a few more. One is Henning Wilkinson. I started following his social media posts a few years ago.…

9 min

Blade|January 2023

WHERE TO GET ’EM

COMIN’ IN HOT! P. 12* Arizona Custom Knives, attn.: A. McMichael, Dept. BL1, 150 Hilden Rd., Ste. 315, Ponte Vedra, FL 32081 904-826-4178 arizonacustomknives.com; Tashi Bharucha, Instagram @tashibharucha; BladeGallery.com, attn: D. O’Malley, Dept. BL1, 107 Central Way, Kirkland, WA 98033 425-889-5980 www.bladegallery.com; David Breniere Instagram @davidbreniereknives; Matthew Christensen, christensenknifeworks.com; Brian Efros, efrosknives.com; Tommy Gann 903-848-9375 tommygannknives@gmail.com; Thomas Gony (contact info not available; see story and contact applicable purveyor for pictured knife); Piotr Gosciniak, Instagram @gpknives; Jacek Hnatow, Instagram @h_knives_custom; Sean Kendrick Instagram @kendrickknives; Bill Koenig, Dept. BL1, 11770 W. President Dr. Suite H, Boise, ID 83713 support@koenigknives.com, koenigknives.com; Riaan Manser +27 82 856 2616 riaanmanser@gmail.com; RJ Martin, Instagram @rjmartinknives; Recon 1 and Gear/Recon1.com, attn.: Sako Rouchanian, Dept. BL1, 17200 Ventura Blvd. Ste. #107, Encino, CA 91316 888-473-2661 recon1.com, @recon1; Robertson’s…

3 min

Blade|January 2023

Salt Lake SURPRISE

“So you’re having BLADE Show West in Salt Lake City,” the man began, in-terjecting a pregnant pause before continuing. “In Utah? Isn’t that kind of a gamble?” Of course, any change in a knife show venue is a gamble, and so it was with the switch of BLADE Show West from Long Beach, California, in 2021 to Salt Lake City this past October. But the gamble paid off as BLADE Show West ’22 in the plush Salt Palace Convention Center met with banner reviews. The main concerns of any knife show—attendance, the venue and easy accessibility both to it and to the surrounding hotels and restaurants, and, most importantly, the number of knife buyers and how many knives they bought—were all addressedd in fine fashion. The fact that the weather…

6 min

Blade|January 2023

An Original EDC

SPEC CHECK GENTLEMAN’S TRAPPER KNIFE TYPE: Slip joint/pocketknife MAKER: Mike Rothman BLADE LENGTH: 3” BLADE STEEL: Damasteel damascus in an Ægir pattern BLADE GRIND: Hollow BLADE PATTERN: Clip point BLADE THICKNESS: Tapers on the spine from 1∕8” above the ricasso to .039” at the tip; the edge is even thinner than the latter HANDLE: Sambar stag w/shield of same material as the blade HANDLE AT THE THICKEST: .5” LINERS: Fileworked of 410 stainless steel BOLSTERS: 416 stainless steel BACKSPRING: CPM 154 stainless steel WEIGHT: 3.5 ozs. CLOSED LENGTH: 4” KNIFE TO KNOW: There is a seamless fit of blade to backspring in the open position EXTRAS: Comes in black zippered pouch w/Rothman’s company name over shape of the state of New York MAKER’S PRICE: $750 “THE EDGE IS VERY FINE,…

3 min

Blade|January 2023

WHERE TO NET 'EM

A.G. Russell Knives, Inc. www.agrussell.com ag@agrussell.com Adams Intl Knifeworks - AIK www.adamsknifeworks.com adamsknifeworks.com@gmail.com Automatic & Customized Knife Specialists Admiral Steel www.admiralsteel.com terry@admiralsteel.com Widest Range of Stock for Blade Needs. Alaska - Northern Knives www.northernknives.com A Real Store & Working Knife Shop! American Edge www.americanedgeknives.com info@americanedgeknives.com 320-393-2792 We have A Knife For Every Life Artknives.com www.artknives.com fred@fredeisenleather.com Andre de Villiers www.advtactical.co.za Facebook - Andre de Villiers adv44sales@gmail.com Butcher SOB folders. Arizona Custom Knives www.arizonacustomknives.com sharptalk@arizonacustomknives.com Largest selection in the world of new and consigned knives on the internet. Let us help you find the perfect knife. Dozier Knives and Arkansas Made Dozier, Inc. www.dozierknives.com info@dozierknives.com BladeGallery.com www.bladegallery.com www.bladeconnection.com www.epicedge.com Bob Dozier Knives www.dozierknives.com info@dozierknives.com Buckeye Engraving www.BuckeyeEngraving.com Make Your Mark Manufacturer of Custom Hand Stamps, Dies and Brands CRKT www.crkt.com info@crkt.com…

2 min