Table of contents for September 2021 in Blade

A Letter from the Imels We are stunned, honored and humbled regarding our 2021 nomination and induction into the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame®. We never expected to be recognized for the work we did during our 15 years of service for the prestigious organization of the Knifemakers’ Guild. We did not think of what we did as being extraordinary. We just saw the work before us that needed to be done and we did it, no matter how much effort was involved. We refer to the time we served on the board of directors as “the Guild’s Golden Years,” the 15 years when it experienced its greatest growth. As it grew, we dealt with some monumental issues, one of which was finding hotel ballrooms large enough for the…

The signature line of the song “Back Home Again” by John Denver is, “Hey, it’s good to be back home again.” While no one would ever mistake knifemaker Luke Swenson in his long, wavy Eric the Red beard for Denver, the card-carrying member of the South Texas Cartel seemed to capture the sentiments of many when he observed the same of BLADE Show 2021 June 3-5 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta. “It was so nice to be back ‘home’ again,” noted the winner of the show’s first-ever Tony Bose Best Slip Joint Award (page 30). “The people there were excited to be back, too, and that got all the knifemakers fired up.” “It was great seeing other makers and friends after a two-year absence,” echoed knifemaker Charles Gedraitis.…

KNIVES OF THE YEAR P. 12 Benchmade USA, attn.: Matt Glass, Dept. BL9, 300 Beavercreek Rd., Oregon City, OR 97045 503.655.6004 or 800-800-7427 www.benchmade.com, info@benchmade.com; Case, attn: F. Feightner, Dept. BL9, 50 Owens Way, Bradford, PA 16701 800-523-6350 CR@caseknives.com, Fox Cutlery, attn.: Massimo Centazzo, Dept. BL9, Oreste Frati SRL, Via La Mola, 4, 33085 Maniago (PN), Italy 39-0427-730376 foxcutlery.com, fkmdknives.com and/or duecignicutlery.it; Heretic Knives, Dept. BL9, Palm Bay, FL 772-918-4065 Anthony@hereticknives.com, hereticknives.com; Maserin, c/o Coltellerie Maserin SNC, attn.: Claudia Maserin, Dept. BL9, Via Dei Fabbri n.19, 33085 Maniago (PN)—Italy, Tel. 39 062771335 claudia@maserin.com, maserin.com, facebook.com/coltelleriemaserin; Pro-Tech Knives, attn: D. Wattenberg, Dept. BL9, 17115 Alburtis Ave., Artesia, CA 90701-2616 562-860-0678 protechknives.com, service@protechknives.com; Spartan Blades, attn: C. Iovito, Dept. BL9, 625 S.E. Service Rd., Southern Pines, NC 28387 910-757-0035, contact@spartanblades.com, www.spartanbladesusa.com; Ulticlip,…

For the contact information for the knives in the story, see “Where To Get ’Em” on page 45. For the latest knives, knife news, trends, and more, visit blademag.com, BLADE®’s popular Instagram page @blade_magazine, and on Facebook and Twitter. 1. HALFBREED BLADES COMPACT CLEARANCE KNIFE: TUHON RAPTOR KNIFE TYPE: Fixed blade  BLADE LENGTH: 3.94”  BLADE MATERIAL: K110 D2 tool steel BLADE HARDNESS: 59-60 HRC  BLADE AT ITS THICKEST: .23” BLADE EDGE: Polished plain  BLADE FINISH: Teflon coated BLADE PATTERN: Talon point  HANDLE MATERIAL: G-10 HANDLE AT ITS THICKEST: .55” WEIGHT: 3.53 ozs.  OVERALL LENGTH: 7.79”  SHEATH TYPE: Injection-molded plastic  SHEATH WEIGHT: 1.94 ozs.  MOUNTING: Belt and PALS/MOLLE OVERALL WEIGHT: 5.47 ozs.  SPECIAL FEATURES: Blade shape and edge maximize the hooking, trapping, slashing, and thrusting COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Comprises Australian and Taiwan make MSRP: $195 AVAILABLE: NOW…

A.G. Russell Knives, Inc.www.agrussell.com ag@agrussell.com Adams Intl Knifeworks - AIKwww.adamsknifeworks.comadamsknifeworks.com@gmail.comAutomatic & Customized Knife Specialists American Edgewww.americanedgeknives.com info@americanedgeknives.com 320-393-2792We have A Knife For Every Life Artknives.comwww.artknives.comfred@fredeisenleather.com Andre de Villierswww.advtactical.co.zaFacebook - Andre de Villiersadv44sales@gmail.comButcher SOB folders. Arizona Custom Kniveswww.arizonacustomknives.comsharptalk@arizonacustomknives.comLargest selection in the world of new and consigned knives on the internet.Let us help you find the perfect knife. Dozier Knives and Arkansas MadeDozier, Inc.www.dozierknives.cominfo@dozierknives.com BladeGallery.comwww.bladegallery.comwww.bladeconnection.comwww.epicedge.com BladeOps, LLCwww.bladeops.com sales@bladeops.com Bob Dozier Kniveswww.dozierknives.cominfo@dozierknives.com Buckeye Engravingwww.BuckeyeEngraving.comMake Your MarkManufacturer of Custom Hand Stamps,Dies and Brands CRKTwww.crkt.cominfo@crkt.com Culpepper & Co., Inc.www.knifehandles.comwww.oldschoolknifeworks.comwww.stingrayproducts.cominfo@culpepperco.com Cutlery Specialtiesxwww.restorationproduct.comdennis13@aol.comRenaissance Micro-CrystallineWax/Polish, Dennis Blaine Emerson Kniveswww.emersonknives.cominfo@emersonknives.com Hawkins Knife Making Supplieswww.hawkinsknifemakingsupplies.comradeh@bellsouth.net J. Bruce Voyles Knife Auctionswww.jbrucevoyles.comknifeauctions@gmail.comEmail us to be put on the auctionnotification list. Jantz Supplywww.knifemaking.comjantz@jantzusa.comQuality knifemaking supplies for over50 years. Jim HammondHammond Knives & Designs, LLCwww.jimhammondknives.comjim@jimhammondknives.com Knife Centerwww.knifecenter.cominfo@knifecenter.com KnifeKits.comwww.knifekits.comWe Ship Worldwide Knives Pluswww.knivesplus.comknivesplus@knivesplus.com L.T. Wright…

There are two main cover knives this time: the Fíon flipper folder by Princeton Wong and the Saturn by Fox Cutlery. The former won Best New Maker for Princeton in the custom knife judging competition at BLADE Show 2021; the latter is the BLADE Magazine 2021 Overall Knife Of The Year® and co-winner of the Imported Knife Of The Year®. The Saturn marks the third year in a row Fox has garnered Overall Knife Of The Year. For more on it and other winners of the Knife-Of-The-Year Awards, see the story on page 12. For more on the Fíon and other of the show’s custom knife winners, see page 30. The images of the Fíon and Fox are by Whetstone Studio. The image of the Fire Bowie by Shane Taylor…

There would be no BLADE Show if not for BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Bruce Voyles. Hence, on this, the show’s 40th year, it seemed only natural to honor the man who was so instrumental in its being the most important annual event in the modern history of knives. It was Bruce and Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Jim Parker, then owners of BLADE® Magazine, who organized the first BLADE Show in 1982. Since there was no internet or social media back then, pre-show interest had to be generated by print advertising, mostly in BLADE, and by word of mouth. Nonetheless, held across the Ohio River from Cincinnati at the Drawbridge Motor Inn in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, the event drew 7,000 attendees—by the standards of the day a huge amount of folks for…

The winning knives in the custom knife judging competition of the 40th BLADE Show are a sharp and shiny lot, and the judges who selected them came away duly impressed. Trying an approach new for this year, we re-corded the judges’ comments on why the winners won. The thinking was such information would be invaluable not only for BLADE® readers but for knifemakers in general. We think you will agree. New for 2021 was the Tony Bose Best Slip Joint Award, named in honor of the great BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® maker who passed away in November 2020. In keeping with Tony’s search for excellence, the BLADE Show picked four outstanding judges of knifemaking talent—ABS master smiths Harvey Dean, Mike Quesenberry and Jim Rodebaugh, and long-time custom knife purveyor Les…

“WHEN YOU FIRE THE BLADE, IT HITS HARD!”—THE AUTHOR There’s something irresistible about pressing the button of an automatic folder and having the blade spring out with a resounding “THWACK!” as it locks open. Autos come in two basic styles: the traditional side—or radial—openers and out the fronts (OTFs). There’s a great selection of both in today’s factory market. The majority center around the tactical trend in which the spring-powered opening action enjoys viability in highstress situations where you need instantaneous blade deployment with little effort in action and thinking. When it comes to tactical autos, Pro-Tech is a leader in the field. Its designs are highly refined and manufactured with the utmost attention to detail. The Tactical Response folder series is a company best seller, the TR-3 being one…

Stan Shaw, whose career of making classic pocketknives spanned almost 80 years, passed in late February at the age of 94. He started work for W.G. Ibberson in Sheffeld, the old knifemaking capital of England, in 1941. Apprenticed to Fred and Ted Osborne, men Stan described as the two best cutlers in Sheffeld, he eventually succeeded them in 1954 as the company’s top maker of pocketknives. Though the Sheffeld knife industry was in rapid decline, he continued making knives, renting an old workshop in 1983 and becoming an independent cutler. As an independent he did it all in the making of his pocketknives, and he did it all quite well. As he said in “Stan Shaw: Little Mester of Sheffeld” in the May 1994 BLADE: “I have to do everything…

I thought it was interesting that the last two knives I bought were polar opposites of each other. The Al Mar Knives Quicksilver Ultralight Flipper sports a 5-inch D2 blade and weighs 3.7 ounces. The Nitecore NTK Titanium Folding Scalpel Keychain Knife uses a #11 replaceable scalpel blade and weighs a whopping .0169 ounce! I’ve looked at a lot of different keychain knives and this definitely fits my needs the best. I also like the fact that the replacement blades are just six cents each. Beats the heck out of sharpening!” Joel Berry, Houston, Texas I carry a Spyderco Native 5 in the dark blue FRN handle. The CPM S110V stainless steel blade holds a heck of an edge and the blue is a nice change from the ubiquitous—like that…

It began as an ordinary Tuesday. It ended with the world changed forever. The atrocity of the terrorist attacks at 8:45 a.m. EDT on Sept. 11, 2001, will never be forgotten. Now, 20 years after planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, retrospect brings not only memories of sadness and profound loss, but also acknowledgment of the heroism of 9-11 and the humanity that emerged. A measure of that humanity took the form of custom knives made from the twisted and scarred steel of the World Trade Center (WTC) buildings—forged once in the conflagration of that terrible day and then again in tribute to lives lost, and for the benefit of those who miss them and…

One of the most oft-asked questions bladesmiths get when talking to folks about knifemaking is, “How long does it take you to make a knife?” I asked BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Bill Moran that question at the start of the first seminar I attended with him. Bill stated that he had never been able to make a knife in a day and usually it was a lot longer than that. Some makers will claim about 30 years learning how and about “x” days on this knife. Chris Amos and I took the time to actually keep track of a couple of forged knives from 6½-inch round bars. We counted hands-on time only—in other words, we had to be doing something more than just waiting for the knife to cool…

Note: Events with an asterisk (*) have knives and knife accessories as the main/sole focus. Events with two asterisks (**) are knifemaking seminars or symposiums, cutting competitions, auctions, or other knife-related events. AUGUST AUG. 7-8 CROSSVILLE, TN Cumberland County Knife & Gun Show, Cumberland County Community Complex, gkshow.org/show-information.* AUG. 7-8 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Sydney Knife Show, Rosehill Gardens Grand Pavilion, 0401590672, info@knifeartassociation.com, knifeartassociation.com/sydney-knife-show//, knifeartassociation.com.* NEW DATES! AUG. 13-14 LITTLE ROCK, AR Arkansas Custom Knife Show, Statehouse Convention Center. Visit artknife.com for more information.* AUG. 13-14 DALTON, GA Dalton Georgia Knife Roadshow, North Georgia trade and Convention Center. Call 423-238-6753 or email jbrucevoyles.com.* AUG. 14 MERIDIAN, ID Idaho Knife Association 2021 Traditional & Tactical Knife Show, Courtyard Marriott. For more information contact idahoknife@gmail.com and/or visit ika.idahoknife.com.** AUG. 27-29 TROY, OH The ABS Mid-America…

The End of The Trail by Dennis Friedly is a theme piece dealing with the separate battles that American Indians and the Plains bison fought for survival in 19th-century America. The famous sculpture of the same name by James Earle Fraser is reproduced in 24k gold inlay engraving by Gil Rudolph on one bolster and an American bison on the other. The look and even of the texture of the distinctive ancient bark ivory slabs resemble that of a bison. Meanwhile, Rudolph’s spectacular 24k-gold and raised gold work engravings are configured to represent various symbols of American Indian culture, including all over the guard, pommel and spines of the handle and blade. For more information, contact Dennis Friedly, Dept. BL9, 12 Cottontail Ln. E, Cody, WY 82414 307-527-6811 friedlyknives@hotmail.com, friedlyknives.com.…