Blade March 2022

Jim Weyer 1934-2022 James Richard “Jim” Weyer, pioneering knife photographer and a long-time member of the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame®, passed away Jan. 2. He was 87. Together with his wife, Louise, Jim formed Weyer Studios in Toledo, Ohio, in 1960, which went on to become Weyer International. Louise passed away in 2015. The Weyers were married for 61 years. Beginning circa the late 1970s, Jim and Louise were regulars at top custom knife shows for over three decades, setting up a makeshift studio and photographing makers’ knives on site. At those shows they photographed the knives of most every leading maker over the years, from Cutlery Hall-Of-Famers Bob Loveless, Bill Moran, Buster Warenski, Jimmy Lile and Gil Hibben to Cutlery Hall-Of Famers Michael Walker and Frank Centofante,…

VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.BLADEMAG.COM TO: • Sign up for our free newsletter. • Renew your magazine subscription. There’s a subscription link in the nav bar. • Comment on our site stories written by BLADE® staff members and others. LOOK FOR BLADE MAGAZINE ON: SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES: Visit us on the web at www.blademag.com or call 877-485-6426. Outside USA: 386-246-3419. BOOK SALES: Visit us at www.gundigeststore.com or call 920-471-4522. BACK ISSUES FOR SALE: Subject to Availability. Call 920-471-4522. ADVERTISING: Contact Lori McDaniel at 715-498-3768 or lori@gundigest.com, or request a media kit by writing to: BLADE, 5600 W. Grande Market Dr., Appleton, WI 54913. LETTERS OR ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS: Steve Shackleford, Editor BLADE Magazine 5600 W. Grande Market Dr., Ste. 100 Appleton, WI 54913 or email steve@blademag.com.…

The featured cover knives are the Source Hera from Microtech and the Ghost Pepper Q36 by RJ Martin. The aircraft alloy handle of the Source Hera features exclusive artwork by Scarlett Cussell that draws inspiration from “nature, symbolism and ‘mandala,’” mandala being a geometric configuration of symbols. The knife image is courtesy of Microtech. For more on the Source Hera, see page 12. The Q36 is one of Martin’s most popular models, and the Ghost Pepper iteration features a black carbo quartz handle with contrasting orange G-10 back-side inlays. The 4-inch blade runs on ceramic ball bearings and hardened stainless washers, and the zirconium screws are by Matthew Martin. SharpByCoop photographed the knife. See page 24 for more. An image of a furled American flag highlights the handle of the…

With this being BLADE®’s made in the USA special issue, following are my top 10 Americans who, over the past 50 years, played and/or continue to play pioneering roles in the positive development of the American knife industry (with the exception of Kevin Pipes, all are in the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame®). • Bill Moran: Moran not only reintroduced damascus steel to modern knives but also almost singlehandedly revived the art of forged blades, serving as the lead in creating the American Bladesmith Society in 1976, today the world’s largest knifemaker organization. His emphasis on the teaching of bladesmithing, epitomized by the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing, provided the template for the instruction that continues to bless the custom knife industry. • Bob Loveless: If Loveless had done…

In many ways, knives made in the USA are the life’s blood of the world cutlery industry. Old-time factory names such as Buck (page 30), Case, Gerber, KA-BAR (page 30), Camillus, Colonial, Ontario and more, and relatively newer names like A.G. Russell Knives, Benchmade, Bradford USA, Emerson Knives, Inc., ESEE, Hogue, Leatherman Tool, Spyderco, TOPS Knives and many others epitomize what U.S. knife manufacturing is all about: performance, quality, looks, affordability, dependability and much more. On this and the following pages are examples of the knives of some of today’s top companies that make all or at least some of their knives domestically. Of course, some of the knives are made with offshore parts, but the realities of modern manufacture of most any product require that. In addition to quality…

SPEC CHART KNIFE NAME: Damascus Petty KNIFE TYPE: Fixed blade BLADE LENGTH: 5.5” BLADE MATERIAL: Damascus in 1095 spring and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels BLADE GRIND: Full flat BLADE THICKNESS: 1⁄16” at the thickest BLADE WIDTH: 11⁄8” HANDLE MATERIAL: Mammoth tooth BOLSTERS & PINS: Brass KNIFE TO KNOW: Jon Bolton is an ABS apprentice smith MAKER’S PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE: $480 MAKER: Jon Bolton, Lindale, Texas, jbandsonknives@gmail.com, shopjband-sonknives.com (Jocelyn Frasier image) SPEC CHART KNIFE NAME: EDC KNIFE TYPE: Fixed blade BLADE LENGTH: 2.75” BLADE STEEL: CPM 154 stainless BLADE GRIND: Full flat HANDLE MATERIAL: Mammoth tusk HANDLE PINS: Peined nickel silver BOLSTERS: 416 stainless steel OVERALL LENGTH: 6.25” MAKER’S PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE: $400 MAKER: Alex Ruiz, Voundr Forge, Adkins, Texas, Wesleysa.pc@gmail.com (Jocelyn Frasier image) SPEC CHART KNIFE PATTERN: Bowie BLADE LENGTH:…