Sommaire pour November 2022 de Blade

James “Pop” Poplin James “Pop” Poplin, long-time provider of supplies for knifemakers through his Pop’s Knives & Supplies, passed away Aug. 25. He was 73. If knifemakers needed knife supplies, James was always at or near the top of the list. Abrasives, steels, buffing compounds, sharpening equipment, fittings, handle materials and more, he was a top go-to for makers most everywhere. “Pop was a great guy and a great friend,” wrote long-time knifemaker, knife-and-tomahawk thrower and customer Bobby Branton. “I bought everything he had if he had it in stock for over 30 years.” Bobby praised James for his one-on-one personal service. James also made knives and Bobby called him “one of the best knifemakers ever,” adding, “He was a pillar of the knife-making community and a great friend. My…

We’ve received a number of compliments from readers concerning our new “Shop Dump” feature (page 52) in which we highlight the most important knifemaking machinery and tools used by today’s leading bladesmiths and knifemakers. Many of the compliments have come from the participating makers, which should come as no surprise—so neither should it come as a surprise that one of those makers would point out something he says is so much more important than the machines and tools themselves. Kurt Swearingen is an American Bladesmith Society journeyman smith whose buffalo hunting set is featured on page 82. Kurt’s been making knives since 2007. A couple years or so later he decided to take a bladesmithing class at the Bill Moran School in Old Washington, Arkansas*, but it was about that…

Folding knives have been used for hunting and skinning since they were first made. Today, the American knife industry has moved quite far in the direction of fixed blades for use in the field. However, folding knives are seen in the pocket of just about every self-respecting individual these days and are still the top choice for daily use. Time and fashion being what they are, many pocket folders have become somewhat fragile and unsuitable for anything other than opening mail or packages. In short, they have lost their value as serious tools that can be used in the field as well as daily life. Nonetheless, luckily there are a number of very suitable hunting knives that fold and ride in the pocket. The largest downside to folding hunters is…

DROP POINTS P. 12 Chris Reeve Knives, attn: A. Reeve, Dept. BL11, 2949 S. Victory View Way, Boise, ID 83709-2946 208.375.0367 www.chrisreeve.com; KA-BAR, attn: J. Bradley, Dept. BL11, 200 Homer St., Olean, NY 14760 800.282.0130 fax 716-790-7188 www.ka-bar.com, info@ka-bar.com; Fallkniven, attn: E. Hjortberger, Dept. BL11, Granatvagen 8, S-961 23 Boden, Sweden VAT # SE556494-8684-01, P +46 (0) 921 White River Knife & Tool, attn: Matt Cammenga, Dept. BL11, 130 Mason Dr., Coopersville, MI 49404 616-997-0026 matt@thewhiteriver.com, www.whiteriverknives.com FOLDING HUNTERS P. 24 A.G. Russell Knives, attn: J. Broce, Dept. BL11, 2900 S. 26th St., Rogers, AR 72758 agrussell.com; Boker USA, attn: C. Fisher, Dept. BL11, 1550 Balsam St., Lakewood, CO 80214 800-835-6433 fax 303-586-6022 sales@bokerusa.com, www.bokerusa.com; Case, attn: F. Feightner, Dept. BL11, 50 Owens Way, Bradford, PA 16701 800-523-6350 CR@caseknives.com, www.wrcase.com;…

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. OCTOBER OCT. 7-8 SALT LAKE CITY, UT The BLADE Show West 2022, the Salt Palace Convention Center. For more information visit bladeshowwest.com, e-mail bladewest@bladeshow.com. * ** OCT 8-9 ATHENS, TX Yellow Boots Gun & Knife Show, Cain Center. Contact Mike Rohus 903-896-7432 mikerohus@icloud.com. OCT. 15 MIDDLETOWN, MD Moran Foundation & Museum All Forged Knife Show and Auction, Historic Bill Moran Shop. Call Nancy Hendrickson 301-305-8385 or Steve Nuckels 301-991-7486, or visit billmoranmuseum.com. * ** OCT. 15-16 NEW STANTON, PA Allegheny Mountain Knife Collectors Knife Show, the New Stanton fire hall. Call Jim Sinclair 412-605-4231.* OCT. 17-28 TEXARKANA, TX Intro…

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: 760-407-2304. 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.…

Each year hunting season rolls around there are experienced hunters and first-time hunters anxious to make their way into the field. Whether a bow hunter or a firearms hunter, one thing remains consistent between the two: They both need something to clean game and prepare it to be able to get it out of the field and home. No one would argue that you don’t need a knife, but sure enough each hunter would back his choice of blade in a discussion led by the question “What do you use?” This year, as usual, I found some likely candidates to add to the discussion of whose knife is better, though this time, instead of a single knife to tackle the project, let’s consider knife sets. They can't get your game…

A few of the custom, factory, knife supply and other exhibitors set to show their stuff in Utah include such outstanding custom makers and bladesmiths as BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Bill Ruple; Dennis Friedly; Bill Burke; Murray Carter; Duane Dwyer; Jared Oeser; Eric Fritz; Jason Knight; Steven Koster; Mike Tyre; Neels Van Den Berg; Enrique Pena; Princeton Wong; Steve Schwarzer; Shane Taylor; Shayne Carter; Luke Swenson; Tim Robertson; Tobin Hill; Will Stelter; and many others. Domestic and international factory knife and knife accessory exhibitors will include Bradford USA; CRKT; Emerson Knives, Inc.; Fox Knives; Heretic Knives; Hogue Knives; Kansept Knives; Kizer; Liong Mah Designs; Microtech; Pro-Tech; QSP; Reate Knives; Spyderco; Squid Industries; TOPS Knives; UPKnife; WE Knife/Civivi; White River Knife & Tool; Wicked Edge Precision Sharpeners; and many others.…

The Gentleman’s Hunter (page 38) by American Bladesmith Society Journeyman Smith Wess Barnhill is highlighted by a 5-inch blade of feather-pattern damascus and a mammoth ivory handle. The Chris Reeve Knives Backpacker (page 12) is a drop-point hunting/backpacking knife in a natural canvas Micarta® handle and a 4-inch blade of one of the latest super steels: CPM Magnacut. The Emerson Knives, Inc., Market Skinner (page 24) is a folding hunter in a stonewash clippoint blade of 154CM stainless steel and a black G-10 handle. The combo trio at upper left is the Buffalo Hunter Set (page 82) of a Green River-type skinner, caper and gut hook in CPM 154 stainless blade steel and black ash burl handles by ABS Journeyman Smith Kurt Swearingen (page 10). SharpByCoop photographed the Buffalo Hunter…

SPEC CHART KNIFE: WindRiver Hunter BLADE LENGTH: 3.75” BLADE STEEL: RWL-34 stainless HANDLE MATERIAL: Dyed bigleaf maple GUARD MATERIAL: Same as blade CONSTRUCTION: Full integral OVERALL LENGTH: 8.25” SHEATH MATERIAL: 9-oz. leather hand tooled by Carl Colson KNIFE TO KNOW: Carl is a voting member of The Knifemakers’ Guild MAKER’S PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE (INCLUDING SHEATH): $1,895 MAKER: Carl Colson, Dept. BL11, 8590 NW 172 Ln., Fanning Springs, FL 32693 352-221-2937 carlcolson@bellsouth.net, carlcolsonknives.com(SharpByCoop image) SPEC CHART KNIFE: MR Hunter Especial BLADE LENGTH: 4.5” BLADE STEEL: Damascus by Alabama Damascus HANDLE: Cocobolow/a mosaic pin GUARD: Brass w/black spacer OVERALL LENGTH: 9.5” MAKER’S PRICE FOR A SIMI-LAR KNIFE: $675 MAKER: Brian Milinski, Texas, mrknives@yahoo.com (Jocelyn Frasier image edit) SPEC CHART KNIFE: Hunter BLADE LENGTH: 4.5” BLADE MATERIAL: 1095 carbon steel BLADE GRIND:…

I have written about the cyclical nature of custom knife markets for many years now. Most follow the established business stages referred to as the Product Life Cycle, listed below again for the benefit of first-time readers: 1) Development; 2) Introduction; 3) Growth; 4) Maturity; and 5) Decline. Most collectors have seen knives go through the stages of the cycle no matter how long they have been involved with custom knives. Perhaps the market segment most discussed over the past 40 years has been steel. It seems at least twice a year new super blade materials are developed. Usually, a well-known maker gives the steel his or her blessing. At that point, it is introduced to custom knife buyers. The growth—that is, use—of the super steel happens because not only…

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7 1-to-2 p.m. BACK FROM THE EDGE OF DULL—Meeting Room 150: Maintaining a keen edge on your knife requires sharpening on a regular basis. However, that isn’t always done and the edge may go almost completely dull as a result. According to Clay Allison of Wicked Edge Precision Sharpeners, his company has the tools to bring your blade back from the edge of dull. Let him show you how. 2:30-to-4 p.m. 3D PRINTING FOR CANISTER PATTERNS—Meeting Room 150: Learn how to leverage 3D Printer Technology to make canister damascus patterns. ABS master smith Steve Schwarzer and Ron Hardman show you how to use this game-changing advancement to forge patterns that were previously unthinkable—and all on a budget, too. 4:30-to-5:30 p.m. SYMMETRICAL QUILLON DAGGER 101—Meeting Room 150: ABS Master…

“This Victorinox Camper has been in my pocket for as long as I can remember. As you can see in the picture it has had many encounters with a sharpening stone and is now lighter than when I bought it.” Scott Tankard, a letter via e-mail For the latest knives, Knife news, trends, and more, visit blademag.com BLADE®’s popular Instagram page @blade_magazine, and on Facebook and Twitter WIN A KNIFE 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 no larger than 2 MB—of you with your knife. We will publish your comments in an upcoming “The Knife I Carry.” Your name will then be entered in a drawing to win a free, high-quality, name-brand knife.…

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 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 Culpepper & Co., Inc. www.knifehandles.com www.oldschoolknifeworks.com www.stingrayproducts.com info@culpepperco.com Cutlery Specialties www.restorationproduct.com dennis13@aol.com Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax/Polish, Dennis Blaine Emerson Knives www.emersonknives.com info@emersonknives.com…

ABS Journeyman Smith/Knifemakers’ Guild member Kurt Swearingen went with tradition and what works in his three-piece buffalo hunter set. Made for North American big game, the set includes a Green River-type skinner, caper and gut hook in CPM 154 stainless steel blades and black ash burl grips. Kurt based the design on a similar set he’d seen from the 1800s. He chose CPM 154 because that’s what he uses on his fixed-blade hunting knives and the ash because it’s a wood native to the Great Plains, home of the American bison. He made the sheath from three layers of stacked 9-ounce leather with two layers of welts. The sheathed set weighs 2-to-3 pounds so he hollow ground the blades and outfitted them with bolsters instead of guards to save on…