Tabla de contenidos para July 2022 en Blade

IN MEMORIAM: Cordova and Cohea The knife community lost two cherished members recently with the passing of ABS master smith Joe Cordova and knifemaker John Cohea. Joe expired April 25 at the age of 86 in Bosque Farms, New Mexico. John died April 30 in Jackson, Mississippi, after a long illness. He was 59. GENIAL GENTLEMAN A genial, soft-spoken gentleman who was a regular exhibitor at major and other knife shows nationwide, Joe was almost always accompanied by his equally genial wife, Kay. “Joe Cordova was the first knifemaker I met and had a huge impact on me over the years. As a maker he kind of did it all,” wrote knifemaker Lucas Burnley. “I think I took a lot of how I see knives and our industry from his…

Texas has it all—the people, the land, the resources, money, talent, cowboys, cowgirls, cows and more—but one thing it seems to lack is a signature knife show Texans can point to that, like the rest of the state, is larger than life. BLADE Show Texas 2022 may have changed all that. Held March 18-19 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, the show seemed to have it all—great makers, a great venue, plenty of sales and, perhaps most important of all, lots and lots of attendees. “The attendance was excellent and sales were awesome,” exclaimed knifemaker Bill Ruple. “What a great show!” “BLADE Show Texas was a great one. Attendance was crazy good,” agreed ABS master smith Bruce Bump. “And it was good to connect with old friends…

ALL ACCESS AXES P. 12 Browning, attn: R. Nielsen, Dept. BL7, One Browning Place, Morgan, UT 84050 801-876-2711 fax 801-876-3331 www.browning.com, craigwilson@browning.com; Fox Cutlery, attn.: Massimo Centazzo, Dept. BL7, Oreste Frati SRL, Via La Mola, 4, 33085 Maniago (PN), Italy 39-0427-730376 Gerber, attn: Josh Headley, Dept. BL7, 14200 SW 72nd, Portland, OR 97223 800-950-6161 www.gerbergear.com; Wolf Valley Forge, ike@wolfvalleyforge.com 256-206-5439 wolfvalleyforge.com BOWIE BEAUTIES P. 24 A.G. Russell Knives, attn: J. Broce, Dept. BL7, 2900 S. 26th St., Rogers, AR 72758 479 631-0055 jakeb@agrussell.com, www.agrussell.com; Boker USA, attn: N. Nevins, Dept. BL7, 1550 Balsam St., Lakewood, CO 80214 800-835-6433 fax 303-586-6022 sales@bokerusa.com, www.bokerusa.com; Spyderco, attn: J. Laituri, Dept. BL7, 820 Spyderco Way, Golden, CO 80403 800-525-7770 spyderco.com, sfo@spyderco.com LARGER THAN KNIFE P. 32 Wilson Capron, wkcapron@gmail.com; J.R. Cook, jr@jrcookknives.com; Tommy Gann,…

One of the more memorable henchmen of the James Bond series is the stout little fellow Odd Job, played in Goldfinger by Harold Sakata, and a popular character in the Nintendo series of Bond video games. He has a hat with a razor-sharp brim that decapitates a marble statue in the movie and guarantees an instant kill in the game. He’s a master of body paint, a capable golf caddy, and can crush a golf ball with his bare hands. He’s a chauffeur capable of skilled pursuit and evasion in the inevitable Bond car chases. In the end, this man of many talents meets an untimely death by electrocution in the vault at Fort Knox. Many who make knives choose not to make it a full-time career but a megahobby…

JUNE 3-5 ATLANTA, GA The 41st Annual BLADE Show, Cobb Galleria Centre, I-285 & US 41, one exit off I-75 across from the Cumberland Mall, adjacent to the Renaissance Waverly Hotel. World’s largest show of handmade, factory and antique knives. A combined total of nearly 1,000 exhibitor tables and booths. Join the world’s greatest national and international knifemakers, cutlery manufacturers, collectors, collections and knife lovers. Site of the BLADE Magazine 2022 Knife Of-The-Year® Awards for factory knives, the BLADE Show Custom Knife Judging Competition, the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© inductions and much more. Host to BLADE University, the annual ABS meeting and more. Seminars include the BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competitions, how to use knives, how to make them, etc. Contact BLADE®, c/o Alicia Newton blade@bladeshow.com, and/or visit bladeshow.com.*…

Josh Wayner writes that the Wolf Valley Forge Camp Axe is “in a class of its own” and rates it as the best axe he’s ever used. Made by Ike Bullington, it features a 4-inch edge of handforged 4142 chrome moly stainless steel. Check out it and three other of the latest axes on page 12. Featuring a damascus blade forged thick and tough on a santoku base, the BBQ Chef ’s Knife (page 82) by Matt Williams includes a wa handle of stabilized, spalted pecan and round dowels of white oak. A woodworker who has taken up knifemaking, Matt brings a fresh approach to handles and blades. ABS master smith Jean-louis Regel not only won Best Art Knife at BLADE Show Texas but also Best in Show for his…

SPEC CHART KNIFE TYPE: Fixed blade BLADE LENGTH: 12” BLADE MATERIAL: Mosaic damascus of 1084 carbon and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels HANDLE: Ironwood OVERALL LENGTH: 17.5” MAKER: Lee Parsons, Dept. BL7, 358 N. Keystone, Shell Knob, MD 65747 417-669-7219 haroldparsons@gmail.com(SharpByCoop image) SPEC CHART MODEL: Fixed fighter BLADE LENGTH: 10” BLADE MATERIAL: 80CrV2 carbon steel HANDLE: Black canvas Micarta® FITTINGS: 416 stainless steel KNIFE TO KNOW: The maker is an apprentice smith in the American Bladesmith Society OVERALL LENGTH: 15” MAKER: Marc Aldrich, Dept. BL7, 16 Cheryl St., Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977 845- 920-1092 aldrich.ket@outlook.com, aldrichknifeandtool.com (SharpByCoop image) SPEC CHART KNIFE TYPE: Fixed blade BLADE LENGTH: 10” BLADE GRIND: Flat BLADE MATERIAL: Damascus HANDLE: Sambar stag OVERALL LENGTH: 16” MAKER’S PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE: $1,800 MAKER: James Carlyle, Dept. BL7, 21460 Old Winery Rd., Truman, AR…

Though it isn’t rare for kids to follow in the footsteps of their parents when it comes to choosing a career, the path to becoming a well-known custom knifemaker may just involve a bit more dedication than most other vocations. For American Bladesmith Society (ABS) master smith Josh Fisher and Wolfgang Loerchner, the adventure has been quite rewarding as their respective daughters, Karis and Elizabeth, have become quite accomplished in their own right. So, with the observance of Father’s Day (June 19) at hand, it’s fitting to offer a bit of perspective on a pair of daughters who have watched their pops work for years, seeing firsthand the quality and enduring beauty of their finished knives. Such times have been a catalyst for them all. “When I was younger, I…

A few issues back I mentioned that those who hear their inner voices and listen carefully either go crazy or become legends. As I wrote the article, I began to wonder what it was that made the knife so significant an aspect of my life, and have tried to pinpoint the origin of my inner voice that has been with me most of my days. Is it something I was born with or did I learn it throughout my life? My first memory of a knife was watching my grandfather’s hand sharpening a pencil while we were building a rabbit trap. We lived in the city; my father was in the army working in a hospital in France. The only rabbit I stood a chance of catching was my pet…

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…

Though not unusual, it’s always instructive to find a knifemaker who started making knives at a very young age—especially if he is both able and willing to show examples of his earliest work. One is Knifemakers’ Guild voting member Paul LeBatard. He displayed two of his initial knives at BLADE Show Texas (page 32) and couldn’t say enough about them, including the very first one he ever built at the tender age of 12. “It was just a big old nail,” he said. “I took a propane torch to it, heated it up and hammered on it and dipped it in oil. It did harden a little.” He ground the blade on his grandfather’s homemade grinder: a stone wheel powered by a washing machine motor. The handle is red cedar.…

Perhaps nothing can bring a father daughter knifemaking duo into harmony more that working on the same knife, a family collaboration if you will. And that’s just what happened with Josh and Karis Fisher. In preparation for the ABS Auction (June BLADE®, page 34) at BLADE Show 2022, the two worked together to produce a stunning bowie knife for the event. “This was our first collaboration,” Josh explained, “and we spend quite a bit of time in the shop together so that part wasn’t anything new. I made the blade and damascus for all the fittings, while Karis did the handle and finished everything up. We have very similar styles to one another due to the fact that Karis learned from me.” The Fisher collaboration bowie features an 8.25-inch blade…

Editor’s note: In the May BLADE®, the author discussed his knife col-lection, which contains many of the knives of Bob Terzuola. This past year, Bob invited the author to the Terzuola shop to make a Terzuola knife. Following is the author’s account of what many knife enthusiasts can only dream of doing. Over 30 years ago when I was just getting into the knife collecting hobby, I was at a gun shop on Long Island. I noticed the knife in the salesperson’s pocket and asked if I could see it. It was a custom Bob Terzuola. I had my own Spyderco Terzuola factory/custom reproduction that recently had been introduced and I was amazed to see and handle a custom Terzuola for the first time. I thought to myself that some day…

Tom Mayo has been a custom knifemaker since 1981 and has made just about every style of knife imaginable, though most custom knife fans know him today for his fine tactical and EDC folders. As you can imagine, he has owned a lot of different knifemaking equipment over a span of four decades and has a sound list of favorites. “I have bought nearly every tool I could possibly want or need for my shop,” he began. “I would like to get a few more, but I really don’t know where I would put them! In my mind, the most essential tool is a 2x72 variable-speed belt grinder. Even the forgers use these after they finish pounding their knives to shape. Having a variable-speed motor allows you to go at…

“I found this knife stuck into a tree while walking in the woods a couple of years ago. It’s a standard folding knife with an imitation antler handle. It’s great for everyday use and I carry it everywhere I go.”James Connelly, Concord, North Carolina “The Buck 110 folder has always been my go-to knife and I have always had one with me. Through the years I have owned and lost about a half dozen. It’s a true classic and the original tactical knife, in my opinion. It served me well for 23 years in the Army and 17 years as a federal police officer.”Juan J. Robles, Hialeah, Florida For the latest knives, knife news, trends, and more, visit bladetnag.com, BLADE®’S popular Instagram page @blade_magazine, and on Facebook and Twitter. WIN…

A woodworker by profession that includes making cutting boards, Matt Williams got into knifemaking too and is glad he did because of the feedback he gets from customers. His BBQ Chef’s Knife is a case in point. His clients told him his chef’s knives were too thin, especially the local Texas barbecue chefs who need thick, tough blades for separating ribs and joints in competitive barbecue events. As a result, he built the BBQ Chef’s Knife on a santoku cutting base with a thicker blade and a “really aggressive feel” built to take abuse. Matt lives on an old pecan orchard by the Colorado River and stabilizes and spalts the pecan for his turned-wood handles. The handle for his BBQ model is done in a wa style split down the…