Table of contents for August 2020 in Blade

BLADE Show Set For Aug. 7-9 BLADE Show 2020 is set for Aug. 7-9 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, show offi cials confirmed at press time. In fact, ticket sales remained at their highest level ever, show offi cials reported. The world’s largest and most important knife event, the 39th annual rendition originally was scheduled for June 5-7 but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns that were instituted in many states nationwide. Show offi cials decided to reschedule the show for Aug. 7-9 in the hopes that the lockdown restrictions would have begun to ease by then, and a number of those restrictions indeed were being relaxed at press time. For ticket and show information, visit bladeshow.com. Butch Vallotton Passes…

When the guns fell silent and World War II ended 75 years ago, the human experience was forever altered. Every aspect of life that was known, comfortable and commonplace before the war had been touched. In fact, the impact of the greatest armed conflict in history is still felt today. While industry had been mobilized and individual craftsmen had filled a pressing need in wartime, the role of the knife in society was also evolving. From 1939 to 1945, and after the United States entered the war in 1941, the demand for knives soared. Beyond its daily use as a tool, the knife was suddenly being produced not only as a weapon but also as a self-defense tool and a survival implement. “During World War II, the knife industry in…

Winkler Knives Wild Bill Axe DESIGNER: Daniel Winkler HEAD SIZE: 6 inches EDGE LENGTH: 2.125 inches HEAD STEEL: 80CrV2 carbon ROCKWELL HARDNESS: 60 HRC HANDLE MATERIAL: Black rubber, Micarta® , maple, walnut, WASP or G-10 WEIGHT: 23 ounces OVERALL LENGTH: 13 inches SHEATH: Kydex fast-draw model w/ several carry options COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA MSRP: $600 There are many things to pry and cut that destroy the edge of a blade during the course of a soldier’s or police officer’s duties. In fact, there are some jobs in the military and law-enforcement realms that are unfit for knives of any kind. Enter the tomahawk, the knife’s brawny partner in such settings. Laci Szabo, United States Marine Corps veteran and New Mexico police officer who served as a breacher on SWAT…

The blade has come a long way and a lot of time and energy has been devoted to her development. Indicators tell me that she will be a good one, but, as with all High Endurance Performance Knives, she must prove her quality through the performance aspects of the test process. In the past I have tested many hundreds of blades to allow me to be confident in their quality. Only a representative number of blades are tested to destruction, but every one we finish has passed the performance requirements I will cover in this story. I read many reports of knife testing and find it interesting that rarely is the intended purpose of the knife mentioned. Some blades are for cutting individual threads and others are for cooking chores.…

WAR AND THE WAY FORWARD P. 12 Boker USA, attn: N. Nevins, Dept. BL8, 1550 Balsam St., Lakewood, CO 80214 800-835-6433 fax 303-586-6022 sales@bokerusa.com, www.bokerusa.com;Randall Made Knives, attn.: Gary Randall, Dept. BL8, 4857 S. Orange Blossom Terrace, Orlando, FL 32839 407-855-8075 fax 407-855-9054 randallknives.com, info@randallknives.com; Spartan Blades, attn: C. Iovito, Dept. BL8, 625 S.E. Service Rd., Southern Pines, NC 28387 910-757-0035, contact@spartanblades.com, www.spartanbladesusa.com; Victorinox Swiss Army, Inc., attn: K. Oakes, Dept. BL8, 7 Victoria Dr., Monroe, CT 06468 203-929-6391 swissarmy.com, Kristin.oakes@swissarmy.com THE ADAPTABLE TOMAHAWK P. 26 Browning, attn: R. Nielsen, Dept. BL8, One Browning Place, Morgan, UT 84050 801-876-2711 fax 801-876-3331 www.browning.com, craigwilson@browning.com; CRKT, attn: M. May, Dept. BL8, 18348 SW 126th Place, Tualatin, OR 97062 800-891-3100 info@crkt.com, www.crkt.com;Spyderco, attn: J. Laituri, Dept. BL8, 820 Spyderco Way, Golden, CO 80403…

The Raboud Dagger by award-winning knifemaker Dennis Friedly sold for $50,000 at a live auction this past January, with proceeds from the sale benefitting both Wounded Warrior Outdoors, Inc., and the Wild Sheep Foundation. Sponsored by Heritage Collectables, the knife was auctioned during the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) Show in Reno, Nevada. The dagger is named in honor of Ron Raboud, founder of Wounded Warrior Outdoors (WWO). The quote Sandra Brady scrimshawed on the handle is from the closing speech Raboud gave at the Wild Sheep Foundation Banquet in 2016. “Wounded Warrior Outdoors is a non-profit charity providing recently wounded servicemen and women with therapeutic outdoor adventures across North America,” Dennis wrote. “WWO is a completely volunteer charity with no paid staff or needless overhead. It is an honor to…

The Wings of Honor by ABS master smith Harvey Dean is a special knife commissioned by William Ernest “Bud” Younts III for his son, 2nd Lt. Will Younts IV, upon the latter’s graduation from Air Force flight training. A larger version of Dean’s El Diablo model, the 14 5/8-inch bowie features a 9 5/8-inch blade of feather damascus and, in keeping with the official colors of the U.S. Air Force, handle scales of blue-and-white ancient walrus ivory. The winged guard is cast from sterling silver bars overlaid on twist damascus. The coolest part is the escutcheons/ guards. They are made from the actual lieutenant’s bars of Bud’s father and Will’s grandfather, Lt. William Ernest Younts Jr., who served in the Army’s 86th Blackhawk Division, 343 Infantry Company H, during World War…

“My current EDC is a Gerber Quadrant Bamboo but there is no story behind that. Not so for my first two EDCs I have from my youth more than 50-plus years ago. While in the 3rd grade we were tasked with selling magazine subscriptions to raise money for the school. One of the prizes for a sale was a ‘trick’ knife—they called it something else—and I had to have it. I had to sell a lot of subscriptions to get what probably would have cost me only a dollar to buy, but where was a 3rd grader going to get a dollar back then? I sold enough and got it, never telling my parents, of course—though I assured my teacher they were fine with it. There is no manufacturer name…

Beside bundles of old papers, there were two things in my grandfather’s cast-iron safe that he would occasionally let me examine. One was his big Colt revolver. Before passing it over to me, Grandfather would carefully empty it of bullets that seemed the size of artillery shells. The other item was a bowie knife that he would wipe down with a rag before handing it to me, saying, “Be careful now—it’s really sharp.” I would reverently take the large knife and admire its shiny blade and horn handle, turning it to reflect the light on its edge. Even as a child I had an appreciation of the two American icons in my hands. The significance of the Colt was self-evident, as I had seen a thousand cowboys and sheriffs, gunslingers…

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. JULY JULY 10-11 BELLEVILLE, IL Belleville Knife Show. Contact Brian Shepard 618-972-5236, Carl Edwards 618-645-2959 or 618-658-8221, or Larry Hancock 618-242-4514 bvilleknife@yahoo.com.* JULY 10-12 AUBURN, ME The 12th Annual New England Hammer-In, New England School of Metalwork. Contact Dereck Glaser 207-777-3375 or Cindy Sheely 419-832-0400 newenglandschoolofmetalwork.com/.** JULY 25-26 WASHINGTON, MO The 4th Annual AIK Summer Knife Show, Elks Lodge. Call 618-656-9868, email adamsknifeworks.com@gmail.com or visit aik-knifeshow.com.* JULY 27-AUG. 7 CLYDE, NC American Bladesmith Society’s Intro To Bladesmithing Class, Haywood College. Contact ABS Coordinator Ken Hall 828-400-7815 khall@hallenergyconsulting.com.** AUGUST AUG. 1-2 SYDNEY, NSW, AUSRALIA Sydney Knife Show, Rosehill Gardens,…

A.G. Russell Knives, Inc. www.agrussell.comag@agrussell.com "Adams Intl Knifeworks - AIK www.adamsknifeworks.comadamsknifeworks.com@gmail.com Automatic & Customized Knife Specialists" Admiral Steel www.admiralsteel.comterry@admiralsteel.com Widest Range of Stock for Blade Needs Alaska - Northern Knives www.northernknives.comA Real Store & Working Knife Shop! American Edge www.americanedgeknives.cominfo@americanedgeknives.com 320-393-2792 We have ""A Knife For Every Life” Arizona Custom Knives www.arizonacustomknives.comsharptalk@arizonacustomknives.com Largest selection in the world of new and consigned knives on the internet. Let us help you find the perfect knife. Artknives.com www.artknives.comfred@fredeisenleather.com Dozier Knives and Arkansas Made Dozier, Inc. www.dozierknives.cominfo@dozierknives.com BladeGallery.com www.bladegallery.com www.bladeconnection.com www.epicedge.com BladeOps, LLC www.bladeops.comtrevor@bladeops.com Buckeye Engraving www.BuckeyeEngraving.comMake Your Mark Manufacturer of Custom Hand Stamps, Dies and Brands CRKT www.crkt.cominfo@crkt.com Culpepper & Co., Inc. www.knifehandles.com www.oldschoolknifeworks.com www.stingrayproducts.cominfo@culpepperco.com Cutlery Specialties www.restorationproduct.comdennis13@aol.com Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax/Polish, Dennis Blaine Bob Dozier Knives www.dozierknives.cominfo@dozierknives.com Emerson Knives www.emersonknives.cominfo@emersonknives.com Jim Hammond Hammond Knives & Designs, LLC www.jimhammondknives.comjim@jimhammondknives.com Hawkins Knife Making Supplies www.hawkinsknifemaking supplies.com radeh@bellsouth.net J.…

In the custom-knife-collecting realm, the purveyor, dealer or middleman often plays a crucial role in delivering the sought-after work of a knifemaker to the buyer who most appreciates the work and is willing to pay a reasonable price to obtain it. While a great deal of buying and selling occurs directly between the maker and the collector—or between collectors themselves—purveyors often bring interested parties together. They have access to a variety of custom knives that might otherwise be physically out of reach for a collector. For example, drawings at shows limit the access a collector has to a particular maker’s knives. Further, makers often work with backlogs of months or even years. When collectors must wait, they sacrifice the enjoyment and satisfaction of ownership for an indefinite period of time.…

Military personnel often think of those in their squad, unit or what have you as family members. Just as members of a family unit put their lives on the line for each other, so too do service personnel for their fellow squad mates. It all makes perfect sense when you think of the numerous American families who have had several generations serve in the military. Members of those families are proud of their grandfathers and grandmothers, fathers and mothers, aunts and uncles, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers—think Band of Brothers—who served, many of whom were wounded or even died, in support of their country. William Ernest “Bud” Younts III never served in the military, but his father, William Ernest Younts Jr., did. Meanwhile, Bud’s son, William Ernest “Will” Younts…

Do 21st -century soldiers even need knives? I don’t know about the Navy or Air Force, but there’s controversy on this topic in “Big Army.” Some commanders don’t allow troops to have personal knives. Others allow only work-related models, such as electricians’ knives. Reports often surface that due to improved weapons and logistics, even those who might need knives need nothing but small knives—the kind that fit behind body armor or otherwise ride somewhere out of the way—because, these days, knives supposedly are used only to open MREs (meals ready to eat). No bushcraft/survival ability is required. Close combat with a blade is said to be so rare that the possibility can be disregarded. Yeah, right—unless you’re the guy caught without a gun or out of ammo in the face…

BY BLADE® STAFF SPEC CHART KNIFE NAME: Tumblin’ Skulls KNIFE TYPE: Fixed-blade fighter BLADE LENGTH: 7.5” BLADE STEEL: Damasteel damascus BLADE GRIND: Deep hollow HANDLE: Mammoth ivory w/scrim by Perman SPACERS: Carved bronze HARDWARE: Stainless steel Torx screws KNIFE TO KNOW: The pistol-grip-style scales and sub-hilt handle have a Colt .1911 flair; bronze dangler in the lanyard hole MAKER’S LIST PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE: $6,000 MAKER: Anders Hogstrom, Dept. BL8, Karrmarksvagen 4, Backaryd, Sweden 37277 info@andershogstrom.com, andershogstrom.com, Facebook/Instagram: hogstromknives SPEC CHART KNIFE NAME: King Bluetooth KNIFE TYPE: Tanto/kukri/bowie combo BLADE LENGTH: 11” BLADE MATERIAL: Damascus in a random pattern HANDLE: Ironwood KNIFE TO KNOW: King Harald Bluetooth ruled Denmark circa 958-986 A.D., uniting the nations and introducing Christianity. Since the blade is a combo of different nations, from the…

Breaching tools are handy to have if you’re a firefighter, an EMT or in law enforcement. They can assist in gaining access to structures or vehicles in an emergency to help extract an accident victim, or to forcibly gain entry into a house or apartment to apprehend “the bad guys.” There are differing varieties of breaching tools. Those in the story are tomahawk-based; they’re like standard tomahawks, but incorporate other features that make them more useful in emergency situations. Think tomahawks on steroids! CRASH BROTHER U.S. military veterans Jared Ogden and Grady Powell designed the Camillus CRASH breaching tool. Ogden served as a Navy SEAL and Powell as an Army Green Beret. Both have designed other knives and tools for Camillus, employing the expertise they gained from their years of…