Table of contents for July 2020 in Blade

COVID-19 Though the USA and China have not been shooting missiles at each other, I have been aware for some time that we are in a cold war with them. Even so, I bought quite a few quality Chinese knives. However, the COVID-19 situation is the straw that broke my back, and those days are over. I will do my best to keep from buying anything from China, if I can. I suspect that I am not the only knife buyer who feels this way. Joel Berry, Houston, Texas Editor’s note: We respect your opinion, Mr. Berry. In keeping with reader requests and as a customer service, when we know it and when possible we try to list the country of origin of each factory knife we cover and test…

Custom knifemaking is sometimes a legacy pursuit. Children grow up with their parent working in the shop, and/or travel to shows and grow up around the hustle and bustle of knife events. Sooner or later they try making knives themselves with a patient teacher ready to assist. “All of our children grew up surrounded by everything involving the craft, the shop time, other makers and shows,” explained Wolfgang Loerchner, whose daughter Elizabeth has become a world-class custom knifemaker in her own right. “Elizabeth is very artistic, so given her childhood she naturally drifted towards knifemaking as a full-time job,” Wolfgang noted. “I offered some encouragement but also cautioned about some negative aspects of the craft. Since teaching her would require a large amount of my time, I asked her to…

Because the blade opens swiftly by the press of a button, the automatic has a special aura knife enthusiasts dig. There’s something satisfying about the crisp snap! sound the blade makes when it opens and locks. Add the fact that all five of our out-the-side (OTS) test autos are American made and their aura takes on a winsome red-white-and-blue tint. What better way to start off a story on all-American-mades than with the Patriot Auto from Diamondblade Knives (DBK)? Among its notable safety features are an integrated forward hand guard and a handle butt that drops down to help discourage rearward sliding of your hand. Plus, the handle is contoured for comfort over prolonged use. Another interesting Patriot feature is it is the only auto this writer is aware of…

Flipping butterfly knives—opening and closing, handling the knife in trick after trick—is more than just a party stunt. Take, for instance, Ben Knudsen. Bored after school one day, the 20-year-old Californian picked up his brother’s butterfly knife. The meditative pastime grew from the satisfaction of mastering a trick into a passion. Before long Ben was on the YouTube channel “Big Flips” demonstrating knife tricks. “For me, it’s very calming,” he noted. “I’ll just load up a big playlist and then never pick up my phone for like three hours, and I’ll just practice free styles.” Knudsen isn’t alone. For proof, just meander over to the Battle for Bali-Champion sponsored and conducted by Blade HQ at the 39th Annual BLADE Show Aug. 7-9 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta. Meanwhile,…

Peyton and Eli. Venus and Serena. The Kardashians, if you can keep up with them. All the way back to Cain and Abel, the bonds between siblings have made life interesting. Whether it’s the older trying not to be outshone by the younger, or the younger trying to escape the older’s shadow, sibling relationships are often characterized by a spirit of friendly competition. It was just five short years ago that Texas knifemaking brothers Jason and Travis Fry took advantage of sibling rivalry as a way to push each other to more complex knife work, and the results were spectacular. The story began with an 11 by 1.25-inch piece of 154CM stainless steel in Jason’s shop. The brothers were brainstorming about what to do with the piece, since it was…

In celebration of Father’s Day, June 21, knifemakers Wolfgang Loerchner and his daughter Elizabeth Loerchner are the showcase knives for this issue’s cover, and also are among those featured in the story on page 12. As far as we know, it’s the first time ever knives made by a father and daughter—or even a father and son, for that matter—have graced a BLADE® cover. Elizabeth’s integral dagger boasts a 6.5-inch blade of 440C stainless steel and a handle with filed inlay of damascus forged by Bertie Rietveld. The knife is hand-filed and features polished, satin and sand-blasted finishes. Overall length: 11.75 inches. Elizabeth’s list price for a similar knife: $4,700. Her address: Dept. BL7, POB 93, Auburn, Ontario, Canada N0M 1E0 knives@ecloerchner.com, Instagram: @ecloerchner. Wolfgang’s medium dagger features a 6-inch…

“The new normal: my EDC gear now includes PPE, as well as my SAK Tinker or Lightning OTF. My fascination with knives started in 1967 when my father gave me my first knife, an Imperial Cub Scout Knife, which I still have. My collection has grown over the years to include military knives dating back to World War II, Korea and Vietnam that belonged to my grandfather, uncle and my father. I also collect vintage Italian switchblades, as well as many knives from Buck, Benchmade and Cold Steel, and many other brands.” Mike Corey, St. Petersburg, Florida “I don’t carry just one knife. I do carry a Buck 336 Paradigm all the time. I’ve had this knife for several years and I like it very much. It holds an extremely…

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it but, when high-dollar custom knives are involved, the ante gets raised exponentially. Can you imagine selling a thousand-dollar-or-more knife with a simple leather sheath? Not cool. High-end custom knifemakers either learn to make sheaths or job them out to a specialist to deliver models that befit their wares. In fact, an exquisite sheath is the icing on the cake for a fixed blade of high pomp and should complement the knife it protects. SIMPLE & FUNCTIONAL Carl Colson calls it his Texas Hunter and tells BLADE®, “I designed this knife for skinning deer and elk. I was going on a whitetail deer hunt in south Texas and thought I’d create a new model for the occasion. It is one of the few knives I’ve…

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. JUNE JUNE 8-12 CLYDE, NC American Bladesmith Society’s Handles and Guards Class, Haywood College. Contact ABS Coordinator Ken Hall 828-400-7815 khall@hallenergyconsulting.com.** 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…

SPEC CHART MODEL TYPE: Butterfly knife BLADE LENGTH: 3.5” BLADE STEEL: M390 stainless HANDLE MATERIAL: Titanium OVERALL LENGTH: 8 7/8” CLOSED LENGTH: 5 3/8” KNIFE TO KNOW: Includes handle panel engraving, latch and small skull back spacers MAKER’S LIST PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE: $445 MAKER: Mike Zieba, Dept. BL7, 95 Commercial St. #4, Brooklyn, NY 11222 347-335-9944 ziebametal@gmail.com, ziebaknives.com MODEL NAME: Urban Cleaver BLADE LENGTH: 5” BLADE MATERIAL: Damascus forged by Chad Nichols BLADE GRIND: Flat HANDLE MATERIAL: Voodoo Resin GUARD: Nickel silver OVERALL LENGTH: 8.75” MAKER’S LIST PRICE FOR A SIMILAR CLEAVER: $500 MAKER: Peter Pruyn, Dept. BL7, 110 Reel Ln., Grants Pass, OR 97527 631-793-9052 brothersvilleknife@gmail, Facebook: Peter Pruyn NAME OF KNIFE: Widow Maker BLADE LENGTH: 10” BLADE MATERIAL: Damascus of 1095 carbon and 15n20 nickel-alloy steels…

It was love at first sight for Australian knifemaker Corin Urquhart when he saw his initial barrel knife in 2011. A design with a barrel-shaped handle that takes down to fold up, the barrel knife in its most famous and original form was made in Eskilstuna, Sweden, by several companies, including Johan Engström circa 1874-1915. Fellow Aussie Maurice McCarthy encouraged Corin to make his first barrel knife. Corin learned of a two-blade barrel model from Aussie ABS master smith Thomas Gerner, who walked him through each step making a barrel knife during a two-day knife show in Adelaide in 2013. Corin made his inaugural barrel knife that year and has made several different types since, including the one with a Damasteel damascus puukko blade pictured herein. He cast bronze bar…

The local hospital was getting swamped with COVID-19 patients and, due to the shortage of personal protection equipment (PPE), knifemaker Lucas Burnley and his wife Maddie decided to throw their hats into the ring—all this with Maddie eight months pregnant and the Burnleys planning a move from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Oregon, a move put on hold because of the pandemic. “What a mess,” Lucas said. “It feels like a war effort. People are making medical equipment for use because manufacturing is that far behind. How insane is that?” Lucas brainstormed some PPE equipment to make and arrived at face shields. He had been looking for a way to use his 3D printer and the shields are tailor made for it. He’s made several variations of shields on the printer.…

When TOPS started building knives for bushcraft with a survival flair outside of its tactical models, black traction coating and tan canvas Micarta® handles were the option on most. As TOPS has continued to operate in that arena, many colors and finishes have been offered, but the tan-and-black-color combo remains a classic. The Baja 4.5 Reserve Edition offers both that look and a quality double-stitched brown leather sheath to complete the package. The 4.88-inch blade of 5/32-inch-thick 1095 carbon steel has Black Traction coating and a tan canvas Micarta® handle. Overall length: 9.25 inches.…

Regardless of the motivation—resale for profit, pride of ownership, pure enjoyment or whatever the case—the purchase of a custom knife is an investment. Buyers shell out hard-earned dollars to own a custom knife. They pick and choose, research makers and products, and conclude that a certain piece is right for them. Whether the buyer is in it to add to the collection of a lifetime or to sell for profit sometime in the future, expectations of quality service after the sale are reasonable. However, other aspects of ownership involve a bit of research, personal preference and management of expectation. There is an element of risk with any purchase, as well as satisfaction versus disappointment and financial gain or loss. After assessing the quality of a particular knife, the status and…

When grinding the tip of the blade, I pull my right hand and the rear portion of the blade away from the belt. This enables me to concentrate on the tip and keep enough material in the tip area to provide ample strength for the blade’s intended use. Note the beautiful spark display from the aluminum oxide and hardened 52100 steel in Image 1 (page 64). I like to make complete grinds moving from the ricasso to the tip. You can vary the amount of steel removed by varying the time the belt grinds in one area and the angle of the blade to the belt. It takes a little practice, but, for me at least, grinding is one of the fun parts of each knife. You will be surprised…

FATHER/SON/DAUGHTER MAKERS P. 12 Dillon Dean, c/o Harvey Dean, Dept. BL7, 3266 CR 232, Rockdale, TX 76567 512-429-0009 harveydeanknives@gmail.com; Harvey Dean, Dept. BL7, 3266 CR 232, Rockdale, TX 76567 512-429-0009 harveydeanknives@gmail.com; Jerry Hossom, Dept. BL7, 3585 Schilling Ridge, Peachtree Corners, GA 30096, 770-713-6219 hossom.com ; Alex Hossom, c/o Jerry Hossom, Dept. BL7, 3585 Schilling Ridge, Peachtree Corners, GA 30096, 770-713-6219 hossom.com; Elizabeth Loerchner, Dept. BL7, POB 93, Auburn, Ontario, Canada N0M 1E0 knives@ecloerchner.com, Instagram: @ecloerchner; Wolfgang Loerchner Dept. BL7, Box 255, Bayfield, Ontario, Canada N0M 1G0 519-565-2196 wolfgang@wolfeknives.com, Instagram/Facebook: wolfgang.loerchner/Wolfgang Loerchner; Francesca Wilburn-Ritchie, c/o Aaron Wilburn, Dept. BL7, 282 Wyatt Ave., Idaho Falls, ID 83401 530-356-0063 wilburnforgeleather@gmail.com, Wilburnforge.com, Instagram/Facebook: @ wilburnforgeleather @ Wilburnforge/Wilburn Forge Leather; Aaron Wilburn, Dept. BL7, 282 Wyatt Ave., Idaho Falls, ID 83401 530-356-0063 wilburnforgeleather@gmail.com , Wilburnforge.com,…