Table of contents for June 2021 in Blade

34 Years of BLADE Shows This year will be 34 years of BLADE Shows for me. There have been so many good moments: meeting those considered royalty in the late 1980s that had been on the scene since the ’60s; meeting new makers who would become legends later on (and seeing them not even make what originally got them noticed anymore); watching trends come, go and return with slight twists; losing friends to time, wars and disease; and seeing new makers take their mantle and move it forward through skill, enthusiasm and better tooling/machines. With the internet, the world of selling, trading and custom making exploded across the world. A person in a town of 850 people in the middle-of-nowhere USA could get a custom direct from a maker anywhere…

For the first time in decades, the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame© will formally induct as many as four new members during the BLADE Show. Due to the cancellation of last year’s show, the new members chosen in 2020, Joe Keeslar and Jim Sornberger, have yet to be formally inducted. In addition, the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame will welcome two new members this year. All four will be formally inducted at a special ceremony during the show. For more on the time and place of the ceremony, see the BLADE Show Program that will be handed out at the show. Keeslar is a long-time ABS master smith, book author, bladesmithing instructor and mentor to many. Sornberger is an award-winning knifemaker who was most supportive of his fellow…

Some of the world’s finest knife collections will be on display at BLADE Show 2021, the best of which will be honored on show Sunday. Best In Show goes to the top display and Judges’ Awards go to the second-through fourth-place finishers. The Buck Collectors Club and Randall Knife Collectors Club will display a number of collections. A few other collections also will be on exhibit. Please visit them and ask the applicable exhibitors any and all questions concerning their knives. They will be most happy to answer your questions and talk your favorite subject.…

Why did I come up with the X-Rhea knife design? I’ve asked myself this several times and only recently have I been able to supply a reasonable answer. The X-Rhea started as a personal challenge. I wanted to make a knife, handle and all, from one piece of steel. That’s it: no scales, no added glues, pins, extra space fillers, inlays—nothing. Moreover, I wanted it to look good and be comfortable and as structurally sound as any good knife should be, without being overly heavy. This challenge nagged at me. If I limited myself to steel and fire as my basic resources, could I forge a knife* from one piece of steel, a knife that left no doubt about its viability? Could it look good, feel good and perform well?…

BLADE SHOW IS BACK! P. 12 Boker, attn: N. Nevins, Dept. BL6, 1550 Balsam St., Lakewood, CO 80214 800-835-6433 fax 303-586-6022 sales@bokerusa.com www.bokerusa.com; Scott Gallagher, Dept. BL6, 335 Winston Manor Rd., Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 Contact: 850-865-8264, scottgallagher04@gmail.com Facebook: SGallagherKnives; Veronique Laurent, Dept. BL6, Avenue du Capricorne, 53, 1200 Brussels, BELGIUM, Phone: 0032 477 48 66 73, whatsonthebench@gmail.com; Microtech, attn.: A.L. Marfione, Dept. BL6, 15A National Ave., Fletcher, NC 28732 828-684-4355 fax 828-684-4354 microtechknives.com marketing@microtechknives.com 3 WISE MEN OF SHARP P. 28 Neil Kamimura, repmneil@hotmail.com; Jason Knight, jason@knightforgestudio.com; Steve Schwarzer, schwarzeranvil@gmail.com IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ANGLES, PART I P. 34 DMT, Dept. BL6, 85 Hayes Memorial Dr., Marlborough, MA 01752-1892 800-666-4368 or 508-485-0440 dmtsharp.com; GATCO, c/o Bear & Son Cutlery, attn: M. Griffey, Dept. BL6, 1111 Bear Blvd. SW,…

What is it about the BLADE Show* that excites you? The knives, the makers, cutting-edge materials and designs, actually being able to handle the knives in person, renewing old relationships, and creating new ones—or all of the above? Until 2020, I had missed only one BLADE Show since 1985. Even before I became a custom knife dealer, it was always about the custom knives, how they looked and, oh, how they felt in my hand! There’s no substitute for handling a fine custom knife. There’s no doubt that BLADE Show 2021 will be different for those who have attended the event in the past. The internet has had a great impact on knife shows—specifically, their attendance declined, some to the point that they disappeared. After a 20-month hiatus, shows have…

Ed Calderon is a very interesting individual, and I am proud to have called him my friend for almost 20 years. For most of those years, I couldn’t talk or tell you about him, the reason being he was working as a counter-narco terrorist against some of the most ruthless cartel organizations in Mexico. Ed is retired from that profession now. Today, he’s known as a “nonpermissive environments specialist” fully engaged in teaching his hard-earned skills to an endless number of U.S. agencies and law enforcement personnel actively seeking his expertise. The tool Ed carried as his ultimate backup weapon was a knife. It belonged to his mother and she knew how to use it, both as a utility tool and as a weapon, as she employed it to save…

Along with ABS master smiths Jason Knight and Steve Schwarzer, bladesmith Neil Kamimura is the focus of Mike Haskew’s two-part story “3 Wise Men of Sharp” (page 28). Check out their views on all things knife and their approaches to bladesmithing success as well. The dress tactical folder at top right is the No. 1 by Jason Clark. For more on it and other custom trends to look for at BLADE Show 2021, read Les Robert son’s story on page 68. At bottom left, ABS master smith Lin Rhea examines one of his red-hot X-Rhea Knives. He tells you how the knife originally came together and how he makes one on page 40. At bottom is the PDF (Personal Defense Kukri), a collaboration between White River Knife & Tool and…

The world’s best knife teachers will school you on all things sharp during the 8th Annual BLADE University the Friday and Saturday of the BLADE Show. Sponsored by Work Sharp, BLADE University has the most extensive schedule of knife, knifemaking and other instruction held at any knife show. New classes for 2021 include How to Make the X-Rhea Knife (page 40) with ABS master smith Lin Rhea; EOD Knives & Tools with USMC veteran/knifemaker Les George; Decorative Custom Knife Filework with knifemaker Kyle Daily; Why Would You Forge? with ABS master smith Jason Knight (page 28); and Take Your Heat Treating to The Next Level with Larrin Thomas. In fact, since most of the carryover classes from last year were not held due to the show’s cancellation, for all practical…

Top balisong flippers from parts known and unknown will descend on the BLADE Show to vie for the title of “Grand Master” in the 5th Annual Battle for Bali-Champion sponsored and conducted by Blade HQ. The top three finishers will receive prizes and all participants will get swag bags. The competition will be limited to 48 contestants. BLADE Show ticket holders are invited to watch the competition in The Courtyard under the BLADE University Tent on show Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. Competitors will start flipping knives at 12:30 p.m.…

The BLADE Show is home to the annual meeting of the American Bladesmith Society, the world’s largest organization of bladesmiths—at last count, 2,000 strong. The ABS holds its annual knife auction the Saturday morning of the show at 10 o’clock in Room 103 (page 86), presents its annual achievement awards, and also conducts testing for its master (MS) and journeyman (JS) smith stamps during the show. To find out who earns their stamps this year, stop by the ABS show table (1P) after late Friday morning of the show, or visit americanbladesmith.com. *For more on the BLADE Show, see related stories this issue. For more on the pictured knives, see “Where To Get ’Em” on page 55. For the latest knives, knife news, trends, and more, visit blademag.com BLADE®’s popular…

“MY BEST KNIVES ARE A SERIES OF RECTIFIED MISTAKES.”—STEVE SCHWARZER Their backgrounds are varied—quite different in fact. Yet they share a common bond, a collective attraction for the forge, the blade and the future. Steve Schwarzer, Jason Knight and Neil Kamimura are three of the hottest names in bladesmithing these days, and the reasons are straightforward. Vision, dedication, desire and motivation to be the best they can be guide these men on their journey with hammer and steel, ideas and experience. Together they have formed a bond of friendship every bit as strong and engaging as their finest damascus steel or their highest quality custom knife. At age 73, Schwarzer shows no signs of slowing down, and his enthusiasm for pushing the creative envelope is contagious. He made his first…

SPEC CHART KIZLYAR SUPREME STRIJ BLADE LENGTH: 5.25” BLADE STEEL: Stainless ROCKWELL HARDNESS: 42 (spine) and 45 (edge) HRC BLADE STYLE: Modified dagger BLADE GRIND: Sabre BLADE FINISH: Brushed EDGE TYPE: Plain WEIGHT: 6.7 ozs. OVERALL LENGTH: 8.5” COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Russia MSRP: $42 Mainstream wisdom has it that throwing knives are toys and have no real application. I disagree. From an early age I wanted to be Daniel Boone or one of Rogers’ Rangers. I had been influenced by where I grew up, by the old movie Northwest Passage—which I watched about 50 times—and family stories that an ancestor had in fact been one of Rogers’ Rangers, and that our family had followed Boone through the Cumber-land Gap and settled in Kentucky. I wanted to live in the deep…

MAY CANCELED! MAY 1-2 MYSTIC, CT The 39th Annual NCCA Extravaganza Knife Show, Mystic Marriott. Contact Larry Clifford 401-742-6779 lcliff1@verizon.net.* MAY 1-2 AUSTIN, TX Lost Pines Knife Show, Pioneer Farms. Call Grizz 512-549-0919 txknifemakers.com/lostpinesknifeshow.* MAY 14-15 GREER, SC Palmetto Cutlery Club Knife Show, Greer Recreation Center. Call Randy 864-915-0788 palmettocutlery-club.org.* MAY 15-16 MASSILLON, OH The WRCA Knife Show in memory of Dale Warther, Knights of Columbus. Call 330-745-4242, e-mail darlene5674@att.net or visit wrca-knives.org.* MAY 28 NASHVILLE, TN Tactical Knife Invitational and Nashville Custom Knife Show. For more information visit https://r1promo-tions.com/.* MAY 29-30 NASHVILLE, TN Nashville Custom Knife Show. Call 888-473-2661 info@r1promotions.com, rlpromotions.com.* JUNE JUNE 4-6 ATLANTA, GA The 40th Annual BLADE Show, Cobb Galleria Centre, I-285 & US 41, one exit off I-75 across from the Cumberland Mall, adjacent to…

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 BladeOps, LLC www.bladeops.com sales@bladeops.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…

FRIDAY, JUNE 4 8-9:30 a.m.: Fundamentals of Blade Grinding, The Courtyard. Knifemaker Travis Wuertz, founder of Wuertz Machine Works, walks you through the process. 10-11 a.m.: How To Make the X-Rhea Knife, Room 107. ABS master smith Lin Rhea explains details and variations of his X-Rhea Knife, how it came to be, and what you need to forge one (page 40). 10:30-11:30 a.m.: Big Knife Bushcraft, Room 104. Condor Tool & Knife’s Joe Flowers demonstrates how to use large bushcraft knives for small bushcraft chores. 1-2 p.m. Why Would You Forge? Room 104. ABS master smith Jason Knight discusses why you should forge, where to begin and how to “level up.” 1:30-2:30 p.m.: How to Sharpen Super Steels, Room 103. Knifemaker R.J. Martin shows you how to maintain razor sharpness…

The BLADE Show’s annual seminars and demonstrations sponsored by Hogue Knives will be held in classrooms inside the Cobb Galleria, and/or in The Courtyard in or by the BLADE University tent. Admission is free to BLADE Show ticketholders. Among the highlights will be “Knife Design, Function and Performance” by High Endurance Performance Knife bladesmith/BLADE® field editor Ed Fowler (page 52). As he noted, “Many claim to be knife designers but who are they and where do they learn their art or craft? What skills or colleges go into learning how to be a knife designer? What are their knives designed to accomplish, what do they look for in them, and how do they test the knives for performance? I hope to discuss aspects of harmony between user, design and function.”…

The BLADE Show World Champion ship Cutting Competition conducted annually by BladeSports International (BSI) will not be held this year. Instead, there will be a non-title replacement competition. It is the second consecutive year the championships have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. “We are planning to have a competition. It won’t be a championship,” stated Donavon Phillips, BSI executive director. “We extended our 2019-20 season into 2021. We still have people that can’t make it to [our regular season competitions], and some of those events have been getting canceled” due to the pandemic as well. The replacement compe-tition will consist of select BSI members who attend the BLADE Show. Donavon would have been defending his first-ever world title in the men’s division from 2019. Nicole Warden won her…

“This knife was made by my favorite cousin, who knows me so well. I am a huge fan of Star Wars and Darth Vader in particular—have been since I was a young boy. My other passion is the outdoors, so Bob Vardo made me my very own ‘lightsaber’ in O1 tool steel, a Scandinavian grind, carbon fiber and Micarta® handle, and an aluminum and red glow pin with Vader helmet and tritium beads on the lanyard. It’s the greatest blade I have ever owned.”Dave Gentile, London, Ontario, Canada “I carry a Hogue SIG EX-02 ASE manual flipper folder. The 3.75-inch spear-point blade is a warrior and the walnut handle fits my hand like a second appendage.”Bruce Bottomley, a letter via e-mail “The Krudo Feroce is one of my all time-favorite…

It’s difficult to fathom that it’s been 40 years since the BLADE Show debuted in 1982 at the Drawbridge Motor Inn in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. Over that time thousands of show friendships have been forged and reforged, knife deals made, awards won and so much more. While the show has grown and evolved into the world’s most seminal knife event, marriages, babies growing into adults, the loss of loved ones and life in general have happened in the interim. It’s the behind-the-scenes, little-known or never-told tales of those life stories that have been part and parcel to the success of the BLADE Show. Here are but a few. HIJACKED! Anne Reeve of Chris Reeve Knives (CRK) has attended about 20 BLADE Shows, most, of course, with BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame®…

The 40th BLADE Show is the place for factory knife companies to introduce their latest knives, sharpeners and other knife-related products, especially since the Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor, Trade Show in Las Vegas, another huge knife debut event, was canceled this past January due to the pandemic. Check out the knives, sharpeners and more on this and the following pages for some of the top models BLADE Show factory exhibitors will introduce at the Cobb Galleria Centre June 4-6. Of course, this story has just one top knife per company, so be sure to ask for what all each company is debuting in Atlanta. Since the BLADE Show is also home to the annual BLADE Magazine Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards (see story beginning on page 12), chances are at least one or more…

A half-dozen of some of the finest forged knives in the history of the ABS Auction will be up for bid during the 40th Annual BLADE Show at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta. The knives are the same six that were slated to be auctioned at last year’s ABS Auction, but the show was never held due to the pandemic. Plans are for that scenario not to be repeated this year. The auction will begin at 10 a.m. the Saturday of the show, June 5, in Room 103 of the Galleria Centre. All BLADE Show 2021 ticketholders are invited to attend. Each knife is donated by the applicable bladesmith. Proceeds go toward supporting ABS knifemaking instruction efforts. One of the auction knives also will raise money for The Order…

SPEC CHART KNIFE NAME: Pearl Sowbelly KNIFE TYPE: One-blade slip joint BLADE LENGTH: 2.75” BLADE MATERIAL: Damascus in a feather pattern HANDLE MATERIAL: Mother of-pearl HANDLE FRAME: 410 stainless steel BOLSTER: 416 stainless steel ENGRAVER: Diane Scalese KNIFE TO KNOW: The maker is an ABS journeyman smith and a voting member of the Australian Knifemakers Guild CLOSED LENGTH: 3.75” MAKER’S LIST PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE: $2,500 MAKER: Bruce Barnett, Dept. BL6, POB 1021, Bridgetown, Western Australia, 6255 Australia 61419 243 855 barnettcustomknives@bigpond.com SPEC CHART KNIFE NAME: Mini BLADE LENGTH: 3” BLADE MATERIAL: 1095 carbon steel HANDLE: Black Micarta® BLADE GRIND: Flat SHEATH: Kydex KNIFE TO KNOW: The maker is a disabled veteran with 11 years of service in the United States Army OVERALL LENGTH: 6.75” COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA MSRP: $145 (includes…