Innehållsförteckning för September 2023 från Blade

The American Bladesmith Society held its annual awards program during the 42nd Annual BLADE Show, the largest knife event in the world, and bladesmiths came from far and wide to salute the art of the forged blade. ABS master smith and ABS president Steve Dunn acted as master of ceremonies for the awards ceremony Friday night, June 2, in the BLADE Show’s host hotel, the Atlanta Renaissance Waverly. The first presentation was the Don Hastings Award, named in honor of one of the four founders of the ABS who was only the third American smith to forge damascus steel. Don served as ABS treasurer from 1976 until he died of cancer in 1986. This year’s recipient is Jim Crowell, who received his ABS master smith stamp in 1986, has earned…

“My EDC has a blade of .220-inch-thick Spectrum-wear steel and was hand made in California. I designed the knife ground up. Originally, I wanted a chopper. However, I wanted it to also have a dagger tip profile. Matt Freeman did an amazing job and had my knife done in under two weeks. He is the first maker I worked with who would email me pictures of the knife’s progress without me asking. He jokingly said it was the hardest blade to grind out, reason being it has four edges. He laid out the knife almost like a Roman gladius. I then angled the main edge to make it longer and then shortened the top edge. After that, Matt worked out the size and handle. The knife is just over 8…

The cover cutters all showed their stuff at BLADE Show ’23. The ear dagger (page 32) by Vince Evans won Best Fixed Blade and Best in Show in the custom knife judging competition. The knife gets its descriptive name and look from the pommel discs that resemble ears. Designed by Danish custom knifemakers Jesper Voxnaes and Jens Anso, the GMX (page 12) from GiantMouse is the BLADE Magazine 2023 Overall Knife Of The Year®. Not only is it the 8-year-old production knife company’s first-ever Knife Of The Year, GiantMouse took its initial such honor in grand fashion with the Overall winner. The Ryu (page 50) by Fox Cutlery is a Black Roc Knives design sporting damas-cus steel in a herringbone pattern forged by Balbach Damast®. It was one of many…

AUnited States Marine Corps veteran, award-winning knifemaker Les George was an explosive ordnance disposal technician during the Iraq War. In addition to knives, he also makes mine probes, having constructed his first one while in Iraq. Like many Americans, George has kept an eye on the situation in the Ukraine War. His contribution to dealing with the fallout from it has not been knives but 300 of his mine probes. In addition to some made of titanium, he offers them in G-10, too. While not as high quality as his titanium probes, those in G-10 are effective and more affordable—and, not surprisingly, outsold the titanium ones for shipment to Ukraine. George sent the probes to a non-governmental organization in the United Kingdom last year, from where they were shipped to…

KNIVES OF THE YEAR P. 12 Benchmade USA, Dept. BL9, 300 Beavercreek Rd., Oregon City, OR 97045 503.655.6004 or 800-800-7427 www.benchmade.com, info@benchmade.com; Buck Knives, attn: W. Wienholz, Dept. BL9, 660 S. Lochsa St., Post Falls, ID 83854 800-326-2825 syoung@buckknives.com, www.buckknives.com; GiantMouse, attn.: Jim Wirth, Dept. BL9, POB 7088, Corte Madera, CA 94976 415-854-7255 giantmouse.com, info@giantmouse.com; Kershaw, c/o Kai USA Ltd., attn: D. Aiello, Dept. BL9, 18600 SW Teton Ave., Tualatin, OR 97062 800-325-2891 daiello@kai-usa.com, www.ztknives.com; Maniago Knife Makers, attn: Igor Bortolussi, igor.bortolussi@mkm.it; Maserin, c/o Coltellerie Maserin SNC, attn.: Claudia Maserin, Dept. BL9, Via Dei Fabbri n.19, 33085 Maniago (PN)—Italy, Tel. 39 062771335 claudia@maserin.com, maserin.com, facebook.com/coltelleriemaserin; Rosecraft Blades, andyarmstrong2021@gmail.com 865-254-1955; Shirogorov Knives, shirogorov.com; Spartan Blades, attn: C. Iovito, Dept. BL9, 625 S.E. Service Rd., Southern Pines, NC 28387 910-757-0035, contact@spartanblades.com, www.spartanbladesusa.com;…

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 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. BladeGallery.com www.bladegallery.com www.bladeconnection.com www.epicedge.com Buckeye Engraving www.BuckeyeEngraving.com Make Your Mark Manufacturer of Custom Hand Stamps, Dies and Brands Culpepper & Co., Inc. www.knifehandles.com www.oldschoolknifeworks.com www.stingrayproducts.com info@culpepperco.com Faneema Cutlery Knife Factory Manufacturer of hunting, pocket & kitchen knives Damascus, high carbon and stainless steel Classic Industries, Wazirabad, Pakistan Ph: +92 305 844 4536 info@classicindustries.com.pk www.classicindustries.com.pk Great Northern Knives admin@greatnorthernknives.com www.greatnorthernknives.com Knife Center www.knifecenter.com info@knifecenter.com Knives Plus www.knivesplus.com…

I’ve been accused of losing my head a few times over the years, but at BLADE Show ’23 I almost did so literally. It happened during the BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition conducted in Bristol fashion by BladeSports International (BSI), won by Ben Probst in the men’s division and Michael Clifton in the women’s division (page 24). One of the men’s contestants, David Moore, was chopping and cutting his way through the BSI course set-up when I took it upon myself to get a closeup of David in action. Trouble was I got too close, and before I knew it my noggin was exactly where it should not have been—right in the path of the blade during David’s follow-through in a rope cut segment of the competition. When it…

Bob Dozier has been making knives at least since the mid-1960s. If someone made or sold knives over that time, Bob knew them or a lot about them. A.G. Russell, Bob Loveless, Dan Dennehy, Steve Morseth, clear up to the great knifemakers of today, they all knew or most know Bob. In 1971, he was on the second roster list of the membership of the Knifemakers’ Guild along with the likes of Frank Centofante, Rod Chappel, Henry Frank, Lloyd Hale, George Herron, Ron Lake, Jimmy Lile and Bill Moran. Most are gone now but, at 83, Bob continues to make knives and display them at the BLADE Show, something he’s done at every BLADE Show since it was in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1990. Originally from Louisiana but now calling St.…

Coast flipper scores big time with the author Every now and then I come across a folder that just feels right both in my hand and in my pocket, one that’s not too large nor too small, yet still has that sleek look to it. The Coast LX532 framelock does it all for me. I really love the blade shape. However, it still must be able to slice and dice to get a top place in my book. “THE THIN BLADE MADE FOR GREAT CONTROL DURING THE CUTS.” The good ol’ paper slice worked for starters. The LX532 sliced very smooth with no effort. The thin blade made for great control during the cuts. The only challenge was getting my fingers out of the way fast enough. It was time…

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. AUGUST AUG. 11-12 ROGERS, AR Natural State Knife Show (custom knifemakers only), Embassy Suites Ballroom. Contact Sam Roddy, admin@naturalstateknifeshow.com.* AUG. 11-12 MERIDIAN, ID The 9th Annual Idaho Knife Association Traditional & Tactical Knife Show, Courtyard Marriott. Email idahoknife@gmail.com or visit ika.idahoknife.com or idahoknifeshow.idahoknife.com.* AUG. 12-13 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Sydney Knife Show, Rosehill Gardens Racecourse. Visit www.sydneyknifeshow.com.au.* AUG. 18-19 LEXINGTON, KY Central Kentucky Knife Club Show, Clarion Hotel Convention Center. Contact Kathy Litton 502-863-1840 litton711@aol.com or Chuck Reed reeds210@netzero.net.* AUG. 19 GODERICH, ONTARIO, CANADA The 2nd Annual Great Lakes Custom Knife Show, Columbus Banquet Hall. Visit greatlakescustomknifeshow.com or email greatlakescustomknifeshow@gmail.com.*…

It’s not all the way here yet but a significant portion of the future of knives may be personified in the person of Jason Ritchie and his handsome slip joints. An example of his work is his repro of BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Tony Bose’s Zulu Spear in mammoth ivory and AEB-L stainless steel. Jason’s been making knives less than three years but his workmanship is that of a much more experienced cutler. Nonetheless, it’s the way the 46-year-old approaches the making and selling of his knives that’s as notable as the knives themselves. The Marine Corps infantry veteran describes himself as a hobbyist—he builds 25 to 28 slippies a year at most—and does not take orders. Other than a few sold by Windy City (windycityknives.com), he sells all…