Innehållsförteckning för October 2024 från Blade

Protect Our Industry For those of you who attended my lecture at the 2024 BLADE Show, “What it Means to be Made In America,” you already know what I’m about to discuss. For those of you who do not know, you are the reason for this letter. Unless you have been living with your head in the sand or are in a state of denial, you are aware of the efforts of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to undermine and destroy American industries and all of our manufacturing capabilities. This has been the CCP’s well-known long-term plan for decades and is now greatly accelerated under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is a publicly admitted, avowed enemy of the United States. (The Chinese government…

BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bill Moran is and will forever be remembered as the father of modern damascus steel. He and a few early devotees popularized damascus during an era when the art of bladesmithing was an endangered species in the realm of the artisan. It was Moran who shocked the custom knife world in 1973 when he brought eight knives to The Knifemakers’ Guild Show in Kansas City, Missouri. Those historic eight—one of which is pictured on page 18—sported blades of Moran’s damascus steel and they created a sensation. Cutlery Hall-of-Famer, longtime journalist and friend of Moran’s, and a respected member of the knife community, B. R. Hughes remembered how the event electrified those who attended. Those knives were the talk of the show. Bill also had mimeographed…

“EXCELLENCE IS NEVER AN ACCIDENT. IT IS ALWAYS THE RESULT OF HIGH INTENTION, SINCERE EFFORT, AND INTELLIGENT EXECUTION; IT REPRESENTS THE WISE CHOICE OF MANY ALTERNATIVES. CHOICE, NOT CHANCE, DETERMINES YOUR DESTINY.”—ARISTOTLE The best knives and stories are born from some essential reality that grows in the making and telling. For a knife, it is the nature of that reality that determines whether the ornamentations available to the knifemaker either reveal or conceal it. Simply put, some knives benefit from the generous application of various bells and whistles. Others are diminished by any additions beyond their essential form. Most fall somewhere in between these extremes. But how do you tell the difference? First, consider that much like the vehicle you drive, the knife you carry or make says something about…

BIG DAMASCUS COUNTDOWN P. 14 Dave Ellis, exquisiteknives@gmail.com; Dave Harvey, info@nordicknives.com; Jay Hendrickson, ejayhendrickson@comcast.net DAMASCUS DEEP DIVE P. 26 Luke Bright, Instagram @barrel_falls_bladeworks; Hawks Nest Customs, Instagram @hawksnestcustoms; Chris McPherson, c_mcpherson1@yahoo.com, Instagram chris_ pewpews; Blake Nichols, beaverriverretrievers@gmail.com, Instagram blakenichols90; J.W. Randall, jw@jwrandall.com, Instagram @jw.randall.custom.knives, jwrandall.com; Brian Sellers, cb_sellers@yahoo.com, Instagram Sellersknives; Robert Wayman, Robert.waymon@yahoo.com, Instagram @robwaymonknives, robwaymonknives.com TO BLING OR NOT TO BLING? P. 34 Alice Carter, Instagram @alicecarterengraver; G. Kent Carter, abcarter5301@gmail.com; Ben Champagne, Instagram @champagne_custom_knives; Tanner Couch, johnmartinranches@gmail.com, Instagram @couchknives; Luiz Gustavo-Goncalves, lgustavo.com/bio/; Andy Isaacks, andyisaacksknives@gmail.com, Instagram @andyisaacks; Lonnie Jensen, shadowmountainforge.com; David Lisch, info@davidlisch.com, Instagram @DavidLisch; Wolfgang Loerchner, loerchner@tcc.on.ca, Instagram @wolfgangLoerchner; Andy Meers, workshopmeers@gmail.com THE HAMMER NEVER STOPS P. 42 American Bladesmith Society, americanbladesmith.org; Fabio Barros, barroscutelaria@gmail.com; Jason Chen, Jason_8493@yahoo.com; Karis Fisher, Karisann21@gmail.com; Matthew Parkinson, swordmatt@yahoo.com; Mace Vitale, macevitale@yahoo.com…

Best Art Knife: Fabio Barros Best Kitchen Knife: Jordan LaMothe Best Bowie: Samuel Lurquin Best Collaboration: Javi Garcia, Enrique Pena and Jared Oeser Best Damascus: Ronmell Fernandes Best Fighter: Seth Lopez a) Best Fighter Contender: Samuel Lurquin Best Fixed Blade: Harvey Dean Best M.A.C.K.: Sergey Shirogorov Best Folder: Evan Nicolaides b) Best Folder Contender: Javier Vogt Best Handle Design: Javier Vogt Best New Maker: Bobby House Best Sword: Vince Evans Best Tactical Folder: Dmitry Sinkevich Best Utility Hunter: Dionatam Franco de Souza Most Innovative Design: Carlos Queiros Best Miniature: Rhidian Gatrill Best Slip Joint: Rhidian Gatrill Best of the Rest: No winner Best of Show: Evan Nicolaides c) Best of Show Contender: Jean-Louis Regel…

The rare small damascus dagger by BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bill Moran includes his classic curly maple handle with his trademark silver wire inlay. For more on it, see page 14. The image is by custom knife purveyor and ABS master smith, Dave Ellis. The sujihiki chef’s knife by Robert Wayman features a blade of damascus/nickel go-mai and a colorful handle of live edge amboyna burl, mammoth molar, G-10 and nickel silver. For more on it, see page 26. The image is by SharpByCoop. The BLADE Show Best of Show knife by Evan Nicolaides is a combo reproduction of two 19th-century knives—each on page 143 of Sheffield Exhibition Knives by Bill Claussen, Brad Watts and Pete Mc-Mickle, and also by Terry Moss, Kelly James, Joe Dennard and Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Bill…

PRESENTED BY SPEC CHART KNIFE PATTERN: Hunter BLADE LENGTH: 5” BLADE MATERIAL: San-mai damascus w/1084 carbon steel core forged by Robert Corey Scott of Bulldog Damascus BLADE GRIND: Flat HANDLE MATERIAL: Curly maple LINER MATERIAL: G-10 SPACER MATERIAL: Mammoth molar OVERALL LENGTH: 9” MAKER’S PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE: $800 MAKER: Brent Dignam, Dept. BL10, 330 Willhoit Ln., Templeton, CA 93465 805-440-2382 crosspeined-forge@gmail.com SPEC CHART KNIFE PATTERN: Hunter BLADE LENGTH: 4.75” BLADE MATERIAL: 320-layer ladder-pattern damascus of 1084 carbon and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels HANDLE MATERIAL: Bog oak GUARD MATERIAL: 413 stainless steel OVERALL LENGTH: 9 3/8” KNIFE TO KNOW: Contoured grip includes flats on either side starting around midway and extending to the bird’s-beak butt; Mark Lambert is an apprentice smith in the American Bladesmith Society MAKER’S PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE: Contact…

Some of the finest forged knives of the year, the newest American Bladesmith Society master and journeyman smiths and a brand new chairman helped highlight the annual meeting of the ABS held during BLADE Show 2024 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta. ABS master smith Kevin Cashen officially began his first term as ABS chairman at the annual meeting, succeeding ABS master smith Steve Dunn who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year (page 6, August BLADE®). It was a bittersweet transfer of the office for all concerned, though a sparkling array of award knives and an impressive group of new master and journey-man smiths that includes those from Brazil, Europe, China, New Zealand and the USA were an appropriate way to greet the new chairman and pay tribute to…

Daryl Meier is a pattern-welding legend. He has influenced more modern pattern-welding experts than almost anyone I know, both in the USA and worldwide. Daryl was born just outside Carbondale, Illinois. In 1958 he moved into the small city, which is situated in the southern part of the state. There wasn’t much to see in Carbondale back then, though a local blacksmith worked there. It was in the blacksmith’s shop that Daryl developed an interest in forging which influenced his entire future career. He influenced my work at levels I can’t even begin to explain. I started forging blades in 1972. I went to Alfred Pendray’s shop to learn how to forge weld and I was fortunate enough to learn from Alfred’s father, John Pendray, who was a master ferrier…

After Vincent Silva retired from the military, he came across HealingFlamesForge.org, a Tennessee-based non-profit blacksmith shop for veterans. He took to the hammers and hot steel quickly, which progressed into making knives. Creating a functional tool from a piece of steel became his goal, and the Carver is one result. It begged to be tested and I was only too happy to oblige. For the first edge test, the knife aggressively sliced into graphing paper even though the paper was slightly limp from the humidity. I applied smooth downward pressure and it cut cleanly. This is a well-balanced little blade. “THE BLADE WAS JUST BIG ENOUGH TO BEAT ON THE TIP TO SPLIT THE WOOD COMPLETELY.” Single-walled cardboard supplied the next challenge. Fulllength push cuts went quickly. It was hard…

“I’m not a blade maker but I have a favorite bladesmith. I carry a very special blade my husband made for me for our fifth anniversary. It’s sharp and straight and has an awesome case with a clip, and it’s small enough to fit in my purse. I feel much safer knowing if I had to defend myself, I have a good blade on me. It’s made by Jared Gardner of Legendary Trends.” Tiffany Gardner, a letter via e-mail For the latest knives, knife news, trends, and more, visit blademag.com, BLADE®’s popular Instagram page @blade_magazine, e, and on Facebook and Twitter. WIN A KNIFE! Tell us what knife you carry. Add a little history or an anecdote. Try to include a photograph—if digital, at least 600 KB but no larger than 2 MB—of you with…

Admiral Steel www.admiralsteel.com sales@admiralsteel.com Widest Range of Stock for Blade Needs Andre de Villiers www.advtactical.co.za Facebook - Andre de Villiers Facebook Group - ADV SOB BADNESS IG - advtactical adv44sales@gmail.com Butcher SOB folders and button lock flippers Adams Intl Knifeworks - AIK www.adamsknifeworks.com adamsknifeworks.com@gmail.com (618) 656-9868 Automatic & Customized Knife Specialists 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 Artknives.com www.artknives.com fred@fredeisenleather.com 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 Cutlery Specialties www.restorationproduct.com dennis13@aol.com Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax/Polish, Dennis Blaine Ed Fowler Knives www.edfowler.com eafwb@wyoming.com High Endurance Performance Knives Emerson Knives, Inc. 100% Made In The USA https://emersonknives.com 310-539-5633 Farina Fine Arts www.farinafinearts.com…

I haven’t seen Daryl Meier for a number of years but there was a time when he was a regular at the BLADE, Guild and other knife shows. Sporting a cross between a goatee and a van dyke, glasses and his ever-present octagonal cap covering longish hair, Daryl stood out in a crowd. He looked equal parts World War II French Resistance fighter, 1950s beatnik and Vincent van Gogh (minus the red hair). In fact, it almost would have been more fitting if his name were Daryl van Meier. I can see him looking at me now, shaking his head in mild disgust at such a notion. Daryl has a soft, laid-back way of talking that has kind of a hypnotic effect. Then, just when you think you’re going into…

Five applicants presented for ABS master smith and one passed. Twenty-four applied for ABS journeyman smith and 14 were approved. The panels of judges were chosen by the ABS. The smiths who made the grade were: ABS master smith: Fabio Barros, Brazil; ABS journeyman smiths: Cameron Alarcio, California; Jason Chen, China; Pieter-Paul Derks, Netherlands; Zane Dvorak, Ohio; Robin Gagchian, France; Chris Gardner, Nevada; Aidan Garrity, Connecticut; Erik Greiner, Texas; Tony Lewis, Arizona; Dan Lewis, New Mexico; Tony Severio, Louisiana; Warren Thacker, Tennessee; Thiago Vidotto, Washington; and Liam Walle, New Zealand…

Note: Entries with an asterisk (*) include knives and knife accessories as the main/sole focus. Entries with two asterisks (**) include knife seminars or symposiums, cutting or balisong competitions, auctions or other knife-related events. SEPTEMBER SEPT. 7 PIEDMONT, OK Central States Hammer-In & Knife Show, an outdoor event in conjunction with Piedmont Founders Day on the corner of Jackson Ave. NW and 2nd St. NW. SEPT. 7 YELM, WA The Lisch Knife Show, Longmire Wedding & Event Barn. Contact ABS master smith David and/or ABS journeyman smith Andrea Lisch via email at dl@davidlisch.com.* SEPT. 14-15 GONZALES, LA The 2024 Louisiana Knife Show, Lamar Dixon TradeMart. Visit https://www.lacustomknives.net/louisiana-knife-show, stprather.lcka@gmail.com or LCKA, Dept. BL10, 14059 Airline Hwy., Gonzales, LA 70737.* SEPT. 15 STURBRIDGE, MA The NCCA One-Day Knife Show, Host Hotel &…

While it may appear to be an alien looking back at you, the Relic Dagger by ABS journeyman smith Ryan Breuer is inspired by Egyptian daggers from the Bronze Age that were made over 6,000 years ago. “There’s such a striking shape to it,” Ryan said. “It very clearly looks like a human form in the handle holding up either a head or maybe the sun. It’s as if those who made the daggers thousands of years ago are looking back at me. It’s almost spooky.” The damascus blade is a collaboration between Ryan and bladesmith Jason Morrissey, though Ryan gives Jason most of the credit for the steel. The blade is a composite mosaic damascus, with twisted mosaic edge bars of Jason’s steel and Ryan’s “eyes” mosaic in the…