Tabla de contenidos para April 2023 en Blade

The American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI) is proud to celebrate 25 years of advocating for the rights of all Americans to own, use and carry knives. Founded in 1998by a handful of knife company officials who saw aneed for a national nonprofit advocacy and education organization that embraced all segments of the knife community, AKTI has grown its diverse membership to include the biggest and most visible brands in the knife industry alongside retailers, distributors, custom makers and individual knife enthusiasts. Bench made, Buck Knives, Gerber and Spyderco were founding board members of the organization that hasworked since its inception to provide valuable information, education and collaborative problem-solving to address some of the most pressing issues within theindustry. Intrue grassroots fashion, every industry segment, including publishers, individual knife makers,…

They are seldom seen and that just adds to the enjoyment. Finding a jewel of a pocketknife pattern that may be a bit off the grid when it comes to visibility makes an interesting opportunity to appreciate and own a rare bit of custom craftsmanship. Taking a closer look reveals a touch of tradition, an aura of artistry, and the lure—maybe—of the lost and found. For the maker and the buyer, the connection to the past bridges an older perspective with an ever-present desire to make a functional knife, one that exhibits great workmanship and utility. What’s more, it embellishes the story as a beautiful tribute both to days gone by and days to come. SALTY PEANUT Australian knifemaker Bruce Barnett found the peanut pocketknife pattern to his liking and…

IMAGES BY THE AUTHOR UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED There’s nothing wrong with putting a spin on something traditional. Why should all the newer-style knives be the only ones to capitalize on the latest materials and cutting technology? Over the years, certain things change. For instance, in my time we didn’t call knives slip joints, we called them pocketknives. I like pocketknife better, but somehow slip joint stuck like the stench of living down the street from a sewage treatment plant. By either name, the knives can result in premium edged tools. How about these four? GROUND THIN In the CRKT Venandi, Mr. Rogers enters the pocketknife neighborhood with a modern take on a traditional pattern for an affordable EDC. (Yes, I see what I did there with the Mr. Rogers reference…

YOU DON’T SEE THESE ANYMORE P. 12 Barnett Custom Knives, c/o Bruce Barnett, Dept. BL4, Bridgetown, Western Australia 6255 +61 0419 243 855 barnettcustomknives@bigpond.com; Tim Britton, timbritton@yahoo.com; Harvey Dean, Dept. BL4, 3266 County Rd. 232, Rockdale, TX 76567 512-429-0009 harveydeanknives@gmail.com; Tobin Hill, Dept. BL4, POB 714, Pleasanton, TX 78064 210-414-9982 toby@ricksinsurance.com; Barking Gecko Forge, c/o Adam Rogers, Dept. BL4, 4 Cockatoo Dr., Nannup Western Australia 6275 0407564337 adam@barkinggeckoforge.com; Bill Ruple, rupleknives@live.com; Tyler Turner, Dept. BL4, POB 307, Hopkins, MO 64461 660-562-7863 turnerknives@yahoo.com SLIP INTO SOMETHING SHARP P. 30 CRKT, attn: M. May, Dept. BL4, 18348 SW 126th Place, Tualatin, OR 97062 800-891-3100 info@crkt.com, www.crkt.com; Rick Hinderer Knives, attn: R. Hinderer, Dept. BL4, 5371 Columbus Rd., Shreve, OH 44676 330-789-0000 rickhindererknives.com; SOG, Dept. BL4, 6521 212th St. SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036-7411…

IMAGES BY THE AUTHOR UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED Some people find great joy in precision and following rules and plans. For those of you who do, this is probably not your power hammer series. I enjoy the creativity of making a thing from scratch. It’s not the precision that turns my crank, it’s that eureka moment of, “It works!” In this installment I’ll talk through the process of building a junkyard hammer in the Appalachian style. Junkyard refers to the DIY-type build made with what you can find. Appalachian refers to a common design that uses a spring helve. The most popular earlier Appalachian hammer designs were called the “Rusty” and the “Dusty.” Last time I covered some basics about safety, skills and equipment, and what makes a suitable anvil and…

“I carry a Rexford-design Kershaw 3870, a great small folder. I also buy blades and put exotic wood handles on them. It’s a great retirement hobby!” 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 your knife. We will publish your comments in an upcoming “The Knife I Carry.” Your name will then be entered in a drawing to win a free, high-quality, name-brand knife. The drawing will be May 15. Mail to: BLADE®, 5600 W. Grande Market Dr., Ste. 100, Appleton, WI 54913, or e-mail steve@blademag.com. If you send your entry by e-mail, please include your physical mailing address in case you win the…

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. MARCH MARCH 17-18 FORT WORTH, TX The BLADE Show Texas, Fort Worth Convention Center. Visit bladeshowtexas.com. * ** MARCH 24-26 JANESVILLE, WI Badger Knife Show, Holiday Inn Express and Janesville Conference Center. Contact Bob Schrap 414-479-9765 badgerknifeclub.com.* MARCH 31-APRIL 1 HARRISONBURG, VA The 32nd Annual Greater Shenandoah Valley Knife Show, Rockingham Co. Fairgrounds. Contact Shenandoah Valley Knife Collectors, Dept. BL4, POB 843, Harrisonburg, VA 22803 434-242-8470 (Steve Thomas) and/or 340-862-3877 (Wes Shrader). MARCH 30-APRIL 2 MCCALLA, AL The 34th Annual Batson Bladesmithing Symposium & Knife Show in Honor of BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Joe and Mrs. Suzanne…

Richard Dawes got a double pump of inspiration from the late, great ABS master smith John White for a long, lanky dog-bone bowie. Dawes helps oversee an annual competition in White’s memory on Bladeforums for antique bowie repros. In so doing he came across one of White’s old work-in-progress frame-handle dog-bone projects on the web and found it most useful. The resulting knife has a handsomely pinned dog-bone handle with a clip-point cable damascus blade, and it’s accompanied by a shark-skin-inlaid sheath by Paul Long. It’s Richard’s first frame-handle knife and first with pins, too. “The key part of this knife looking good is to get a good fit on the guard,” he explained. “Once you’ve got that you want the rest of the parts to line up, and…

Tobin Hill’s folding-guard hunter is a reproduction of the Case Cheetah pattern first made in 1973. The 3.5-inch blade is CPM 154 stainless steel and the handle is amber red stag. The folding guard and backspring also are CPM 154. For more on Tobin’s knife, see page 12. The Kansept Fenrir is a manual flipper folder with an extra-long bolster of Timascus™. The blade is 3.48 inches of flatground damascus and the handle is black stonewashed titanium. For more on the Fenrir, see page 36. The Rough Ryder Reserve Grandaddy from Smoky Mountain Knife Works is a humpback jackknife pattern with a 3.62-inch sheepsfoot blade of D2 tool steel and a brown burlap Micarta® handle. For more on it, see page 36. Australian maker Zohar Oshinsky’s Brazilian Machete features a 15-inch…

Aknife to me is more than just a tool. As an avid outdoorswoman, I consider a knife a tool that can help make my life a little easier and provide a sense of security when out on backcountry roads or forested trails deep in the mountains. With my knife tucked in my pocket or slung around my neck, the possibilities are endless. I can shave kindling, cut rope and, in rare cases, ensure my own safety. It allows me to foster independence and feel comfortable in my own company, even if I’m in a less-thanideal situation. It was my dad who first introduced me to the advantages of carrying a knife, he himself having a large collection and often dabbling in forging his blades. I can’t count the number of…