Blade January 2023

Outside Looking In By all accounts it seems Blade Show 2022 was a success. It appears universal that those who attended were enthusiastic and had money to spend. Given the past couple of years, that’s all very encouraging. Some of the awards given out seem to contradict that, however. The BLADE Magazine 2022 Over-all Knife Of The Year®, which has to be considered prestigious, was given to a generic, nondescript $400 Pro-Tech. There’s nothing about that knife to draw attention to it at the Pro-Tech table, let alone for the overall show. Bland design, standard materials and a high price don’t seem like a recipe for any award (or even much in the way of sales). Pro-Tech was then awarded for an equally unimaginative model, the Terzuola ATCF—and not once, but twice.…

Chosen Best Factory Folder at BLADE Show West 2022, the WE Knife Nitro Mini (page 58) designed by Peter Carey has much of what you need in a handy EDC, including overall looks, an ambidextrous blackened blade of premium CPM 20CV stainless steel, a ridged thumb ramp and backspacer, and a skeletonized pocket clip. Another EDC in CPM 20CV and equally as totable is the GiantMouse Nibbler. The compact linerlock folder with lanyard and wire clip is designed by Jesper Vox and Jens Anso, and is one of today’s fashionable gent’s folders (page 44). Carabiner knives are great for EDC and the CRKT Compano Sheepsfoot is a representative example of cutters that can hang from your clothes, pack or other gear. See how it fares among three more carabiner review models beginning…

The response from those who attended BLADE Show West 2022 (page 58) was very upbeat and most welcome to the BLADE Show staff—especially considering BLADE Show West’s checkered past. While the BLADE Show in Atlanta is and has been a runaway freight train of success for decades, and BLADE Show Texas met with boffo reviews in its two installments under the BLADE Show umbrella, BLADE Show West has been the red-headed stepchild of the three. The event originally was called the California Custom Knife Show. Run by BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Dan Dela-van, it was one of the headline knife shows in the country, attracting some of the world’s best knifemakers throughout the 1980s and early ’90s, as well as a number of entertainment industry celebrities. Delavan sold the show to…

“THE BLADE OF HIS COKE BOTTLE SLIP JOINT HAS A SMOOTH, CONSISTENT ACTION.”—DANIEL O’MALLEY“THE COMPOUND GRIND PROVIDES THE PENETRATION OF A TANTO-STYLE BLADE AND SLICING ABILITY OF A RECURVE BLADE.”—LES ROBERTSON“RJ NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME HOW HE INCREMENTALLY IMPROVES THIS KNIFE.” —LES ROBERTSON“"THE BLADE IS P PERFECTLY F CENTERED AND HASSILKY-SMOOTH ACTION."-DANIEL.”—O'MALLEY ’ For the contact information for the pictured u knives, see "Where To Get 'Em" on page g 43.…

SPEC CHART MODEL NAME: Forte KNIFE PATTERN: Flipper folder BLADE LENGTH: 3.5” BLADE MATERIAL: Stainless damascus san-mai BLADE GRIND: Hollow HANDLE: TiDamascus BACKBAR SPACER: Stainless steel POCKET CLIP & PIVOT COLLARS: TiDamascus BOLSTERS: Damasteel damascus LINERS: Titanium LOCK: Linerlock CLOSED LENGTH: 4.9” MAKER’S REMARK: “The blade has my own forged stainless damascus, AEB-L/304 with a CPM S35VN core. The scales, pocket clip and pivot collars are my own forged titanium damascus that I call ‘TiDamascus.’” MAKER’S PRICE FOR A SIMILAR KNIFE: $2,500 MAKER: Bastian Knives, attn: Alistair Bastian, Adelaide, SA, Australia 0424-158-025 bastianknives@gmail.com (Rod Hoare image) SPEC CHART MODEL NAME: Swamp Clipper KNIFE PATTERN/STYLE: Flipper folder BLADE LENGTH: 2.98” BLADE MATERIAL: 300-layer feather-pattern damascus of 1084 carbon and 15N20 nickel-alloy steels BLADE GRIND: Hollow HANDLE FRAME: Titanium colored via heat and quenching technique HARDWARE: Stainless steel LOCK: Framelock CLOSED LENGTH: 4.37” KNIFE TO KNOW: Tony Severio is an American Bladesmith Society apprentice smith MAKER’S…

I’ve been in the blade-making business right at 50 years. I’ve met and befriended hundreds of bladesmiths and knifemakers. I have a long history of designing and making knives and other edged tools in carbon steel and mosaic damascus. I have pioneered many of the modern techniques used in the production of these blades. The techniques are now in their third generation. The newer smiths and makers—especially in the damascus end of the business—do things with steel and design that border on magical. Some of these modern magicians have been in the business only a few years. I feel very privileged to have met some of them and spent shop time with a few more. One is Henning Wilkinson. I started following his social media posts a few years ago. Even then…