Knives 2014: The World's Greatest Knife Book

1251 Pages·2013·33.03 MB·English

by  Joe Kertzman

Contents
Introduction
2014 Wooden Sword Award
Features
The Decathlete of Big Blades
Climbing Knives Are Heaven Sent
Voila! There’s an Art Knife
Fueling the Switchblade Obsession!
Enjoy an Engraving Tutorial
Shopping Mauls? We’ve Got You Covered
Blades of the Grand Bazaar
Factories Drink from the Custom Maker Well
How to Strop a Straight Razor
The High Carbon Diet
Trends Section
Bowies by Many Names
Heavy D-Guards
An Ultimate Fighting Force
Work That Walrus!
Dedicated Folders of Fashion
Hilts, Boots & Chutes
Dimpled, Sculpted, Grooved and Glass Beaded
Daggers on Display
Bronzed Bodies
You’ve Been Lightning Struck!
The Tusk at Hand
Class “A” Hunters
A, B, C’s of Burl
Global Arming
Molar Knife Caps
Bowie Bloodlines
Wup, Wup, Wuppa Santoku Style
Hot Temper Lines
Modern Takes on Tacticals
Pick a Peck of Pocketknife Patterns
State of the Art Section
Whirling-Dervish Damascus
Inlays & Etchings
Stone Infusion
Non-Prosaic Mosaics
Sheath Whizzes
The Whaler’s Art
Full-Length File Work
Copious Carving
Puzzle Pieces
From Under the OptiVisor
Pierced Arrows
Factory Trends Section
Telling the History of America … “One Knife at a Time”
Black Blades Abound
It’s a Flip Fest
Collector Corner
Knives Marketplace
Directory
Custom Knifemakers
Knifemakers State-by-State
Knifemakers Membership Lists
Sporting Cutlers
Importers
Knifemaking Supplies
Mail Order Sales
Knife Services
Appraisers
Custom Grinders
Custom Handles
Display Cases and Boxes
Engravers
Etchers
Heat Treaters
Leather Workers
Miscellaneous
Photographers
Scrimshanders
Organizations & Publications
Dedication and Acknowledgments
Copyright
On The Cover
Vivid colors leap off the front cover of Knives 2014, and the knives are equally
brilliant in hand. Wayne Whittaker’s locking-liner folder at far left features a 3.5-
inch Robert Eggerling “armadillos”-mosaic-damascus blade and bolsters, a
mammoth-tooth handle exuding blue and red hues, file-worked liners, and
zirconia (manmade ruby) inlays in the back spacer and thumb stud. To its right is
the “Artiste,” a fascinating little fixed blade—only 6 inches overall—by Don
Cowles showcasing a CPM-154 blade, a Pau de Pernambuco (Brazilian violin-
bow wood) handle, a 416 stainless steel guard engraved and gold inlaid by Jim
Small, 14k-gold pins and a ruby accent on the ferrule. Half folded at top-right
lies a Warren Osborne “Ripcord” model called “Rhinos,” parading a Burmese
Jadeite handle, a CTS-XHP blade and 416 fittings. Masterful engraving by Tim
Adlam, along with inlays of gold, silver and copper, depicts a black rhino on a
24k-gold background on the front bolster, and a Maasai warrior shield on the
rear bolster. The reverse side of the knife shows a white rhino and a Swazi
warrior’s shield. Peter Carey’s “Rubicon XL” boasts a Chad Nichols “iguana”-
stainless-damascus blade, Gibeon-meteorite bolsters, an ivory-inlaid thumb stud
and blue-anodized liners. The pre-ban ivory handle is scrimshawed by Gary
Williams in a Viking motif, the Viking himself with all the character an artist
could conjure upon one knife. All are incredible creations by skilled knifemakers
and artists.

Introduction
A handshake. It tells so much about a person before a word is even spoken. No
one should judge a book by its cover—although the Knives 2014 book has a fine
one at that—but being perceptive, or interested in someone who extends a hand
is perfectly natural and good. A knifemaker’s hand, now that’s a golden glove
with stories to tell, isn’t it? Generalizations are rarely advised, but one would
rightly expect a bladesmith’s hands to be rough and dirty, a sign of hard work,
with lines where metal met tissue, scarred from cuts, soot embedded under the
fingernails. Maybe a few nails are broken from wrestling steel, working a
grinder or taking a hammer to an anvil.
Weather also wreaks havoc on a person’s hands. Days, weeks and months
spent in the shop or smithy prematurely age the skin, killing cells and dulling the
nerves. Yet the dedicated craftsman labors on into the wee hours of the night
when slumber takes hold of less sturdy stock. The hands build something, a
useful tool that must withstand rigors of its own, tough cutting media, sinewy
fibers, stubborn plastics and knotty pine. Like the knifemaker, the tool has an
eventual job to do. Just as in nature, the materials’ circle of life continues.
It’s a good metaphor. The bladesmith breathes life into steel, synthetics and
natural materials. There is a predestination to build what is useful and necessary.
The men and women who choose such a path in life, or are born into it, generally
take their craft seriously. There it is, another preconception, but one that is
complimentary and backed by fact. It has been this author’s experience that
knifemakers take great pride in their work. They are a diligent bunch of
perfectionists, hand rubbing steel until it shimmers and oiling wood until every
grain has a chance to surface.
So what about the fruits of their labor? Turn the pages and look inside.
Master craftsmen and women have fashioned some of the finest knives the world
over this past year, and hired photographers to capture their work on film or
digital pixels, where it has been converted to print and properly attributed.
The question often arises, “How does one make a living building knives?”
Another popular query the Knives author often receives is: “Don’t you
eventually run out of things to say about knives?” The answers in order are, “It’s
not easy,” and, “No, never.” That which is never easy is often well worth the
wait and worth telling. Take a look at the “Trends” and “State Of The Art”
sections toward the middle of the book to see the cream of the knifemaking crop
that rose to the top of thousands of images submitted for consideration. Like
always, the knives themselves helped determine the trends of the era, and decide
what common features knifemakers across the globe are including in their
designs and patterns.
The “State Of The Art” section is just that, current coverage of the hottest
knife embellishments including “Inlays & Etchings,” “Stone Infusion,”
“Whirling-Dervish Damascus,” “Non-Prosaic Mosaics,” “Full-length Filework”
and “Copious Carving.” Scrimshaw and engraving get their just due, and
“Puzzle Pieces,” or knives with several handle pieces put together like jigsaw
puzzles, are given prime real estate as well. Handcrafted sheaths round out the
artistic offerings and lead into the “Factory Trends” section.
A bank of features in the front of the book include articles and color photos
covering switchblades, mauls, art knives, “Blades of the Grand Bazaar,”
climbing knives and high-carbon steel. Knifemaker Tim Zowada explains “How
to Strop a Straight Razor,” knife writer Dexter Ewing tells why “Factories Drink
from the Custom Maker Well,” and American Bladesmith Society master smith
Wally Hayes hopes you “Enjoy an Engraving Tutorial.”
In all, it’s been a busy year in the knife shop, as evidenced by the hands of
the maker. They are tough like leather, and convey the character and makeup of
the man or woman behind them. That alone is reason to appreciate an extended
hand that welcomes you into its world, if only for a time.
Joe Kertzman