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In the event of your death, what will happen to your knives?

Published by Fredrick May 8th, 2007 in Knife Products. 0 Comments

There are some outdoorsmen who choose to be buried with their favorite knives. If that’s someone’s wish, it should by all means be honored. Too often, though, no one talks about what they want to happen to their blades when they’re gone. If that’s the case your knife could be destroyed, donated to charity or sold to someone who’s going to let it rust away in a toolbox. If you don’t want those things to happen, you should, at the very least, make a casual mention to your loved ones about your wishes for your knives. You may not realize it, but even a simple comment uttered once over a sandwich 25 years before you die will likely be remembered by those closest to you.

That said, there’s much to be said for passing your knife on to someone you know and trust. An obvious first choice is a son or even a daughter. Friends who don’t know much about knives should be considered, too. If they knew you and how much you cared about your knives, they’re going to have strong bonds with your knives. In actuality, though, it’s probably best to pass your blades onto another enthusiast. If you’ve ever received one after the death of a friend or family member, you know the powerful feelings that come with those blades. For many people, it’s how they came to appreciate knives in the first place. If you don’t know of any enthusiasts in your area, you might consider willing them to a knife or weapons museum — particularly if they’re old or rare. Search on the Internet for suitable homes, or visit manufacturer’s sites to see if they have a knife museum. For starters, there’s the Zippo/Case Vistors Center and Museum in Bradford, Penn., for Case knives. There’s the Museum of Weapons and Early American History for old knives in St. Augustine, Fla. And there’s the recently-reopened National Knife Museum in Sevierville, Tenn., which takes donations and displays its collections for free. Chances are, if the knife meant something to you, it’s going to mean something to someone else, too. You just have make sure it finds its way into the right hands.

How to pick between a serrated knife and a plain-edged blade

Published by Fredrick April 16th, 2007 in Knife Products. 0 Comments

There are advantages and disadvantages between serrated knife blades and plain blades. The most sensible answer is to carry a folding knife that has both types of blades, or to get one with an integrated blade that has serrations for a portion of the blade’s length. There are situations (when you can’t afford to have multiple knives laying around, for instance), when you’re going to wind up having to pick one or the other.

The first and most sensible thing to ask is how you plan to use the knife. Serrated knives are clearly better for cutting through wood and rope. On the other hand, they’re difficult to sharpen and and are much more difficult to use in some survival instances (i.e. doing something simple like cutting your fingernails).

If you plan to cut through anything substantial, you’re probably going to want those serrations. If you want the knife for more general purposes, pack a small straight-edged blade, as it will cut through small branches, small rope, allow you to prepare fish and be easy to sharpen.

Integrated blades also feature advantages and disadvantages. They’re versatile, but they’re also like having half a knife if you need your blade for a particular purpose. To carry something that’s large enough to give you both types of blades, you’re probably going to need a sheath, and you’ll be packing some extra ounces on your trip. Depending on your local laws, you’ll be required to keep blades of certain lengths in plain view (perhaps on a belt loop), which can hinder your mobility.

If you simply can’t afford to buy or carry two knives, though, you’re probably going to have to go with a small, integrated blade. At some point, I’m certain, you’re going to wish it were longer, but that’s always better than wishing you had a knife.

Make your own knife

Published by Fredrick April 6th, 2007 in Knife Products. 0 Comments

Learn how to make your own knife, MacGyver-style, at Instructables.com. The necessary ingredients? A hacksaw, a grinder, a rivet gun, a couple washers, a stove, a pop rivet and about 30 minutes. Impress your friends when you whip it out to cut the tag off your new pair of Dickies Overalls.

The world’s most utilitarian knife

Published by Fredrick March 20th, 2007 in Knife Products. 0 Comments

utilitarian-knife.jpg

It’s like having a toolbox in your pocket. Wegner’s ultimate Swiss Army Knife, unveiled in August, has all 85 tools the company currently produces — from a flashlight to a golf shoe spike wrench. Dubbed the Giant Collector’s Knife, it can be used in more than 100 functions, although it might be more than a bit unwieldy.

“This is not exactly going to win any awards for lightest, smallest, or most efficient tools with which to going backpacking,” said Dennis Piretra, Director of Marketing for Wenger North America, in a press release. “The most often asked question is about whether or not we have a pouch for it. Our answer is simple. You don’t need a pouch, the knife has a key ring.”

I suppose that means there’s no pouch. The knife weighs in at 2 pounds and 11 ounces, and it’s just under 9 inches wide. The price tag? $1,200 (and that doesn’t include the backpack you’ll need to carry it around).

Here’s a peek at what it’s packing:

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How to remove rust from your knife

Published by Fredrick March 16th, 2007 in Knife Products. 0 Comments

Finding rust on your blade can be as bad as finding a chip or gouge in the metal. In many cases, though, it is possible to remove rust if you work patiently. Oil or grease your blade heavily, then let it sit for two to three days. Rust can then be removed with the tip of another sharp and stiff blade. Work slowly and be careful not to gouge your knife blade. If you can manage to remove only the rust, whatever finish is left will remain intact and your blade should look like new!


(Hi-Slip Grease comes in our Sentry Armorer’s Kit here).

10 Things You Don’t Know About Case Knives

Published by Fredrick March 14th, 2007 in Knife Products. 0 Comments

10. W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company is headquartered in Braford, Penn., a rural city of 9,000 about 80 miles south of Buffalo, N.Y. Along with Zippo — the company that makes the popular hinged lighters — Case is the city’s largest employer.

9. The Case Collectors Club was formed more than 25 years ago in 1981 and includes nearly 18,000 members (who pay $12 a year to join). It’s believed to be the largest knife association in the world. Check it out here.

8. In the American South, “case knife” is a slang phrase referring to a knife one uses at the dinner table. It originated during a time when dinner knives actually came with cases.

7. The Zippo/Case Visitors Center includes a Case knife museum at 1932 Zippo Dr., in Bradford, Penn. Hours are Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, click here.

6. Cases licenses knives to several major organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, John Deere and the Orange Country Choppers.

5. It takes 125 people to create one handmade Case knife. The company prides itself on quality and intends its knives to be handed down for generations.

4. Case knife handles are often made of exotic materials, such as Brazilian cattle bone, India Stag, Buffalo horn, Mammoth Ivory, mother-of-pearl, brass and silver.

3. Case’s unique tang stamp dating system (numerals and letters carved into the blade) has been used since the company’s early days, often driving collectors who can use the system to verify the age and class of a particular Case knife.

2. Case co-sponsors a biennial Swap Meet with Zippo Manufacturing Company that draws visitors from around the world to Bradford, Penn. There, collectors buy, trade, and share their most prized collection pieces.

1. Case’s roots stretch back to 1889, when William Russell (the W.R. in the company’s full name) and his sons started selling handmade knifes from the back of a wagon in upstate New York. The company was incorporated by William’s sons in 1900 as the Case Brothers Cutlery Company. The rest is history.

The Puukko Knife

Published by The KABMAN December 26th, 2006 in Knife Products. 0 Comments

What is a Puukko knife? A Puukko is a knife Finnish/Swedish or Scandinavian origin and in the Finnish language “Puukko” means “knife.” As such, it is unnecessary to say “Puukko knife,” as it would be redundate but is still a commonly used term. These special knives are some of the best performing knives in the world. The Scandinavian puukko is known for its unique design and razor sharp blade. The puukko knife is not only known for its simple, elegant design, but also for its resilience. In testing the strength of the blade, a man once hammered a puukko knife through a pressure-treated 2 x 4, cutting the wood cleanly in half then taking the blade to his arm and effortlessly shaving the hair off with one swift stroke. The edge retention of these hand forged carbon steel blades is inarguably impressive.
Puukko Knife

A traditional puukko often has a hand forged carbon steel blade and some type of wood handle with brass bolsters with the wood handle sometimes consisting of many layers of birch bark. The handles can be synthetic or curly birch/birch. Traditionally there is no fingerguard. Most puukko knives will have a molded leather sheath sometimes with some type of ornamental brass pieces.

The puukko knife is deeply engrained in Finnish culture. Some Finnish men carry the same knife their whole lives. During formal occasions Finnish men wear ornamental knives on traditional Finnish brass-decorated belts. In defense against Russian invasions the Finns would travel by ski and sneak into Russian camps at the night with large razor sharp puukkos defeating the entire camps by silently attacking the sleeping invaders with their knives. Many books have been written describing the winter war Finns. For such a small country they were able to hold off numerous attempts by the Russian forces to overtake them.

In previous generations when a group of Finnish men would gather for a poker game, one man would take his puukko knife and strike the blade into the middle of the wooden table leaving the knife sticking up then state the following: “If any man here thinks another is cheating let this knife be the judge”. For the remainder of the game, the knife would stand in the middle of the table as a reminder.

In recreation as well as business in the Finnish culture, the puukko is ever present. A puukko knife is a common gift in Finnish business culture upon the completion or initiation of a business transaction or venture. Sometimes the gifted puukko knife may have a price tag upwards of $1000-$2000 and would be hand-made by a famous puukko master smith. Today a puukko knife may be purchased for well under $100. A custom made puukko knife hand forged by a puukko smith may start at $400 for a 4″ blade knife made of traditional materials.

Kellam Knives 2006 Christmas Party

Published by The KABMAN December 18th, 2006 in Knife Products. 0 Comments

Kellam Christmas Party

This saturday I attended the famous finnish puukko knife company’s yearly Kellam Knives Christmas party at their South Florida headquarters in Lantana, FL. Friends and owners Jouni and Harriet Kellokoski succeeded in making this event an eclectic puukko filled evening. We sat and drank Finnish coffee and chatted about the knife business and several other topics. I had a chance to browse through their ever-popular custom knife collection. Jouni showed me some of their interesting and pleasant Finnish Sauna scents and Sauna accessories for my newly aquired home sauna. I set aside a 4-scent variety pack for myself at some point during the night. As I pulled my rare Murray Carter folding knife from my pocket Jouni proceeded to discuss how few Murray Carter folders had actually been made. I was carrying the 8′th one ever made in my pocket that night. Numbered at 008 the base of the blade. Murray Carter stopped making them soon after he started. I suppose he decided that it wasn’t cost effective to continue to make them. The night ended in the lounge area with an afterparty group discussion where we passed around several large samples of Mastadon Ivory that were dated to be over 10,000 years old. One was even said to be around 15,000 years old. The ivory tusk of a wooly mammoth is considered to be extremely precious and is often used in the handles of extremely valuable custom knives. All in all it was an interesting event and I look forward to next year.

Knife Etiquette

Published by The KABMAN December 7th, 2006 in Knife Products. 0 Comments

Knife Etiquette is very important in our industry. If you plan to become a knife collector/connoisseur and attend shows you should conduct yourself accordingly :) It is always important when visiting knife show booths or meeting interesting knife people that you not offend them or disrespect their knives.

Damascus knife blades are wonderful. These are the blades that have swirling patterns in them. Damascus blades are made up of at least two different very high carbon steels that are folded together to make a design. Because it is usually carbon steel it will be very susceptible to rust and tarnish. You should never touch a damascus blade with your fingers(unless you own the knife of course and don’t care). Many times you will see this happen at show booths. If the knife isn’t wiped off and oiled in about one week you will see rust and discoloration appearing in that spot. This is an easy way to ruin a $2,000 custom knife. I will never hand a customer a damascus knife unless I know they are aware of the proper handling method. It is also always good to carry TufCloth if you are going to handle damascus carbon steel.

Knife sheaths are often very durable but can almost always be damaged by the knife. When you remove a knife from it’s sheath you should make sure to keep the back of the blade sliding on the sheath. Most sheaths will be easily cut by the sharp knives they hold. You always want to make sure when putting a knife back in it’s sheath that you don’t cut the sheath. I have seen extremely valuable custom knife sheaths that someone had picked up, sliced the sheath while putting the knife back in, and then walked off and never knew they caused any harm. This will greatly affect the value of the knife. Always show caution to the person of whom you are handling their knife. I usually use very slow controlled movements while handling other collectors knives. This is to show proper respect.

These points should help you get along in the knife enthusiast world.

Knife Sharpening

Published by The KABMAN December 7th, 2006 in Knife Products. 0 Comments

Knife Sharpening is perhaps one of the most popular knife conversations I have heard during knife talk. I have seen so many different sharpening techniques. One technique in particular has proven to be very efficient. This technique I observed while watching a master smith who had been passed down his smithy skills from generations before him. He was a Finnish Puukko knife smith who was responsible for hand-forging what were known as the sharpest knives in the world. Here is what I observed.

This method is using a stone. The actual method I derived this from was using a sharpening wheel. I assume most people don’t have a sharpening wheel so I have adapted it to using a wetstone instead. You should always wet the sharpening stone. You can use oil or water. I find that they both work very well. Water tends to be less messy.

A. First line up your edge. Lay the blade over a stone and roll it lightly to feel where the edge is. You want the edge(not the flat of the actual blade but the edge) to be perfectly aligned. Sometimes this is more gut feeling than actual feeling.

B. Here is the motion. Slide the knife back and forth at about 3 strokes (back and forth is 2 strokes) per second with even light pressure(backwards being edgward and forwards being opposite). At the same time you want to be moving the blade to and from at about half the speed.

C. Repeat on a lighter stone. Then you may remove the burl from the blade by sharpening on a leather strap. This will give you a razor sharp edge that you should be able to shave with if you did it right.

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