The Variable Wharncliffe

 

This is Kizer’s newest neck knife, the Variable Wharncliffe.

Kizer's Variable Wharncliffe neck knife

It’s an awful name, not at all descript. It’s a fixed blade knife and you have no options on blade or handle length.  Be that as it may, it is a cool knife.  Let’s look into it.

The knife was designed by Dirk Pinkerton, one of the up-and-coming knife designers who works with several companies.  

Dirk always had an interested in knives.  Following examples set by his father and brother, Dirk came to realize a knife was essential tool.  One can appreciate the work and craftsmanship that goes into a beautiful knife, but it is a tool first and should be used.  As his collection and interest grew, Dirk became friends with legendary knife maker and designer, the late Darrel Ralph.  If you don’t recognize the name, it sucks to be you.  Darrel started making knives in 1987 and his influence over the custom knife market pushed other designers to excel.  He had a significant impact on the tactical knife world.  He passed following a stroke in 2021.

Made from D2 steel

Dirk was influenced by DR who told him essentially, don’t ask me to modify one of my knives for you, make your own. 

That was good advice.  Dirk purchased his first professional grinder in 2005.  Utilizing his 18 years in the private security working with law enforcement, S.W.A.T., fire and life rescue, and  various military units, he drew on this experience to determine the optimal configurations. 

The Variable Wharncliffe is a 4.8-inch-long slice of D2 steel shaped into a neck knife with a 3.4-inch blade.  The blade is 0.1 inch thick at the spine and tappers down to a razor edge.  The handle is black micarta centered behind a 1-inch finger hole.  It come with a kydex neck sheath that secures the knife until you need it.

The blade features a reverse tanto that drops the point below the centerline.  The Wharncliffe is a high shoulder flat grind.  Unlike many wharncliffe blades the straight edge is canted up, creating a powerful driving point with the reverse tanto.  Coarse jimping on the blade’s spine gives you extra control over the blade despite the small handle.  The handle is a hexagon shape 1.4 inches long and 0.45 inches thick.  My social commentary and ring finger naturally lock down on the handle.

The coarse jimping makes for an enhanced grip

        

D2 steel is seeing a resurgence.  Invented in 1927, the properties and heat treatment of this steel have become well understood and is a fine  steel for 90% of our use.  While not truly a stainless steel, it straddles the border between high carbon and stainless steel.  D2 needs more attention and a thin coat of oil.  Take care of this steel and you will not be disappointed. 

I like it a lot.  I’m a big fan of smallish knives that can be concealed, but deliver big performance.  I’d carry this as a back up when I’m off the concrete or in non-permissible environments... you know what I mean.    You can find yours at the e-link below.  Its currently (Dec. 2024) on sale for under $23.  You better hurry!

https://www.kizerknives.com/products/variable-wharncliffe-1052a1?srsltid=AfmBOoqR0L-ut0cKvkq7l1BJLCqW4PTreIrum1OrJ2V6U15KKQh6KANz

Just a reminder: Nobody is sending me free knives or paying me for these blogs.  I just enjoy knives.

 

One In The Pocket

 The Mantis Civilianaire coin knife arrived the other day.  It’s very icey.

Mantis Civilianaire Knife  Was it inspired by OSS tools?

The red-rimmed, black-faced circular knife is striking.  Both faces have a geometric pattern pressed into black surfaces, creating highlights and improving friction.  The red circumferential surface is also textured to improve grip.  On small knives, friction surfaces are critical to enhance your grip.

An edge view of the open Civilianaire

These surfaces form the handle and are constructed of G-100, a micro glass fiber/resin composite.  Glass fiber has the advantage that it is dimensionally stable and chemically non-reactive to ordinary solvents.  It doesn’t expand by absorbing water and creating internal stresses.

The blade is a wickedly sharp curved slice of steel about an inch long.  The curve feeds material into the cutting edge and effectively lengthens the cutting edge.  The blade opens with a small spur that sticks out from the coin.

The curved blade makes cutting easier

The blade is a laminated structure of two 420 Damascus steels supported on a 420 core. 

The Civilianaire opens easy with the spur.  There is sufficient friction so it doesn't accidently open

I spoke to Gary West, the founder of Mantis Knife, and he explained that the Civilianaire coin knife was designed to fit most jeans' watch pockets.  My measurements found the closed knife to be 1.3 inches in diameter and about 0.2 inches thick.  Compare that to America’s least favorite coin dollar, the Susan B. Anthony, which clocks in with a diameter of 1 inch and a thickness of 0.08 inches.

Slightly bigger than the unloved Anthony dollar

Yeah, the Civilianaire is slightly larger and noticeably thicker.  You will not accidentally drop it into a coin slot!

The knife doesn’t lock open, according to Mr. West, because locking knives are prohibited in Europe.  I don't see that as a big problem.  I instinctively placed my index finger on the opening spur and pulled the knife to cut with it.

It’s not the knife you’d take on a raft trip up the Amazon or trekking across the Rockies.  It is a knife you’d carry to cut string, open packages, or in a non-permissible environment. 

Mr. West told me the company came into existence in 1999 when his son joined him after graduation.  At the time, they were selling night vision and metal detectors, but the son was interested in knives more than anything.  They looked around and called it Mantis Knives because Praying Mantises eat spiders, a dig at one of their competitors.

Mantis makes a lot of cool and interesting knives.  You can find the Civilianaire at https://www.mantisknives.com/product/mck-1-civilianaire/.  The MSRP is $50.00.

Check it out.  You will be surprised by the range and quality of Mantis knives.

Spooky!

             I’m not sure why I bought this Texas Toothpick.  For some enigmatic and unexplainable reason, I bought it.  I’m not a huge fan of slip joints.  The blade is… calling it a patina would be kind.  The tip is broken off, and the front third of the blade is bent to the left. 

Would it have killed someone to put a little oil on the blade occasionally?

I kept it on a shelf in the garage, and one night, I turned off the light, looked around to make sure I had closed the pedestrian side door and noticed something worthy of the Ghost Busters.  Something was glowing on my bench.  Thinking I had left a tool plugged in, I turned on the light. 

What is that glow? Protoplasm?  Better call Ghost Busters!

Nope, nothing left on.  I turned off the light, and the glow was still there.  What?

After playing games with lights, I discovered my Texas Toothpick had glow-in-the-dark scales.  I should have guessed, in faint letters hot pressed into the handle were letters that read, SPOOK Knife.  The "O’s” were made to look like cartoon eyes.

Oh! It's Spook the knife.

The tang stamp reads Camo – USA.  The tang reverse is blank.

Camo was a cheaper line made by Camillus.  It's impossible to date accurately since the tang stamp was never changed during its manufacturing history.  I understand that in 1980, some Camo Knives were made in Ireland, and currently, the brand is made in China.

You can just barely read the word SPOOK heat stamped into the handle.

Camillus follows a pattern familiar to many knife companies.  Following its failure in 1873, the hardware company Bodenheim, Meyer & Company was restructured as Meyer & Kastor.  Meyer & Kastor had to close its doors in September 1876.  Only a few weeks later, Adolph Kastor started his own company, Adolph Kastor & Bros., on Canal Street in New York City, where he imported and distributed German-made knives.

But times were changing.

Following the Dingley Tariff of 1897, knives became too expensive to import.  The only solution Kastor saw was to manufacture knives domestically.  That led to the formation of Camillus Knife.  Kastor and his partner, Charles Sherwood, bought new machinery, such as steam-driven drop forge hammers and fly presses, and utilized new techniques, like alumina grinding wheels.

They were successful.  Eventually, they had to build a dormitory to house its German immigrant workers.

While not shown, the handle material on both sides absorb light and glow.

Camillus had in-house brands like Camo, Sword Brand, and Mumby Peg.  They also made blades for brands like Case, Remington, Schrade, Keen Kutter, and Sears and Sons.

Camo was a lower-end introduction to the market brand established in 1948.  These knives were sold as souvenir knives and could be hot-stamped and used as promotional giveaways and gifts.

Like many knife companies, Camillus filed for bankruptcy in 2007.  It was bought by Acme United Corporation. 

I've owned this knife for years and just discovered this glow in the dark property.  Some day, I'll sharpen Spook and put it up for sale.  Maybe it will find a new owner.

WRCA's Hubertus

         Most of us are familiar with the Hubertus lever lock automatic knife.  I own several, and I think they have great quality and style.

Hubertus Lever Lock   Total icey!

It’s a company with a complicated history.  Why complicated?  WWII in Germany threw a lot of companies into the dumpster of history.  Some survived and had Nazi associations which still haunts them to this day.  Ask Degussa, now Evonik, about that.

On March 1, 1932, Kuno Ritter started a knife company in Solingen, Germany, and concentrated on fixed blades called hiking knives.  We might call them camping or bush craft knives.

Due to the Second World War, business operations were discontinued in 1941 but resumed in 1946.  I found a report claiming Kino Ritter Co. made Boy Scout knives during the war.  I also saw reports that German Boy Scouting was closed and their members had to join the Hitler Youth organizations.  Draw your own conclusion.

Following the war, Kuno Ritter Co acquired several trademarks, including Hubertus, a brand registered for cutlery since 1899.  For those wondering, Hubertus is the patron saint of hunters.

An unknown Solinger cutler received a utility pattern in 1897 for a folding lever release, making the knife safer to carry in your pocket.  We call it a lever lock.

Around 1950, the company was renamed Hubertus Schneidwarenfabrik Kuno Ritter KG and is now run by the third-generation Ritter.

The Hubertus I recently ran across was a Western Reserve Cutlery Association (WRCA) club knife.  The date etched into the blade is 1985.  This appears to be part of the Golden Era of WRCA club knives when style and uniqueness trumped price.

WRCA's 1985 Club Knife

The bolster has tiny numbers stamped into it, indicating it was 7 of 65 knives ordered.  The top edge of the blade has some simple but nice file work, and the blade is etched.  WRCA can be seen in the middle of the blade.  The knife shows minor wear, but it is almost 40 years old.

I’m told this knife was offered to WRCA club members in three different styles.  One was gold-filled, and the other was silver-filled, but my source couldn’t recall the third option.  I suspect it was just the plain etched.

The stag looks a little worn  and I like the file work on the blade spine

To my surprise, the knife was ordered from Hubertus factory and then etched.  The etching was done by Shaw Leibowitz.  I dug into the name and found out our master etcher was really a husband-and-wife team composed of Sherill Shaw and Leonard Leibowitz.  You can find an interesting article about them by Bill Karsten in the December 1981 issue of Knife World and a better article by Sherrill Shaw in its Sept 2011 issue.  Knife World is now known as Knife Magazine, an excellent publication for any knife fancier.

Hubertus from 1985 direct to WRCA

I discussed the price with the owner but decided not to purchase it.  I'm not terribly interested in club knives.  https://knifesearch.blogspot.com/2023/03/not-huge-fan-of-club-knives.html  It has to be really special.  Plus, it is my opinion, shared by several dealers, that club knives don't hold their value.  That's sad, but it is the way it is.

My Thanks to Ian for lending me the knife for some quick photos!