Friday, June 16, 2017

Do you?

If you believe George Clooney, a day without Nespresso is day without sunshine, without oxygen, without … (insert any hyperbola you want).  But has he ever wondered where all those single-use capsules go?  Maybe they are being compressed, shrunk and crushed until they reach the density of degenerate dwarf star material.  Another rumor has it they are taken back to Switzerland to fill in the caves the Swiss dug to protect themselves during WWII.

Actually they are being swallowed by Victorinox and spitted back out as a special edition of Swiss Army knives called Nespresso Pioneers and they are very cool.

Both Victorinox and Nespresso are Swiss companies located near each other.  Victorinox is a very environmentally conscious company.  “Sustainably-sourced and produced products are at the heart of the Victorinox business model,” says Renee Hourigan, North American Director of Marketing for Victorinox.

So what, you say.  Companies make this claim even if they burn scrap in bonfires instead of sending it to landfills.  That may be true but Victorinox is different.  They are recycling 600 tons of steel from its grinding sludge every year, equivalent to 25% of the steel it uses annually.  So several years ago they started making deep blue handled knives from recycled Nespresso coffee capsules.  Twenty-four recycled Nespresso coffee capsules to be exact, per knife.

11,650 Nespresso Pioneers have were released for sale, (as a value added activity, calculated how many cups of Nespresso George Clooney would have to drink to supply all the aluminum) but you have to go to Switzerland.  They aren’t sold here.  (Email George and see if he can do something about this…)

NespressoPioneer


But that was last year, this year 250 special purple Nespresso Pioneers will be released in the US.  Get ‘em if you can.  They are so cool on so many levels.

In case you’re wondering about Keurig’s K-Cup coffee pods, they were recently banned in Hamburg, Germany, with sales in North America slumping.  Keurig’s promise to make 100% of its pods recyclable by 2020 is ‘too little, too late’ for many German and American households that want to enjoy guilt-free coffee in the morning.




Saturday, June 3, 2017

Blade Show Day 2


Has the Blade Show become a victim of its own success?

Saturday is always a bad day.  Any knife fancier within 4 hours of driving can work a full week and drive here on Saturday and make it home for church and family brunch on Sunday.  Saturday is a packed day.  Despite the convention’s efforts, you’ll find a number of people walking and selling.  No surprise there, with tables costing over $500 you have to sell a lot of knives to break even.  So, you find people selling to tables.

The exhibition hall is packed and the only redeeming grace is to remember sardines don’t die in the can, they die in the open sea.  Air conditioning struggles to keep up but with 90+ temperatures outside and hundreds and hundreds of people inside it can’t keep up.

Blade is the knife show by which all others are measured.  The show’s location needs a rich environment to support it.  There may be bigger venues in the cornfields in Kansas, but it will never have the support Atlanta has.

Blade Show
The contestants warning up
Is there an association of Balisong Flippers?  Beats me, but Blade hosted the first national competition.  They used live edges and flip free style, but the MC warned that kicking the knife with your knee was outlawed at this event.  The flippers were set up in the back parking lot where the cutting would take place and it was single elimination.  Three judges, well known by the crowd, selected the winners of the each round. You can tell they were expecting a lot of dropped knives.  Each competitor stood over a sheet of cardboard.  I didn’t stay for the entire competition.  It just seemed too silly to me.  Every completion heat I saw, the loser dropped his knife at least once if not more.  I have to wonder if some of the flippers will create moves so unique that in the future the move will be named after them, like the ice skating Hamill Camel.

bones at Blade
Giraffe Skull, what else could I say
One of the knife supply houses had a skull of a giraffe on display.  It appears that giraffes can become a nuisance animal requiring culling.  The meat is sold and made into sausage (I can’t believe there aren’t a few steaks involved!), so the supply house buys camel leg bones for knife handles and just for giggles asked if they could get a skull.  The joke was on him.

It took a lot of boiling and bleaching, but the complete skull is available and on sale.  For $500 bucks it can be yours.  I wanted it for over the TV cabinet, but wiser heads prevailed.  A word of warning, it’s a lot bigger than you might think it is.

From Nepal, a fighting knife
A different EDC
I bought a mini-khukuri.  The seller has them made in Nepal by Gurkhas.  They use truck leaf springs and its steel needs to be taken care of or it will tarnish.  I have a full size one made in India and this will make a nice addition.


Buck display at Blade 2017


It’s Buck’s 75th anniversary and Buck collectors are pulling out the stops.  In the public area of the hall they have about a row of double sided tables as long as city block set up.  You’ll find everything from complete run of Bucks to experimental prototypes and exotic one of a kind buck knives.  Each display is different, some cruder than others but all a testimony to Buck knives.

Blade Show
Mantis neck knife or upside down stargate
We bought new neck knives at Mantis Knives.  It’s hard to describe Mantis.  They make some really silly knives, but they are so freshly original you can’t dismiss them.  Our neck knives look like an “O” with a T coming out of them.  Put your finger into the ring and pull, a curved blade emerges from the metal ring.  Frankly, the blade looks too flimsy and curved for fighting or cutting.

It might be time to skip the Blade Show.  You will not find too many of the unique knives and blades seen on Forged in Fire.  What you’ll see are the typical, safe designs: drop points, Bowie, spear, Hawksbill and Wharncliffe blades.   The steels are the usual suspects: high carbon, D2 and the stainless families.  I was impressed that I found one smith with forged titanium blades.

Prices remain high but bargains can be found if you work at it.


Here's a few more pictures.



Blade Show
Another high carbon steel blade to worry about


Blade Show
More knives!

Tomorrow’s the last day.  I have an appointment and one or two items and it’s off we go.



Friday, June 2, 2017

Blade Show Opens!

Lil Lum Nishijin
A Blade Show Special from Spyderco, BOGO!
The first day of the Blade Show finished and was punctuated with plenty of excited people and sore feet.

As good as the show is, registration is just as terrible.  You can’t register and pick-up your pass Thursday night, despite the fact registration is open for the vendors.  The VIP passes can be bought only Friday morning at 10:00 despite the fact people lined up at 7.  The when you get to the registration window the equipment and personnel don’t work.  In fairness, the staff is desperately trying to stem the human tide of impatient people and haven’t been trained very well.  After you get your pass you have another line to stand in until the official opening at noon.  You’ll soon find the floor is your friend.

The doors open at about 12:05, because none of the security personal have the authority to open the doors and the moron with the authority can’t tell time!  At least it seems that way to me.


knives, Blade Show
A.G. Russell

My first stop was A.G. Russel.  A.G. wanted to chew me out about my Folding Gents Hunter article in the June issue of Knife Magazine.  It seems A.G. can flick the blade open with quick wrist motion.  Well, so can I, but every knife class I’ve attended where people open their knife that way, sent their knife flying across the room.  Still, he and his wife Goldie were very nice to me.  I later found out of the other 3 articles about the FGH, he liked the one in Knife Magazine the best.

I stopped off at Aku Strike Knives to look at their trainers.  Dwane Horvath has developed a training knife that emits a sound and flashes a red or green light when a solid contact is made.  

Trainer Blade Show
Aku Strike's new knife fighting trainer


While these can be dangerous (get jabbed in the gut with 4 inches of hard plastic and you’ll know what I mean), they add a new dimension to training.  The knife’s sounds and light is only activated when the blade is pushed back or upward to simulation a stab or cut.  Keep your eyes open for this.  It will add a new level to your training.

Blade Show
Seems like a good way to set your kilt on fire!

I always like to watch the demos on knife grinding.  I think it’s the sparks.  It’s also interesting to watch all the other people.  I try not to be too obvious about it, after all someone might be watching me!


Here’s a few photos.

Blade Show
Some of Cutco's knives




1Blade Show
Browning's Kukri  A real different look for Browning.



































Monday, May 22, 2017

Small Cuts

The WRCA Knife Expo ends with a whimper yesterday.  Sundays are usually slow days as the foot traffic is very low.  It’s also an excellent day to bargain.  Sellers want to earn a little money, even if it’s just enough to buy gas, so they can be haggled with.

I got a deal on an old Benchmade Panther.  It’s old, from the 1990s and it’s ugly.  I’ve got to do a little research but I think there’s at least a blog in it, maybe more.

On Saturday I stopped by Mickey Yurco’s table.  Mickey is a remarkably creative edge maker and martial artist.  He also has a quirky sense of humor and stage presence that makes stopping at his table always interesting.

Ask him to demonstrate one of the few knots used in the fighting arts.  It’s called the dragon knot.  You’ll be surprised.

Yurco Hatchet, the sheath has a quick draw function


I’ve previously bought several of his knives and hatchets and have been very pleased.  I understand Boker has picked up two more of his designs.  Congratulations, Mickey!

Mickey's first Boker collaboration, the knife that is.  The meat was dinner. 

I just got one of his single edge razor blades.  It’s ground from titanium and is about 3cm long by 2.3cm wide and about 0.15cm thick. 

Mickey Yurco
This is a closer shave than I ever want!


Mickey gave it a small lanyard and put a round patch of skateboard tape on one side.  The blade is a chisel grind.  Titanium isn’t the best metal for edge retention, but it is non-magnetic and its small size lets you carry it in your wallet as a true last resort weapon.  It’s designed for grappling where you’re going to make pressure cuts and not slices, stabs or chops.  Of course, all the targets are soft tissue.

holding Mickey's razor
Contact Mickey for your own interesting knife!


I bought it because it’s cool!  Also, it suggests to me the OSS lapel knives from WWII.  Somewhere I have an “original” Blackjack plastic OSS lapel dagger. 


There’s plenty of room for creative knife ideas!

Monday, May 15, 2017

Friday, April 28, 2017

Boker Mini Kalashnikov Auto

Boker knives are some of the hidden gems in the knife market.  Mostly because they don’t have the advertisement clout others do.  But smart thinkers and cagey knife users should be thinking about the Boker brand.

Boker traces its roots to tool manufacturing the 1800s in Germany.  Swords were the name of the game, but they diversified into other edged products.  The family owned company sent representatives to America and opened up manufacturing in America.  They both shared the “Tree Brand“ logo.

During the Second World War the Solingen plant was destroyed and Boker USA took control of the trademark.  In the 1950s the German factory was rebuilt.  Over the years the American company closed.  The German company changed hands but in 1986 Boker reacquired the rights to the American brand and established facilities in Denver, Colorado.

Boker has manufacturing  in Germany (of course!), Argentina, Taiwan and China and now in the USA.  They produce three basic levels depending on the price point: Boker, Magnum and Boker Plus.

I once did a special order of a special knife to commemorate the customer’s son-in-law’s military promotion.  It was a beautiful Damascus bladed folder.  The blade was carved from 300-fold forged Damascus steel from the barrel of a German Leopard 1 tank.


The knife came in a nice wood presentation box with the instruction and history in German.  The buyer was very happy, as his son-in-law spoke German for the Army.  I have a friend who spoke German for the Army; he was a spy.  I didn’t ask any more questions.

So if your introduction and thoughts about Boker are from the Magnum $7 knife pile, think again.

Boker Mini Kalashnikov automatic
Boker's switchblade
I just got my hands on the Boker Mini Kalashnikov auto.  I’m very impressed.  Here’s the stats:
Blade:       drop point
Steel:        AUS8
Blade Length:    2.5 inches
Handle length:  3.5 inches
Weight:    2.1 ounces
Handle:   reinforced nylon
Country of origin: Taiwan

The Boker website claims the handle is aluminum but they also claim the blade is wood.  Hummm, someone’s website has been hacked.

Automatic knife from Boker Knife
Clip side
The blade shows the same powerful spring action I’ve seen in Benchmade autos.  Block the blade from completely opening and when the obstacle is removed, the spring still has enough force to finish the opening and lock the blade in place.  The pocket clip is reversible and the handle sports a lanyard hole. 

finger grooves
The finger grooves really provide a grip so you can concentrate on using the knife and not holding the knife

The finger scallops fit my hand pretty good for a small knife.  And between the scallops and the jimping on the blades spine and handle you get a very good grip.  The blade release is a basic plunge lock system.  This system has been used for many years and is very dependable if you keep it clean.  But isn’t that true of all machinery?


Boker Automatic knife
The open back allows for easy cleanup and makes oiling the spring much simpler.

I suspect it uses a coil spring and the knife has Torx screws so you can replace the spring if necessary.

I have come to like auto more and more.  I don’t suspect they open any significantly faster than the assisted or many of the tactical knives.  But I do think pushing a button is a gross motor skill and doesn’t require the fine motor skills which are lost under the influence of fight/freeze/flee conditions.

I wish I could take it for a drive, but it isn’t mine.  I have no doubt it would serve me well.

It retails for about $55 but you can get it for less if you shop around.  I’ve got two for sale, but that’s another story. 


Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Ready…. Set… Count!


Guinness records just established a category for the world’s largest knife collection.  They decided it takes at least 2100 unique knives to define a large collection.  So now you know.  If someone asks you if you have a large collection the answer is mostly likely “no.”

The current record holder is Luis Bernardo Mercado (Fremont, CA.) who comes in at 2175.  Congratulations, Luis!

These knives represent 6 continents, 29 countries and 400 different brands and custom makers and 50 years of collecting.

The process of documenting the size of your collection isn’t trivial.  Perhaps that’s a new category for Guinness: most difficult documentation.  Of course as soon as you win this one, it’s likely the documentation of your documentation would cancel out your win.


Luis started collecting at five, so it may be too late for some of us to attempt to claim that title for ourself, but he’s confident the title is only transitory as he’s the first to claim it.