Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Mack's Knife


Sherman, set the Wayback Machine to the mid-60s.

Buck Knife has knocked America and the world on its collective ass with the Buck 110 Hunter.  It’s not the first lock-back knife, but the combination of a solid lock, 420HC stainless with great heat treatment and a belt carry pouch occurs at the right point in time.  Everyone carries one.  My favorite literature hero, Matt Helm carries one; I sold a very nice German locking knife to my brother so I could buy one.

Cops, firemen, soldiers, outdoors men, scout masters all wanted to carry a Buck 110 Hunter.

Open Shark Tooth
Case's Shark Tooth

This doesn’t pass unnoticed by Case Knife.  Coming out of WWII Case remains a conservative company making knives the old fashioned way by hand with carbon steel blades.  Case wants in on this market share.  They just don’t want to compete; they want to send Buck home hungry.  By 1972 they have their world beater.  They call it the Shark Tooth.

The Shark Tooth is a spine locking blade with a palm swell to fit your hand better than the slab-sided Buck.  The 3-inch blade is backed with a finger divot so you can choke-up for fine work and still get the long blade reach.  The blade is stainless steel that holds an edge, but its identity isn’t revealed.  I don’t know why.  Both bolsters are brass, but the back one is cut on an angle to give it a streamline appearance.  This knife also comes with a leather pouch cause weighs almost a half-pound!  Too heavy or bulky to flop in a pocket.

The wood insert with the palm swell will be made from curly maple, but problems stops production.  The 1974 catalog (printed in 1973, I assume) has a picture of the Shark Tooth, but it’s stamped “Unavailable.”

Closed Shark Tooth
The back edge beveled for a more streamline appearance

Finally Case decides on replacing the maple with Pakkwood and on December of 1975 finally ships the knives to distributors just in time for Christmas.  That made Santa very happy.

The Shark Tooth stays in production until March 2009. 
It’s a milestone knife for Case.  It marks the first use of a blade made from a modern stainless steel with good tempered used in a Case lock back.  Several other types of Case knives are released with that steel, but those are stories for another time.

Despite the trouble Case had with the curly maple handle insert, it manages to make 1800 of these.  These are hidden in a vault guarded by the Case gnomes.  What a treasure that would be to Case collectors.  It would be a unique collector’s knife, wouldn’t it?  If only we could get past the gnomes.

Too late.  In 1977 Case released all 1800 curly maple handled Shark Tooth (Teeth?) to their distributors.   Fox Mulder is right!  They are out there!

Friday, September 6, 2019

Serious weight: CRKT Seismic



Just got my hands on CRKT’s new Seismic with the ‘Deadbolt Lock’ developed by Flavio Ikoma.  It’s a beast!  It weighs in at 6.3 ounces with a 5.5 inch handle holding a 4 inch blade.  I like knives with slightly over sized handles.  You need a big handle to hold and use a big blade. 

strongest lock, knife
CRKT's Seismic

 
Flavio Ikoma has become one of Brazil’s top knife designers.  Growing up he was fascinated with the varieties of Japanese swords.  Encouraged by his father and having access to the tools and materials in his father’s shop, he made edges.  This interest spurred him to learn metallurgy, work with other knife makers and become a knife innovator.

The Seismic sports his IKBS ball bearing system as well as what has been described at the strongest lock on the market, the Deadbolt.  There are always a lot of claims of the strongest lock and they seem to depend on the test methodology.  Still, the Seismic locks up with one hell of click.

Knife, Deadbolt, Strongest knife lock
The bowtie at the pivot point is part of the deadbolt lock

To release the lock you press the knurled ring around the pivot.  This pushes a large bowtie shaped bar of metal out the back of the knife and unlocks the blade.  Impressive!

Here are some more stats:
The 0.6 inches thick handle is G10 overlaid on a sketalized metal frame that.  The G-10 has a grippy feel to it, almost enough to give you the fingernails-on-chalk-boards feeling.  (Assuming you know about chalk boards.)

The blade steel is a ground slab of 1.4116 stainless steel 0.15 inches thick.  This steel is reportedly used in Swiss Army knives.  The blade is a drop point with a high shoulder, flat grind.  A shallow false edge decorates the blade.  The sweeping edge reminds me ever so slightly of a skinner.

This steel is reported to have a RHc of 55-57.  While many consider that too low to retain an edge, let me remind you of three things:
  • That hardness resharpens quickly with simple stones;
  • Steels in this hardness range tend to bend instead of snap when misused; 
  • Ernie Emerson once said a knife with a bent blade is still a knife, a knife with a broken blade is junk.

What’s in 1.4116 steel?  The composition is relatively simple, 0.45% carbon, 14.7% chromium, a sprinkle of vanadium at 0.17% and a smattering of elements common to modern steel manufacturing.  Reports from the field suggest 1.4116 steel shows good corrosion resistance.  That’s important to me as I’m a bit careless with my tools.

You can find your Seismic at https://www.crkt.com/seismic.html.  Mention this blog for blank stares and verbal “Huhs?”  The suggested retail is $150.00

Saturday, August 10, 2019

Zen Whittling



There are few simpler activities that are as rewarding as whittling.

I don’t mean carving.  Carving is an artistic endeavor to create something appreciated by both the carver and observer.  It is purposeful.  I’ve seen carved birds that I swear would take flight as I approached them.  People carve spoons both as a functional tool and as an object of art.

Shaving Wood
It's just cutting to enjoy the wood and the edge


As a whittler, the best comment you will receive is, “That’s a nice pile of shavings.” 

But we whittle for ourselves.  The feel of a sharp knife shaving long graceful cuts in wood is superb.  As the wood is removed, grain and color reveals themselves, often to the complete surprise of the whittler.  It’s a sweet sensation to discover the simple joy of exposing wood that is so fleeting it vanishes with the next cut.  I once cut into a pocket of amber colored wood that cut perfectly from any angle or direction and just as suddenly it was gone, now shavings at my feet.

Little goals present themselves to the whittler and we can challenge ourselves to achieve them.  How long of a single shaving can you cut?  How smooth of a surface can you achieve?  Can you erase that little nub where there was once a second branch?  Can you cut four square sides simply because you would like to?

It is a very Zen experience.  There is no Yoda commanding ‘do or do not.’  There is just perfect harmony of being.

You can use any knife
Whittling basics: Wood, Knife....


The tools are very simple.  A shady spot is selected.  You need a knife, preferably sharp, but any knife will do.  Then you need a piece of wood.  A stick will do.  Size matters only to ease of handling the stick and how long you want to whittle.  There’s no rule requiring you to finish this activity with a single stick or that you can’t save the stick for another. 

Approach the task with a stick in one hand and blade in the other.  Decide where the edge will first bite into the wood.  Perhaps the blade and wood fight each other.  Simply select a new beginning.  Perhaps the one or the other feels wrong to you.  Make a change and a new beginning.  Tomorrow they may seem right to you.

As you stop to admire your pile of shavings you will discover all thoughts of bills, the boss, your sick aunt Fanny, which pre-school gives the twins the best shot at Harvard, and any of the other problems that plague you were momentarily forgotten.  Do not be surprised if you discover you have a new perspective on all of these as well as the noise society throws at us.

It is the best way to kill a half an hour or more and it doesn’t require a battery.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Spyderco Three Way


There are few knives better known in the knife community than Spyderco’s Endura and Delica.  Introduced in 1990, they have always been in the top ten sellers at Spyderco.  But there is a new contender, the Endela.

Delica, Endela, Endura
A full serrated Endela flanked by a Delica and Endura.

Spyderco’s Delica was the first tactical knife I ever owned.  I owned lock backs prior to a Delica, but never one with a clip or engineered for one-hand opening.  The ability to consistently open a knife with one hand which would lock open was amazing.  From camping to community theater, in fact any daily activity, these knives made an impact. 

Police, fire and military all tended to carry an Endura or Delica.  They were strong, lightweight (compared to the other popular “tactical carry“ knife of the time, the Buck 110), easy to open and economical.  The steel retained its edge reasonably well and could be quickly sharpened with the Spyderco Sharpmaker, which I still use.  Both knives still retain the properties of strength, ease of operation and performance.

Long before 9/11 Delicas quickly found a home with airline travelers.  You simply dropped them in the tray with your car keys and pen, and they were returned on the other side of the metal detector almost always without a comment.  Even the partial serrations were not of any real concern.  I typically carried two while my wife carried her Delica.  I use to sit in mid-flight and cut open my in-flight snack.  That makes me feel nostalgic.

As a purveyor of edged steel, I am more than qualified to state the obvious:  No matter how well designed, no knife or series of knives is perfect for all users.  One only has to look at all the available glove sizes to realize that.

The Delica and Endura are the Baby and Papa Bear that drunk blonde, Goldie, finds when she breaks in to a fairytale home in the woods.  So what fills that middle spot?  Consumers asked for a bigger knife that was smaller than the Endura.  Spyderco found an answer, the Endela.

Daily lab chores, opening packages.  The blade was very controllable.


Let’s do a three way head-to-head with the new addition to this family of edges, the Endela.

Feature
Delica
Endela
Endura
Open length (inches)
7.13
8.1
8.8
Blade length (inches)
2.88
3.4
3.8
Blade thickness (inches)
0.09
0.12
0.13
Steel
VG-10
VG-10
VG-10
Grind
Saber
Flat
Saber
Clip
4-position
4- position
4-position
Weight
2.5 oz.
3.1 oz.
3.6oz
Cost (MSRP)
$120.00
$123.00
$125.00

As you can see, the Endela looks a little like the middle child.  The blade is about a half inch larger compared to the Delica, but 0.4 inches smaller that the Endura.  Blade thickness is pumped up by 0.03 of an inch, but its 0.01 inch thinner than the Endura.  You’ll see that trend in the other knife parameters too.  The Endela is a noticeable step up from the Delica, but almost a twin to the Endura.



Frankly, the Endela seems to be an answer in search of a question.

The Endela comes only as the flat grind blade, which seems to be super-hot on with consumers right now.  Both the Delica and Endure can be found with similar flat grinds.  Both the Endura and Delica can be obtained with a plain edge, a partial serration and full serration.  The Endela sports either a plain edge or a full serration.  

The full serration has amazing cutting powers.  Packing straps, seat belts, heavy rope all come clean to its power.  The little defensive edge training I have taken strongly suggests I don’t want to be cut by a Spyderco serration.

The Endela market, according to Spyderco, is for those of us who want a larger knife than a Delica, but smaller than an Endura.  Hence the mash-up.  Not the most original, but…..

opening packages, daily chores, sharp knife Endela


The difference is in the feel and use.  I like the Endela.  It feels good in my hand and if I was a first time buyer, I’d get an Endela. 

It will be interesting to see if it’s in the 2021 catalog.

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Pro-Tech's Alligator


It’s hard to underestimate the interest in automatic knives or as James Dean might have called them, switch blades.  There is a move afoot to legalize automatic knives with some success.   You can thank American Knife and Tool Institute for their hard work on our behalf.  

Several states have taken the modern and enlightened view that criminal acts should be linked to the doer, not the tool.  In these states automatic knives are legal.  Some states like California have blade length restrictions.  My home state believes evil spirits live in inanimate objects and take control of the user to do evil.  And we keep electing these guys and gals.

The feds have a law referred to as the Federal Switchblade Act.   AKTI explains this law regulates manufacturing and shipping of automatic knives crossing state lines.  It has NO application to individual consumers, or merchants who sell knives.  It has NO application to laws WITHIN a state.

That my soapbox for the today’s blog.

I recently purchased a Peter Kellett custom TR-3 from Pro-Tech.  Pro-Tech’s name for the base knife is TR-3, or Tactical Response III.  It’s a sweet knife.

Peter Kellett, Protech


The blade is 3.25 inches of S35VN steel with a DLC finish.  S35VN is produced by Crucible Industries as part of a collaboration of Dick Barber of Crucible Industries and knifemaker Chris Reeve.  It is a martensitic stainless steel with improved toughness over CPM S30V. It is also easier to machine and polish than CPM S30V. The steel forms niobium carbides along with vanadium and chromium carbides. Because niobium carbides are harder than the vanadium and chromium carbides, S35VN is about 15-20% tougher than CPM S30V without any loss of wear resistance.  The powder metal helps assure a uniform distribution of grain size and places the carbides at the grain boundaries which contribute to its strength.  CPM S35VN’s improved toughness gives it better resistance to edge chipping and retention over conventional high chromium steels such as 440C and D2.

While not new on the scene, S35VN is one of the super steels making an impact on knife makers worldwide.

Art knife, Peter Kellett


The 4.5 inch aluminum handle is anodized by artist Peter Kellett.  Peter is also known for his work customizing Fender guitars. Yes, that is an alligator and it is purple.  Well, it is an art knife as the mother of pearl release button confirms.

Pro-Tech’s Dave Wattenberg tells me Pro-Tech’s two biggest sellers are the TR-3 and the Godson Both of which are held in high regard by members of the legal community and military.  The clip is not-reversible on the TR-3 and holds the knife tip-up on right side.  There is no safety.  Since I carry knives in my right front pocket, pushed back to the seam, the blade is snugged up securely.  I’m not worried about it opening.

I asked about care and Dave said the flat wire coil spring doesn’t take a set and the knife can be stored closed.  He also advised using a little high quality oil like BreakFree CLP.

Art knife TR-3, Tactical Response III


If you need or just want an automatic knife, let me suggest Pro-Tech. http://www.protechknives.com/

You can find your EDC tool and you can find art that stuns the observer and makes you hold your breath in its presence.  Your choice.

Sunday, June 9, 2019

Blade Show Day Three 2019

Sunday is always Spyderco day.  Not exclusively, but I look forward to seeing their new products and talking with Joyce.  It’s been a busy year for them and for her.

Do you like catalogs?  I love ‘em.  The problem with catalogs is, even small ones like Spyderco’s, they must be printed in September for release by January.  Some products are ready but others are not.  Some will experience changes.   Some knives will be added, some dropped.  All of which makes people angry as they can’t get it now.  Maybe it had two screws in the catalog but three screws in production and every collector wants the two screw version that was never made.  I think you can see the problems.

Spyderco will release three ‘Reveals’ during the course of the year, featuring products which are ready to ship.  I’m sure Spyderco gains some unspecified advantage from this, but it’s an interesting approach.


Top orange- Endura, Bottom orange - Delica but the middle black is the new Endela available in plain edge too
Right now lightweight folders are the rage.  Consumers are suddenly worried about an extra ounce or three.  The FRCP (fiberglass reinforced copolymer) has a little too much flex so Spyderco has incorporated a thin metal liner to eliminate the problem.  You’ll see more and more variations of old and new favorites like the Police lightweight. It’s slightly bigger than the original, but easy to carry and use.  


Spyderco dragonfly with Emerson Wave
Spyderco Dragonfly with Emerson Wave opener.  The wave works very nicely with this
knife.  Reversible wire clip on back
Another example is their lightweight Para-military 3 which just won the 2019 Blade award for the most innovative American knife.  No small potatoes.


Itamea kitchen knife
Don't ask the price, I can't afford it, but professional chefs will love it.  The Itamae series
Speaking of food, Frank Daily has been hired to head their new cutlery division.  It’s a new departure for Spyderco and they are offering a range of knives.   At the top end are Murray Carter’s Itamae series.  These are super thin laminated blades of Aogami Super Blue steel between two layers of SUS410 stainless steel.  Murray is a proponent of super sharp thin blades. They will come in different blade configurations and are aimed at professional chefs and culinary schools.


New sharpening from Spyderco
Spyderco's new sharpening system, the Gauntlet.  Uses oval shaped stones.


Closer to my pocket are the Z-Cut.  With their offset handles they are often referred to as ‘sandwich shop’ knives.  You can get them both with plain and serrated blades.  The plastic handles are fused to the CTS BD1N stainless steel making them dishwasher safe.  Carpenter’s BD1N is high carbon martensitic stainless steel, containing chromium and nitrogen that can be air or oil hardened.  It has good edge retention and better corrosion resistance.

As Z-Cut knives come with pointed ends, a rounded blunt tip is available for our friends in England and other parts.  Might not be a bad starting knife for youngsters learning kitchen arts.  In the middle of the range will be the classic Spyderco utility kitchen knives and their amazing and terrifying bread knife!

There is only one roadblock to their domination of the world cutlery market with low cost, effective Z-knives.  Yes, they got the stock, but someone forgot they needed packaging.  They will get it straightened out soon.

Spyderco production is running 24 hours 5 days a week and they are still swamped.  Their engineering staff has continued to promote tighter and tighter tolerances.  I wouldn’t say you could toss a handful of the correct parts in a bag, shake it and find an assembled knife, but…..

Prototyping is enhanced through the use of 3D printers.  Modern and advanced technology is actively pursued as is their intellectual property.  All of which allows for newer and more interesting knives.  This might be considered the Golden Age of factory knives.

What else do you need to know?  They will continue to make sprint runs limited to 1200 pieces, because that is what they like.  These sell out fast.  Just a word to the wise.



Proof Cobb Galleria is haunted by the ghosts of past shoppers.  You would think the high food prices
would chase them away!

The knife industry, including Spyderco, is becoming more protective of their intellectual property and technology.  This is beginning to create walls.

In Europe and many American cities laws limit blade length.  Don’t make assumptions that your home rules apply everywhere.


Blade Show TR-3 Custom
Pro-Tech Custom TR-3 with purple alligator 
Sunday isn’t solely Spyderco day.  I stopped by Pro-Tech and bought a TR-3 auto custom made specifically for the Blade Show. It has a nice purplish anodized alligator on the front and back where it is partially covered by the clip.  The opening stud is mother of pearl and the 3.5 inch blade is CPM S35vn coated with black DLC.

I’m told they send out several knives to an artist with the instructions to ‘be creative.’  And they never know what they’ll get back.

You can find this on Pro-Tech’s website, but they are making autos for Boker based on Lucas Burnely’s designed Kwaiken.  This is one very nice knife with simple modern lines.  Look into it.


Sunday Morning at Blade. Time for bargains if what you want is still there. 


I walked past Colonial Knife and found many of their fine blades had strongly resembled another manufacturer.  It’s not uncommon and often turns out to be one of the worst kept secrets in the knife industry.  But I will not spill the beans.

Speaking of Shadow Tech, John and Dave report they are happy with the Show and are making both hatchets and fixed blades for other companies.

Last words:  Only because I find it amusing about the dead making money and someone asked me, yes, Loveless Knives is still making knives stamped Loveless.

Saturday, June 8, 2019

Blade Show Day Two 2019

Outside the weather raged torrents of rain, but inside the Blade Show it was sunny and knifey.  It’s still hard to imagine all the vendors and shoppers packed under one roof, but it isn’t all knives.


scissors, art scissors
Grace Horn's Scissors
Grace Horn showed off her custom scissors.  And they flew off the table like umbrellas during a deluge.  I especially liked the tall elegant pair that had a benign demonic look to them.  Grace is an unusual knife maker.  You can follow her on Facebook.  She did measure my right thumb to get an idea of an average size opening for men’s scissors.


Another table had nothing but knife sheaths.  If you heeded a Randall or a Loveless or just about any other sheath, you’d find it there.
knife sheaths
You need it?  You could find it.

I stopped at Darrel Ralph and looked at his ZEK hatchets.  Darrel tells me he had been thinking about hatchets since 1998.  I think he finally came up with a winner.  The kydex sheath locks the hatchet head in place and has a belt clip so you can wear it.  A secondary strap locks the sheath closed so you will not accidentally lose your tool moving in or out of a vehicle or in the brush.  He had several styles including a nice carbon fiber handle, but I went with the micarta grip that had a rounded profile.  I found it fit my hand better.

Hatchet, Belt Axe
Never know when you might need to chop something or somebody

Speaking of Shadow Tech, they have introduced several lines of folders.  I especially liked their Sidekick, a gentleman’s knife.  Well, it could be a gentlewoman’s knife as well.  It sports a stud and a hole, but it actually opens with a flipper.  The blade opens and is locked in place with a liner lock.  It doesn’t have a clip, because it is not a tactical knife.  It’s well made and I think I’m going to enjoy it.

Sidekick, Shadow Tech
They call it rose, but it looks purple to me 

Sharpening blades can be terrifying to some, but there are easy options 
At one table a vendor had a pile of paper shavings, several knives and more simple sharpeners than you could imagine.  In this day and age when sharpening systems require a mechanical engineering degree to set up and use, his simple pull-throughs turn a dull knife into a sharp edge.  It may not be the zenith of sharpness, but if your edge can cut curly paper shavings, it’s sharp enough for most of my needs.
Doug and friend drawing door prize tickets
Doug Marcaida, best known for Forged in Fire and his expression, ‘It will keel!’ was at Russian Blades and has designed a fighting knife based on his Filipino system.  You could mug with him and get your picture taken, but I took a pass on that.  He’s a tremendous martial artist, but also a shrewd business man.  He showed us several karambit-style knives he designed as rescue tools for Europe, where such knives are illegal.  In the absence of an edge, a ‘blade’ consisting of a seatbelt cutter, screw driver, oxygen bottle wrench is allowed.  Of course, you could still use it to control and apply to pressure points, but Doug never said that.

I got my hands on a DART (Direct Action Response Knife).  Doug developed this knife with the Italian knife company, Fox.  It’s a karambit style, with an Emerson wave opener, but a non-curved blade.  I looked for these for several years but couldn’t find them.  All Fox would say was a “…family disagreement prevented continued manufacturing.”  Well, it seems they are back and I have one!
Direst Action Response Knives
It looks like a Karambit, but.....
Instead of a curved blade, it's more of a drop point tanto

Could I summarize the Blade Show in blog or two?

Look, you could spend the day just visiting the big commercial knife companies, like Spyderco, Cold Steel and Buck, and you wouldn’t be disappointed.  You could also spend the day talking to custom designers, the makers and technical support people.  There are demos on the floor as well as classes, lectures and helpful people everywhere.

The Blade Show has become too large to be summarized by any one blogger.  Each of us is a blind man inspecting an elephant.  If you are a knife fancier, come and attend.  It’s the greatest knife show on earth, possibly the solar system.

Here are few more photos.

collectable knives, pocket jewelry
Think of them as pocket jewelry 

Tiger handles
It takes two to truly understand the image