$1.

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VOL. 1, NO. 1

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The Magazine For Cutlery Enthusiasts

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 al Nos. I throuc
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=found f---
440-C stainless steel with
etched Texas Ranger scene
African ivory hilt with 14 c
golc1 Texas Ranger badge.
Solild sterlir~g guard and F,om-
---L .
me1 casr from hand calrved
masters.
Beautiful h i mahoc
display cast

Serial Nos. ugh 500

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BLP,DE hland grbound ifrom

440,-C stair less steel with
T-... .- D - - - .
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Made for the Teios mangers oy b o ~ l l n r ororners
3s Ranger badg
o_f
Atlanta. Address inquiries t o the Texas Ranger
imemorat~veComm~ttee, Waco, Texas or Col-
one bronze guard and r:lorn-
8rothers. 593 Westminster Drive, Atlanta,
30324
me1 From hland cdl
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Bea~ .- -1 - -1 .- rnsnoc
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)lay cast
 THE COVER ...
\

THE' AMERICAN BLADE

MAY-JUNE, 1973 A SOUTHERN HOUSE PUBLICATION VOL. I, NO. I

FEATURES

2 KNIVES OF THE MOUNTAIN MEN . . .. . . . .Steve Miller

16 SHEFFIELD KNIVES William C. Adams

Hugh W. Brock

20 BLADES FOR GAME . . . . .John Woutters

'I'hc t \ \ o Lnivcs p i c t ~ ~ r c ion
l the cover \ \ c r c
ni.1~le h!- .ZIich.~el Collins of Collin. Hrothcrs
in .\tl.tnt;~.'I'hc!. .lrc .I hunter'. Lnifc .)nil fish- 30 RODERICK CHAPPEL . . . . . .John Culler
crmn~l'sknife \\ i th schrimsh.t\vcLl ivor!- h.ln~llcs.
A n interesting fc.lturc is t h . ~ t thcsc hl.liles arc
n c \ c r tx)lishcLl on .I hutting ~ v l i c c l . 'I'hc!. arc DEPARTMENTS
tinnil g r o u n J .)nil h.~nilr ~ ~ b h c to
il .I s . ~ t i nfinish
.ind .ire pric.cd .I[ .~pprosim.~tcl!.$ 2 5 0 e . ~ c h .
12 NEW PRODUCTS

40 GEORGE HERRON KNIVES

Field Editor, Mark 0. Bara

SHORT FEATURES
WBLISHED BY SOUTHERN HOUSE
PUBLISHING COMPANY 26 FULLER McLANE-A MAN AND HIS KNIVES
John Culler, Editor
Prescott Bailma, Art Director
Patricia A. Terry, Budncsa Manager 10 HEN AND ROOSTER POCKET KNIVES . . . .Joe Dennard
Walter Collins, Managing Editor
Ted Borg, Chief Photograph
Col. Robwt Mayes, American Pocket W e
Editor 14 ETCHING
Joe Dennud, Europem Pocket Knife Editor
Steve MiIler, Antique Knife Editor
FIELD EDITORS
Michael Reem THE AMERICAN BLADE is published six times a year by Southern House Publishing
Mark 0. Bara Corporation at 3321 Fox Hall Drive, Columbja, South Carolina. Second class postage paid
Cd. mes P. Cast011
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at Columbia, South Carolina and at additional mailing offices. Advertising rates furnished
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plied for.

VOL. I, NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973

 "Wild Bill" Hickok shown wearing large butcher knife similar to the
one by Lawson & Goodnow. Courtesy of Missouri Historical Society.

c?I

KNIVES
OF THE
MOUNTAIN
MEN
by Steve Miller

In the turbulent years following

the creation of the American Repub-
lic, westward exploration and expan-
sion created a new legend-the
mountain man. Not necessarily a new
breed, but a mere extension of the
adventurous spirit which sent the
French voyageurs west into Quebec
and Ontario and the English ex-
plorers deep into southern Africa, the
American mountain man could not
only cope with the cruel wilderness,
but could lick it on its own terms.
While often the inexperienced and
green soldiers would die from the
lack of the bare necessities, the moun-
tain man learned from Indians with
whom he often fought and lived well
off the land.
A recent film, "Jeremiah Johnson,"
based upon the book "Crow Killer"
by Raymond W. Thorp and Robert
Bunker, gives an excellent insight into
the life of this breed of man. But a
glaring error in this otherwise h e
film is the huge Bowie knife tucked
into Johnson's waistband. The era of
the Mountain man began long, long
before Jim Bowie's famous Vidalia
Sandbar fight, and the peak of the
Mountain Man was reached in the
early 1830's, went on into the 1840's
and then waned. By 1850 the beaver
were trapped out and the once proud
2 THE AMERICAN BLADE
 trapper was relegated to the role as
guide or Army scout. In this capacity
he remained until the final extermina-
tion of the once numerous bison.
Men such as Jim "Old Gabe" Brid-
ger and Kit Carson became famous
through the publicity minded press,
but equally brave and competent
Mountain Men such as Joe Meek,
Tom Fitzgerald, Louis Vasquez, Mil-
ton Sublette, James Beckwourth and
Francis Chardon helped write the
history of the west.
The great fur companies such as
the Hudson's Bay Company, Ameri-
can Fur Company and the Rocky
Mountain Fur Company also played
a major role and in fact hundreds of
thousands of scalping and butcher
knives came from their fur trading.
These knives were one of the major
items of trade for the beaver pelts or
plews as they were called by the
mountain men.
The knife was the mountain man's
most important and essential tool.
While serving primarily to remove
the plew from the beaver and then
to flesh it, it also handled all camp
chores, removed the occasional scalp
and was the prime weapon of last
resort. To the mountain man, his
knife won the famous Green River
stamp. "Up to the Green River!" was
his battle cry, never mind who had
actually made the knife. Be it Wilson
or Rodgers of Sheffield; Lamson &
Goodnow of Massachusetts; Price or
Will and Finck of San Francisco, it
mattered little. The very early Shef-
field knives carried the stamp GR
which is familiar to collectors of Rev-
olutionary War Guns and in fact was
the symbol of King George. To the
mountain man the letters G.R. stood
for "Green River."
In his early work on Jim Bridger,
Osbome Russell describes the outfit
of the mountain man thusly: "A trap-
pers equipment in such cases is gen-
erally his powder horn and bullet
pouch with a belt, to which is at-
tached a butcher knife, a wooden box
containing bait for beaver, a tobacco
sack with a pipe and implements for
"Rowdy" made up t o appear as Plainsman. N o t e the Green River scalper making fire, with sometimes a hatchet
in his belt. Steve Miller Collection. Circa 1870. fastened to the pommel of his saddle."

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE. 1973

 Records of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany reveal thousands of dozens of
skinning and common scalping and
butcher knives purchased for as little
as nine cents each. By the time these
would be sold or traded to the In-
dian or trapper profits of 1000%were
common.
When the prices for beaver had
dropped to $3.50-$4 from their once
previous high of from $6-$8, it often
cost one plew for a large butcher
knife! Not a bad profit, even by to- A G. W. Tayler cast steel model with 1 1 5/16" blade, one piece stag hilt.
day's standards! Sheath is two piece green stained wood with pewter bindings, throat and
tip. Lou Kosloff Collection.
The Hawken Rifle which cost $40
in St. Louis sold for as much as $200
in the mountains. In the author's col-
lection is a common scalping knife of
the Green River type with a blade
over three and a half feet long. The
symbol of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, a beaver with a branch in its
mouth, is in relief in ivory on the 10- Large Butcher knife with 10-inch blade by Lamson & Goodnow. The patent
inch ebony hilt. The mounts are of date March 6, 1860 is stamped on the blade. This is a typical large scalping
pewter and the blade is etched "Hand knife and identical t o the one shown in the photo of Bill Hickok. Steve
Miller Collection.
Forged & Warranted." During the
1840's this knife hung on the wall in
one of the Hudson's Bay Company
offices.
In Wah-to-Yah and The Taos Trail
by Lewis H. Garrad, Long Hatcher
is quoted: "This child hates an Amer-
ican what hasn't seen Injun's skulped
or doesn't know a Yute from a Shian
moksin. Sometimes he thinks of mak-
ing tracks for white settlement but
when he gits to Bent's big lodge on
the Arkansa and sees the bugheways,
an the fellars from the states, how
they roll their eyes at an injun yell
worse nor if a village of Comanches
was on' em, and pick up a beaver trap
to ask what it is-just shows whar the
niggurs had thur bringin up.
"A little bacca ef its a plew a plug,
an' Dupont and G'lena, a Green Five typical Green River knives by Russell circa 1835-1 870. The earlier
River or so" and he leaves for the knives have the name J. Russell & Co. Green River Works stamped in
Bayou Salade. Darn the white diggins two lines while the later mark is etched and has a small triangle below.
while thars buffler in the mountains." Steve Miller Collection.
The time Louy Simonds asks Long
Hatcher, "Mind the time we took yellin' like mad. I grabs my knife, traps was hid in the creek. Sez I,
Pawnee topknots away to the Platte?' keels one, an made for timber, with hyars a gone coon if they keep my
Hatcher answers: "They come mighty four of thar cussed arrows in my gun, so I follers thar trail an' at night
nigh rubbin me out tother side meatbag. The Paches took my beaver crawls into camp, and socks my big
of Spanish Peaks-woke up in the -five pack of the prettiest in the knife up to the Green River, first dig.
morning jist afore day, the devils mountains-and two mules, but my I take tother Injun by the har and

THE AMERICAN BLADE

makes meat of him too. Maybe thar
wasn't coups counted an' a big dance
on hand ef I was alone. I got old
Bullthrower (his rifle) back".
No, I think it is safe to say that the
knife of the mountain man was not
the famous Bowie, but the humble
skinner, scalper or just plain Green Muzzltloadta. Supplies & Books
River.
It was the Green River and its fa- BOX 8 2 ~ WOBTHINGTON,
- OHIO 4308s
mous valley out west which gave the
name to the knife, not John Russell's
famous Green River Works, which in
fact didn't start the manufacture of
knives until about 1835. The early
skinning knives with the famous G.R. BYDOC KNIFE:
date from the late 1700's until early Made for Golden Age Arms Company by Master Craftsman Doc Johnston.
Blade is hand ground and polished, then tempered to hold a lasdng edge. Blade
1830 when William became king. He 5 tang is .bolted to India stag handle. Guard and butt cap are of German silver. $
lasted for about a year then Queen Total length 8%". Blade 4". Hand sewn cowhide sheath comes with knife.
Victoria began her 50-year reign.
$ Knife $60.00 Postage $1.00

I
Late knives after 1838 usually bear 125 illustrated pages of muzzle loading supplies; authentic reproduction flintlock
and percussion Kentucky rifle and pistol kits; knife kits; powder horn kits;
the cypher V.R. I wonder if it was tomahawk kits; almost 800 titles of books on guns, history, antiques, and

a
mere chance that made John Russell Americana; Line of leather goods including moccasins, belts and buckskins.
All items advertised are mailed the day we receive an order. We sell only
name his famous factory the Green QUALITY.
River Works? Nevertheless during the
late 1830's his own Green River SEND $1.00 FOR CATALOG NO. 5
Works knives caught up and sur- KNIFE ASSEMBLY,
passed in sales his English competi- 12 page book explaining how to build a custom knife. The book lists 30 knife
blade styles, a variety of guards and handles for a do-it-yourself'knife.
tion. The quality of his products,
turned out by what was then revolu-
tionary methods caused the Sheffield
cutlers to not only imitate his design,
but to mark their own knives with the
stamp "Green River." Recently a large Products of time, patience, craftsmanship and quality materials
number of such knives were offered by one of America's finest custom rifle makers 'Apache' Hunting
Series: Caper, Skinner, Hunter, Outfitter and Angler and Mariner
for sale for as little as $5 each. Marine Series from $20.00 b $75.00. Delivery in six weeks. l o w
serial numbers.
The common Green River scalping
knife had a straight blade from 4 to BAUER GUNMAKERS LTD.
6 inches in length. The hilt was usu- 8228 Mayfield Road. Chesterland, Ohio 44026
ally of hardwood scales, fastened
with three or more rivets. The larger
and even more popular butcher
knives had blades from 8 to 14 inches
long. Some mountain men preferred
knives with the sharply curved skin-
ning blade and the fur companies and
John Russell provided both. The
sharpened blades were usually inten-
tionally dulled and then resharpened CUSTOM -+K N I V E S
with the bevel only on one side to 1 7 5 5 L A U R E L ST. BATON ROUGE, LA.
prevent the knife from slipping and 70802
cutting the pelt during skinning. As Hardened and tempered to RC 58
the knife was usually sold without a
sheath, the mountain man fashioned Miniatures 2" to 5" any style
his own out of leather, buffalo hide, 2 to 3 months delivery Catalogue SO$
Member NMLRA Amn. Mt. Men 1-504-342-7992
tin and sometimes even wood. Once

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973

 The buffalo hide had replaced the
beaver plew as the currency of the
area and the Indian who was not
hostile was as rare. The Blackfeet,
always hostile, had been replaced as
major enemies by the now hostile
Sioux and Cheyenne. Even the once
friendly Pawnee grumbled at the ever
expanding white tide and only his
ancient enmity of the Sioux kept him
partially aligned with the whites. The
once proud Flathead had become
almost extinct, not through war or
battle, but by smallpox and measles,
another gift of the white man.
Few true Bowies are found in the
west before the gold rush period
( 1849). Some American cutlers such
as Peter Rose, John D. Chevalier and
William R. Goulding of New York
Giant Scalping Knife four feet long that hung in the offices of the Hudson's
Bay Company during the early 1860 period. The beaver done here in ivory and Henry Schively of Philadelphia
is the symbol of the famous Fur Company. It is shown in relation t o two turned out a small number of Bowies
early pipe tomahawks and a conventional skinning knife. Steve Miller and a number of importers like Wil-
Collection. son, Hawksworth & Ellison and Wil-
liam Greaves & Sons of New York
brought in the early Sheffield Bowies
by R. Bunting & Son, S. C. Wragg
and W. Butcher but the massive in-
flux of Sheffield knives wouldn't be-
gin until shortly before and during
I the Civil War. A few blacksmiths and
cutlers made truly custom Bowie
Bowie Knives such as is still done to-
day by Moran, Henry and Collins,
but the majority of large belt knives
were homemade by the mountain
men themselves. Swords were cut
down, rehilted and reshaped and the
occasional knife is still found today
with the original sword hilt.
By 1850 Russell's Green River
Works were turning out large num-
bers of Bowie knives, with the clip
and Spear Point, brass guards and
genuine stag hilts. Unlike their Shef-
Two massive Bowies by George Wostenholm & Son of the 1850 t o 1860
eriod. Both knives have heavy I 0 inch blades and stag hilts. The top field counterparts who supplied flimsy
rnife is the earlier knife. Steve Miller Collection. cardboard covered sheaths, Russell
supplied sheaths of good saddle
in a while he would trade an Indian with hardwood replaced, sometimes leather which wouldn't fall apart
out of a fancy beaded rawhide covered with rawhide and even with after one good rain. Most well used
sheath. Constant sharpening would rattlesnake skin. Stag handled Green Sheffield Bowie knives are found
leave the blade with as much as an River knives are often found using with the original sheaths having been
inch of blade missing and very often the stag from elk and deer, replaced long ago. Russell supplied
skinning knives are unreckonizable. The Bowie knife first made its ap- knives with blades of five to 10 inches
Some knives have been re-hilted sev- pearance in the mountain man's "pos- long with about the most popular
eral times and I have seen knives sible~"during the mid-1840 period. having blades of seven inches. Simi-

6 THE AMERICAN BLADE

lar knives were made by Lamson &
Goodnow and by Landers, Frary &
Clark of New Britain, Connecticut.
Most of the Sheffield cutlers such
as Edward Barnes & Sons and Alex-
ander and Manson were primarily
table cutlery makers and many Bow-
ies are found with extremely flimsy
blades of M inch or less, table cutlery
handles and are almost useless for
anything more strenuous than slicing
bread. Not so the Russell bowie how-
ever. Most knives have heavy blades
of fi inch stock and are as well made
as could be asked, for camp chores
or defensive work. It is true however,
that some Sheffield makers such as
Wragg, Wostenholm & Joseph and
James Rodgers made good heavy
Bowie knives strictly for use.
Joseph Rodgers however, was the
only Sheffield cutler that regularly
supplied good, heavy saddle leather
sheaths that would stand some use.
It is still common to find a good old
Bowie by Rodgers with the original
sheath, which is a rarity with most
Sheffield knives. The Sheffield makers
also used lovely pearl and ivory for
their hilts which while pleasing to the
eye, seldom can take the rough use
that stag, rosewood and bone can
tolerate.
To the advanced knife collector an Canadian trapper on the right wears a late Russell Green River hunting
early Bowie knife is a knife that dates knife. Circa 1880 period. Steve Miller Collection.
prior to 1845. This leaves out all the
big civil war bowies with re-inforced juns" friendly, some as the result of buffalo were gone they would be
guards, most cutlery handled knives "friendly" quarrels, some by disease, completely dependent upon the gov-
and the little gamblers dirks. A sure some by the "injuns' and some by ernment for sustenance.
sign of such an early knife is the their own hand. The once great The rifles had changed drastically
coffin hilt, with or without guard. American Fur Company and the in the last 30 years. The Hawkens
Such Sheffield knives that date prior Rocky Mountain Fur Company were were almost completely gone except
to 1840 are found by W&S Butcher, both gone and the Hudson's Bay for a few old diehards, and had been
W. Butcher, Jonathan Crookes, R. Company was a shell of its former replaced by the Spencer, Sharps,
Bunting & Son, Broomhead & Tho- self and in fact had turned into Springfield and Henry. The self-con-
mas, George Woodhead and Wood- a sort of frontier Sears-Roebuck. The tained cartridge had completely re-
head & Hartley. United States now spanned from placed the flint and percussion cap
By 1850 many of the old time ocean to ocean and only the buffalo Only the knives remained the same.
Mountain Men were gone. Some such remained. The Green River knives remained,
as little Joe Meek had gone "civilian" The slaughter of the buffalo was still by John Russell & Company and
and earned their keep as small town more a business for the Army than also by Tiffany of New York, Price
lawmen and a few such as Kit Carson For hides. Their complete extermina- and Will & Finck of San Francisco.
continued to scout for the army or tion would insure peaceful and The Tiffany skinning knives are
hunt "buffler." A larger number had Friendly Indians, as they had com- found with genuine stag hilts, and
been sent off to the country where plete dependence on the bison for silver escutcheons and two Price skin-
beaver are always prime and all "in- Food, shelter and clothes. Once the ning knives in the authors collection

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973

 have hilts of stag and walrus ivory
respectively. Michael Price, the great
master cutler of San Francisco, who
turned out fancy gamblers knives
with gold and silver mounts, with
hilts of ivory, pearl and abalone pearl,
was not too proud to turn his work
to a more commercial use, and the
collector who has a knife, be it fancy
or plain, by M. Price is indeed lucky.
I doubt that 25 knives by Price are
in existence today, although hope-
fully some hidden ones still remain.
Shortly before this article was writ-
ten, I bought a beautiful ivory hilted
knife by Price, with coin silver
mounts and sheath for $50 from a
local Vermon farmer. The knife had
belonged to his grand-uncle who re-
turned from the goldfields in the late
The top knife is by Peter Rose of New York, circa 1840 while the lower 1860s. The knife is now in the Nor-
knife is a typical home made Bowie of the same period often found among man Flayderman collection.
the possibles of the Mountain Man. Steve Miller Collection.
The collector of fine edged weap-
ons should not look down on the
v -L- common skinning knife. The huge
Rodgers knives with horse-head pom-
mels and ivory scales look pretty on
the wall but the tales that could be
told by the beat up, much sharpened
Green River scalping knife would
probably provide more interest. The
economy minded collector can put
together a fine collection without
heavy cost. The average Green River
knife is sold by dealers for $15-
$40 and often the sheath raises the
price more than the knife itself.
The beaded Indian sheaths and the
Early homemade plainsman's knife and sheath. Steve Miller Collection. leather sheaths with brass tacks often
sell for over $150 with or without a
knife! Careful shopping at antique
. shows and flea markets often find
good Green River Knives priced be-
low $5. The Tiffany skinners are a bit
more rare however as my set of
b Green River type Tiffany knives to-
gether with a bone saw and in an old
leather buffalo hunters kit cost me
over $500 several years ago. Beware
however, of a large number of "Tif-
fany" Bowie knives that have recently
been imported into the states. These
mint condition knives, with their
Typical Green River Bowie by J. Russell Co. of the 1870 period. Blade
is 5 inches long, guard of brass and scales of stag. Later knives had com- fancy ivory hilts, sometimes covered
position scales. Steve Miller Collection. with scrimshaw and with claims of
8 THE AMERICAN BLADE

Two exceptionally fine and rare skinning knives by Michael Price of San
e
Francisco, circa 1860 period. The t o knife has stag scales and the bottom
knife scales of walrus ivory with t e inscription "From John t o John."
Steve Miller Collection.
having belonged to some "hero" or
other are modem made replicas
I was recently offered a large num-
ber of them priced at $35 each in
lots of ten or more. I turned them
down! It has also become common
practice for importers to "find huge
numbers of allegedly "old Green
River type skinners which are offered
cheaply in excellent to mint condi-
tion. Just remember that the word
"England" should not appear on any
pre-1890 knife and you are far better
off to avoid any knife that is availa-
ble in great quantity, The old, beat-
up knife has far more "character" and
enhances any coIlection more than a
newly made "antique." Remember
that the knife that graced the belt of
the mountain man or Indian is the
knife that can tell a tale. In "Life in
the Far West" by George Ruxton, he
tells of a typical Taos brawl: Sweep-
ing them round their heads, down
came the heavy weapons amongst the
Mexicans with wonderful effect-
each blow, dealt by the nervous arms
of Wooton and LeBonte, mowing
them down a good half dozen of the
assailants. At this the mountaineers
VOL. I. NO. I-MAY-JUNE. 1973
GREEN 1
RIVER! I
JOHN PETTY SHEATH KNIFE
5" blade, rosewood handle, marked ['Green
River Knife".
Price: $8.00 each, wifh leather sheath.
Petty's "Bafrcl Brmd" t+&mmk was grated
in 1791.
I BUSHMAN'S FRIEND I
6" blade, rosewood handk, made by Christo-
pher Johnson (now out of business). Made
for the Australian "Bushmen".
Price: $10.00 each, with leather sheath.
gave a hearty whoop, and charged
the wavering enemy with such rest-
less vigor, that they gave way and
bolted through the door, leaving the
1 HUMPHRE YS SKINNING KNIFE 1
6" h a d forged blade, beech handle. The
floor strewed with wounded, many b W e is marked "Green River KnifeJ'.
most dangerously; for, as may be Price: $6.00 each, postpaid.
W e Awe a few w k e d 'rBlack Diamond" for
imagined, a thrust from the keen the Australian ntorket, otherwise the h e ,
scalp knife by the nervous arm of a same price.
mountaineer was no baby blow, and W . R. Humphreys we& out of business about
20 years ago.
seldom failed to strike home-up to
the "Green River" on the blade.
All knives shown are in the au-
thors collection u n 1e s s otherwise
noted.
Bibliography and Recommended
Reading
FARRIER'S KNIFE
Wah-to-Yah & The Taos Trail by
Stag h a d k s , made by Christopher Johnson
Lewis H. Garrard. (now out of business) in the good old d q i !
Life in the Far West by George F. Price: $8.00 each, postpaid.
W e have a VERY few made by IXL, $10.00
Ruxton. each, postpaid.
Firearms, Traps & Tools of the
Mountain Men by Carl P. Russell.
American knives by Harold L. Pe-
terson.
I A11 postpaid in the continrntal U. S.
No C.O.D.3, please
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
Crow Killer by Raymond Thorp & OR YOUR MONEY BACK!
Hobert Bunker.
Across the Wide Missouri by Ber-
nard DeVoto.
Classic Bowie Knives by Robert
, A T L A N T A CUTLERY
CORP.
Box 33266, Decatur,
Abels.

Hen And Rooster
pocket Knives
by Joseph R. Dennard
In recent years pocket knife collect-
ing has grown in popularity among
all age groups, and the hobby is the
topic of more and more conversations
at the trade and gun shows. Fine
pocket knives are a rarity, and the
exceptionally fine ones bring pre-
mium prices.
Among the finest are those im-
ported from Germany with the Hen
and Rooster logo stamped on the
blades. This trademark will be found
with numerous stampings accom-
panying it, such as C. Bertram, Voss
Cut. Co., Fife and others. With this
variety of stampings and the multi-
tude of pattern and shapes, coupled
with the different materials available
this facet of the collectors market be-
comes a virtual gemstone.
There are numerous companies as-
sociated with the Hen and Rooster
logo, among them are: Voss Cutlery
Co., C. Bertram, Fife Cutlery Co.,
Carter's, Lipshutz, Gutmann and
Weber. These are among the more
frequent stampings to be found, but
there may be additional small runs
made of a few not included here.
Variations of these names may ap-
pear, an example being the "Voss
Cut." vs. "Voss Cut Co." without the
periods. There is also the straight line
stamping of Voss and the curved
stamping of the same.
With the Bertram name there are
similar changes, such as the "Stain-
less" which is stamped on their stain-
less steel dress knives under the Soli-
gen, which in turn is beneath the
Hen and Rooster logo; whereas on
the non-stainless blades of course,
"stainless" is omitted. There are also
other variations, such as the number
of blades which are stamped. The
ductions of their counterparts and
with only two blades-a
and a pen.
sheepsfoot
The standard Stockman pattern
(No. 725) has a large clip, sheepsfoot
and spey blade. The usual length is
four inches when closed, but a larger
stockman pattern was made long ago
with an overall length of four and a
half inches. There is one variation of
the blade combination with the "half"
early imports into this country were stockman pattern, which contains a
stamped on one blade only, but later clip and spey blade. This has recently
there were stampings on the two been done by Gutmann. The scales of
largest blades, as in the four blade the stockman are of stag or bone, but
Congress pattern, but as the "match- there have been a few in Mother of
ing number" concept of the gun trade Pearl and are very rare indeed as this
made its inroads in knives, all blades knife is made for heavy duty work.
were stamped. So now we have a There are many pen knife sizes and
multitude of stampings and combina- patterns with some variations of only
tions of stampings, which gives some an eighth of an inch. There are
indication to when a particular knife probably more variations of small
was made. knives than any other grouping; this
The patterns or styles of knives as-
sociated with the Hen and Rooster
logo can be classified as follows:
Congress, Stockman, Pen and Dress,
Whitlers, single blade models, and
multi-blade models. Keep in mind
each of these patterns may be
stamped on all blades and some on
only one or two blades by the variety
of companies associated with the Hen
and Rooster logo.
The Congress pattern is probably
one of the most popular among col-
lectors. The symmetry and balance of
the blades, especially when open, are 573 Congress pattern ,in stag.
excellent. Couple this with the avail-
able use of additional blades if one
should get dull, and you have a very
desirable knife both for collectors and
users. The Congress has several vari-
ations of pattern design. The 2308
pattern is a four blade model with
two sheepfoot blades, one per blade
and one coping blade. The 575 is a
slightly heavier knife with double
pen and sheepfoot blades, and the
573 is simular to the 575 except it is
a quarter inch shorter. The 574 is
shorter yet by another quarter inch,
and has a nail file in place of one of
the pen blades.
Rare 725 Stockman in genuine pearl.
The "half" Congress patterns are
the 575?6, 574K and the 573?4, all re-
THE AMERICAN BLADE

Large single blade locking back knife.
Stainless steel pen knife.
is true because of the small amount
of scale material needed to make
these models, because stag and pearl
are increasingly harder to find and
handle. A few of the many combina-
tions of the Hen and Rooster pen and
dress knives are illustrated with this
article.
There is a distant lack of whitler
patterns with the Hen and Rooster
stampings. None have been made in
recent years and we have seen only
a few in past years. However, with
the popularity of the whitler pattern
I think it is just a matter of time be-
fore new patterns of this knife will be
available.
Another model that isn't seen very
much is the single blade knife. Illus-
trated is the 816ST pattern, a single
blade lock-back knife with genuine
bone scales. The locking mechanism
VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973
ter and the scales are offered in a
variety of materials. There is a pre-
dominance of stainless steel scales
with a variety of engine turned de-
signs or even just a plain satin buff.
Most of the knives in this category
are stamped on only the main blade
and sometimes the small pen blade,
but the scissors, file and can openers
are not. However, they could be in
the more recent imports.
. . . . .....
....
;::,:..
.I;: I.;:,: ':', .... 'I The scale or handle material used
......
,.. ,:,,,,,::
.:.:;:.:,;:::::.s
.....
:! ;; , .,;{:-::.
,:.;.;I;....:. ....... ':!::....... "*.~,--.'c"m
j::!.. ...
y ,:.:;::::: on Hen and Rooster pocket knives is
A 725 Stockman in genuine stag scales. from a wide variety of sources, in-
cluding: genuine stag, genuine bone,
Mother of Pearl, phenolics, horn and
stainless steel. With the market in-
creasing for stag and the diminished
supply of this material that is avail-
able, the prices are rising as well as
the knives themselves. Truly good
stag is rapidly becoming scarce on
pocket knives, with poorer quality
material being used. The same is true
of shin bone, with scources of this
material almost gone. Virtually no
quantity of knives can be made using
this material as it comes from natural
sources.
Mother of Pearl is one of the most
desirable materials from an appeal
The famous H e n and Rooster logo, with viewpoint, but it is one of the most
Solignen stamped below it.
difficult to obtain and to work with,
because it fractures and cracks easily.
is of the typical lever type locking Look for any genuine pearl knives to
nock with a corresponding notch in climb in price. The synthetic mate-
the blade tang. There is a shackle at- rials are used readily because of their
tached at the pommel but the ab- tough and durable nature, such as the
sence of a rear bolster is not that un- high impact phenolics, which may be
usual. Another single blade pattern is dyed and pigmented to look almost
illustrated with the serpentine shape like bone itself. Even the grain can
and note there is only one bolster on be initiated into the material. Colors
this knife also. Yet, another category and textures are almost limitless in de-
of single blade knives are the ones sign and imagination, only the die
which are spring loaded and popu- cost prevents many variations from
larily known as switch blades. There being made. Horn, being a natural
are switch blade knives with the Hen product, will also be limited in usage.
and Rooster logo, they are not illus- Stainless steel scales are readily avaiI-
trated but they do exist and are very able and are frequently buffed or
rare since importation stopped in engine turned to give a more aesthe-
1952 of all switch blade knives. tic appeal.
In the multi-blade category, there This review gives a very short in-
are many combinations of blades and sight into the multitudes of various
tools. One is reminded of the Swiss pattern, stamping and scale combina-
Army knives when looking at these tions which can make this hobby a
models, but the quality is much bet- very fascinating one.
 NEW PRODUCTS
New "Air Weight" models from
Bucker Gascon are really light and
convenient and should be just the
ticket for the outdoorsman who
needs a small and handy knife. At
the present, Bucker is offering the
"Air Weight" series in the four
blade designs illustrated. These
knives with micarta handles weigh
just under four ounces and are
available from Bucker Gascon,
P. 0. Box 398, Brusly, La. 70719.

The COLLINS WILDERNESS

KNIFE is an all metal survival
type knife which is also useful for
throwing and defense. The special
reinforced point of the 440-C steel
blade is designed to be tough
enough for the most severe use
such as throwing and chopping
but still offers extreme usefulness
as a general purpose hunting knife.
Everything from field dressing
game to chopping light firewood
can be easily accomplished and
the COLLINS BROS. guarantee
covers it all. One unique feature
not to be seen on other knives is
the break-front sheath design - with
a patent pending two position clos-
ure system for extra safety. The
knife can be drawn and thrown
from the sheath with one under-
hand motion with an effective
range of about ten to twelve feet
(after a little practice) and can be
purchased for $30 from your sport-
ing goods dealer or from COL-
LINS BROS., 593 Westminster
Dr., Atlanta 30324.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

The new A L L - A M E R I C A N
SPORTSMAN'S KNIFE was speci-
ally designed by Harry E. Mc-
Evoy, owner of the Tru-Balance
Knife Co. of Grand Rapids, Mich.,
to be the ultimate weapon in cut-
lery for all-purpose use by the
American sportsman.
COLLINS
SCHRIMSHANDER TO
Designed for maximum strength THE CUTLERY TRADE
and rugged durability as a throw- Custom Maker of beautiful decorated ivory hilts.
ing knife, it is also intended to Specializing in Schrimshaw and ivory carving.
function as a hunting, skinning, Prices and brochure available on request.
fighting, fish-cleaning, chopping,
game-hunting, survival knife. I t is I M I C H A E L COLLINS. 593 Westminster Drive I
intended to be the ultimate blade Atlanta, Ga. 30324
in sportsman's all-purpose cutlery
Tel. 404-875-3090
and carries a lifetime guarantee
against blade breakage.

Overall length is 12 inches-

handy as a measuring device; and
it is 2 inches wide and 3/16th
inches thick. The weight is exactly
12 ounces-which conforms to the CUSTOM KNIVES: Made to your specifications. See the full line, belt knives.
folding knives. bowics. combat, miniatures and accessories. Send $1.00 for latest
No. 1 rule for throwing knives to catalog and color postcard.
have one ounce of weight for every
inch of overall length. At a weight
STEVE'S CUSTOM KNIVES,
of three-quarters of a pound, the 301 MEYER, ALVIN, TEXAS 77511
ALL-AMERICAN has sufficient
weight for light chopping, as well
as being heavy enough to insure
good target penetration when used
as a throwing knife. It is also
long enough to provide the knife HEN AND
thrower with maximum control.
Balancing point is approximately
one-half inch back of overall cen-
ROOSTER
ter-perfect for throwing by either HANDMADE
handle or blade, although it is pri- IN GERMANY
marily designed to be thrown by
the handle.
POCKET KNIVES
- &-&-dl
-
Handle slabs are of durable black Blades marked with Voss Cutlery Company, and Bertram.
vulcanized fibre, heavily riveted Genuine stag and pearl handles.
for maximum strength. A strong, We also stock the authorized Remington Barlow knife repro-
heavy leather sheath is provided duction made in Germany.
with each knife. Price is $25.00,
Write for our price list
dailed postpaid, from: TRU-BAL-
ANC) KNIFE COMPANY, 2155 Fife Cutlery Company
Tremont Blvd., N. W., Grand Ra- Mt. Sterling, Kentucky 40353
pids, Mich. 49504.
VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973
 ETCHING
Five hundred and forty-two years
ago, in 1431 A. D., Jehan le Begue
jotted down what may have been the
first written work on the art of etch-
ing, but many experts believe the art
was known even in antiquity.
During the Renaissance t h e r e
wasn't a single armourer's studio that
did not employ etching as a means of
decorating arms and amour. Even
the greatest artists of the day devoted
their skills on many an occasion to
the embellishment of some of the
great knight's metallic wardrobe.
Among those who did so were bril-
liant artists like Durer, Holbein and
Titian.
Since then the art of .etching as a
metal decorating technique has fal-
14
Ralph Bone folding hunter
Jim Lile Bowie
len from the position it once held and
all but disappeared. The reasons for
this are probably many, but one
cause was certainly the advent of the
industrial revolution, which all but
wiped out the incentive for hand-
crafted works. Etching, because of
the time involved in preparation and
actual working of the metal could not
flourish where mass production called
for speed and sameness.
Simply stated, the basic technique
of etching has remained unchanged
for 500 years. First the metal is cov-
ered with a wax mixture, then the de-
sign is drawn through with a needle-
like stylus. The metal, which is
protected everywhere except where
the needle has penetrated the wax
mixture and exposed the metal, is
placed in an acid bath. After a period
of time, learned only by experience,
the metal is removed from the acid
and the surface cleaned, leaving a de-
sign incised into the medal as deeply
as any engraved line.
One of the most obvious observa-
tions concerning etching is that the
quality of the work depends not upon
the technique (etching v. engraving)
but upon the skill of the artists do-
ing the work. When considering the
value of any piece of art there are
three things which must be consid-
ered: How good it is, who did it, and
if it's the only one of its kind. Etch-
ing is the primary process of the
Shaw-Leibowitz studio in New Cum-
berland, West Virginia, and their
work is pictured on these pages.
THE AMERICAN BLADE
 Close up Dozier Bowie E

Buck folding hunter scrimshawed ivory

' Chubby Hensky Bowie

'-----. --
-

#ad Mabe

Illustrated above i s the TMD Integral Hilt with cap model-made from a single block o f steel (D-2 or 440-C,
your choice) with cap and hilt fashioned integrally with the full tapered tang blade. There i s no stronger or
more beautiful way t o make a hunting knife. Blades are concave ground and mirror finished. Hunting knives
from $45 t o $225. W e also offer two folding knife models. A full line of kitchen and galley knives, axes and
carving sets for the dining table-all individually made by T. M. Dowell.

Send $ 1 .OO f o r catalog to T. M. Dowell, 139 St. Helen's Place, Bend, Oregon!
9770 1 .

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973

 SHEFFIELD KNIVES
by William C. Adams
and
Hugh W. Brock

Parts and steps in the manufacture of a one-blade ~ o c k e t knife.

(Photo courtesy of Atlanta Cutlery Corp.)

16 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 Knives have been made in Sheffield,
England since Chaucer's time. Early
folding knives (without springs) were
made there at least as early as the
14th Century.
The Company of Cutlers in Hal-
lamshire was founded as a guild in
the mid-17th Century. This guild reg-
ulated working conditions, appren-
ticeship, and maker's marks until the
1800's, when its role was modified
extensively. The Company inspectors
had real power. For breaking the rule
against working too late at night
(this was considered unfair competi-
tion) or using another maker's mark,
the offending cutler ran the risk of
having his knives confiscated and
broken in a public ceremony.
The usual apprenticeship required
to become a cutler was seven years.
During this period, the apprentice
was bound to a cutler who, in ex-
change for giving the apprentice his
room, board and teaching him the
trade, got the apprentice's labor for
about two cents a month. Marriage
was forbidden.
When the apprentice was finally
granted his freedom he became a
Freeman of the Company and was
assigned a mark of his own. Now he
was an acknowledged cutler, author-
ized by law to set up his own shop
and practice his trade.
This was the man who made the A cutler's bench. At left are the blades. N o t e how rough they are. At
center are two pocket knives loosely pinned together in preliminary hand
Sheffield knife famous. fitting. A t right is anvil and hammer for pinning knives together.
The cutler was (and still is, for that
matter) furnished the raw materials drilled; the scales and coverings were We used to think there was a great
for his knives by various subcontrac- rough rectangular pieces; the back machine of some type into which raw
tors. One man forged and tempered springs were long pieces of metal materials (or maybe parts) were put,
the blades, one made scales, another with a lump on one side for the rivet which automatically began making
furnished handle coverings, another undrilled and unshaped. knives when the start button was
the pins, and so on. These compo- The cutler would take these parts pushed, and from which finished
nents were bought by the cutler if the and make them into a finished knife, pocket knives commenced to issue,
wares were his own, or furnished him using only hand tools (hammers, files, all ready for boxing and labeling.
if he was doing work for a large rasps and parsers or bow drills). That ain't so! Machine production is
company. He was usually furnished The cutler's tool kit contained many a relative novelty in penknife produc-
enough parts to make about three handmade tools-jigs for marking tion, and except for the very cheapest
dozen penknives-approximately the tangs for drilling, cutters to inlet the give-away knives it still is not as fea-
number a master cutler, working with shield in the covering, and so on. The sible economically as a good trained
an apprentice, could make in a week cutler even made his own files by cutler. No machine can duplicate the
if he hustled like hell. These parts hand, as well as the small file blades old knives, which were indeed more
were in rough form; the blades didn't which went into gentlemen's pen- works of artistry in metal than mere
have a final polish and weren't knives. tools.

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973

 Putting the shield in the handle. The bow drill in action showing bow,
breastplate, bobbin and double parser. In the vise is the handle and a
template cut t o the shape of the shield.

As we have mentioned, a cutler
might work for a large firm, a small
firm, himself or all of the above. To-
day he might or might not have a
trademark issued to him. These
proper modem trademarks are reg-
istered at Cutler's Hall, the hall of the
Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire.
When most people were illiterate, the
trademark was the most important
way for the purchaser to be assured
of getting a quality knife. Trade-
marks were and still are guarded very
jealously.
Once a company was well estab-
lished such as Joseph Rodgers (star
and cross) or George Wostenholm
( I Q X L ) a host of imitator2 (two
stars, three crosses, XLNT, Non-
XLL) were sure to follow. Also,
when a pattern became popular
everybody else was sure to start mak-
ing a similar pattern-remember,
these knives were all handmade and
were often ordered and made in lots
of three dozen (sometimes less!).
This meant a large company would
have many patterns (Joseph Rodgers
had over two thousand patterns of
folding knives!) due to their efforts
to supply anything a customer might
want. If they didn't have it, they
would make it to order and add it to
their line.
Since these knives were handmade
by craftsmen working by eye and
bought from various out-workers or
independent cutlers, one might ex-
pect fairly large variations between
knives of a particular pattern. Control
over this was achieved by inspection
at the factory when the knives were

18 THE AMERICAN BLADE

delivered. The inspector compared sometimes for Wade & Butcher. "Ber- knives, so the knife got pushed off
the finished knife to a sample kept in tie," you say, "Could you make me the side and taken home-those that
the factory for that purpose. This these knives?" "Righto," he says, were fancy were saved-after all
knife used for comparison is called by "Four bob apiece, lend me your die they were expensive knives. Ordinary
the factory a "pattern knife." It is a and Oil mark the blades and start knives normally went for scrap.
production knife, undistinguished ex- tomorrow." Now Bertie made "em What about Sheffield knives today?
cept by a pattern number either for Rodgers, Wostenholm, et al., but The cutlery trade has always been a
painted on the blade, written on an his very own, marked "John Grunt- low-paying trade. A master cutler to-
attached sticker or paper tag, or Fudgenut Works" are the really rare day makes $75-$85 a week. Since a
sometimes nothing at all. This pattern collectors' items, if all you go by is young man can get a job in most any
knife was the knife that all others mark scarcity! industry which pays much more, very
were made to conform to. I t is espe- Frankly, we don't understand col- few have been apprenticed as cutlers
cially important in the trade wherein lecting pocket knives by maker alone since the depression. Then, too, the
the goods are handmade and the when there is such a wide disparity Sheffield cutlery trade has been hard
workmen come once a week to "liver in prices. We think collecting them hit by Japanese and German compe-
and draw" (deliver the goods and by quality ( a fine one is a fine one, tition; there were over 4,000 cutlery
draw their pay! ) . no matter whose name is on i t ) or factories in Sheffield in 1910-today
Many knife collectors in the states style (Barlow, Stockmen's, etc.) is there are perhaps a hundred. Urban
have made much to-do about whose much more rewarding. renewal has closed up some of these
name is stamped on the knife blades Some fine knives aren't even marked. marginal businesses, high tariffs and
and what the other blade markings These were "off the side" (of the the depression took their toll. In the
are. For Sheffield knives this is often bench) knives made for family or final analysis, however, it has been
a superficial way of evaluating a friends. Sometimes, too, the cutler the toll of the years, the death of the
knife. Several instances showing the would discover a minute flaw in a "little masters," the men who made
frailty of relying on marks should
finished or near-finished knife. H e the Sheffield knife by hand, that has
give you an idea of what to expect
didn't want to get chewed out or caused the demise of so many of the
of marks.
damage his reputation by spoiling old firms.
First, let's consider special knives-
knives which you expect to sell only
in small quantity and really carry
only as an accommodation to the cus- 1 BROCK ~owies\
tomer. For instance, practically every
large multi-blade sporting knife made
in Sheffield came from one small firm.
This "Little Master" had enough
work supplying the larger firms to
justify setting up and specializing,
You'll find exactly the same models,
all his, in every catalog in town. The
only difference is in the mark on the
blade!! You'd get exactly the same
knife for the money regardless of the
mark.
Even less specialized knives fall
into this category. For instance, sup-
pose you have a small shop and only
make butcher knives. One of your
customers sends you an order for
some three-blade stockmen's knives.
Now you can't make them, but you
aren't going to miss the chance to
make some money! Instead you go
down the street to see Old Bertie,
who makes three-blade stockmen's
knives. He does them sometimes for
Rodgers, sometimes for Wostenholm,

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973

 The true hunting knife-a sports-
man's blade designed explicitly to
perform the operations necessary on

BLADES FOR GAME

a big game animal-is not a very old
invention, simply because sport hunt-
ing as we know it today didn't exist
much earlier than the late 18th cen-
by John Wootters tury. Before then pigs were stuck,
stags were hounded, hares were
hawked, and gazelles were coursed,
of course, but these were the pas-
times of royalty. When the common
man hunted, it was out of despera-
tion; he was risking the death pen-
alty for stealing game in an effort to
get meat for his family. Under such
circumstances, any old knife would
do. And the game taken by the
aristocrats was bled and butchered
with everything from bolos to broad-
swords.
The earliest knife I've seen which
could be described as a pure hunt-
ing knife was carried by a German
jaeger, or 'yrofessional gamekeeper-
hunter, about AD 1790. In America
during the same period, some knives
showed the jaeger influence, but most
backwoodsmen's knives doubled as
patch knives for muzzleloading rifles,
hand-to-hand combat weapons, and
scalpers. The pure hunting knife was
to be a specialized luxury associated
with the radical concept that wild
game belonged to the people and was
managed for all in trust by the state
so that the common man could hunt
without the chance of getting his
neck stretched.
Even so, it will a clear, crisp day
with a foot of fresh snow on the
slopes of Hell before anybody comes
up with anything really new in hunt-
ing knife design. I have in my collec-
tion of prehistoric Indian artifacts two
flint knives of blade profiles startlingly
like some of the "latest" in custom
knife shapes . . . and these stone tools
date back approximately 2,000 years!
Even the very recent "Wyoming
knife," a tool so radical in appearance
that one must look twice to even
realize that it's a knife, is really a
combination of a couple of old (but
This is the acid test for a hunting knife: will i t d o the work in the field
under practical conditions? H e r e a British Columbia Indian guide uses a functional) blade designs with an
custom knife t o cape out the head of Wootter's big Stone ram. unorthodox handle. After all, the

THE AMERICAN BLADE

practical possibilities for variation in - . * vw - - rn ..mr.rlq*H-,w L-,rw-pn.-*r. - .-r--.-r..- ,
-
a thin strip of steel only a few inches
long, designed to be held in the
human hand, are limited, and most-
if not all-of them have already been r-
-
exploited, especially by today's crop
of custom cutlers.
Let's take a look at the jobs such a
knife may be required to do. Some
hunters (especially those using shot-
guns with buckshot of deer-sized
animals) still "stick their freshly
killed game, opening the jugular vein
to allow the carcass to bleed out as
quickly as possible. Where a modem
big-game rifle has been used to .de-
liver an expanding bullet into the
heart-lung area, sticking or throat-
cutting is not only unnecessary, but
futile, in addition to ruining the cape
for trophy-mounting purposes. Even
where a head shot killed the animal,
or the bullet did not disrupt major
This is an early Corbet Sigman blade made along the lines of a 'small semi-
arteries or heart, prompt eviscerating
skinner. Point is dropped more than necessary, but it's a handy small knife,
does the bleedingjob more better for caping than most blades which will also serve for field-dressing
than sticking ever could, so we need ., Handle is a handsome piece of buffalo horn.
and skinnina.
no special blade features for this
purpose.
Field-dressing, or gutting, must
take place immediately at the site of
the kill if the meat is to be preserved
at its best. The belly-skin and ab-
dominal wall must be parted by a
knife under good enough control that
the internal organs are not damaged,
and the rib cage must be opened. On
animals the size of deer, this can be
accomplished by a hunter who knows
how with a good knife, by slicing the
joints between ribs and breastbone.
Much larger animals may require a
hand axe or saw for this, and for
splitting the pelvis. After the beast is
opened, there will be a fair amount
of knife work to be done inside the
cavity, freeing the organs so they can
be rolled out.
After performing these operations
on something like 200 big game ani-
mals up to the size of a goodly bull
elk, I've boiled my preferences in
blade profile down to just one, all-
This is Dan Denehy's skinning blade, useful and sturdy with thick blade,
purpose style. Your tastes may vary, high grind, and handle of desert hardwood. Tang is silver-wrapped t o
but I feel I can make a good case for avoid rust from user's hands.
mine in terms of practical field work.
Briefly, I want a medium-stout blade

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973 21

 ning, and caping-but will not do
any of them to a professional's satis-
faction. Of course, a fellow who
hunts for meat instead of trophies
couldn't care less about caping, and
his choice is obvious. Likewise, the
man who hunts a species of game of
a size and habitat which permits him
to transport the entire carcass back
to camp by vehicle, quickly and eas-
ily, doesn't need a hunting knife
which will serve for caping, or even
skinning, for that matter. For these
and other apparent reasons, there is
no such thing as a perfect hunting
knife for any one hunter's purposes,
much less for all hunters everywhere.
A very few hunters follow the ex-
ample of Col. Whelen and disappear
Here Wootters shows off an African eland bull weighing more than 1,600 into the wilderness on extended
pounds. N o t e the Hale ivory-handled "hunter-Bowie" on his belt, worn daily hunting-and-exploring excursions, and
on safari because it brought good luck. However, it also saw hard and they need something extra in a knife.
satisfactory service on such huge beasts as the eland and C a p e buffalo. This may fall a little outside the
scope of our present discussion of
not more than four inches long, with ing, the further forward the belly pure hunting knives, but it can be
the point "dropped," meaning the (and the deeper), the better the pointed out that the familiar Bowie
spine of the blade curved gently blade functions as a skinning knife, blade can be modified into a fairly
down to the point. An upswept, or while the further back and shallower efficient knife for such outings if the
saber-like, point is difficult to control it is, the better for delicate work like blade is made of ?;-inch stock, short-
inside the cavity, forever digging into caping, and also for slicing. A hunt- ened to five or five and one-half inches
things I don't want it digging into. er's preference depends upon his ( maximum ), and hollowground (not
By contrast, a point that is more or hunting habits, game, and terrain. too fine or too high), and the tradi-
less in line with the axis of the handle Most of us do our skinning in the tional double guard is eliminated.
"locates" itself intuitively in the hand, field, and caping (if we do it our- This gives a clipped-point knife with
even when working out of sight as is selves, at all) in camp, where a spe- enough beef for light chopping (if
usually the case in severing esopha- cial caping knife and a good sharp- the steel is good) and general camp-
gus, windpipe, and jugular at the ening stone can be available. This ing use which will still serve when
base of the neck. Handle design is argues in favor of the belly-forward the game is down.
also important here, but we'll discuss design for huge animals whose heads
In this day of super-steels, there
that later. are awkward or impossible to move is no reason why a hunting knife
A blade a little longer than four to camp for caping, or for any animal shouldn't have a hollow-ground blade.
inches may be usable on big animals likely to be killed in very remote, Such a grind offers less drag in meat-
such as moose and elk, but it abso- rugged terrain (such as mountain slicing and is easy to keep razor-
lutely is not necessary, and becomes sheep or goats), it may be necessary sharp. The higher the hollow-grind
awkward on smaller game. The point to do the head-skinning at the kill
bevel lies on the blade, however, the
can be lowered by means of drop- site. While some hunting knives are
less "spine" or strength the blade will
ping, as described above, or by a so shaped that they can do a passable
have, and the less abuse the knife can
"clip," a la Bowie, but the chief rea- job of such work, they are never as
son for clipping a blade is to provide satisfactory as a special, all-out caper. be expected to stand. If the steel is
a sharpened upper edge, and a dou- This imposes upon a hunting knife not absolutely top quality, however,
ble-edged knife is an abomination for buyer the choice: select a belly-for- a flat bevel offers more resistance to
serious work on game. ward blade which offers reasonable edge-chipping.
We have not discussed "belly," or efficiency in general body skinning As to the ricasso cutout (the place
the shape of the cutting edge's curve. and carry a second knife especially for the finger on the lower edge just
This is where the most important for caping, or choose a belly-rearward in front of the hilt so popular today),
compromise in hunting-knife design model with a more acute point which I believe that field-dressing a few
enters the picture. Generally speak- will do all three jobs-gutting, skin- score big game animals will convince

22 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 any thoughtful hunter that such a
ricasso frill merely represents a loss
of usable cutting edge without offer-
ing any practical advantage. How-
ever, I must admit that I, too, find
*
I XL COMMANDO DAGGERS!
such designs pretty.
Guards are, in my opinion, not so
much a matter of taste. I prefer a
guard projecting downward to keep
my bloody hand from slipping for-
W e got these from the IXL factory in Shefield, England! All
ward onto that keen edge when the
blades marked: "I*XL George Wostenholm, Sheffield, England."
going gets tough and I'm in a hurry.
The guards are dated 1940 and broad arrow marked. Zinc handles.
'This may, however, be more psychol-
ogy than reality; I've used many fine The knives are in MINT condition, including the parkerized, black
knives without guards and have yet to enameled finish (like Sten guns). The sheaths were stored separately
loose a forefinger. If a guard is pres- and were water-damaged in Blitz fire-fighting. The sheaths are in
ent, it must be short. Skinning even a
rough, relic condition, but are ORIGINAL I'XL sheaths one is includ- -
ed with each dagger, FREE! A copy of the I*XL factory invoice and
few big animals will quickly reveal a shipping document comes with each dagger, FREE!
nuisance a long, sweeping guard can
be in service. An upper guard is WHILE THEY LAST, THESE DAGGERS ARE $17.00 ea. or 3 for $42.00
without purpose (except for orna-
(We have a small quantity of sound, original Commando Sheaths
mentation) on a hunting knife, and obtained from another old Sheffield firm that we offer WlTH THE
therefore has no place on one. The ABOVE DAGGERS ONLY at $2.00 each additional)
idea of a checkered or grooved
thumb rest on the back of the blade ALL POSTPAID IN THE CONTINENTAL U. S.!
is, on the other hand, a very good one Money Back If Not Satisfied! NO C.O.D.'S PI-!
. . . and obviates any thought of an
upper guard projection. ATLANTA CUTLERY CORP.
A few words may be in order about BOX 33266 DECATUR GEORGIA 30033 U.S.A.
special-purpose hunting knives, in
contrast to the compromised, all-pur-
pose model we've discussed above.
Most important is the skinner. A
good, all-out skinning blade should
be short, not more than five inches
overall, but should have the longest
~ossiblecutting edge, which dictates
an extreme belly. In some skinners
the belly is so pronounced that the
knife will cut as well when pushed
straight along the axis of handle and
blade as when the pressure is down-
I KNIVES
ward. One of my ancient flint knives
The Ideal
has this configuration, and was no Folding Knife
doubt used in skinning game. Today's For Horsemen
more exaggerated skinners have cut- APACHE
ting edges which approach being seg- A new concept in folding knives. Hand-crafted of rust-resistant high carbon steel with a positive
ments of a circle. However, the locking device. Blade and rocker rotate on special oil impregnated stainless bearings for less
wear and smoother action.
professional's characteristic motion in Contoured finger indentations and brass bolsters, fuzed and rivited to stainless liners, provide
a positive and natural grip. The A P A C H E (R-9) is as rugged as a sheath knife but with the
skinning is almost a scraping move- convenience, safety and usability of a folding knife. Overall length open 8%", blade 3%".
ment, rather than a slicing one, and Comes with a pouch sheath of top grain black leather. Handle choice of Brazilian Rosewood or
Black Micarta.
I feel that these circular blades are Rigid specializes in custom knife work and all Rigid Knives carry a lifetime guarantee.
less practical than a full-bellied de- The A P A C H E retails for $30.00 including sheath. Ten other models available. See the complete
line a t your dealer or write for free catalogue.
sign with at least four inches' overall
length (as measured in a straight line
from hilt to tip, rather than along the
curve). Skinning, by the way, is
I RIGID KNIVES,
Department AB, P. 0.Box 460, Santee, California 92071

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973

 astonishingly hard on an edge, and a
skinner needs the best steel available.
A special caping knife is also a
skinner of sorts, but must be shaped
for maximum control for the delicate
work in skinning out a trophy's head
around the eyelids, lips, and nose. If
the animal carries horns or antlers,
there will be close-quarters work
around their bases, hard to get to and
easy to mess up. Therefore, the caper
should have a short blade (two or
three inches is by no means too
stubby) with a narrow, tapering
point. The usual design features a
perfectly straight spine with the cut-
ting edge curving gently up to its
point. The effect is more like a sturdy
scalpel than a hunting knife, for ex-
actly the same reasons-controllabil-
ity, finesse, and handiness in close
quarters. Actually, a good many me-
dium-sized jackknives carry one or
more blades which serve well for re-
Bob Loveless has influenced modern hunting knife design more than any moving a cape if sharpened properly,
other knifesmith now working, and for good reason. His designs are simple,
handsome, and thoroughly field-practical, as shown in this fine all-purpose
and some hunters carry such a knife
hunting knife. in a pants pocket to complement
the sheath-borne hunting knife on
the belt.
The other operations which take
place on a big game animal are quar-
tering (usually done well enough
with the general-purpose hunting
knife plus an axe or saw for some
species ) , butchering, and boning.
Butchering is essentially a slicing op-
eration, and best performed with a
fairly long, straight blade with more-
or-less parallel edges. Good butcher
knives can be purchased at any
kitchen--or restaurant-supply store,
and if kept sharp will serve as well
as the finest $100 custom blade. Bon-
ing is a specialized operation, rarely
performed in camp and almost never
in the field, which calls for a long,
flexible blade somewhat like a very
narrow slicer. Again, professional
boning knives are the best bet for
such work, and it's impossible to com-
bine this function in a blade which
serves at all well for any other hunt-
This knife was made t o author's design by Ron Lake. Intended and shaped
ing operations.
t o serve as a bird and small-game knife, the three-inch blade has proved So much for blades. Handles are
t o be an excellent caping tool for big game. equally important. Some pretty exotic
shapes have appeared in recent years
on both factory and custom hunting
24 THE AMERICAN BLADE
knives, and the subject is partially a
matter of personal taste. Not entirely
so, however; the handle must at all
costs serve as an efficient adapter be-
tween the cutting edge and the hu-
man will directing it. It must permit
the application of some force and
still allow the efficient direction of
that force.
I believe that a knife handle should
"locate" itself in the user's hand, al-
most unconciously. I mean by this
that the relationship between the cut-
ting edge and the handle should be
such that the user has an intuitive
knowledge of where the edge is the
instant he picks up the knife, and
even without looking at it. I find the
best handle for this purpose is one
with fairly flat sides, one which is
to it, except to say that it does exist
and it's important to the usefulness
of a hunting knife. Look for it before
you buy.
Handle materials are really outside
the scope of my topic. I will com-
ment, however, that some of the best
knife handles I've ever used were
made of leather or wood. I'm speak-
ing now of pure practicality, the mat-
ter of how secure a grip I can find on
a handle slippery with gore. Finger-
grooves and other gimmicks in han-
dle design are occasionally used to
make up for the slipperiness of a SHARPENER
handle made of horn, ivory, plastic, * Guarantees an actual shaving edge on any
knife ... every time.
or polished bone, or seem to be. My * Maintains proper angle and control
own long-time favorite for both prac- * Used in the largest meat packing com-
panies in the world.
ticality and beauty has always been * Kit contains two 2 x 6 custom hones.
India stag, correctly shaped and with * Only $14.95

relatively thin as viewed from above
or below compared to its depth, as
viewed in profile. If the handle is
bent or curved it should be only in
much of the natural corrugation left
to offer a good grip. They're tough to
clean up after the kill, but I'll pay
that price.
Knife and Arrow Kit $19.95
Zipper Case $5.95
Super Ultra Fine Hone $19.95. This hone is
guaranteed twice the grit fineness of any
natural hone, American or foreign.

the vertical plane, and a little flare
at the butt helps locate the knife
properly, just as a little hilt does. I
find finger grooves, especially ex-
treme examples, impractical because
they tend to force the hand to take
only one position on the handle for
comfort and security, and the various
movements required for gutting, skin-
ning, caping, and qualtering a game
animal demand many different grips
and positions, for most of which the
finger-grooves will be in the way. A
single forefinger groove, as in many
good custom and factory knives to-
day, is not so objectionable, and per-
haps offers the advantage of a more
secure grip for the application of
heavy cutting force.
There are knives (many of them
very expensive) which simply do not
feel right in my hand, and others
(many very inexpensive) which do.
Such a "feel" cannot be reduced to
mathematics and drawn on paper; it
seems to result from a dozen differ-
ent minor things-balance weight,
blade-edge angles, handle thickness
and shaping, and a dozen more. Since
this elusive sensation of responsive-
ness, if you will, and controlability
cannot be analyzed yet, there is no
point here in devoting further space
VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973
That's perhaps the final point to be N o C.O.D. Wisconsin residents add 4%
Please a d d $1.00 for postage and insurance.
mentioned in this discussion. A fine A t your dealer or
knife should be capable of hard work,
but it should also be well cared-for, RAZOR EDGE LTD.
which means cleaning with soap and 3 AB, Butler, Wisconsin
water to remove blood and fats from
blade and handle, drying, and oiling
(if not of a stainless steel). Features
which make such clean-up work diffi-
cult or impossible should be avoided. CUSTOM ETCHING for fine Knives
Unfortunately, this is a major draw-
back with almost all folding hunting
knives, many of which are otherwise
very well designed for their intended Shaw - Leibowitz Catalog $I
purposes. Rt. I, Bor 421, New Cumbsrland, W. Va. 26047
A hunting knife is an important
part of the hunter's kit, and can make
a great difference in the appearance
of his mounted trophies and the
quality of the meat in his freezer. CAJUN
It should be selected with the same
thoughtfulness with which he decides
HANDMADE
upon his rifle, scope, or binoculars, KNIVES
and it should be as good as he can P. 0. Box 149
afford. It can be a lifetime invest- Liberty, Miss.
ment, even an heirloom. All these 39645
things lend weight to the delibera-
,This is a 8%"
tions of a hunter trying to decide on
style, shape, and price; hopefully, black micarta handle,
some of the thoughts expressed here- formica hminution
in, out of my experience and prefer-
ences (call them prejudices, if you
will) will help in those deliberations.
I NOW A F U L L T I M E
KNIFEMAKER I
Fuller
McLane
A Man And
His Knives
It is always interesting to run across
someone who genuinely loves knives.
Such a gent resides in the quiet little
college town of Gaffney, South Caro-
lina and has been nice enough to let
us visit with him for awhile and talk
about our favorite subject.
Fuller McClane has been collecting
knives since he was twelve years old
and still has his original scout knife
with the names of his troop members
inscribed on the sheath. Since the
aquisition of this particular knife oc-
curred about thirty-three years ago,
I guess you could say that Fuller is
a confirmed collector by now. The
knives in the McClane collection run
the gamut as far as size, shape, and
design are concerned and Mrs. Mc-
Clane never knows what Fuller is go-
ing to show up with next. So far he
has shown up with Hibbens, Stones,
Collins, Bones, Morseths, Randalls, Ph,otos by Ted Borg
Deneheys, Lyles, Coopers, Wilbers,
and Horns to mention a few. The
McClane collection also boasts at
least one if not a dozen examples of
the work of every commercial cutlery
manufacturer in the country.
Fuller likes fairly large knives with
good workmanship, but other than
that he is pretty open as to what he
favors. I asked him what he looked
for most when he wanted to add to
his collection and he promptly an-
swered, "knives." This might sound
like he was trying to be funny, but
he wasn't. He is interested in seeing
any good cutlery and if the price is
right he will try to obtain it. His par-
ticular favorite.right now, other than
the Ranger Bowie he just Or- A table full of commercial knives collected by Fuller. Collection includes
dered, is a combat survival knife with I I knives by Buck.

26 THE AMERICAN BLADE

a seven-inch blade and a black mi-
carta handle with a diagonal brass
spacer and a sculpted pommel.
Like many collectors, Fuller rarely
uses one of his knives. He used to
hunt and fish a good bit, but business
[[BIGID
KNIVES
has kept him out of the woods now
for a couple of years. If it came down
to a decision about which knife to use
for what, he would probably grab up
one of the cheaper commercial jobs
that have been gathering dust for a
while. After spending as much time
around knives as he has, he knows T H E REBEL (R-10)
that a fancy carved handle and an A product of time, patience and dedicated craftsmanship. Each knife is handmade o f rust-
resistant high-carbon steel with a full tang and slab handle. The h i l t is constructed with a solid
etched blade won't skin out a deer or guard and brass bolsters, thus providing protection, balance and ruggedness. Finger ~ndentations
are ground into the grip, and the f u l l tang provides the strongest handle possible. Nine models
fillet a fish any better than the plain- are available including the f o l d i n g APACHE.
A l l knives come in a choice of Brazilian Rosewood o r Black Micarta handles and carry a 100%
est knife in the bunch if it's made lifetime guarantee. Each knife comes with a sheath o f t o p graln black leather.
right to do the job. See the complete line of hunting and camping knives a t your dealer or write for free catalog.
R i g i d also specializes i n custom knife work.
When you ask a real died-in-the-
wool knife collector like Fuller why RIGID KNIVES,
he collects knives it is often hard to Dept. AB, Box 460, Santee, Calif. 92071
get a real answer. It's about like ask-
ing a fellow why he loves his wife.

We C. WILBER
HANDCRAFTED KNIVES
Specializing in Building to your Design
-- -9-O

Flsherrnan $50 00 ($80.00 w ~ t hI v o r y h ~ l ta s ~llustrated.]

Scout knife owned bv Fuller since

he was I 2 years old. H e claims
full responsibility for art work.
Hunter $60 00

If he doesn't he can think up a hun-

dred good reasons why he does, but
you can always tell he's just making
them up. If he does you can look at
them when they're together. 'Nough
Boot K n ~ f e $55.00
said.

1 DO-IT-YOURSELF i
I KNIFE MAKERS I Send Drawing or other lllustrat~onfor Pr~ceand Delivery Information
! TOP QUALITY BLADES I
W. C. WILBER - 400 Lucerne Dr.
i
I
i
GI Spartanburg, South Carolina 29302
I I
Telephone 803 - 532-2627
I
BWbOlN RIDGE DlaDEbD I
1 I
I
12 ELMWOOD AVE.
I P.O. BOX X-50
WELLAND. ONTARIO FERNDILL. MICH. 18220 1

28 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 JAMES BOWIE f
Born in 1795 in Tennessee he
moved to Louisiana when he was
5 years old.
James and his brother became
plantation owners and later be-
came engaged i land speculation
which made t h e m wealthy.
I n 1827 the bowie knife be-

I8
came known to the world i n the
hands of Jim. Rezin Bowie had
a knife made fov h i m with a
straight blade 9% inches long for
use in hunting. T h i s knife was
loaned to J i m and he used i t i n
the Sasd-Bar duel against four

1
mailants, killing one of t h m .
T h i s was the start of the Bowie
Legend. J i m then had a knife
made fol- him bmsed on his
brother's knife, but it is thought

t
that he had the blade enlarged.
AN that is shown of the knife
ir the portrait is the butt and
1C
knuckle bow.

I
J i m moved to Texas where he married and Jet about developing another
lorge fortane in money and land.
After his wife and children died, J i m joined i n the Texas revolution where
he demonstrated great ability as a soldier in clashes at Nacogdoches, Conception,

i
and in the Gras Fight. J i m Bowie died at the Alamo with about 180 comrades
after holding off 4000-6000 Mexicans for thirteen days. As Davie Crockett
said i n h k journal at the Alamo, " H e is worth a dozen common men i n a
situation like ours. * ** His presence alone is a tower of strength."
T h e portrait of J i m Bowie shown in Peterson's "American Knives" shows
h i m holding what is thought to be his famous knife. T h e silver eagle head and
knuckle bow can be clearly seen i n the painting. W E A T H E R F O R D BROS.
C U S T O M K N I F E M A K E R S have recreated this famous eagle-heoded knife 0
in their D A G U E L L O series. T h i s is a limited edition of 500 custom hand-
made knives, after which the mold of eagle and the guard will be destroyed.
T h e first 7 5 will be made from Mexican Silver coins melted down that date
back until the 1800's. T h i s atas the material most commonly used by knife
makers and silversmiths in Bomies area and age. These 7.5 will go for the sum
of $375.00 each. Nos. 7 6 throagh 500 will have the eagle hetpd and guard
cast from sterling silver at $300.00 each. All knives come i n a display case
that will open flat for a w d playue. W e have 3 8 Mexican reats (one peso
coins) on hand. T h e value of the American currency was based on the reals
prior to the Civil W a r , especially the Republic of Texas. For 15 dollars ~ d d i -
t i o d w e will inlay one of the Bowie knife period coins (dated no later than
1 9 0 9 ) in your di~playcase.
X)

'
- ' . T H E DAGUELLO
Originally a battle tune used by the Moorish invaders of Spain meaning
cut throat. Santa A n m adopted the tune to signify that no puarter would be
given and none asked. T h i s tune was played repeatedly on the last day of the
seige at the Alamo. T h e meaning of this tune also fit the spirit of Jim Bowie
himself.
For more information o r this becoutiful collectors i t e m cond to place your
order contact:

WEATHERFORD KNIVES 1
4775 Memthis, Dallas, Texas 75207 9
RODERICK CHAPPEL
as told to John Culler

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 Rod Chappel is a former profes-
sional musician, architect and civil
engineer who has been making knives
on a full time basis since December,
1970. He became seriously interested
in knives in 1967, when a knife he
was using on a hunting trip virtually
came apart in his hands. "I was very
upset about this," he said, "because a
poor quality knife almost ruined a
great hunting trip. As soon as I got
back I started looking for a better
knife."
Chappel finally went to William F.
Moran Jr.'s shop for a first hand look
at a man who forged his own blades,
and later visited Gil Hibben in his
shop. His interest grew, and when
Harv Draper offered to help train him
to make knives he had a ready taker.
A loan from the Small Business Ad-
ministration set him up, and he es-
tablished his shop in Spokane, Wash-
ington.
"I guess I have been working with
my hands all my life-carving, paint-
ing scenes, illustrations, renderings of
one kind or another and just about all
the mediums you can think of in the
engineering fi~ld," Chappel said. "I
enjoy precision drawing and try to
put life into them. I have designed
well over 150 knives and axes that
have never been done before and that
do not infringe upon anyone else's
designs."
Asked to share his thoughts about
knife making, Chappel r e a d i 1y
agreed. "My basic theory about knife
making is that a knife should have
the physical strength even for its size
"After the knife is heat treated it's ground with no gloves t o insure total
to carry out any emergency function accurate lines as my drawings indicate. Good lighting is very important!"
it is pressed to do. It should be able
to do more than the job it was de-
signed for, and my designs each make is no such thing as a knife that can do be worth it, because if a man dam-
a blade do from three to six jobs." everything well. It cannot shrink to a ages such a blade in the field there is
Chappel said a knifemaker should little paring knife then expand to a no way he could possibly sharpen it
also concern himself with balance. "I ten-inch bowie, so a man must have under emergency conditions. I agree
believe a knife should have total bal- at least two good knives that he with Harv Draper's philosophy of not
ance-not pommel heavy or blade knows and is totally familiar with to too soft to where the blade will not
heavy. If you work with a knife for take in the field." hold its edge, and not too hard where
as long as three to four hours, that "The hardness in the steel which I the blade cannot be sharpened in a
knife should feel as light as a feather use is 440-C at least 55 to 57 Rock- reasonable amount of time under
in your hand when you are done." well hardness. I believe even if I pressed conditions.
There is no such thing as an "all- could get a harder steel to kick the "My favorite handle material is
around knife," Chappel says. "There Rockwell up to 60 or 64, it wouldn't coco bolo wood with stainless steel

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973


A t the drafting .board checking blade
hilt and pommel for beauty, For rug-
gedness, my second choice is black
micarta with stainless steel hilt and
pommel. I favor grinding the knife
blank out from bare stock because
you have absolute control on the de-
sign the client wants and the shap-
ing of the blade can be done with
much more precision, whereas work-
ing with 440-C, pounding the shape
takes the chance of cracking the
blade if the temperature is incorrect."
Chappel said he produced about 20
knives a month by himself, and with
an assistant he increases the output
to approximately 35 h i v e s a month.
"There are several people, arm-
chair hunters, no doubt, who swear
that a 2" by 6 blade is the best knife
to have in the world, but I totally dis-
agree. First, a man must choose what
he needs the knife for the most. If
it is a standard utility type knife with
a bare minimum of heavy work in-
cluded, I suggest a 5 to 5?h inch blade
with a top cutting clip. The blade de-
sign should be hollow ground or
semi-hollow ground, which insures
quick and easy maintenance without
wasting a lot of time.
"My personal feeling is if a man
wants a utility knife to do some skin-
ning as well, he must study all the
shapes of skinning knives available
and utility type knives available, and
32
The knife sheath is just as impor-
tant as the knife itself, Chappel says.
He said a well designed sheath must
be of good saddle leather, stitched
(not riveted), polished or burnished
as a finish and designed to suit the
user's needs. "I will not make a knife
sheath myself," Chappel said. "I will
design it, but I job all my knife
sheaths out to Jesse Smith who is a
fine craftsman and saddle maker here
in Spokane, Washington. I look at it
this way-if I have a good product
to sell, why should I give my clients
anything less right on down the line?
I am not a leather man, I am a knife-
maker. That is my profession, that is
why people come to me with what
they want."
width for size and shape.
"One of the major reasons I chose
Davis Custom Knives as a name in-
try to merge the two ideas into one stead of my own is that Roderick
knife. The knife should have beauti- Davis is my grandfather on my moth-
ful lines. It should not only function er's side. He was a representative
well as a design, but also feel well from Alaska for 27 years in Washing-
and have a non-slip .grip handle. TOO ton, and was known from Seattle to
many people have been injured in the the Aleutians as one of Alaska's great
field because of a poorly designed boat builders. Also, by not using my
handle that works under dry condi- name, the men that work with me as
tions but it is totally disastrous when knifemakers can feel free to better
something such as blood, soap or such our designs, and not feel that they
is on the handle. are just a nameless knifemaker who
Chappel also has some advise for builds knives for me."
those buying knives. "The most im- Chappel gave the following pro-
portant thing to remember is that you cedure as the way he makes knives:
get what you pay for. If you are or- "As you know, all knifemakers have
dering a custom knife, make any their own professional secrets. I am
changes in the knife you are ordering going to disclose about 85 per cent of
at the time of placing the order. If them, because I know only a super
the knifemaker is a skilled artist, he purist or one who idealistically be-
should be able to build exactly what lieves in supreme perfection would
you have specified because that is attempt to duplicate or better this
what the custom knife field is all particular system. I believe in per-
about-to build what each individual fection. I have estimated there are
wants. I have learned after many approximately .I0 to 18 thousand dif-
years of buying knives that one never ferent combinations of blades vs, han-
remembers how much he paid for the dles vs. hilts and pommels that can be
knife, but if it has served well he is derived from my basic designs. Of
quick to talk about it." every knife that we have turned out
American custom makers try to so far, outside of a matched pair of
give the best materials available, knives, no two handles have been of
Chappel says, "and today we are not the same shape unless specified.
worried about defects in workman- "To personalize a man's knife, I
ship and finishes, because our knife- must consider for what he is going
makers are excellent craftsmen. The to use the knife and try to determine
design is what counts!" what the main purpose this particu-
THE AMERICAN BLADE
Iar knife will have. I offered in the
past close to 60, currently almost 150
designs of blade shapes. So I start
with a drawing, constantly injecting
questions, such as where he likes to
hunt, in what kind of situation he has
needed a knife, or what sports he
participates in during the different
seasons. Will he need more than one
knife for these activities? After I
sketch the silhouette of the man's
hand, I try to consider all these fac-
tors in designing the final shape of
the handle which to me is an abso-
lute must to get on the money. An-
other man who grips his knifk whose
build is different or is of a different
stature may totally disagree with the
handle shape. Nevertheless, whatever
criticism may be received about the
handle, it will never detract from the
basic concept my client has supplied
me for the use of that knife. This is
whv no two knives will ever look
alike in their appearance; this is what
basically I am all about; and this is
one of the reasons I never fear any-
one duplicating what I do.
"I supply the basic knife shapes
which I believe are technically cor-
rect and are flexible enough to be
changed and suited for any type of
work in the world for everyone-the
average or hard core hunters, fisher-
men, outdoorsmen, even including
housewives in the kitchen. Now you
understand how much information it
takes me to compute a knife handle.
"As I am drawing the knife handle
to the specifications given and what
I believe and know he will sooner or
later need, I juggle the length, width,
thickness, and the type of flat or hol- "When the steel looks like its growing out of the brass hilt with no seams
or wide lines showing, then it's right."
low grinding that he will need in or-
der to achieve the success he desires.
Then, if it is an exceptional design, of work proportionately above or be- wide by 72" in diameter. In some
I will make a plastic pattern of his low 5?4"of blade length. cases, if the radii are at such a radi-
blade, or I may simply trace the basic "From a 12' bar of 2" x %" steel we cal angle, the job must be finished
blade shape on the steel with a piece start cutting the basic pattern with a with a rat tail file. After hollow
of carbon paper. I then use a steeI 24 wavy-tooth by ji" thick band saw grinding this particular blade, I build
carbide scribe over the carbon trac- blade rotating at 150' per minute. up a stock pile of 30 to 40 knife
ing lines. Now the fun begins. Before After the piece of steel is rought cut, blanks in this manner. Then the
we get into this, let me give you a it is then brought over to what is batch is sent out to be heat treated.
basic blade length of 5%" just to give known in the industry as a square Since I am not large enough to afford
you a relative idea of what has to wheel grinder to remove the unneces- my own heat treating furnace, it is
happen. You can assume the amount sary stock using a 36-grit belt by 4" necessary for me to dictate my speci-

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973


BAKER FORGED EXTRA
HEAVY DUTY HANDMADE
HUNTING KNIVES
BLADES FORGED FROM HlGH CARBON
VANADIUM ALLOY TOOL STEEL, HEAT
TREATED BY OUR ESPECIALLY
DEVELOPED METHOD TO GIVE
EXTREMELY HlGH EDGE
HARDNESS AND OVER-
ALL TOUGHNESS.
4'
fications for how the heat treating is
to be done to Stack Steel Company in
Seattle. They have an atmospheric
heat treating furnace which is hard
to beat, and they guarantee me any
Rockwell hardness I so indicate.
"When the batch arrives back from
Seattle, I sort my blades out for the
ones which are the most pressing.
Then, as most people have to regu-
late their lives, so must the knife-
maker. I start grinding from approxi-
mately seven in the morning to three
in the afternoon only taking a five to
seven minute break in four hours. The
amount of heat coming through the
heat treated blade will tell me how
long I can grind without drawing the
temper from the steel. When the heat
in the steel begins to burn my hands,
I know it is beginning to get very hot.
"As I grind with the 36-grit belt,
I am still creating the heart of the
knife shape. Some people believe that
Exclusive
and Original
Handle is
Designed t o Fit
and Protect the Hand
and i s Covered by a
U. S. Patent.
For a Folder Giving
Complete Description and
Illinois 6052 1
is too much work to put in one knife
blade for one client, but I know
what it means to have a blade done
to what is considered as close to
perfection as possible. To erase the
36-grit scratches, I go to 220-grit.
After I have worked with the 220
long enough-reshaping, developing,
and setting up a final shape-those
scratches are erased with a 320-grit
belt. By this time, we have eliminated
all the aforementioned scratches and
the shape of the client's knife is now
beginning to look not only like the
knife design he chose with my design
concept, but it is beginning to come
alive. From the 320, now I progress
to the 500-grit. At this time I am put-
ting the final contour on the blade
and erasing all other scratch marks
that may have occurred that were too
fine to come out with the three previ-
ously mentioned belts. After this 1
introduce a worn out 500 with stain-
less steel gray buffing compound to
make sure that no scratches appear
whatsoever. Now the knife blade is
ready for the buffers.
"I buff at a 45' angle in both direc-
tions until all of the satin finish is
completely removed, but I use a mus-
lin buffing pad so I do not lose the
sharpness and crispness of the origi-
nal lines developed from stock re-
moval. When I am satisfied with the
finish so far, I buff it on cotton buf-
fers with white jewelers' rouge and
this may last on one knife such as
the 5%'' knife we are talking about
for as long as 35 to 45 minutes on
each side of the blade. Then the
blade is tapered at the butt end and
left large at the tang so that I am per-
mitted to fit the hilt with precision.
"The hilt is cut from United States
standard good old-fashioned yellow
brass, which is Xu or 5%" x 1'' from a
12" long bar. I t is then ground with
220, 320, and 500 grit belt, buffed
with gray stainless steel compound,
and finally jewelers' rouge. Now it is
ready for its final stage. To achieve
a good hilt you must drill 3 / 1 6 holes
in a straight line for a %" knife blade.
After this I file with square and flat
files a rectangular opening making
the back of the hilt (unpolished) a
larger hole than the front (polished),
and this can take anywhere from 30
to 45 minutes.
"After the blade has been precision
fit so that the steel looks like it is
growing out of the brass, then I am
ready to weld the thread rod onto
the tang using ?i" or %" United States
standard. Often my specifications
range from jet rod to stainless steel
welding rod. After this sequence
has been ground down to make it
look as if it were all of one piece, it
is taken to the next stage which is
heating the tang in a vice to a rich
cherry glow making any necessary
left, right, up or down changes of the
angle of the tang at this time. Then
it is pushed into crushed limestone to
anneal. After an hour and a half in
the lime, the knife is taken back out
and the tang is cut to the length the
THE A M E R I C A N BLADE
 drawing dictates. A hydraulic groove
is put in the side of the knife tang.

bar, lock it in the jaws of a 10" swing

lathe and dress a flat surface. It is
then drilled and tapped for 1/16" un-
der the thread rod size. Since a man
handles a piece of steel or brass many
times, it is necessary to crop or turn
down all 90" angles on both sides on
~ I start
the pommel. ~ d l l o w i nthis
setting aircraft aluminum spacers and
terminal bar black micarta to the
tang. At this particular point I have
determined that this knife has seven
full turns on the pommel. After the
seven full turns forward are made, the
pommel is back tracked three full
Three of Chappel's best. From top to bottom: The Scout, The Lewis and after I have roughed the 'pacers.
Clark, and the Coeurd'alene Fish Knife. (Note: All spacers are roughed with
a 36 gt. belt.) Then the lines are

c-7:
1 .o "

The finest locking-back knife manufactured today

Features: 4 4 0 - C H i g h C a r b o n Stainless Steel Blade-31/2" long
Rockwell Hardness 57
Genuine India Stag
Nickel-Silver Bolsters a n d Pins
Positive, smooth locking and release mechanism
Full Brass liners
Finest in workmanship f r o m F. H e r d e r o f G e r m a n y
Overall length closed i s 41/4"

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now available $ I .00.
Georgia 30 720 Refund o n purchase.

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973 37

drawn over a block of handle wood,
which has been perfectly squared up
prior to all these processes.
"The next stage is to use the band
saw and rough cut as close as possi-
ble to the lines just drawn in on the
wood. It is then taken to a belt sander
and made perfectly square on both
ends to conform with the original
drawn lines. The entire knife is laid
on the block of wood and the tang
is drawn in silhouette. If it is an
angled tang, there must be as many
as three drillings to achieve one tang
hole. In this case I have made a real
easy job of it by drilling just for two
holes, for in this particular knife de-
sign the tang is not severely cam-
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FRANK CENTOFANTE - Knifemaker
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bered. Now I put the block of wood
in a vice and start shaping the rec-
tangular end, enlarging where neces-
sary via a square and a round Ji"
diameter rat tail file. The knife is
finally put together for its first size
fitting. Sometimes a little error is
made on the top or bottom of the hilt.
The slack is taken either from the top
or the bottom of the wood to flatten
it to the hilt so that it fits with preci-
sion when I dry fit the entire knife.
After that is achieved correctly, the
pommel is fit. This is where the fun
comes into the act. If too much is
ground off the back of the wood, the
original knife design is shortened.
Either a good piece of wood is de-
stroyed or I have to redo the origi-
nal thread rod so that the original
length is retained. This has happened
to me once or twice, but not by
choice I assure you. After this job is
done right, I have inched my way to
$ six and three-quarter turns by hand
and the last one-quarter turn with
the pommel in the vice and me on
the handle to bring it to a full seven
E turns.
"The knife is now ready to glue. I
use a one to one resin base epoxy that
dries in from four to six hours. After
all the parts are spread before me in
sequence, I glue them together in the
exact way I have taken them off to
insure a total precision fit. By this
time I am ready to torque for the
last full turn in the ~ o m m e lto make
seven turns with pressure and hydrau-
lic action absolutely devastating. If
the knife has been put together cor-
rectly, nothing will happen. How-
ever, if there is a flaw in the tang, it
will by all means show in the final
stage. This is the most heart break-
ing moment of all if it should break.
"Twelve hours later the knife goes
to the grinder with a 24-grain belt
and rough shaped. To get the final
handle shape a rat tail file and sand
paper are used. After the entire han-
dle has been gone over with a 500-
gram piece of sandpaper, I have
checked again several times the origi-
nal shape of the drawing. If it fits
90%, 1 put "Watco" Danish teakwood
oil on the handle several times and
let it set to absorb the oil under a
light. I then polish the handle with
a muslin buffer pad and jewelers'
rouge. The brass hilt and pommel are
polished with the gray buffing com-
pound and the entire handle is fin-
ished with jewelers' rouge. The knife
is at last taken to Jess Smith's Saddle
Shop and custom fitted to a sheath
and brought back for the final edge.
"This is where I feel some knife-
makers blow it. I do not simply walk
up to a grinder, point the edge to a
downward angle of 20°, give the
knife a V-edge, buff it a little bit and,
after it proves it can cut a piece of
paper jaggedly (not cleanly), send it
off. I am one, if not the only person,
that supplies a rolled edge on every
knife I produce. On a 5%" knife it
will take me as long as 40 to 50 min-
utes to put the kind of edge that I
consider field worthy and that has
proven itself to be superior while field
tested. My final test with any knife
or ax in the shop is to cut three pieces
of paper and the fourth piece before
any of the first three pieces hits the
floor from waist height. Do not be
suprpised if this cannot be done with
the knife you presently have, since it
is not a common practice.
"Eighty-five per cent of the knives
that are produced in my shop go to
hard core meat hunters and avid,
dedicated trophy hunters alike. In
our particular location, meaning the
Pacific Northwest, we have unique
hunting seasons. They stretch from
hunting coyotes to elk, bear in the
springtime if you so choose, moose
in Canada, great homed sheep in the
Cascades or mountain goat in the
great Continental Divide. So I know
the finishing processes of my rolled
edge work in the field even after the
razor sharp edge has been lost. My
knives will still cut and do their jobs
efficiently with a little more effort. I
am proud to say that I have, to the
satisfaction of my clients, built the
knives they have always wanted in
their lives, but could never find any-
one to build from scratch to their
specifications. And there you have it."
THE AMERICAN BLADE
GEORGE
HERRON
KNIVES
by Mark 0. Bara
Field Editor

The last few years have witnessed

a tremendous increase in the popu-
larity of handmade and handfinished
knives, perhaps paralleling the up-
surge in custom firearms. It has be-
come apparent that some sportsmen
prefer to pay for top drawer materials
and craftsmanship in order to obtain
a product that not only is worthy of
pride of ownership, but whose per-
formance is up to snuff as well.
Many handmade knives are de-
signed primarily for sportsmen, but
models intended for use by military
personnel have also been much in
demand. In fact, it was the esteem
which World War I1 servicemen held
for fighting knives made by W. D.
Randall, Jr., and several other makers
that preceded the increasing post-
war demand for handmade hunting
knives.
Because the most rigorous apprais- I. This George Herron hunting knife with a four and a half inch blade has
als of a given knifesmith's work come been subiected t o fairly hard use. durina which it ~ e r f o r m e dwell. A similar
4

from other smiths, it seems appropri-
ate to feature a craftsman whose
products are held in particularly high
regard by others of his following. I
think it fitting and appropriate that
we initiate this series by featuring the
work of a South Carolinan, George
Herron of Aiken.
Originally from Georgia, Herron
started making knives about 10 years
ago, initially for his own use, and
then at the request of friends. As his
skill and adeptness increased, the
word got around and for the last four
years he has been receiving orders
model has a downturnid point. Herron also makes skinners, capers, a fish
fillet knife, and a model designed for military use. Several different steels
and a variety of handle materials are offered. George Herron shapes his
blades by the stock removal method from 3/16 inch stock. Finished blades
are semi-hollow ground.
from all over the United States. Her- will also work with the customer on
ron knives have also been carried special orders of the customer's own
overseas. design or choosing.
With the exception of the heat Deer knives with four or four and
treatment, he does all of the work a half inch blades and either up-
himself. He offers about one dozen turned or downturned points are his
standard models, all of his own de- biggest sellers. Herron favors the full
sign, including capers, skinners, deer tang design which results not only in
hunters, a fish fillet knife, and also a great strength, but excellent weight
model intended for military use. He distribution and balance.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 At first glance, it might appear that
the handles are secured with cutlers'
rivets. In actuality, the handle slabs
are tightly bolted with brass screws
and escutcheons. Joints are made
leakproof by virtue of careful hand
fitting and epoxy cement.
Solid brass guards are conserva-
tively and functionally shaped. They
are not castings available from a
knifemakers' supply, but handmade
from scratch by Herron. Nickel silver
guards are also available, in which
case the handle slabs are secured
with stainless steel hardware.
Almost all of the George Herron
designs are priced at $35 to $45, giv-
ing what I consider an excellent value
for the high degree of workmanship
and finishing. A gut-hook skinner and
a military model are priced at $52
and $60 respectively. Herron stands
behind a very strong guarantee. To 2. The sheaths which George Herron fits individ-
obtain more details, write to George ually to each knife should be seen t o be appreci-
H. Herron, 920 Murrah Avenue, ated. Even when turned upside down and shaken
hard, they still hold the knife. M a d e from heavy
Aiken, S. C. 29801. cowhide, they are saddle-stitched and dyed a very
Wood micarta is the standard han- dark brown.
dle material. Coco-bolo, white mi-
carta are available at no extra cost.
Rosewood, ebony, birdseye or curly
maple, and genuine stag are available
at an additional cost of $4 to $5. Stag
handles are fashioned from the ant-
lers of the Indian sambar, an animal
closely akin to the European red deer
and our native elk.
NEW!!!
A quality handmade knife deserves THE CUSTOM KNIFE BOOK
a suitable sheath just as an excellent by J. Bates & J. Schippers
barrel and action is appropriately The long needed comprehensive book on the subject of today's Custom
fitted with n select stock and a good Knife makers and their product has arrived. This extensively researched,
U P TO DATE ROOK containing 150 pages, details of 100 of today's fa-
scope. Herron's leatherwork really mous and not so famous makers. Many photos including Full Color accom-
needs to be seen to be fully appre- pany the test which covers; design, history, knife steels, sharpening and
production. Also included individual chapters on each maker, a glossary of
ciated. knife terms and MUCH, MUCH MORE!
His sheaths are made from 9 to PRE-PUBLICATION OFFER
10 ounce cowhide shoulders, hand
stitched with a heavy waxed linen This FIRST EDITION high quality book in soft cover form is
available at $4.95.
thread, and dyed a rich dark brown.
The DELUXE, hard bound limited First Edition, autographed
They are of the pouch design, allow- and numbered-$7.95.
ing about 1% inches of the knife
handle to protrude from the sheath. We pay postage.
Vigorous shaking while holding the Get your orders in now for first delivery.
sheath upside down will not cause Personal checks accepted.
the knife to fall out, yet it can easily THE CUSTOM KNIFE BOOK
be extricated from the sheath with Box 4775 AB
one hand. There are no special liners MEMPHIS, TENN. 38104
or locking devices. The secret, if it Dealer inquiries invited.
could be called that, is old fashioned

VOL. I , NO. I-MAY-JUNE, 1973

craftsmanship and dedication. Each greater stain resistance, having a 12
sheath is laboriously hand fitted to its percent chromium content. With 1.5
individual knife. percent carbon, it offers the tough-
He makes his blades by the stock ness and edge holding advantages of
removal method and they are semi- high carbon steel.
hollow ground. Many of them have His A-2 and D-2 blades are heat
been made from A-2 high carbon treated to a Rockwell hardness rating
steel with a one percent carbon con- of 60 to 62. Herron has been experi-
tent and five percent chromium. menting with several other steels,
During a r e c e n t conversation, among them a stainless variety which
George indicated he is switching to can be heat treated to.Rc63.
D-2 high carbon steel which offers Recently, I have had the opportun-
, portunity arose when a game biol-
When cutting counts.. . count o n -
COUEIIMAN*SEUSTOM KIJYVES
Hsndcrsf red Knives
Knife K i t s & Materials
Star Route
(505) 233-3137 La M e s a . N. M 8 8 0 4 4
ity to use a Herron knife, a 4% inch
blade hunting knife with stag handle
slabs and brass hardware. This par-
ticular blade is made of 440-C stain-
less, heat treated to Rc58. Overall
length is 9.1 inches with a weight of
8.5 ounces. The sheath weighs an
even four ounces.
I have used this knife for cleaning
fish as well as other chores. My wife,
who is a taxidermist, has used it to
flesh deer capes. Being interested in
testing it more rigorously, a good Op-
ogist friend was planning to collect a
number of white-tailed deer for para-
site and reproductive studies.
Gerald Moore, who is conducting
this research, used my Herron knife
to field dress 13 deer. He also used it
to cut through the breast bones, a
task usually accomplished with a
meat saw if one is handy. He touched
up the edge briefly with a Washita
bench stone after the seventh deer.
Examination of the cutting edge with
a microscope revealed that it held

I
I'owertul. Keen. Kugged. Durable. rhat's a Puma knife-designed up well, showing only very minor
.o do a man's job. Hand-made of special-alloy steel by men who take nicking.
pride in their 200-year-old Solingen tradition. Diamond tested for - Afterwards, it required 15 minutes
Lockwell hardness, hand ground and honed to to restore the blade to a good work-
.eep its edge longer. Finest Indian Stag or
acaranda wood handles. Whatever you need a
PUMAF ing edge, or one that would just be-
gin to shave. Normally, this task
.nife for, there's a Puma knife to do it. would take less time, but blades man-
ufactured from 440-C are definitely
hard to sharpen. I used a combina-
tion aluminum oxide stone, a Wash-
ita, and a soft Arkansas stone, all
large bench stones, and I really
leaned on them.
The deer research biologist re-
ferred to earlier was sufficiently im-
pressed with the Herron knife that he
was prompted to place an order with
Herron as did a colleague who was
working with him. Wildlife work is
one of the lowest paying professions,
but if you depend upon a knife in
. 216-970 Game Warden.
4" lock blade. $30.00 your everyday work, you soon learn
I. $16-675 Stock Knife. 4" closed. that it pays to obtain the best equip-
, $26.00
1. $16.835 Junior. 3%" closed. $18.50 ment. Having once used a truly good
I. 216-971 Game Warden. 4" lock
blade w ~ t h4" lock saw blade. $46.00 knife, very few individuals would go
.i $16-377 White Hunter. 6 blade.
Leather sheath. $36.00 1 ' - - - back to the cheaper models.
F. =16-393 Skinner. 5" blade. I feel unequivocally that the Herron
Leather sheath. $30.00
At better sporting goods departments. or write: Dept. knife performed up to expectations,
CUTMANN CUTLERY CO., INC., 900 So. Columbus Ave., MI. Vernon. N.Y. 1055(
Send 50C for new brochure showing how Puma knives are made plus useful t~pson kn~fecare and the materials and workmanship
are certainly superb.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 '6088ESZ ID
m ~ d D l 31 D S l 8 A p n 11D3 pUD 10103 'S03!AleS 'bqS!UeApD m0A U!
ublsep ~ U D)noAD[ 'ed4 i q o o s p e~ 's3qdDi3 ~ U D
bugupd moA q 10103 emq IOU Aqm o s 'Ilsrnpu
Irmehlun 1 1 ~ 'leb
3 mn noA s p 10103 ~ p y y )sow e q ~ioj s , '[yl~rtoeq
~ s , ) ~'bq~l3xes,q -noA punom IID s! lolo=)
 -
The R.L Ekyan Company Greystone Executive M - Columbia,South Carolina
 WE BUY - SELL - TRADE FINE CUTLERY
Complete Knife Refinishing Service
CAROLINA KNIFE EXCHANGE
P. 0.Box 12121. Rock Hill. S. C. 29730

FINALLY ! A boot knife

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Versatile * Excellent blade design is practical

for hunting, fishing, general camp chores and
self defense. Vapor honed hilt for positive non
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Convenient * Patent pending sheath design rides

snugly on your belt or clipped securely into your boot.
Our patent pending locking sheath clip will make other
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Quality 'z 10O0/0 handmade from finest materials. 440-C steel

-liner bare micarta-9 oz. vegetable tanned leather--and
selected handle materials.

Price--$60.00-Micarta handle illustrated or rosewood.

Ivory $25.00 Extra
Stag $15.00 Extra
Knife with .solid metal handle available for $45.00.
(1 ?42 OZS. heavier)

ORDER DIRECT FROM CAROLINA KNIFE EXCHANGE

Send 10% Deposit for C.O.D. Orders.
We guarantee the workmanship and quality of this knife to equal that produced by any knife maker in
America or your money will be refunded.
 U.S. PATENT

Outdoorsmen!

SO SHARP IT'S
GUARANTEED
You absolutely cannot buy
anything sharper for the out-
doorsman. The,SKACHET is
made of special high carbon
steel-one of the hardest
$14.95
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That's how we guarantee it for
a full year!

Makes
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Throwing Axe!
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State College, Pa. 16801

USED BY PROFESSIONAL HUNTERS

For All Outdoorsmen!
Absolutely nothing stays so sharp as long as the SKACHET.
Made of a special high carbon steel and hand-honed to a fine
edge, it cuts through hard dry wood, solid bone, even a quarter-
inch metal bolt without damage. That's how we guarantee it for
a full year!
The SKACHET is used by professional hunters and outdoors-
men all over the world. It does the work of a hunting knife,
skinning knife, hatchet and hammer.
It fits snugly in the hand or easily converts to a hatchet by
screwing a green limb into the threaded hole at one end. The
sharp hooked notch guts big game fast for easy field dressing.

Comfortable to Carry
The SKACHET is sold
with a high-quality
leather sheath that
snaps shut over the cut-
ting blade and hangs
securely from the wear-
er's belt. It's comfort-
able, never cumber-
some, and always ac-
cessible.
Hand Cutting Tool
For all kinds of cut-
ting, slicing, chopping
or whittling, the
SKACHET fits neatly in
hand. Because the edge
is so sharp, hand work
goes fast and easily by
u t i l i z i n g the natural
weight of the tool. Its
performance is far su-
perior to any kind of
"knife."
Converts to Hatchet
By cutting a green
limb approximately an
inch in diameter and
whittling one end to fit
the threaded hole a
SKACHET can be in-
stantly converted to a
hatchet, hammer or ax.
The limb twists tightly
into place and is easy to
remove.
Skinning is Faster
The rounded portion
of the SKACHET makes
it a better skinning tool
than any knife. Again its
natural weight and ma-
neuverability makes an
otherwise time-consum-
ing chore quick and
easy.
Easy Field Dressing
The SKACHET's pat-
ented "gutting notch"
makes field dressing
easier than it has ever
been. As a "hatchet"
the huntsman can
quarter big game--cut
through solid bone and
perform all the neces-
sary dressing functions
which normally require
three or more different
tools.
The Magazine For Cutlery Enthusiasts
JULY-AUGUST, 1973 VOL. 1 , NO. 2
Would you like to own
the knife shown on
this month9-cover9
The American Blade is going t o offer one of its readers a chance t o w i n a beautiful Puma
folding knife like the one pictured on this month's cover. This knife and nine other high
quality folding knives w i l l be awarded to the ten readers who sell the most subscriptions
to The American Blade over the next four month period. The contest is very simple. Just
tell your friends w h o are interested in reading about fine cutlery to subscribe to The
American Blade. Use a copy of the subscription blank below and send i n as many sub-
scriptions as you can. You may make copies of the illustrated form or write to us and
we'll immediately send out as many forms as you think you might need. Reorder forms
at any time during the contest and they w i l l be sent to you postpaid. Be sure to enclose
$5.00 w i t h each one year subscription, $9.00 w i t h each t w o year subscription, and
$1 2.00 w i t h each three year subscription. The winners w i l l be determined by the largest
number of total years of subscriptions. I n case of ties the winners will be selected by
drawing from the tied contestants. Winners w i l l be announced in the November-
December issue which w i l l be on sale December 1st. Please do not cut out the form
below. Make your o w n copies or write to us and we'll send as many as you need.

This contest is void where prohibited by law.

Your name

Address

City State Zip -

Please enter a subscription in my name for:

Name

Address

City State Zip -

I have enclosed: f ) 65.00 - 1 year f ) $ 9 . 0 0 - 2 years ( ) $ 1 2 . 0 0 - 3 years
 The Cover .-,. ,# 2
, .; ;,+
;:i:.<:
.,;-;;,.?&*:,..~,<:
. ..
-<:,< *;.,
y<.+'g;i:,.,,,$

The Puma Commemorative~nife'com%,~?i

memorates the founding of PUMA^$^
WERK in Solingen, Germany in 1769"Ew,.
It is handmade from beginning to end
and represents the ultimate in the art
of knife-making. The Super-Keen Cut-
ting Steel blade has been especially
polished and hand etched to produce
a magnificent oak leaf design that is
delicate and artistic in appearance.
The year of the birth of Puma has also
been etched and filled with gold. The
reverse side of the blade is identically THE
etched with the words "Puma Ger-
many" and the exact serial number of
each knife which is also filled with JULY-AUGUST, 1973 SOUTHERN HOUSE PUBLICATION VOL. 1, NO. 2
gold.
The back of the main sDrina and!
blade is finished with an a h s t 6 and
functional non-slip pattern. Each bol-
1 ster has been highly polished. The two
bolsters nearest the blade have been
engraved with a wreath and the year
I N THIS ISSUE

1769 in the center. The two bolsters ,2 GRISWOLD SWORDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Reese, I1
nearest the safety lock are engraved
with the words "me fecit Solingen" 5 FOLDING BOWIE KNIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Miller
which translates to "made in Soligen."
The handle is made of the finest espec- 12 THE MEN WHO MADE THE
ially treated European stag horn.
The Puma Commemorative Knife is SHEFFIELD KNIVES . . . . . . . . . . . William C. Adams
made in a very limited edition of only
1769 pieces with each knife having its 16 TED M. DOWELL - KNIFE MAKER . . . . John Lachuk
own serial number which makes it the
only one of its kind in the world. This 23 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE DAGGERS
is attested to by the registration certi- OF THE THIRD REICH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Berry
ficate provided with each knife.
The Puma Commemorative Knife is
truly a collector's prize in every sense 30 INVESTING IN CONTEMPORARY
of the word. CUTLERY.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Col. James P. Caston
PUBLISHED BY SOUTHERN HOUSE
PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Walter Collins Editor and Publisher
Patricia A. Terry Managing Editor
BOARD OF EDITORS REGULAR FEATURES
Col. James P. Caston Dallas, Texas
William F . Moran Frederick, Maryland
D. E . Henry Mountain Ranch, Cal. 32 PRODUCT EVALUATION
RESEARCH EDITORS
Steve Miller Bennington, Vermont
Michael Reese New Orleans, La. 36 NEW PRODUCTS
David Berry Spartanburg, S.C.
Joe Dennard Dalton, Georgia 44 EDITOR'S PAGE
Col. Robert Mayes Middlesboro, Kentucky

I DIRECTOR OF GRAPHICS
Ann Baker

I
I
STAFF ARTIST
W. C. Shotts
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS
Rock McGee Copyright @ 1973 by Southern House Publication, Inc.
Bill Gunter THE AMERICAN BLADE is published bi-monthly by Southern House Publications. Inc. at 120 Alden Ave., N.W.,

I
Suite E-I, Atlanta, Georgia, 30309. Application to mail at Second-class postage rates is pending a t Atlanta. Georgia.
PRINTED by Ma1 Mele Advertising rates furnished upon request, write Box 13835, Atlanta, Georgia 30324. Single copy price. $I. Subscrip-
MOLENAAR PRINTING CO., INC. tion rates: $5 one year. $9 two years. $12 three years. Outside the United States, and possessions add $1 per year.
New Orleans, Louisiana 70002 Address all subscription inquiries and changes of address to Box 13835, Atlanta, Georgia 30324. No part of this
publication may be reproduced without written permission from the editor. When submitting manuscripts, enclose
stamped, self-addressed envelope for their return if found unacceptable. Care will be exercised in the handling of
unsolicited materials, but no responsibility for their return is assumed.

VOL. 1 , NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973

 Over-all view of Thomas Griswold Naval Cl
Collection of: The author.
New Orleans is unique among
the cities of the United States.
Climate and history have com-
bined to make its ~ e o ~ and l e its
life different from thoie of other
cities. 1t.s crafts are a sensitive ex-
pression of both factors.
New Orleans was the countries
first melting pot. French, Spanish,
British, it has received gifts from
many peoples and cultures. From
New Orleans come such famous
arm makers as Lemat, Saget. Du-
filho, Lamothe, ~ i b e a u ~, i i l e
Folsom and Kittredge, Dart and
~ ,
Watkinson.
'
One of the most famous is the
company Hyde and Goodrich, cor-
ner 'of Canal and Royal Streets.
Hyde and Goodrich had its office
and foundry in the same block on
Canal. Their business was quite
varied, i.e., gold and coin silver
items, spoons, watches, glass and
various types of swords and fire-
arms. Most of their Derringers
Note or 11 C.S. canteen and C.S.A. manual printed in New Orleans.
Griswold
Swords
b y Michael Reese, II
were marked "Agents of t h e
United States South." Buttons on
various State uniforms are marked
"Hyde and Goodrich, N. 0." Al-
though they manufactured many
types of swords, very few a r e
found on today's market.
In 1861, the two principles of
the Hyde a n d Goodrich firm,
Henry Thomas, Jr. and A. B. Gris-
wold, formed a partnership to be
henceforth called "Thomas Gris-
wold and Co." In the one year until
New Orleans fell to the Union,
they produced more edged weap-
ons for the Confederacy than any
other company. Besides being a
manufacturer, they also imported
pistols, rifles, bowie knives and
various types of sporting goods.
Markings on their swords and
cutlasses were either:
N.O.
$3.-
NEW ORLEANS
THE AMERICAN BLADE

Close-up of Thomas Griswold, New
Orleans Foot Officer's Sword.
Collection of: William H. Osborn.
There were various types of
markings. First and most widely
known were the Naval cutlasses.
These were patterned after the
U.S. Model 1841 Cutlass. The
pommel displays the cast of the
American Eagle and Shield. The
grip and cup guard were all brass,
with a fish-scale style grip. The
measurements were: blade, 21";
width a t quillin, 2"; overall length,
26". Marked on the Ricasso is
"T.G & CO, N.O." in two lines.
Fm"-'-"-
'
4 \*Q'
Pvt. W. Hardy. C.S.A. Photo taken in
Pensacola, Florida 1862.
Collection of: The author.
VOL. 1 , NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973
C.S.A. Ambrotype of Lieut. W.C.D.
Vaught of 5th CO. Washing Artillery,
New Orleans.
Second is the foot officer's sword
patterned after the U.S. Model
1850. The guard and pommel are
of decorated brass, usually the
Laurel Leaf design. The handle is
wood wrapped with brown leather
and secured by twisted brass wire.
The blade is 1" wide and 30" long.
This is accompanied by a leather
scabbard with brass mounts. The
Ricasso is either marked a s men-
tioned above or:
pJGRISWoto4
CP
NEW ORLEANS
T.G. & CO produced several pres-
entation swords upon request, but
this type is seldom seen on todays
market.
Various types of Confederate
arms are in great demand. Col-
lectors realize the old adage of
"supply and demand" and their
monetary value is determined by
the seller when available.
WESTERN CUTLERY CO. DEPT.A
( 5311 Western Ave., Boulder, Colo. 80302
/standard of
Custom Quality
Never has a sportsman's knife come
on the market that so outdistances the
present standard in performance and
style as does WESTMARK
Years of research and testing of mate-
rials are brought together in the mak-
ing of a knife especially for the sports-
man who wants the very best.
Compare these brilliant new knives
with any on the market today-not
only in eye appeal, but in balance,
feel and finish!
Three WESTMARK models to
choose from atleadingsportinggoods
stores everywhere. Complete with
premium steerhide
$29.95 each.
Model 701
Blade 5%"
,
,'
Blade 5"
Model 703
Blade 41/2*
"Fine Knives Since 1897"
THE AMERICAN BLADE
 The typical folding Bowie is a
folding knife with a 4% inch spear
point blade (occasionally having
a small additional blade) having a
stamped two piece guard similar
to that on the small fixed blade
Bowies, scales usually are of rose-
wood, bone or stag and the pom-
mel is usually a fancy two piece
stamping, again similar to that
found on the fixed blade knives.
Most, but not all have a lock fea-
ture which required pushing a
small button on the back to close
the blade. The guard frequently
will have a patriotic motto such a s
"LIBERTY AND UNION" which
dates the knife from the Civil War
era. One knife in my collection by
John Hobson is etched "ANGLO
SAXON KNIFE" to appeal to the
Confederate side of t h e coin.
Among the Sheffield knifemakers
who supplied large numbers of
these folding knives, the following
makers are most commonly found:
John Hobson
Samuel C. Wragg
Vincent Bradshaw
ROWLAND CARR,
cu:CTER A SD DEALER IN
George Rodgers
rY a
Crookes & Co. (also J.
Crookes & Crookes Bros.)
William Jackson & Co.
John Lingard
A. Davy's Exchange Works
RAZOR & SPRING-KNIFE SCALES, &.
Among the earlier makers sup- HANDLES SCAJ,ES CUT TO PATTERN.
&
plying these folding knives from
the late 1830 period to early 1850
are: EET,
R. Bunting & Son.
(usually prior to 1837)
Unwin & Rodgers (1835-1850) -
Three,fine Ivory hilted Bowies. The top knife by Best English Cutlery has "LIBERTY AND
Ibbotson Peace & Co. UNION on the guard, the middle knife is by G. Crookes & Co. and the bottom knife by John
(1840-1850) Hobson has a blade etched "ANGLO SAXON K N I F E to appeal to southern sentiment. All
have the lock back feature and 4% inch blades. Photo shows an advertisement for Ivory scales.
Jonathan Crookes probably used in all knives.

The above list is by no means

complete and many of the larger
knife works such a s George Wos-
tenholm's famous Washington
Works, John Rodgers & Sons and
Edward Barnesalso turned out
large numbers of folding dirk
knives.
While the original numbers of
knives turned out by the Sheffield
Cutlers were large, the survival
rate of these knives are extremely
rare and any folding Bowie is far
rarer than the fixed blade variety.
A perfect example of this is the
knife in the author's collection by
Ibbotson Peace & Company with
the mythical half - horse - half -
alligator motif on the pommel.
Standard Bowies with the same
pommel are extremely rare and
command prices up to $3,000.00,
however I only know of four such
knives (folding Bowies) in the
hands of private collectors. The
fixed blade Bowies with the half-
horse-half-alligator motif prob-
ably number a s many a s 30-40
knives. Two knives in my collec-
tion carry the half-horse-half-al-
ligator motif on the guard with the
quillons being the alligator heads
and the bolster carrying the horse
head. One is by Samuel Wragg
and has the Louisiana Pelican on
the pommel. The other knife, also
by Wragg has two blades and no

6 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 RAZOR
EDGE
-ir~- -

SHARPENER
* Guarantees an actual shaving edge on any
knife... every time.
* Maintains proper angle and control
* Used in the largest meat packing com-
panies in the world.
* K i t contains two 2 x 6 custom hones.
* Only $14.95

Knife and Arrow Kit $19.95

Zipper Case $5.95
Super Ultra Fine Hone $19.95. This hone is
guaranteed twice the g r ~ t fineness o f any
natural hone, American o r foreign.
N o C.O.D. Wisconsin residents a d d 4%
Please a d d $1.00 for postage and insurance.
A t your dealer o r

AND Cow, RAZOR EDGE LTD.

Box 203 AB, Butler, Wisconsin
53007

STEEL CONVERTERS & REFINERS,

PIIERCIEI\STS .IS11 J I . I S I ~ l . " \ C ' I ' I ~ l : 1F:S
~ 0:;
The all-around knife
FILES, TOOLS, SAWS, SHEXP SBEARS, for the all-around
TARLE & POCKET CUTLERY, SCISSORS, REZORS, &c.
It's rugged. Ever sharp. Rust-
The top knife by W.F. Jackson and the Bottom by S.C. Wragg, both have the half-horse-half
alligator motifon theguard. Photo shows an advertisement of W. Jackson & Companyfrom the
1859 Sheffield trade directory.
for Rockwell hardness.
With a miracle-tough a

to a handy 4%". The

BACK-PACKER
( #16-465) $26.00.

Fium@
D
At local dealers or write Dept. AB-7
GUTMANN CUTLERY CO INC.
900 So. Columbus Ave., Mt. Vernon, N.Y. 10550
Send 50e for new brochure showing how Puma
Anotherfine small folding dirk knife made without a guard by R. Bunting & Company. Circa Knives are made plus useful tips on knife care.
1840.

VOL. 1, NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973

 pommel a t all. Familiar to all Ken-
tucky Rifle collectors, the famed
half - horse - half - alligarot figure
was the hero of a song entitled
"Hunters of Kentucky, or Half
Horse and Half Alligator." Part of
the song goes thus:
"We are a hardy, free born race,
Each m a n to fear a stranger;
Whate'er the game we join in
chase, Despoiling time and dan-
ger; And if a daring foe annoys;
Whate'er his strength and forces.
JOHN TI3ACKRAY, We'll show him that Kentucky
Boys Are Alligator Horses."
MANUFACTURER OF ALL KINDS OF
(Continued on next page)

162, BERNARD STREET, PARK,

WORI<S-~~l\IGIl-'l'Rll:E \ f\I:l), Pi\JiIiII1TJ, IAL\Xl~;,
NEAR ST; JOHN'S CHURCH, SHEFFIELD.

Two spring knives. The top knife by J. Lingard is dated on the blade February 9, 1850. The large
blade springs open when the smaller blade is depressed. The bottom knife is by A. Davy's Ex-
change Works. Sheffield and springs open when the button ispushed. A d f o r Spring Knife parts
from the 1839 Sheffield Directory.

i d , /',

,-- -KNIVES.
'

- - - -
G A R D E N E R S K N I V E S # R A Z O R S.
G I

5tttl

A farriers knife by Thos. Turner. While

Group offixed blade Bowies with similar hardware to thefolding variety. The top knife, marked not actually a folding Bowie, this knife
Gravely & Wreaks, New York is obviously Sheffield make and was imported during the late was often found in a Sportman's kit.
I840 period. The 2nd knife is by Mappin Bros. The 3rd knife by Steer & Websrer has the rare Phoro shows an advertisement of Thos.
corkscrew feature and checkered ivory scales. The bottom knife is by G. Crookes and has a 7 Turner from the 1857 issue of the Sheffield
inch blade etched with patriotic mottos. Business directorv.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 A huge folding Bowie with the
Horse-Alligator motif on the guard
and a horse-head pommel a n d
having a huge 11 inch blade was
in the William Shermerluck col-
lection a n d i s illustrated i n
"American Knives" by Harold
Peterson. The present where-
abouts of that knife are unknown
to me a t this time. Incidentally,
the book American Knives is a
must for all serious knife col-
KNIVES
The Ideal
Folding Knife
For Horsemen
,\-

* ----.--
;s-.-.
..,
4..-
*
~a-

- -,. - .--
.+-....-. ,-- :--
-
. -
-...
Ax'-

e.
.-F%

lectors.
APACHE

A new concept i n f o l d i n g knives. Hand-crafted o f rust-resistant high carbon steel with a positive
locking device. Blade and rocker rotate on special o i l impregnated stainless bearings for less
wear and smoother action.
Contoured finger indentations a n d brass bolsters, fuzed and r i v i t e d t o stainless liners, provide
a positive and natural grip. The A P A C H E (R-9) is as rugged as a sheath knife b u t with the
convenience, safety and usability o f a f o l d i n g knife. Overall length open a%", blade 3%".
Comes with a pouch sheath of t o p grain black leather. Handle choice o f Brazilian Rosewood or
Black Micarta.
R i g i d specializes i n custom knife work and a l l R i g i d Knives carry a lifetime guarantee.
The A P A C H E retails for $30.00 including sheath. Ten other models aiailable. See the complete
line a t your dealer o r write f o r free catalogue.

RIGID KNIVES,
Department AB, P. 0.Box 460, Santee, California 92071

Four rare folding Bowies with the Horse-
Head Pommel. The top knife by Samuel
C. Wragg has an 8 inch clip point Blade.
The guard was obviously cut off by a man
who ,felt that it hindered speedy retrieval
from his pocket. The 2nd knife is by C.
Congreves and the W Crown R dates it
prior to 1837. The third knife is by Wade,
Winglield and Rowboltom and was made
without a guard, although it does have the
lock back ,feature. The bottom knife by
Best English Cutlery has both a guard
and the lockback feature.
While still rare, the Horse-Head
pommel is found more frequently
than the half-horse-half-alligator.
Four such knives are i n the au-
thors collection. The Horse-head
pommels are identical except for
size, and all have the anchor
which could indicate naval use.
(Continued on next page)
VOL. 1, NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973
NEW!!!
THE CUSTOM KNIFE BOOK
by J. Bates & J. Schippers
The long needed comprehensive book on the subject of today's Custom
Knife makers and their product has arrived. This extensively researched,
UP TO DATE BOOK containing 150 pages, details of 100 of today's fa-
mous and not so famous makers. Many photos including Full Color accom-
pany the test which covers; design, history, knife steels, sharpening and
production. Also included individual chapters on each maker, a glossary of
knife terms and MUCH, MUCH MORE!
This FIRST EDITION high quality book in soft cover form is
available at $5.95.
Please include $.75 for postage and handling.
Get your orders in now for fast delivery.
Personal checks accepted.
THE CUSTOM KNIFE BOOK
Box 4775 AB
MEMPHIS, TENN. 38104
Dealer inquiries invited.
 Most collectors will notice a
marked similarity of the mounts
and scales of the knives of various
makers and this can be made most
clear by a careful examination of
the Sheffield Business Directories
of the years 1839 until 1860. The
pommels, guards, scales, springs
and even blades were furnished
by independent manufacturers
a n d the knife makers themselves
acted more as assemblers than
cutlers. A careful comparison of
the guards a n d pommels of the il-
lustrated folding knives and the
similar fixed blade Bowies will
show the exact hardware on both
types of knives. Numerous makers
of these parts advertised their
wares a s will be seen i n the il-
lustrations.
While they are far rarer than the
fixed Bowie knives, the folding
UNWlN & RODGERS, Bowies have never captured the
imagination of collectors a n d it is
still possible to build a good col-
lection a t moderate cost. I have
ROCKINGHAM WORKS, picked up folding Bowies a t var-
ious flea markets and gun shows
for as little a s $35.00 and while
A .fine and rare folding Bowie by Unwin & Rodgers of Sheffield, dating about 1837. The blade even the best hover around the
is 8 inches long and has the lock-backfeature. Scales are of Pearl and a rare,feature is the cork- $200.00 mark, careful shopping
screw in the back. Photo shows an advertisement of Unwin & Rodgers from the 1839 Sheffield
directory, showing a similar kn~ye. can find excellent buys. The rare
models with the horse-head pom-

Folding Bowie with 7 inch spear shaped blade by Marsh Bros. Pond Works, Sheffield has no guard but retains the lock back feature. Scales are o j
Rosewood.

Two small folding Bowies. The top knife has a rarefeature, that is, the solid cutlery type hilt. Theguard has the American Eagle with the spread wings
forming the quillons. The bottom kniJe is a very early folding dirk by R. Bunting & Company and probable dates prior to 1840!

10 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 WOOD KNIVES
38 So. Venice Blvd.
Venice, California 90291

Ad-

$27.50
A fine folding Bowie by Ibbotson Peach and Company with the mythical Half-Horse-Half
alligator pommel is shown with similar fixed Blade Bowies by G. Woodhead and Woodhead Dealer Enquiries Invited
& Hartley. Write for Free Brochure

Any Scene or Design

Catalog $1
SHAW-LEIBOWITZ
Rt. 1, Box 421, New Cumberland
W. Va. 26047

GUARANTEED

WORLD'S
FINEST
3 FlLET
2QN IFE
c?
Surgical
stainless steel
' razor sharp blade.
Sale-$3.95 postpaid
Rare folding Bowie by G. Crookes & Co. Sheffield shown with small Bowie by Wm. Jackson & Same knife
Co. Both knives have identicalpommels, which most likely were supplied b y the same maker. 6" blade- $2.95
Special
Both knives- $5.95
me1 will usually sell from $500.00 could rationalize paying $350,000 Sturdy leather sheaths
and up a n d the last half-horse-half- for a fine Remington Pocketknife Free bait knife with order
Highest Quality
alligator folding knife t h a t I saw and then balk a t paying a n equal Guaranteed
was for sale a t $2,500! While this amount for a far more rare and FINE G I m
may seem a bit steep, it is true far older antique weapon such as Check or
that many modern made folding a folding Bowie is beyond me. Money Order to:
knives by Remington a n d Win- SWEDEN IMPORT CO.
6875 NORMANDY DR. AB
chester, of which there are literally NEWARK. CALIF. 94560
thousands available sell for com-
parible prices. How a collector I

VOL. 1, NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973 11

 "Our Transatlantic relations
boast of the almighty power
of their machinery, as of their
dollar; but Messrs. Rodgers
and Sons, like other leading
manufacturers here, know
that for many processes in the
manufacture of cutlery the
human hand cannot be super-
seded by the most dexterous
mechanical a r r a n g e m e n t s .
Special allusion may be made
to the hardening a n d temper-
ing of the blade, grinding,
and welding, where great
h a n d i c r a f t intelligence is
necessary. A reckless employ-
ment of machinery may be
made, and i n fact is made, for
even these processes; but
those who value a reliable
knife will be careful to avoid
such goods."
Illustrated Guide to Sheffield
and Surrounding District
(1876)
The foregoing quote embodies the
Sheffield attitude t o w a r d t h e
making of knives. The quality of
the knife depended and depends
almost totally on the skill of the
workmen. This trust was very sel-
dom misplaced, a s evidenced by
the fine quality knives which have
lasted through years of use to re-
side in collections today.
What about the workman? How
did he get his training? Why was
his work so excellent? His fine
work was a result of intensive
training a t the hands of a master
over a period of many years, and
then experience at his trade until
he died.
The workman had to be a mem-
ber of the Company of Cutlers i n
Hallamshire, which was a very
strong, powerful and respected
guild in the Sheffield area. If h e
did not learn the trade from his
father (who had to be a member
of the Cutlers' Company to prac-
tice the cutlery trade) he had to be
apprenticed to a cutler for a period
of seven or more years to learn the
trade. Following is a form of in-
denture that was used through the
19th Century.
12
The Men Who Made
The Sheffield Knives
b y William C. Adams
This Indenture made the ffower & twentithe daie of August in the third year of t h e Raigne of
our soveraigne Lord Charles by the grace of God of Engl;~nd Scotland ffrance & Yreland, king,
defender of the faith, e t c Betweene James Houle. soune uI Charlcs Houle, of Wakefeld, in the
County of York, corvisor, of the one ptie, and Edward Creswick, o l Sl~effield,in the said county,
cutler, on the other ptie. Witnesseth that the said James. of his owoe good likeing, Sr by and w* the
consent of his said father, hath putt and bound himsellc servant & apprentice, and by these presents
doth putt and bynde himselfe servant and apprentice, to and wIh the said Edward Creswick in the
art or occupacon of a cutler, to bee taught and instructed. S. w ~ t hthe said Edward after the manner
of a n apprentice to dwell & him to serue from the daie of the date herof unto the end & for &
during the terme of eight years nowe next & imediatly folowing. & fully to be complete and ended
During all which time hee, the said James, shall & will take the said Edward for his maister Sr him
well and truly serue, & in all his honest and lawfull commandments obey; his lawfull secretts 3e shall
keepe ; the goodes of his said mr or of a n y others wherewith he shall be putt in trust by r c w n of
his said service, hee shall not mispend nor wast nor the same to any pson or psons lend :-hwst :
wtbout his said mrs consent ffornicacon hee shall not comitt nor matrimony contracte ; Tavtrnes or
Alehouses hee shall not frequent; att dice cardes or any other vnlawful game or games hee s k l i not
play, nor absent himselfe from his said m". service by night or daie without the consent & lea_: of his
said m: nor doe or assent vnto anything whereby his said mr maie bee anywaies damnified; but in
all things as a good & faithfull apprentice & servant shall gently & dutifully demeane Sr jehaue
himselfe during the said terme. And the said Edward Cres\vick doth by these presents c-renant.
graunt promise Sr agree to & wth the said James, his apprentice, to teach & to instructe :-:?m, or
cause him to bee taught & instructed after the best manner & sort that hee cann in the said a d e of
a cutler, chastiseing him reasonably, and to finde minister Sr yeeld vnto him during all tL.r said
terme competent & sufficient meate, drink, lodging & all manr of apparel1 & necessaries fitt fi meete
for an apprentice of such a trade or occupacon.
In wittnesse wherof the ptic' abovesaid to these indentures interchangeably have x t t their ' m d e s
& seales. Dated the daie & year first aboue written. 1627.
The above indenture (complete hotel. I t was usually a n attic room
with 17th Century spelling) makes or other place where the cold
no mention of any payment what- breezes blew in the winter.
soever to the apprentice. Generally
the master gave the apprentice At the end of the apprenticeship
lodging and rather poor and crude the apprentice would be given his
clothing; a t the latter part of the freedom. This, a s well as the in-
19th Century some apprentices denture, would be recorded in the
began to "lodge out" of the mas- records a t Cutlers' Hall. At this
ter's home, i n which case the time he might or might not be as-
master usually paid the lodging. signed a trademark. A copy of the
As you can imagine the lodging form which was always observed
provided was not that of a luxury of the freedom paper follows.
THE AMERICAN BLADE
 "Charles Smith, the son of Thomas Smith. and apprentice of his father, of Pea Croft, in the "Henry Augustus Shore age
parish of Sheffield, in the county of York, maker of pen-knives, was admitted by the Master,
Wardens. Searchers and Assistants of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire, in the county of 20 - 16 April last (1860) was
York, the 2rst day of December, in the j r s t year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the with his father in the ware-
Third, by the grace of God of Great Britain. France and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, and house (at school till 17) from
so forth, and in the year of our Lord, one thousand. seven hundred, ninety-one, in the time of
Mr. George Wood, Master of the same Society, and entered in t h e C r e a t Paper Book under the title
17 to April last. Can whet,
of Admissions of Freemen. buff, pack - get up orders -
"Memorandum. That the day and year above said the mark stampt in the margin [PAX] and the last few months at Mr.
impressed on the lead t o these presents annexed was assigned according t o the form of the Statute Brown's Brit. metal manufac.
by the Master. Wardens and Searchers of the said Society to the aforesaid Charles Smith t o mark
bir pen-knives by him t o be made : t o hold t o him during his life. paying therefore yearly t o the said
Rockingham Street - likes
Muter. LC.. and their successors during the said term, for the use of the said society, the rum of well - wants country house
rixpcncer at the Feast of Pentecost only." Leaden Tag. information and also a con-
nection with a good firm.
Would like to come here -
8/ -a week for 1st year &
At the latter part of the 19th factory is teaching Frank a trade 10/ -for remainder of time,
Century a boy might be appren- and paying him 6 shillings a week would undertake a t 21/ -to
ticed to a company. Following is a while he is learning the trade. engage for remainder of the
letter from the Wostenholm (IXL) There is no mention of lodging, 3 years. Mr. Geo. Clark Shore
Secretary's Copying Book from clothing, etc. Incidentally, Frank would be bound a t 50s for his
(J. L. Wing, Managing Director) Colver rose to the rank of Man- son to enter into a n engage
to one Mr. R. Colver regarding aging Director in the Wostenholm ment a t 21 to complete three
the apprenticeship of h i s son factory between the years of 1922 years."
Frank in the Wostenholm factory. and 1947. These notes, which are in
You will note that in this case the 7 ntv. . y George Wostenholm's handwrit-
ing, show that George was a t the
time rather interested in the real
estate business as well. He was
developing the section now known
in Sheffield as Kenwood and was
interested in selling and renting
houses there as well as taking on
apprentices in his factory!
The workman usually followed
one trade, that is, he would be a
forger or a grinder or a polisher or
a cutler, but seldom would a cutler
grind a blade, or a grinder forge
one, for example. I t took many
different hand operations to make
the knife.
The cutler usually worked for a
firm for a long time. The picture of
the workmen a t t h e Joseph
Rodgers Factory was taken in
1910 and is from their factory book
"Under Five Sovereigns." You will
notice from the years of service of
each of these workmen (notice
that they didn't photograph any-
one who hadn't worked for them
I.errer,fron~J. L. Wing ro Frank C o l ~ v r 'Farher
.~ in 1889, offering apprenrice.~hip. for fifty years) that many of these
men were apprenticed a t ages 9,
10 or 11. The workmen usually
A boy might be employed by a apprenticeship once he began it). made between 35 and 40 shillings
factory as a n apprentice for some A note in George Wostenholm's a week and worked a 58 hour, 6'/2
period and his father would be personal appointment book dated day week as a master. This was in
bound for his son's apprenticeship April 16, 1860, reads a s follows: good times and when times were
(i.e., the son was to complete the (Continued on next page)

VOL 1. NO 2-JULY-AUGUST. 1973 13

not so good, he made considerably
less. He was usually paid once a
week in cash a t the factory or, if
he was a n outworker, h e would
"liver an' draw"; t h a t is, deliver
his goods and draw his pay. If he
worked in the factory he was
charged rent for the space he used.
Illustrated are pay records from
two pay books of Wostenholm's Old 1& X L Marking Tools; the lop one was
used.for blade erching. The borrom three
workmen. were for sramping Bouie Shearhs and
razor boxes.

havoc with the working conditions

in the factory.
After the McKinley Tariff Act
was passed (1890) the Metal Trade
3q; /$ 2 Union went on strike a t the Wos-
63 k,3 tenholm factory. The American
market was very much in decline
Jd7,', L Old Curlers' hammers with years o f wear.
a t the time, a n d the company
c~ 3 161
r, ,
I 'L management wanted to cut the
Forger's payrecord, September 16, 1920. Wostenholm a t 14 to the dozen, workmen's hours and pay. Illus-
i.e., he would make 14 and George trated are the proposals that the
would pay him for 12. This was management made to a deputa-
common in Sheffield until the tion of the workmen.
1940's when most old masters had The workmen didn't like the pro-
died and skilled labor was at a posals, went on strike, and stayed
premium. on strike for months. Of course
The Charles Glossop contract is the workmen tried to draw relief
interesting because it cites t h a t pay from the Washington Works
William Corkell (Whetter) -payrecord, Glossop is to work for George Sick and Benevolent Society, to-
March 14, 1932. Wostenholm "until the civil war in ward which they had contributed
One worked as a whetter in the America shall terminate or the through the years and, of course,
pocket knife department; rent was shipment made with that country the management tried to block
deducted from his week's pay. The shall become brisk." The Wosten- this to force the workmen to ac-
other, John Holloway, was a n out- holm firm depended upon the cept their proposals (the workmen
worker-a forger-who worked i n American trade for over 80 per lost).
John Petty's Perth Works on Gar- cent of its sales. Any disturbance What did the workmen have to
den Street. Forgers generally re- i n its promary market wreaked look forward to after all these
ceived a s m a l l amount of - tool
money; this was because the forg-
er's tools were quickly worn out
and had to be replaced frequently.
The workman would make his
cools last as long a s possible. 11-
lustrated are some cutlers' ham-
mers which were used until the
handles were a l m o s t grooved
through by the cutlers' hands.
The cutler might work on his
own or work for a firm. Illustrated
are two contracts between work-
men and George Wostenholm i n
the 1860's.
The William Gray contract states
that Gray is to make coffins (this
means a coffin handled knife,
probably a bowie) for George Joseph Rodgers' workmen raken in 1910.

14 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 Grinding and glazing knife t~lades,circa 1905.

Silver Vulcan given to Joseph Rodgers'

workmen on completion of 50 years'
service.

years of service? The firm of

Joseph Rodgers & Sons Ltd.gave
each workman upon completion
of fifty years of service a silver
statute of Vulcan, holding the
Rodgers trademark (a six-pointed
star and a Maltese cross) in his
hand. The statue is five inches tall

Double handforging knge blades, circa IYU~.

VOL. 1, NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973

 b y John Lachuk

"At the core of every serious knife

maker's work must be endless
experimentation directed a t find-
ing the best steel and heat treat-
ment for achieving a knife of
ultimate edge-holding ability and
toughness. And, "says Ted M.
Dowell, of Bend, Oregon, "I'm
still looking!"
Ted means just what he says.
He is still field testing the new
"super stainless," 154-CM, and
remains unconvinced although he
offers it a s a n option to those who
want it. Dowel1 h a s never offered
less than three alternatives in steel
to his customers, with the advan-
tages of each clearly described in
his catalogs and periodic news-
letters to customers and friends.
Currently Dowel1 is offering his .'

time-tested F-8 high carbon steel, I'

which has become a standard by
which the edge-holding ability of 1

other steels is measured. However,

F-8 is not stainless, a n d although
Ted has never had a customer '4
complaint, it lacks the great
toughness of some of the stainless
steels. As part of his never-ending
search for the ultimate steel, Ted
has recently abandoned A-2 in
favor of D-2, a stain-resistant tool
. steel of high edge-holding ability
and great toughness, heat treated
to 58-59 Rockwell C-scale. D-2
contains a full 11/2% carbon and
12l/2%chrome. Dowel1 still includes -
the well-respected 440-C stainless
steel in his inventory, but his
preference is definitely inclined Dowel1,fitting stag scales to Integral HiltlCap Knifk. Fitting requires very precise contouring
toward the new D-2. to match the radiuses at both ends ol'the .rc.nlev

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 Dowel1 was obliged to journey
almost half a continent away to
find a dependable heat treating
plant for his blades, i n far-off
Southern California. He largely
discounts the current trend among
some knife makers trying to outdo
each other with higher a n d higher
Rockwell readings on their blade
steel. "I think," says Dowell, "that
ultra hardness in a blade (over 61
Rockwell C) contributes more to
advertising value t h a n to edge
holding. Dowel1 blades come 58
R/C or higher, but he doesn't
believe that hardness is the only,
or even the most important mea-
sure of edge-holding ability i n
any given steel. "I would s a y that
the chemistry of the steel is much
more important t h a n the hardness,
assuming we are talking about
hardnesses in excess of about 56
R/C."
Field testing of super-hard
blades h a s convinced Dowel1 that
so called "razor sharp" edges fade
Top to bottom: Steel biller weighing 2% pounds, two billets afrer drilling to .form the %-inch radiuses at the hilt and cap, steel taking on some
form after milling away excess metal between holes and along blade length, finally roughly-shaped knife before attaching handle scales. Note
contrast between top and bottom!
VOL. 1, NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973
rapidly i n the face of hard use.
"The razor edge doesn't seem to be
a good cutting edge," he says.
"The blade must have a certain
amount of 'feather,' microscopic
sawteeth, to cup properly. If these
tiny teeth are too brittle, they
immediately break off, leaving a n
edge that is apparently sharp, but
simply won't cut well."
Toughness is a vital attribute of
knife steel in Dowell's eyes, but if
a compromise is i n order, he tends
to favor the steel t h a t exhibits
good edge retention. "My knives
are not made for throwing, chop-
ping through bones, or prying up
boulders," he says. Dowel1 makes,
and recommends a small belt axe
a s the best backup for a fine sheath
knife, when quartering big game.
Years of experience went into
the formation of Dowell's concept Dowel1 clamps two steel billets side by
of what a hunting knife should a n d side in machinist's vice and drills the %-
shouldn't be. His career saw its inch holes that form the radiuses for hilt
and cap of Integral HiltlCap Knife.
(Continued on next page)
17

Dowel1 shapes the blade outline on a "soft"sat?ding wheel. A s with all bench-made knives,
no two are exact11,alike.
first glimmerings back during his
three-year hitch in the Navy, as a
gunnery officer aboard the U.S.S.
Missouri, during the Korean
conflict. When not actively en-
gaged in combat, Ted found time
to fabricate his own sheath knives
in the ship machine shop, "With
some pretty horrible results," he
comments wryly.
After the Korean war finally
ebbed away, young Ted mustered
out, and with the roar of the 5-
inchers still ringing i n his ears,
resolved never to fire anything with
a bore larger than 12 gauge for the
rest of his life. However, h e had
learned the joys of deer hunting i n
Virginia, during his stay a t the
Bethesda Naval Base, and with
this new love in mind, he chose
Oregon as his new home to start
civilian life. With his B.S. in Edu-
could do better t h a n that, myself!"
Well, this was the time for Ted
Dowell!
He soon found that i t was no
easy matter to discover which was
the "best" steel a n d the "best"
heat treatment. Years of experi-
mentation and study ensued,
along with field testing by Dowel1
and his friends of various steels
and blade designs. Concurrently,
he was evolving into a knife maker
of professional stature, constantly
striving to improve shape and
design and blade finish. During
his first three years a s a pro,
Dowel1 sold knives i n the $30 to
$60 range. He started with hard-
wheel grinding, then changed to
a rubber contact wheel, driving a n
abrasive belt, for better control
and less risk of "burning" the
steel with excessive heat. Ulti-
mately he achieved a smoothly
concave bevel, from back to cut-
ting edge, with crisp lines and a
brilliance of finish equal to the
very best. I n recent years, h e h a s
concentrated upon surpassing the
best that the competition has to
offer.
Over the years, Dowel1 distilled
the myriad suggested blade shapes
down to a basic selection of a
cation, and M.A. i n Mathematics,
he quickly found a teaching posi-
tion. During the dozen years t h a t
followed, he continued his hunting
a n d became a semi-pro stock
maker. His appreciation of the
clean a n d classic lines of such
famed stock makers as Biesen,
Goens, and Fisher, later shaped his
ideas about classic knife design.
W h i l e a f i e l d , Dowel1 , , w e n t
through a succession of com-
mercial hunting knives, without
finding one t h a t suited him. He
finally splurged on a custom
made number, and was grossly Top to bottom: Steel billet weighing 2%
disappointed to discover that pounds, two billets after drilling to form
the yd-inch radiuses at the hilt and cap,
although it was a beauty to behold, steel taking on some form after milling
it was scarcely any improvement away excess metal between holes and a-
long blade length, finaNj1 roughly-shaped
over the store-bought variety kn~fe before attaching handle scales.
when it came to holding a n edge. Note contrast between top and bottom!
The,finished knije and sheath added.
At some point i n our lives, all of
us have thought to ourselves, "I
THE AMERICAN BLADE
baker's dozen, that appeared in toughest material going is without Ted recommends sending a hand
his 1972 catalog. Then early this doubt the micarta, either linen or tracing with a knife order, especi-
year, he came to the somewhat wood base. The wood carries with ally if you desire finger grooves in
startling conclusion t h a t even this it the grain a n d beauty of wood i n the handle. Finger grooves on a
was too many, a n d really boiled its natural state, but the micarta Dowel1 knife are not deep and
it down - to one blade outline - is impregnated with phenolic sharply defined. They are more of
best represented by his Model 13 resin, and pressurized into a very a mere hint for proper finger
in the 1972 catalog. Ted feels that dense, hard material, t h a t with- placement, rather than a command
his modified drop point blade will stands all normal solvents a n d that limits the hand to a single
perform every task normally considerable abuse. Lately, Dowel1 position on the handle.
encountered by hunters in the h a s come out with a paper-based The hidden-tang knife a s made
field. micarta, that resembles ivory, by Dowel1 h a s the usual square
The drop point used by Dowel1 resulting in a n attractive, rugged hole through the handle, with the
has a slightly down-turned spine, handle. tang epoxied inside, but with the
that makes it ideal for unzipping Dowel1 shapes his handles with addition of a stainless steel nut
the abdominal cavities of big game simple, classic lines. He doesn't counterbored into the butt for
animals, without puncturing the stint on length. Dowel1 handles greater strength, and the radiuses
delicate membranes covering the average from 43/4 inches to 5 (Continued on next page)
intestines. Skilled hunters perform inches, to offer ample hand-hold.
this incision with the deftness of a
brain surgeon, slitting from anus
to brisket, while drawing hardly
a drop of blood. Then the anus is
reamed, the aitch bone separated,
and the intestines roll cleanly
from the carcass without tainting
the meat.
Some hunters might prefer a
high pointed blade for skinning,
feeling that it allows longer, fuller
strokes, but the drop point per-
forms just a s well with a little more
twist of the wrist, letting the blade
follow the hand rather t h a n pre-
ceeding it.
For the present at least, Ted will
continue to make the various
blade shapes shown in his 1972
catalog, for those who want them.
He will also continue tc- make
After drilling the holes, Dowel1 sloughs off the excess metal with a steel band saw, then uses an
custom blade shapes for individu- end mill to true up the surfaces and taper the,full rang from the blade thickness of 3/16" down
als who send in coherent drawings to half'that much at the radius wsith the integral cap.
of their desires, providing that the
blades are not too outlandish, at
prices comparable to those charged
for his standard knives. And Ted "Tomorrow's Collector's Piece - Today"
imposes no limits on handle shape
and material. Currently, he offers
such exotic woods a s pau ferro,
Brazilian rosewood, goncalo alves,
coco bolo, zebrawood, teak, ebony,
bubinga, etc., a s well a s India
_, Randall Made Knives
stag and micarta.
P.O. Box 1988-AB
The various woods offered by Orlando, Florida 32802
Dowel1 are chosen on the basis of
beauty and durability. I n my own
opinion, sanbar stag cannot be Write for 32 page catalogue - Price $ .50
beaten for eye appeal, but the

VOL. 1, NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973 19

where the tang narrows are broad
and sloping, to avoid a n y stress
risers that could lead to a break
in this critical area.
Dowel1 became enamored of the
full-tang knife several years back,
and has carried this design to its
ultimate in beauty, grace a n d
strength. The full-tang, a s its
name suggests, carries the blade
material back through the full
outline of the handle. The handle
material consists of two slabs or
"scales" that are usually riveted
to both sides of the tang. The t a n g
of a Dowel1 knife h a s a straight
taper beginning behind the hilt,
and ending a t the butt with only
one-third of its original thickness.
Thus none of the strength is sacri-
ficed, .but the eye appeal is en-
hanced markedly a n d the knife
lightened in the bargain!
Dowel1 dislikes the super-thick
blades so in vogue with some
custom makers. He prefers to
%-inchsteel for most of his blades,
and considers 3/16-inch the maxi-
mum practical thickness for a
working blade, although conceding
that the others make attractive
wall decorations. He also feels
Completed Dowel1 Integral HiltlCap Knife with wood micarta handles. Contrast slender lines
with the slab of steel at the start!!!
20
uncomfortable with a n y blade
over 5 inches i n length, and makes
most of his blades from 4 to 4%
inches long, except on special
order. He flatly refuses to make
the traditional Bowie blades of
bountiful steel but little practical
use in the field. Only his Model 11
fighting knife departs from the
rule, with its 6%-inch blade. How-
ever the end of our involvement i n
the A s i a n conflict h a s curtailed
orders for this design. Dowel1
eschews blade cutouts t h a t allow
the fingers to come forward of the
hilt, a n d "cheat" the blade length.
He considers them unnecessary on
his knives because they offer
complete control of the blade tip
without cheating! He will, how-
ever, supply them on order.
Every custom knifemaker
worthy of the name h a s some
distinguishing factor t h a t sets him
apart from all of the others i n the
trade. With Ted M. Dowell, it's his
endless quest for the lightest
practical hunting knife. I thought
that he had achieved his ultimate
goal with the Dowel1 Lightweight
knife, a 4-inch blade, 96th thick i n
D-2 steel, with tapered full t a n g
and linen-macarta scales, weighing
complete with sheath just four
ounces; but he fooled me by devel-
oping his Featherweight Knife,
ground from 3/32-inch stock, with
3%-inch blade, full tang (not
tapered), weighing including
sheath, just 3 ounces with micarta
scales, or only 2 ounces with hard-
wood scales!
Ted Dowell's consumate craft-
manship is epitomized by his
Integral Hilt/Cap Knife, a delicate
steel sculpture painstakingly
carved from a bulky billet of steel
measuring 1Yz x 3/4 x 10 inches, and
weighing 2% pounds! The knife
that results weighs less than 8
ounces! More than 80% of the steel
is swept away i n the form of cut-
ting ships and dust from drill,
mill, and sander. At just $225, I
consider the Dowel1 Integral Hilt/
Cap Knife the most underpriced
bench-made knife available today.
Ted conceived the Integral Hilt
knife in a n attempt to smooth out
the lines of the conventional hunt-
ing knife and make it more pleasing
to the eye. A happy side benefit
is greater strength a t the juncture
of the blade a n d handle, the tradi-
tional weak point with the ordin-
ary knife. The integral hilt was no
novelty among commercial cut-
lers, having been used by the
English for years on their kitchen
knives, but Dowel1 is credited
with introducing the concept
among custom knifemakers. The
integral cap on the end of the
full tang was a natural outgrowth
of the original concept, and in
truth "capped the climax" with
the final design of the Integral
Hilt/Cap Knife.
Making the knife is a stock re-
moval job, in the same sense that
Michelangelo's Pieta involved
removing a certain amount of
rock from a slab of marble. Inas-
much a s he does not hand forge
his blades, Dowel1 uses rolled and
cross-rolled steel, to avoid any
problems of g r a i n r u n n i n g a t
angles to the cutting edge.
The Dowel1 Hilt/Cap Knife h a s
become a n instant classic, inspir-
ing a number of knife collectors
THE AMERICAN BLADE
to purchase them in numbers that
amount to a separate collection.
With every Dowel1 knife comes
a belt sheath of 8 to 10-ounce sole
leather, hand-stitched, treated
with neatsfoot oil, and wax-dipped
for moisture protection - because
Dowel1 knives are made to use!
Deep loops accommodate a woods-
man's wide belt. Both the tradi-
tional sheath with snap-strap,
either across the handle or diag-
onal, a s desired, a n d the deeper
pouch style that swallows the
knife is the fashion of the far
North, are available. The latter is
gaining in popularity in the States,
because it offers greater protec-
tion to the knife and less likelihood
of loss, plus compactness a n d eye
appeal. Dowel1 h a s sewn a pocket
into his hunting vest t h a t just ac-
cepts the pounch-type sheath, and
carries it there, a s if i n a shoulder
holster.
I n answer to pleas from some of
his regular customers, Ted h a s
come up with a novel design of
pocket knife, that he dubbed the
"Funny Folder." The blade of D-2
steel pivots in and out of the linen
micarta handle on a sturdy pin,
with a horse-shoe shaped yoke
that rotates into place to hold it -
a rugged and practical knife for
W C WILBER
--
l
HANDCRAFTED KNIVES
Specializing in Building to your Design
. cast from Sterling Silver.
F~sherman $50.00 ($80 00 w ~ t hlvory h ~ l as
a!@!=--
Send Drawing or other illustration for Price and Delivery Information
W. C. WILBER
Spartanburg, South Carolina 29302
Telephone 803-582-2627
$50. Ted is also putting out a n
artfully designed and skillfully
executed line of kitchen a n d galley Weatherford Brothers
knives, ranging from a Cinch Presents
bladed paring knife to a 9-inch
slicing knife, all with l i n e n
JAMES BOWIE
macarta handles that will with- The Man
stand weeks of soaking i n the
kitchen sink, and a n endless num- -.
ber of trips through the scalding
hot diswasher. Stain-resistant D-2
F*
steel is used.
Dowel1 prides himself on de-
livering his knives within reason-
able time periods. Customers ac-
customed to hearing that they will , I
have to wait anywhere from a year
to three years for a knife from one
of the leading makers, will be
gratified to hear t h a t Ted prom-
ises delivery within four months.
His new catalog is hot off the
press, a n d c a n be obtained by
sending the sum of one dollar to
T. M. Dowell, 139 St. Helens
Place, Bend, Oregon 97701. Ted's
phone is area code 503, 382-8924.
You can rest assured that a n y
Dowel1 knife is a good investment.
Given reasonable care i n the field, THE KNIFE
it will never be worth less t h a n
you paid for it! f ,Fr- l
I;
' - --
\ - 1
- s
THE DAGUELLO
Limited Edition' Eagle Headed
knuckle bow of melted Mexi-
can Silver Coins - $3 75.00
Eagle Headed knuckle bow
$300.00
t ~llustrated) Both w/display case.
BOO^ Kn~fe $55 00
For more information on this
beautiful collectors item and
to place your order contact:
WEATHERFORD
KNIVES
- 400 Lucerne Dr. 4775 Memphis A B
Dallas, Texas 75207
b
 to tbe
P -
--uu Aof tbe CMrd Reicb
b y David Berry

THE AMERICAN BLADE

Adolf Hilter used the Germans'
love for uniforms and regalia to
mould a humiliated, defeated and
bankrupt people into one of the
finest military machines of the
20th century. A very important
part of all uniforms of the Third
Reich was the dagger sidearm,
produced not for combat, but
rather as a symbol of comradeship,
duty and honor.
Hitler's decision to issue dress
daggers to all major organizations
of the Third Reich was a shot i n
the economic arm to the cutlery
industry located in Solingen. The
quality of materials and workman-
ship in Third Reich daggers seems
to reflect the chivalric character
of the German People. For ex-
ample, one only has to examine
the "Labor Corps" enlisted man's
dagger, a large, bold weapon,
rugged, yet handsome, dressy, but
masculine. In the "Hitler Youth"
dagger one can visualize brown-
shirted youths, neat and nimble,
busy with preparation and deter-
mination. Later, these lads would
set aside their small "Hitler Youth"
models for other daggers, perhaps
the elegant "Luftwaffe Officer's
dagger", or the SS dagger, repre-
senting the most elite and myste-
rious organization in Western
Civilization. All organizations,
political, paramilitary and the
Wehrmacht (Army, Navy and Air
Force) were adorned with hand-
some blades symbolic of their
organizations. With uniforms,
bands, songs and daggers, the Ger-
mans were instilled with a sense
of pride and discipline which re-
flected the national slogan of the
time "Deutschland Erwache",
(Germany Awake).
Germany did awaken the entire
world one early September morn-
ing in 1939, with the thundering
invasion of Poland. Shortly there-
after, England and France declared
war against Germany. By the end
of May 1940, a s a result of the
most brilliant military campaign
in history, the French armies were
crushed, and the E n g l i s h were
backed to the sea a t Dunkirk. The
VOL. 1, NO.2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973
-_
SS Chained dagger, Isr issued in 1936.
German Admiral wearing pre 1938 Navy
dagger at inspection in Bremen, 1938.
Note the SS Major behind him wearing
the 1936 chained S S dagger.
triumphant Wehrmacht continued
on, smashing Belgium, Norway,
Holland, Denmark, the Balkans,
Crete, Greece, North Africa, and
finally ended with the greatest task
any nation could undertake, the
invasion of Russia. The greatest
empire since Rome now existed,
and dagger production flourished.
By 1942 a s a result of the United
States entering the war, and in-
creased aid to Russia, the tide of
C
battle turned against Germany,
and dagger factories were produc-
ing machine gun parts. By late
1943 practically all dagger produc-
tion halted, with priority being
given to armaments.
Finally, by May of 1945 after six
long years of hard-fought coura-
geous battles Germany was defeat-
ed and forced to unconditional
surrender. No one can fully explain
what diabolical force or drive kept
the Germans going, but the impor-
tance of daggers to the people of
the Third Reich certainly merits
contemplation, realizing it took
the combined efforts of the Allies
six years to defeat a country the
size of Texas.
Let us now examine in some de-
tail, the daggers that welded to-
gether the Third Reich:
SA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sturmabteilung
(Storm Troops)
SS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schutzstaffel
(Elite Guard)
NSKK . . . . Nationalsozialistiches
Kraftahr-Korps (Motor Corps)
RAD . . . . . . . . . Reichsarbeitsdienst
(State Labor Service)
H J . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hitler Jugend
(Hitler Youth)
NPEA . . . . . . . . Nationalpolitische
Erziehung Sanstalt (Leadership
School for Nazi Party)
(Continued on next page)
23
NSFK . . . Nationalsozialistisches
Fliegerkorps (National Flying
Corps)
DIPLOMATEN AND
AND STAATSBEAMTE
(Diplomats and Government
Officials)
DRK . . . . . . Deutsches Rotes Kreuz
(German Red Cross)
POLIZEI ................(Police)
FEUERWHER ..............(Fire
Department)
RLB ....... Reichsluftschutzbund
(German Air Protection Corps)
TN ......... Technische Nothilfe
(Technical Emergency Corps)
DR ........ Deutsche Reichsbahn
(German Railroad Network)
POSTSCHUTZ . . (Postal Service)
LUFI'WAFFE ........(Air Force)
HEER ................... (Army)
KRIEGSMARINE . . . . . . . . (Navy)

I. HEER
The Army officers' dagger was of-
fically introduced on May 4, 1935,
for all officers, generals, musi-
cians, veterinarians, and doctors
in the army with officer rank. The
pommel, crossguard and scabbard
were silver plated, and the handle
made of white, orange or yellow
plastic. Some have been found
made of original ivory. The army
eagle is found on the crossguard
clutching a n enclosed swastika.
Overall length is 40cms.

Hiller congralulating SA Gruppenfuhrer a1 the Party Day Rally at Nurnburg in 1936.

guard. The overall length of this

High ranking SA leader leaving GAU
(district) meeting in 1937.
II. LUFTWAFFE
The first model Air Force dagger
was introduced in 1935 for all of-
ficers. This dagger consisted of all
metal parts being silver plated, but
were later changed to aluminum.
The handle and scabbard were
covered with blue morrocan
leather. A golden swastika ap-
pears on the pommel and cross-
dagger is 48cms.
In 1937 a new dagger was intro-
duced for all officers of the Luft-
waffe. This was to be used by all
Luftwaffe personnel with officer
rank. The 1935 model was to be
worn after 1937 only if it was given
for a specific reason. The pommel
and crossguard of the 1937 Luft-
waffe dagger were either silver

THE AMERICAN BLADE


plated or aluminum. The scabbard
was made of plastic-like material
in white, orange and yellow. Some
a r e found with original ivory
handles. The crossguard consisted
of a Luftwaffe eagle clutching a
swastika.
The navy dagger was first intro-
duced by the Prussian Navy in
1848. This model bore a crown-
shaped pommel, but i n 1919 was
replaced with a "flaming knob"
or onion-shaped pommel. The
pommel and crossguard are round
in brass, bronze or gold finishes.
The pommel was either crown-
*
shaped or with a flaming knob,
and the crossguard h a s a n anchor
in the center. The grips are made
of white ivory or plastic and old
BUCKER
models bear grips made of yellow
staghorn. The scabbards are usu-
GASCON
ally hammered gold plate or brass. Handmade Knives
Most models after 1938 have a "If you are a cut
gold scabbard with naval scenes above averaqe"
engraved upon it. I n 1938 Hitler
ordered a l l pommels removed Excellent Workmanship in the
from previous Navy daggers and materials of your choice.
the Wehrmacht (armed services)
eagle pommel placed on them.
This is referred to a s the 1938
model navy dagger, which is iden-
tical to all other navy models ex-
cept the pommel, which consists - ".*,
(Continued on next page) L

$55.00 Ivory Micarta

Send $1.OO for Catalog

P. 0.Box 398
Brusly, La. 70719

-1.1 I * o*

or W mu o r

W.& S. BUTCHER,
:EDGE TOOL
** *,I -111

L FILE MANUFACTURERS.,
,
11 I I )

, -.... f
i
, ,
\

, .
8 8 8 ,

., . :
' :
8 " ,,,\,
,..<

... ,
.
w
,"
Am-

Thls IS an old poster In the Wade & Butcher

- "..
4-

Company collection whlch dates from 1844-

~t was orlglnally posted In New York when
Wade & Butcher successfully defeated the
German flrms who were counterfeltlng thelr
trademark
Wade & Butcher has reprinted thls for us,
8%'' x 11" and we're giving them away!
Free! Prlnted on the reverse are the flne
Wade & Butcher knlves we Import and dls-
trlbute In the U n ~ t e dStates
Drop us a llne We'll send you one We'd
Labor Corps Oflicer dagger. Photo laken from original German dagger Sures Lararog. appreciate a stamped envelope
Atlanta Cutlery Corporation
Box 33266 Decatur, Georg~a30033
VOL. 1, NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973 (404) 633-3026
 of the eagle with spread wings
clutching a swastika. Most all navy
daggers bear some form of a naval
scene engraved on t h e blade.
36cms. long.

IV. SA
The SA dagger is perhaps the most
common of all Third Reich dag-
gers. This is due to extremely large
number of its membership, which
in 1934 reached over 3,000,000
men. The Sturm Abteilung (SA)
was the very first paramilitary or-
1933 model SS dagger. ganization of the Nazi Party, being
founded on November 4,1921 a t a
Munich beer hall. Membership in
the SA was completely voluntary,
the main purpose of the SA was to
serve a s a protective force for Nazi
Party meetings and rallies. By
1930 membership in the SA was
barely 100,000 and in 1933reached
3,000,000. The SA Chief of Staff,
SA Obergruppenfuhrer Krauser
was responsible for the creation
of the dagger in 1933. It is most
to realize that the SA dagger
w a s t h e f i r s t official d a g g e r
the Third Reich, thus leading the
way for the creation and develop-
ment of daggers for practically

Hitler congratulating members of the SA for ounturtding merits at the Reichs chancelry in
1938.

SA Obergruppenfuhrer Juttner wearing

his SA dagger at Nazi parry rally.
Second model (1937) Luftwaffe dagger with hangers.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 every branch of the military and
paramilitary organizations of the
Third Reich. The SA dagger was
authorized for all members to
wear, regardless of rank. The early
model SA dagger had a brown
grain wood handle with silver-
plated upper a n d lower cross-
guards with a metal scabbard of
reddish brown anodized paint.
Later models h a d a handle of
brown wood that was dyed, and a
brown enamel painted scabbard.
The SA insignia is found in the
top portion of the grips, and the
national eagle clutching a swastika
slightly below the center of the
grip. Virtually all SA daggers have
the inscription "Alles Fur Deutsch-
land" (Everything for Germany)
engraved on the blade. Length of
the SA dagger is 37cms. Presenta-
tion SA daggers exist bearing
ornate c h a i n link hangers a n d
floral crossguards.

V. NSKK
The 1933 NSKK dagger, was iden-
tical to the SA dagger including
motto except it bore a black enam-
el scabbard. Length of NSKK dag-
ger is 37cms. in 1936 the NSKK
added a chain hanger to the dag-
gers bearing alternating eagles
and swastikas.

VI. SS
The SS dagger was instituted in
December of 1933, for all person-
nel in the organization. The over-
Hiller .vouth knife (left) and the standard SA dagger (right). Photo from original German dag- all design was identical to the SA
ger salt7s catalog.
and NSKK daggers except the
handles were made of black dyed
wood with the runic SS symbol
( f $ ) inset a t the top of the grip
-- __ with the eagle and swastika under
-
(Continued on next page)
--
- 4

3;-g-
--
I DO-IT-YOURSELF i
I KNIFE MAKERS II
TOP QUALITY BLADES 1
NEW CATALOG CHUBBY HUESKE
New models available 4 8 0 4 TAMARISK
Pr~ce754 refunded on first purchase BELLAI RE, TEXAS 77401

VOL. 1 , NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973

 1933 S A dagger. Most encountered of all
Nazi daggers.

enamel scabbard. Length is 40cms.

The Labor Corps also had a similar
dagger for leaders with white
pearl-like grips. All Labor Corp
daggers bear the motto "Arbeit
Adelt," (labor enobles) engraved
on the blade.

Herman Goring with N S K K leader in 1938. Note chained N S K K 1936 model dagger.

it. The scabbard was black enamel, Scheiner" (Be more than you ap-
although early models were a very pear). The scabbard was painted
deep-blued metal. I n 1936, a new a n olive drab color. Length is
model SS dagger was introduced 37cms. Many NPEA daggers are
with a chain hanger made of al- found with the name of the school
ternating skulls with crossbones engraved on the upper crossguard.
and the SS runic symbol. SS dag-
gers bear the inscription "Meine VIII. RAD
Ehre Heisst Treve" (My honor is
The RAD dagger was introduced
loyalty). Length is 37cms.
in 1934 for all ranks. This dagger
had the handle, crossguard, and
VII. NPEA
scabbard fittings made of nickle-
This dagger was patterned after plated metal. The grip itself is
the SA dagger except it had no in- made of various kinds of staghorn.
signia in the grips. A motto is The Labor Corps national emblem Hiller and Labor Corp leader Hierl. Note
dagger Hierl is wearing.
found on the blade "Mehr Sein Als appears on the bottom of the black

THE AMERICAN BLADE


SA generals duringfield exercise in 1937.
IX. DIPLOMATS AND
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
DAGGERS
The Diplomat dagger was intro-
duced in 1938 and the government
officials dagger was introduced in
1940. The only difference between
the two daggers was the direction
in which the eagle on the cross-
guard faced. The eagle on the
Diplomatic faced to the left (to the
viewer's right) whereas the Gov-
ernmental eagle faced to the right
(to the viewer's left). The metal
fittings on the handle, the cross-
guard and the scabbard were
either silver or goldplated. The
grip was made of pearl-like ma-
terial. The eagle appears on the
crossguard clutching a wreath
which enclosed a swastika.

PART 11. Honor and Presentation

Daggers of the Third Reich. Any-
one having any Nazi daggers for
sale or wishing information is in-
vited to contact: David E. Berry,
380 South Pine Street, Spartan-
burg, South Carolina 29302.

IN OUR NEXT l$WE

T)nfkrtlnraerloaotH#ctea
on haw b make k n l w Every-
thing from mrkrida promire-
memt to h a tndkrg wlfl be
cowed In complete drtdl.
Whon you%# b b W thls aer-
los you RdgM not be able to
make r kauMful knife but
y m l knew how It's done.

SA men on guard at the SA Sturm 15 (Unir 15) headquarrers in 1935.

VOL. 1. NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973


INVESTING IN
Purchasing knives a s a n invest-
ment has become quite popular
over the past few years. Many of
us have come to realize that the
knives we obtained some years
back at a low price have become
much more valuable within a re-
latively short period of time. The
main concern of t h e collector
should be to have some knowledge
of what makes a particular knife
become more valuable while
others remain dormant or even
lessen in their worth.
Of the various criteria which
have a direct bearing on the value
of a knife, probably the two most
important are availability a n d
quality. These two factors must in
some degree go hand in hand a s
there are certainly some unavail-
able pieces that are not in demand.
There are, however, almost no
high quality pieces that are not
sought after by the knowledgeable
collectors.
A case in point (no pun intended)
would be the Case line of pocket
knives. By changing certain mark-
ings periodically, the Case people
provide new models for the col-
lector without actually offering
new designs. This is doubly good
from the standpoint of the investor
a s he can obtain new specimens a t
reasonable prices without having
to incur the costs of tooling up
every time a model changes. The
Case knives have always been
known for quality and the com-
CONTEMPORARY
CUTLERY
pany also is careful to see to it that
no particular model ever becomes
too plentiful. Here we have a com-
pany whose products automat-
ically meet the requirements of
desirability to the collector.
Many other brands of pocket
knives fall into the category of col-
lectors' items. The three bladed
stockman knives made here in
America and offered by Browning
Arms are very sought after and
their going price is several times
what it was when they were intro-
duced a few years ago. As recently
a s 1972 I bought two brand new
in the box from a Western Auto
Store in South Carolina. I paid the
standard retail price which was a t
the time less than twelve dollars
each. These two knives are now
worth a t least three times the orig-
inal price if not more. The Ameri-
can made Browning pocket knives
of this pattern were discontinued
and replaced by a n almost identi-
cal model made in Germany. The
German made knives have yet to
enjoy the popularity or the price
of their American made predeces-
sors. The reason for the overnight
success of the American made
Brownings was their scarcity com-
bined with the fact that they are
good looking knives and well
made.
Especially good pocket knives
to watch would be those produced
by the smaller and relatively newer
knife companies which will never
b y Col. James P. Caston
have the production capacity of
the larger and older concerns, and
any knives which are produced a s
limited edition or commemorative
types and incorporate the neces-
sary qualities of workmanship.
With the growing number of
pocket knife collectors it is a sure
bet that the supply of fine and de-
sirable knives will never catch up
with the demand. Meanwhile, the
t r e m e n d o u s quantity of low
priced pocket knives will continue
to clutter the shelves of every
hardware and general store. One
company alone produced over a
quarter million of one model in
1972. This particular company pro-
duces over fifty thousand knives
per week and their main concern
is certainly not quality. They also
do not know that pocket knife col-
lectors exist and couldn't care less.
This company and several like it
do, however, fill a definite need in
the pocket knife market. There is
nothing to be said against a cheap
knife that will do the job well
enough to make it worth buying.
A lot of folks have no need what-
ever for a n expensive knife and it
would be silly for them to buy
something they don't need.
The field of collecting custom
or one of a kind knives produced
by the many custom knife makers
of today offers a serious and in-
teresting challenge to the investor-
collector. Here, we have a situa-
tion in which quality of workman-
THE AMERICAN BLADE
ship is by far the most important
factor if it is combined with rea-
sonable design. We specifically
mention quality of workmanship
because of the fact that you can
take the most beautiful and de-
sirable materials and turn them
into a poor quality knife. Many
neophyte collectors are too im-
pressed with a n ivory hilt to notice
a glue line which completely ruins
the knife from the standpoint of
quality. This same principle ap-
plies to etching, engraving, inlay-
ing, or any other of the many
methods of decorating a knife. I t
is much more desirable to have a
plain well made knife than to have
one which some shoddy craftsman
has tried to fancy up.
When you are inspecting a hand
made knife for possible purchase
be a severe critic. If there is ob-
vious neglect displayed in the fit
and finish it is probably best not
to consider it a s a good potential
for investment. T h i s rule c a n
rarely if ever be overlooked. Any
knife displaying the evidence of
excellent workmanship without
the little flaws usually apparent is
going to be rare-you can count
on it. There will always be those
who will wish to own it because
there will be so few like it. Here,
again, we must offer special at-
UP TO GREEN RIVER, "HELL"!!!!
VOL. 1 . NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973
tention and consideration to any
commemorative type knives.
This would be a good time to
mention that several of the better
knife makers produce different
grades of knives to meet the de-
mands of the broad spectrum of
cutlery buyers. We understand
full well that the sportsman who
uses his knife in the field does not
need a n expensive, flawless mas-
terpiece to dress out a deer or fillet
a fish. Many outdoorsmen who
use their knives frequently and
roughly do demand the finest fit
and finish available but we all
know that these knives don't per-
form any better than the others if
the quality of materials and heat
treating are equal.
Collecting and investing in con-
termporay knives is considerably
different from collecting the older
discontinued models. With the
currently produced knives there is
always a fairly well established
market value and sleepers are a
lot harder to find. Rather than
knowing how to buy, the con-
temporary collector must know
what to buy. Don't always insist on
bargains because you'll miss out
on a lot of awful good investments.
31
Knife. . .Gerber Presentation Series
Model 425s Macassar Ebony Handle
440 C blade
Manufacturer. . .Gerber Legendary
Blades, Portland, Oregon 97223
Manufacturer's suggested retail
price $35.00
The blade design of this knife is
good. I t is a fairly traditional shape
and can be found incorporated
into the designs of several manu-
facturers. The edge as received
from the maker is excellent. The
angle of the edge grind is consist-
ent a n d should provide trouble
free sharpening as long a s it is not
abused. The fit of the blade into
the guard is also excellent and the
finish, while not a s good a s many
knives in this price range, is cer-
tainly acceptable for a working
knife.
One detractive feature of the
blade is the serrated area just
ahead of the guard which is sup-
posedly designed to prevent the
thumb or finger from slipping for-
ward on the blade while the knife
is being used in certain positions.
On the sample knife the serrations
have been buffed to the point that
they are actually useless a s they
do not afford a nonslip surface. It
is also interesting to note that
with t h e h a n d l e design of t h i s
knife i t would be practically
impossible for the hand to slide
THE AMERICAN BLADE
 g&!JBJ
,M

4
~~@yl!!J~&bg

"Swamper"

*\
Hunting
Model Gv

Knife
2
/k- 540
( A ) Sharp edges of wooden handle are extremely uncomfortable as well as susceptible to damage. 5%" Blade, Bone
(B) Serrations on back of blade are not effective due to heavy buffing which has rounded the
sharp edges necessary to prevent the thumb or fingers from sliding forward on the blade. Micarta Handle
(C) Poorly prepared prior to assembly, the guard shows heavy pitting where it fits against spac- with Formica
er material.
Spacer Laminations
forward anyway. We find unnec- damage if the knife is dropped or N O W A FULL TIME
essary gimmicks a particular an- bumped against any hard or rough KNIFEMAKER
noyance on a knife designed with surface. CAJUN HANDMADE KNIVES
the serious user in mind. The components of the hilt are P.O. Box 149
The concensus of our staff is that generally ill fitted with a large Liberty, Mississippi 39645
the hilt of this knife is totally un- epoxy patch job on the left side of
acceptable. The design is uncom- the handle where the wood is fit-
fortable unless held in a certain ted to the guard material. Evidently
manner and this is not practical a piece of the wood cracked off
for a knife which is to be used in and rather than waste a piece of
JOSEPH RODGERS
the field. The forward edges just handle material it was filled i n JIG BONE
behind the guard are quite sharp with epoxy. On the opposite side
and do not permit a n y flexibility of the guard there is considerable
STOCKMAN'S
in the handling of the knife. Sharp evidence that the guard material
corners on wooden handles are (Continued on next page)
also much more susceptible to \
',,-
1-1
These were d~scontlnued by the maker,
Joseph Rodgers & Sons, several years ago
Real bone handle, h ~ g hcarbon blades,
nlckel s~lver bolsters and brass h e r s
3-7/8,closed
Pr~ce $17 50 each

Pleaseadd 7C+ per order for sh~pprngandinsurance

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED OR
YOUR MONEY BACK!

Atlanta Cutlery Corporation

Box 33266 Decatur, Ga. 30033
(404) 633-3026
Large glue spot is result of poor fitting and using damagedpiece of wood for handle material.

VOL. 1 , NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973

 was not sanded completely flat
prior to assembly with the result
being several more unsightly glue
spots.
I__-- -- One other major objection to the
design of the hilt is the sharp pom-
mel. We consider this quite un-
desirable as we feel that it makes
this knife unsafe to carry in situa-
tions where the wearer might pos-
sibly fall, such a s hunting in hilly
country or on horseback.
The actual finish of the hilt is
good with reasonable care having
been exercised in the areas where
the different components are
joined. The surface is smooth and
nicelv buffed all over.
~ h ;sheath is well made from
good quality leather and has a nice
looking and durable finish. How-
ever, it can easily be damaged
upon removaI or insertion of the
knife and care must be exercised
to avoid ruining it completely
Sharp end of pommel is very dangerous to carry as well as preventing certain applications in before it becomes familiar to the
which it is convenient to use the heel of the hand for pressure or leverage. user. We feel that a sheath should
A

ANNOUNCING A NEW BOOK

There are 96, 8%" x 11" pages of VALUABLE INFORMA-
-a
--
~ N C V C L O P ~ O ~0 A1
-
OLD &ilksa TION needed by every individual, collector or dealer
who either wants to sell or buy a knife or value the knives
they now own. The book will pay for one small mistake.
k Most POCKET KNIVES of comparable age and good
POCKET !\ I
quality can be valued by comparing them with a KNIFE
shown in this book even if they are of another brand. All

KNIVES
K-BAR
DOURWE W1D
of the KNIVES shown in this book have COMPLETE
DESCRIPTIONS therefore making it possible to compare
the KNIFE you have with one like i t in the book.
10011 I
A couple of pages on KNIFE COLLECTING. Some of the
.- MAHER & GROSH
things that are covered are "How much can I get for my
KNIFE??", "Who will buy it?", Which knives are worth

it k
the most money as well as which are not worth much.
This information is especially helpful to the beginner.
If you are not satisfied with the book return it to me
within 5 days and I will return your money.
Order direct from the Author-Publisher. Send $5.95
BRllR18 fl18flE! plus 25q for postage and Handling to:
POCKET KNIVE BOOK 1
5
T
L 110 500 H I Y E S Ray Ehrhardt
P. 0. Box 9808 Mo. residents
- Kansas City, Mo. 64134 3% sales tax.

34 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 THE CUTLERY STORY

We have just republ~sheda classic book ahout

cutlery - -

"THE CUTLERY STORY".

This 36 page book relates the

history, romance. and manufacture
o f cutlery from the earliest times to
modem methods o f manufacture. It
includes pocket knives. sportsmen's
knives, professional, industrial and
household cutlery. Plus a summary

I-" 170"s a.TO OLl,

on the selection and care o f knives
with minimum requirements o f today's
kitchen.
A must for every user o f cutlery, as well as a fule collectors reference

Well made but poorly designed sheath is book.

very easy to cut when removing or insert- Order your copies today.
ing sharp knife. Cut out area behindsafety
strap is evidently intended to hold strap Single copies $3.00 each, 12 or more less 50%. AU postpaid.
back out of the way of blade but it doesn't
work on our knqe. Send checks or Money Orders to:
Custom Cutlery Co.
P. 0. Box 1845
facilitate removal and insertion of Dalton, Georgia
the blade without undue attention 30720
on the user's part. This sheath does
not. I t is very well made from the
standpoint of materials and work-
manship but the design is lacking
in certain areas which we con-
sider important.
In summation we can say that
this knife should have been more
carefully designed. I t is pleasing Muzzleloaders, Supplies & Books
to the eye but not entirely practical
for serious use. Most of the de- X 8 2 ~ WORTHINGTON.
- OHIO 43085
tractive features could have been
easily avoided by the manufacturer
and with a few changes it could
be a much better value for the
sportsman. The materials are all BYDOC KNIFE:
first class. The design is not.
All of the products tested or other-
wise evaluated in this section are
purchased by our staff from nor- Postage $1 .OO
mal retail outlets. Individual speci- SEND $1.00 FOR CATALOG NO. 6
mens are selected at random from
the retailer's stock. We do not 155 illustrated pages of muzzle loading supplies; authentic reproduction flintlock
and percussion Kentucky rifle and pistol kits; knife kits; powder horn kits; toma-
accept products from manufac- hawk kits; almost 800 titles of books on guns, history, antiques, and Americana;
turers or distributors as we feel Line of leather goods including moccasins, belts and buckskins. All items ad-
that our evaluations should be con- vertised are mailed the day we receive an order. We sell only QUALITY.
ducted using the same merchan- KNIFE ASSEMBLY,
dise that is offered to the ultimate
12 page book explaining how to build a custom knife. The book lists 30 knife
consumer. blade styles, a variety of guards and handles for a do-it-yourself knife.

VOL. 1 , NO.2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973

 NEW
PRODUCTS

A SHARPENER YOU
CAN DEPEND O N

The entire surface of the six-inch

Metal Masters SHARPENING
STEEL is usable a s a sharpener.
The result of 20 years of field test-
NEW PUMA BROCHURE JUST hand operations involved in the ing and experience by its developer
OFF THE PRESS! manufacture of Puma Knives. William D. Phifer, the tool has a
Succeeding pages are devoted to non-tapered design, extra deep
Mt. Vernon, N.Y. . . .Gutmann Cut- photos and descriptions of each serrations and a C-2 carbide coat-
lery Co., Inc. exclusive U.S. distrib- of the 40 items in the Puma line. A ing fused to hard carbon steel.
utor for Puma Knives, announces special feature is the background A versatile tool for campers,
that its new Puma brochure is now story behind the new Puma Com- hunters, and fishermen, the Shar-
available. memorative Knife - a collector's pening Steel comes with a genuine
Featuring a handsome full color prize - which commemorates the leather belt scabbard and a handy
cover, the 18-page brochure is founding of PUMA-WERK i n Soli- snap-on extension handle.
jam-packed with interesting in- gen in 1769. A section is devoted to Included with each SHARPEN-
formation. I t describes the history Tips on Knife Care. ING STEEL is a genuine saddle
of Solingen, Germany, the cutlery Copies of the brochure are avail- leather belt scabbard and Snap-
capital of the world where Puma able at 504: each. Write to Gut- on extension handle.
Knives are made. This is followed mann Cutlery Co., Inc., 900 South Metal Masters
by informative copy and pictures Columbus Ave., Mt. Vernon, N.Y. 10837 Central Ave., So.
of the various procedures a n d 10550. El Monte, Ca. 91733

THE AMERICAN BLADE

The following list of knife makers
are presently members in good
standing of the Knifemaker's Guild.
The annual meeting of the Guild is
being held this year Aug. 10,11, and
12 at the Muehlebach Hotel in Kan-
HAXIT!!
sas City, Mo. A complete coverage
of the meeting and knife show will
be featured in our next issue -
Sept.-Oct.

APPLEBAUGH, John R.
912 South Second These were invented by a Mr. Stecher as a
Blackwell, Okla. 74631 camp knife-cum-hatchet--there's a cutting edge, a chopping edge, and
the end of the blade is a scraper! These were made a number of years
ago by Taylor's Eye-witness of Sheffield and won't be made again--the
BONE, Ralph Knife Co. production cost is now prohibitive. All these come with a fine tough
806 Avenue "J" leather sheath; the blades are very thick and heavy. Most have minor
Lubbock, Texas 79401 storage spots. We have them in two sizes:

BUSCH, Raymond A. 9 inch blade (wt. 1 4 Ibs.) $15.00 each

C/O A & H 7 inch blade (wt. 1 Ib.) $12.00 each
4449 W. Metairie Ave. ATLANTA CUTLERY CORPORATION
Metairie, La. 70001
Box 33266 Decatur, Georgia 30033
CENTONFONTE, Frank (404) 633-3026
P.O. Box 17587
Tampa, Fla. 33612 Please add 700 per order for shipping and insurance

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED OR YOUR MONEY BACK!

CHAPPEL, Rod
Davis Custom Knives Inc.
2924 Lamonte
Spokane, Wa. 99203
Cuhm !3@fmaLZ;&/+Air%
COLLINS, Blackie Ever wonder where to get that proper item for that
894 King's Court, N.E.
special knife? Well, most knifemakers come to us
Atlanta, Ga. 30306
for their ordinary and special needs. Listed below
COOPER, J. Nelson are some of the items we stock for your pleasure
Box 1423 and profit.
Burbank, Cal. 91505 8 Sizes Stag Scales 16 Sizes of Steel
5 Sizes Stag Sticks Including 440A, 440C,
CORBY, Harold 154 CM, and 06
Rt. #3, Lynn Road 4 Sizes Stag Crown Sticks 3 Sizes Nickel-Silver Bar
Johnson City, Tenn. 37601 1 Size Stag Tines 2 Sizes Nickel-Silver Rod
2 Sizes Carver Handles 2 Sizes Nickel-Silver Sheet
DENNEHY, Dan Ivory Many Sizes Brass Bar and
Dan-D Knives Sheet
Box 4479 Many Woods Micartas in Rod and Sheet,
Yuma, Ariz. 85364 Ox & Buffalo Horn Items colors: Natural, Black,
and Ivory, Green & Maroon
DOWELL, Ted M.
139 St. Helens St. Many styles of Saddle Leather Sheaths, William
Bend, Oreg. 97701 Rodgers Blades, 72 sizes Sharpening Stones, and
. . . . . .Just Ask For It!!!
DOZIER, Robert L.
P.O. Box 1079 Bob Schrimsher
Springfield, Ark. 72764 ' I 1 ' 1 '5 A;L/1/1lliS'

(Continued on next page) P.O. Box 11448-AB

Dallas, Texas 75223
VOL. 1, NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973
DUMATRAIT, Gene KIRK, J o n LILE, Jim
Rt. 1, Box 42 800 N. Olive St. Route 1
Orange, Texas 77630 Fayetteville, Ark. 72701 Russellville, Ark. 72801

FISHER, Clyde KNEUDUHLER, Walt

Rt. 1, BOX170-M P.O. Box 327 LOVELESS, Robert W.
Victoria, Texas 77901 Pionner, Ohio 43554 P.O. Box 837
Lawndale, Cal. 90260
FRANK, Henry H. LAKE, Ron
123 Hilltop rive Lake Knives MORAN, William F., Jr.
Amerst, Ohio 44001 38 Illini Dr. Route #5
Taylorville, Ill. 62568 Frederick, Maryland 21701
GASCON, Bucker
P.O. Box 398 OGG, Robert G.
Brusby, La. 70719 IN OUR NEXT ISSUE Rt. 1, Box 230
An excellent and interesting Paris, Ark. 72885
GODDARD, Wayne L. article on hunting knives by
473 Durham Ave. John Jobson, camping editor
Eugene, Oreg. 97402 for "Sports Afield" magazine.
OWENS, John E.
John recounts many incidents 8755 SW 96th St.
HALE, Lloyd in which hunting knives played
Miami, Fla. 33156
1705 Highway 71 North a part in his life as an outdoors-
Springdale, Ark. 72764 man as well as in the lives of PUGH, Jim
several other well known hunt- P.O. Box 771
HARRIGAN, J. Mike ers and guides. A must for the Azle, Texas 76020
"Silver Fox Knives" hunter who appreciates good
4714 - 44th St. cutlery and sage advice from
Dickinson, Texas 77539 RICHARDSON,
an expert. Box 38329
HENRY, D. E. Dallas, Texas 75238
Star Route
Mountain Ranch, Cal. 95246

HERRON, George H.
920 Murrah Ave.
Aiken, S.C. 29801
SKEAN DHU
HUESKE, Chubby
4808 Tamariska St.
Bellaire. Texas 77401

HUNT, Jerry
4606 Princeton
Garland, Texas 75040
Is a shean dhu a boot knife? Well, not exactly-the
Scots don't wear boots as national dress. They wear
kilts and wool stockings. And a skean dhu. The knife
has an offset pommel so it rides flat against the leg.
Where it's handy for social occasions. Like massacres.
Our fine Christopher Johnson skean dhus are only
$5.00 each, w i t h sheath.
Please Add 70C Per Order for
Shipping and Insurance
BAKER FORGED
Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back!
HANDMADE HUNTING
KNIVES' FOLDER Atlanta Cutlery Corporation
$1.oo Box 33266 Decatur, Georg~a30033
(404) 633-3026
BOX 5148
HINSDALE, ILL. 60521
RUSSEL, A. G.
"Morseth" Sports Equip. Co.
1705 Highway 71 North Hand-made Knives
Springdale, Ark. 72764 by
SIGMAN, Corbet R. James B. Lile
Star Route #1,Box 3
Red House, W. Va. 25168

Locking blade folding knife

COMING SOON available with several
An exclusive interview with handle options -
D. E. Henry, the noted bowie Single blade model
knife maker from Mountain pictured $75
Ranch, California. Mr. Henry
has been kind enough to offer
us the opportunity to conduct
an interview with him i n his
home and we promise that
you'll read every word with
interest.

SMITH, John T.
R .r knife $60

James B. Lile

=
6048 Cedar Crest Drive
Southaven, Miss. 38671
(Continued o n next page)
1 Route 1
Ile, Arkansas 72801

/--

1-
1

T
The finest locking-back knife manufactured today
Features: 4 4 0 - C H ~ g hC a r b o n Sta~nlessSteel Blade-31/2" long
Rockwell Hardness 57
G e n u ~ n elndla Stag
N ~ c k e l - S ~ l v eBolsters
r and P~ns
P o s ~ t ~ v esmooth
, l o c k ~ n gand release mechan~sm
Full Brass l~ners
F ~ n e s t In workmansh~pf r o m F. H e r d e r o f G e r m a n y
Overall length closed IS 41/4"

IN STOCK, READY FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY - - $3 0.00 POSTPAID

Custom Cutlery Company

P. 0.BOX 7845 O u r latest catalog
now a v a ~ l a b l e$ I .OO.
Georgia 30720 Refund on purchase.
I
SONNEVILLE, W. J.
1050 W. Chalet Drive
Mobile, Ala. 36608

SPARKS, Bernard
Dingle, Idaho 83233 JOHN N. COOPER int
STONE, G. W.
Stone Knives Inc.
703 Floyd Road
Richardson, Texas 75080

WATSON, Quinton "Red"

This is the off spring of one of our
612 East Olive best sellers the "SISKIYOU" built
Upland, Cal. 91786 to a 314 scale. Overall length is
8". Blade 4 , Width of the
blade 1 l/Br', 3/16 Stock.
Weight 6 ounces
WEATHERFORD BROS. Sheath is ihcluded.
4775 Memphis
Dallas, Texas 75207
I
I
I
WILSON, R. W. I

P.O. Box 2012

Weirton, W. Va. 26062
Plus $2.00
C A L I F O R N I A RESIDENTS A D D 5% SALES T A X
i For Broth u r e
m,-,_____,_____,--_---eee------
i
1
ZACCAGNINO, Don
Box ZACK
Pahokee, Fla. 33476

IN OUR NEXT ISSUE

Steve Miller gives us his usual
fine quality photography and
detailed information about
fine bowie knives. The knives
in this article represent the
finest made during the 19th
century and will be of particu-
lar interest to the advanced
collector as well as anyone
who just likes beautiful bowies.

FULL TIME SMALL CUSTOM

MADISON, GA. MAKER
I(b*n*laa.pLaWhY( Send 75C for Color Catalog
* H r l ~ ~
16 C.2 brbidc balingwith deep n r .
W THE WORKING KNIFE
lions fw sharpeninghuntingan6 fi. A product of time and dedication-Each knife is
JIM SMALL
(hires, axes, f i ha& bmadhudr
6 even scirton.
entirely handmade, to make it durable, useful, THE GEORGIA
lour srmt?ing gwds stwe or write IOT and beautiful. See a full line of hand crafted KNIFE MAKER
akr near you an6 free brothure D u b knives in my catalog-Bowies, Capers, Skinners,
Fishing, and Utilities-all for your choosing. 474 FOSTER ST.
MADISON, GA. 30650

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 Win This Beautiful Dowell Knife!
NOTHING TO FILL OUT
NOTHING TO SEND IN
Just be a subscriber to THE AMERICAN BLADE magazine and every issue
your name will be among those from which we hold a drawing for our bi-
monthly knife contest. With each issue some lucky subscriber will win a
beautiful and valuable handmade knife. The winner for this drawing will
be announced in the September-October issue.

The winner of the Bob Dozier knife given away for the first issue was
Mr. T. L. Cox, 21 4 Highland Terrace, League City, Texas 77573.

VOL. 1. NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973

 THIRD REICH EDGED
Weapons & Dress Daggers
ALSO
helmets - flags - medals
badges - artwork - uniforms
hats - books - lugers &
German Auto Pistols
ANY NAZI RELIC
DAVID BERRY
380 S. Pine St.
Spartanburg S.C. 29302
(803) 582-3178

, < ' ,

. ': . . ~?:'," .,. - . .

... ...- -. BOB DOZIER KNIVES
,
.<.;:. "
, . , ,
..- :-. - *.!>+.
.+
*. --" ,
.
.ra.(;.,\*-.
I , ,
. , , ,, ., , ..','
*-,.,.+ . . : A ,
. - ,
,.
, . '(,,. :re;
. %

, *- ,
,.
"',
6
+.
,
,--.+. ,
.,-.. . *.-' ,. - CHOICE OF: 440-C Rockwell 58c or
,. , .& .. . - k
. " *+.
,..- \A. - ,. '

A-2 Rockwell 60c

- ...* . .
..*"\-,. * ,-
- .
-- -.* .
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.'.
--- -
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, ,,, i,,, . :,,,; - . .', * ,, . I' "
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% i'. %''!:'
.,;9>kii:" jI

I THROWING KNIFE 1 Nickle Silver Guard Price - $95

Elght sharp, plerclng palntr make t h ~ s
knlfe unlque Evan the amateur can
make thls knife stack, flrst tame and
every tlme. Great for small game, or lust
target practice. Full 6 Inches overall.
1
' -' Tan Micarta Scales
Hollow Ground Blade Our new address is:
Praclslon made from 118 ~ n c h th~ck
stael. Only $300 Californ~a resldantr Bob Dozier Knives
add 6% salas tax
J. KLAUS 2 0 Berkley Street A B
P.O. BOX 3741, ANAHEIM, CALIF. 92803
Hanahan, Louisiana, 7 0 1 2 3

42 THE AMERICAN BLADE

VOL. 1, NO. 2-JULY-AUGUST, 1973
Our purpose in presenting this magazine is to provide a heretofore unavailable source of
information to knife enthusiasts the world over. So far, w e have subscriptions from many foreign
countries and we are quite pleased with the overall response to our efforts. This heartening
reaction from the multitude of new subscribers is only added proof of what we have believed
all along. Thousands of individuals from all walks of life have a deep and abiding interest in fine
cutlery. Whether you are a collector, a dealer, an outdoorsman who uses knives, or one who
falls into any of the countless categories of those who are interested in knives, we hope you find
the information in this magazine entertaining and worthwhile.

Our editorial policy is quite simple. We will try to be honest with our readers as well as ourselves.
As much as we need advertising income, w e will never present anything to you on these pages
that we do not consider an ethically represented product. We can stand to lose a few dollars but
we can't afford to lose creditability with our readers to whom we have a strong sense of
moral responsibility.

If you don't see articles about some particular field of cutlery that we might be overlooking, let
us know. We want to make your magazine a good one.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

Two fine examples of Bowies with the mythical half horse-half alligator motif on the
pommel. The top knife has a &3/4 inch clip blade and is by G. Woodhead Sheffield. Blade
i s heavily etched and the scales are of pearl. The name "Power" is engraved onto the ex-
cutcheon. With sheath. $3,000.00

The bottom knife is #I04 in Classic Bowie Knives by Abels. The knife is by WOODHEAD &
HARTLEY and has a 9 inch clip blade. Scales are of Pearl and Pommel and guard are of
German silver. Complete with original sheath which has had the German silver tip re-
placed. A fine knife. Priced: $2,750.00

MAKER: JAMES RODCERS SHEFFIELD; MARKS: JAMES RODCERS & CO. CELE-
BRATED MAKE SHEFFIELD is stamped on the Ricasso. CAST STEEL BOWlE KNIFE is
stamped o n the 9 inch semi-clip blade. Hilt is of Ivory with- two shield shaped German
silver escutcheons. Guard, ferrule end Horse-Head ~ o m h e lare - of German silver.
Original sheath with German silver throat and tip. This knife is tB2 in Classic Bowie
Knives by Abels and was used in several magazine articles for illustration purposes.
Price on request.

STEVE MILLER
P.O. Box 498
Bennington, Vermont 05201
E 'ON ' 1 '1OA EL6 1 't1380130-t138VV3ld3S
 V----you lid&
the k s1,7lmrn on
thi- month's C, ,,
9
-'a
The American Blade is going to offer one of its readers a chance to win a beautiful Puma
folding knife like the one pictured on this month's cover. This knife and nine other high
quality folding knives will be awarded to the ten readers who sell the most subscriptions
to The American Blade over the next four month period. The contest is very simple. Just
tell your friends who are interested in reading about fine cutlery to subscribe to The
American Blade. Use a copy of the subscription blank below and send in as many sub-
scriptions as you can. You may make copies of the illustrated form or write to us and
we'll immediately send out as many forms as you think you might need. Reorder forms
at any time during the contest and they will be sent to you postpaid. Be sure to enclose
$5.00 with each one year subscription, $9.00 with each two year subscription, and
$12.00 with each three year subscription. The winners will be determined by the largest
number of total years of subscriptions. In case of ties the winners will be selected by
drawing from the tied contestants. Winners will be announced in the November-
December issue which will be on sale December 1st. Please do not cut out the form
below. Make your own copies or write to us and we'll send as many as you need.

This contest is void where prohibited by law.

1 Your name

Address

State Zip -
Please enter a subscription in my name for:

Name

Address

City State Zip -

I have enclossd: I )4
ESm
. - 1 year ( ) 89.00 - 2 years ( ) 81 2.00 - 3 Years
 The Cover
The new Smith & Wesson knife kit
shou4d be one of the most interesting
and sought after items on the knife
market. It comes as a beautifully fin-
kfmf blade complete with a broached
g~uardand threaded pommel and a
-
pkm of broached handle material. A
THE AMERICAN BLADE
few files, some sand paper, and some
0jbx$ are literally all that is needed to THE M A G A Z I N E FOR CUTLERY ENTHUSIASTS
turn this into an excellent multi-
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973 SOUTHERN HOUSE PUBLICATION VOL. 1, NO. 3
pwpose knife. Each kit comes pack- '
aged in the traditional blue and silver
8mith & Wesson box. The blades .are
serial numbered from 1 to 2,000 and
that's, all that the folks in Springfield IN THIS ISSUE
are making, This will be one of the'-
hottest items on the collectors' market,, 2 BIG GAME HUNTER'S KNIFE . . . . . .John Jobson
Eachr modified 440 series stainless
blade is forged in the Smith & Wesson 11 THE BEST O F SHEFFIELD . . . . . . . . . Steve Miller
. Qhdnt and with the experience they 16 D. E. HENRY-THE BOWIE
~-:Srstvei in metals, you can bet these - KNIFE MAKER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathie Milond
k n k $ ape just as good as they io6k.
n e w kntves will not be reproduced 24 UNDERSTANDING FINE CUTLERY-HOW
' Cry the company and when these 2,000 TO MAKE KNIVES . . . . . . . . . . . Blackie Collins
we gone that will be it. They are avail-
a@lehom Carolina Knife Exchange. 3 1 KANSAS CITY-FOURTH ANNUAL MEETING OF
THE KNIFEMAKERS GUILD . . . .Sid Latham

38 SPORT AND PROFIT IN POCKET

KNIFE COLLECTING.. . . . . Edward Y. Breese
PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Walter Collins Editor and Publisher
Patricia A. Terry Managing Editor
BOARD OF EDITORS
Col. James Pinckney Caston Dallas, Texas
REGULAR FEATURES
William F . Moran Frederick, Maryland
D. E. Henry Mountain Ranch, California
40 NEW PRODUCTS
RESEARCH EDITORS
Steve Miller Bennington, Vermont 42 PRODUCT EVALUATION
Michael Reese New Orleans, Louisiana
David Berry Spartanburg, South Carolina
Joe Dennard Dalton, Georgia
46 THRUSTS AND PARRIES
Col. Robert Mayes Middlesboro, Kentucky LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Edward Y . Breese Coral Gables, Florida
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR 48 EDITOR'S PAGE
Sid Latham New York, New York
DIRECTOR OF GRAPHICS
Ann Baker
STAFF ARTISTS Copyright @ 1973 by Southern House Publication, Inc.
Joan Bax THE AMERICAN BLADE is published bi-monthly by Southern House Publications, Inc. at 120
Roger Aiple Alden Ave., N.W.,Suite E-1, Atlanta, Georgia, 30309. Application to mail at Second-class
postage rates is pending a t Atlanta, Georgia, and at additional mailing offices. Advertising
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS rates furnished upon request, write Box 13835, Atlanta, Georgia 30324. Single copy price, $1.
Rock McGee Subscription rates: $5 one year, $9 two years, $12 three years. Outside the United States, and
possessions add $1 per year. Address all subscription inquiries and changos of address to Box
Bill Gunter 13835, Atlanta, Georgia 30324. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written
Pr~nledby Molenaar Printing Co., Inc.. New Orleans. La. 70002 permission from the editor. When submitting manuscripts, enclose stamped, self-addressed en-
velope for their return if found unacceptable. Care will be exercised in the handling of
unsolicited materials, but no responsibility for their return is assumed.

VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973

 The world famous guide-outfitter Johnnie Johns skinning a bear with the old Remingron Bullet pocket knife (#R1306). The one with which he
made stoves from 5-gal. oil cans (see texr).

Big Game Hunter's Knife

by John Jobson

2 THE AMERICAN BLADE

My father, a smart man, used to say
that any fool knew (he looked in my
direction at this point) what was one
man's flower often was another's weed.
When I'd exclaim that something or
other was the "best in the world!" he'd
ask "best for who?"-and once when
I told him I had a date (at last) with the
prettiest girl in our high school, he
observed drily that female pulchritude
meant different things to different
people. Beauty, he said, was in the eye
of the beholder. So I learned quite
some time ago not to expect every
fellow to wholeheartedly agree with me
on our most desirable possessions. . .
particularly guns, horses, dogs, con-
sumable spirits, girls, and knives. Most
especially, knives.
Here, we'll mightily strive not to get
sidetracked into the alluring, tempting,
but inappropriate fields of the bolo-
kris, epee, combat, throwing, French
chef and other blades-and devote the
space to what we think constitutes the
near-ideal big game hunter's and/or
wilderness knife. or knives. There is
a lot of moonshine going around on
the subject-no small amount of it
stemming from dilettante once-a-year
experts who peddle opinionated articles
to naive editors that often are indoor
men in outdoor jobs.
Probablv the absolute best of ALL
hunting knives is that which was used
Bush-savvy pros removing a headskin (cape) from one of Jobson's moose trophies. The
cutting edge of this belt knife kept "razor" sharp by frequent application to a pressed-grit
porker stone.
VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER. 1973
by the professionals of professionals-
the North American High Plains Horse
Indians who were red-meat eaters and
who largely lived by literally dissecting
the Plains bison which weighed in
maturity from 1800 to 3000 pounds;
plus Plains and mountain elk, bighorn
sheep, pronghorn antelope.. . .But the
great buffalo provided them with hump
ribs, marrow bone, and other choice
cuts. With clothing, shelter, tools,
weapons and in fact about anything
practical to their mode of life including
a type of boat. This was the heaviest
kind ofdaily hunting knife use, exceed-
ing the wildest dreams of the modern-
day sportsman hunter. Moose? Child's
play compared to butchering and skin-
ning lots of buffalo which, incidentally,
1 have helped to do, and have done
alone. The favorite number-one knife
of these Indians, the Mountain Men,
Frontiersmen and others on the con-
temporary scene was about what we
call a common butcher knife, carried
in a stiff beaded sheath. Don't laugh.
That's a fact and there is no question
about it. These capable, highly-intelli-
gent people could have had other types
of knives, but chose these-liked them,
and stayed with them, because they
did the job. An interesting, typical one
recently came to light, now in posses-
sion of my friend historian Gordon L.
Pouliot of Del Bonita, Montana. The
knife owned and carried by the famous
scout Billy Jackson who died in 1899,
and who probably carried (or wore)
this in the Custer fight at Little Big
Horn (he was with Reno's troops there
in 1876). It is a very old wide-bladed
(about 21/27 butcher knife, a foot long
overall, with a handle of elk or buffalo
bone held on with home-made rivets.
The sheath is the big, beaded type
which had a belt slot about midway,
on one edge, and the knife rode under
the belt. These can be seen in (for in-
stance) Russel or Remington paintings,
or for that matter, Norlund currently
has such a type (not beaded or fringed!)
for their increasingly popular "Deep
River" skinning knife. Understand, I
am not saying that the Indians and
frontiersmen of the High Plains and
Rocky Mountains did not have any
other knives but these. I do say this
was their -favorite all-round design-
a prized possession carried on the
person in a valuable sheath, in the
hunting fields and on the war trail.
A common butcher knife.
Times change, and needs with them.
I would not feel at a loss today in the
Yukon or N.W.T. wilderness with such
a knife. I have others I prefer-some
of the reasons other than sheer practi-
cality and utility.
The steel, by the way, in those old
knives often was very good. You may
fleer and scoff, and lay 440-C stainless
and super-secret aircraft alloys on me
all day long. Fact still is that it was
excellent, superior steel for its intend-
ed purpose. I have been fortunate in
examining and testing several of
these old knives, over the years, and
that ancient, basic carbon cutlery
blade steel which takes a ferociously
sharp edge, keeps it, yet sharpens re-
latively easy never ceases to amaze
and to make me wonder just how far
indeed we've come with low cost field-
knife steel. The other day my friend
Seth Birdwell sent me an old "butch-
er" knife of this exact steel-type. On
the blade (with various symbols) it
says "I. Wilson Ex Sycamore St.,
Sheffield - England Double Shear
Hand Forged Steel." Hand forged!
This has a riveted birch handle - an
inexpensive, production knife which
possibly is 75 or more years old and
steel-wise seems greatly akin to all the
old original Wilson buffalo skinning
knives I've played with. Which is to
say the steel is right in there, neck and
neck, WITH THE BEST CUTLERY
STEEL I've ever used.
(Continued on next page)
3
 Along with millions of others, I am
aware of good steel. The toughest
may not necessarily be the best for all
of us. During WWII somebody dis-
covered that a part of the Allison air-
craft engine powering the P-38 fighter
was so tough and durable it could not
be worked on with conventional tools.
I know. I tried it. It was a stainless
variety off which a mill file would
skitter without leaving a bright spot.
We found ways to make some knives
out of it, the while shouting hosanna!
Skinning a big tough animal, in this case,
a Yukon moose, requires a blade of good
steel (if of ferro-alloy). Note the thickness
of the neck skin, which is remarkably
akin to slicing a truck tire. The difference
(Jobson states) between skinning andlor
butchering a moose, grizzly, or even an
elk with an excellent production belt
knife such as this pre- WWII Marbles
(cost, about six 1939 dollars) and a cur-
rent hand-made $100 custom beauty, is
about the difjerence between 92a and one
buck. However, i f you are one of taste,
who enjoys using the best, you'll get your
$100 (and then some) of value from the
custom knife.
we've reached the millennium of knife
steel! Enthusiastically we told our-
selves that a single sharpening would
last us two years and four months.
Alas, we discovered on actual tests
that a production Marble belt knife
(the quality of 1942) was superior.
The "wonder steel" was great for air-
craft engines, but rotten for knives.
Like other red-blooded American boys
I have tried knife-making and the first
thing I attempted (predictable action
of all neo-knife makers) was to dis-
cover some heretofore undisclosed
steel ("secret") with such amazing
properties all my pals would beg for
my mysterious formula. I could find
very little beating old files (known to
every Brownie), truck springs, Model
T Ford truck rear axles (surprisingly
good if tempered right. If you can't
find these axles, yet want to try it,
some carnivals and circuses still use
them for stakes), the rod from shock
A pocket knife is required for fine and delicate skinning work such as carefully skinning
around the eyes, nostrils, and ears of trophy heads (in this case, caribou).
absorbers (for a caping knife), and
power hack saw blades. When I was a
kid we still had a blacksmith in our
South Dakota town, and I went to him
for advice on tempering. He told me to
stop playing around with axles and
such, and go for the goody-steel which,
he said, for a cutting edge, would
naturally be that of farm cultivators,
plows, harrows, and such. I have made
knives (in my Boy Scout days, you
understand) from all of these plus
hand forged blades from the teeth of
an old sulky hay rake. Blacksmiths
could temper, then, and so could the old
farmers and ranchers, by the way.
They did it by the seat of their pants,
not feeling that pyrometers and electric
ovens were conducive to a well-run
ranch. But they got the surface and
interior hardness they wanted. With
all this background, which I admit was
fun at the time, I had to admit that for
me cutlery steel is best for most
utilitarian wilderness knife blades. In
fact, I know it is. It possesses a maxi-
mum of desirable qualities with a mini-
mum of undesirable ones.
Time moves along, and unques-
tionably there is better knife steel now,
and superior tempering methods than
in 1880. Such as the sub-cold treat-
ment and techniques of that nature.
What I believe the practical view to
be, tho', is that afield, in practice, the
difference IN USE between a $10 and
a $125 belt knife is not Mississippi
delta wide. Both are suitable. Each
will work.
The subject of proper knife equip-
ment for the sportsman-hunter and
wilderness lover of North America,
especially the Rockies, is an astonish-
ingly simple, uncomplicated, straight-
forward trifling bit of lore that legions
of psuedo-purists, nit-pickers, profes-
sional fault finders, and our ever-
present aforementioned dilettantes
take satanic delight in making com-
plex, where real complexity does not
exist. Of course for some, these dis-
cussions are intensely interesting and
entertaining, a la gun enthusiastics
debating big bore - high velocity
calibers, and that being the case, fine
. . .no harm in it. For instance, I think
myself, and I am not alone, that old
Johnnie Johns of Carcross, Yukon,
the world famous big game outfitter
and guide, undoubtedly is one of the
very top wilderness experts of all time.
I used to hunt a lot with Johnnie,
and have seen him do some remark-
able feats with a common ol' produc-
THE AMERICAN BLADE
tion knife. When I was out with him,
always he carried an old Remington
"Bullet" single blade folding knife
(#R1306) aptly called by the factory
"Hunter's Knife" and as I recall,
Johnnie got it free by subscribing to
some catfishing coon-chasing cotton-
tail-slaying American journal of edifi-
cation and delight. Johnnie had gotten
this in the 1920s and had ca:-ried it
on all major big game trips up 'ti1 I
knew him in the middle 1950s. He told
me that, for instance, he'd skinned an
incredible number of grizzlies when
he was market hunting for the British
shako hat demand. He'd knock off
a dozen moose or so, and as the car-
casses ripened, and grizzly showed,
Johnnie would cosh and skin 'em. I've
seen the old records, and the records
of the sheep, moose, and caribou he
sold on the market when it was legal
(up 'ti1 not too long ago, at that).
Johnnie told me he'd skinned and
dressed them with that little old Rem-
ington knife he got for free. We were
hunting Dall rams above timberline
and had packed up some cut firewood,
A four-inch knife blade is enough to butcher this 1700-1800pound Bonnet Plume bull moose,
provided it is razor sharp. The professional way is to have a knife as sharp as reasonably
possible, and touch it up now and then as work progresses, on a pocket stone. Ask this
pro (Bill Fraser) to try and butcher this gigantic beast with a home-side chisel-edge and he'd
surely turn his back on you.
VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973
on horses. To burn it, Johnnie cut the
ends from two 5-gallon kerosene tins,
joined them together, then cut a stove-
pipe hole and a door and draft. The
stove worked great, but the snapper is
that Johnnie did all of this, plus make
shavings, with that old pocket knife.
Later, I saw him skin some beaver
with it, besides a grizzly, a ram, seven
black bears (which he harvested for a
Chinese restaurant owner in White-
horse having an inordinate craving for
black bear), a moose, and a Rocky
Mountain goat. He made dozens of
fuzz sticks for fire starting, cut dingle
poles for cooking, repaired harness,
and neatly, swiftly accomplished all
multifarious camping-hunting wilder-
ness chores. with this one knife. When
/standard of
I innocently wrote this up, briefly, the
screams of outraged anguish from
coast-to-coast made our blood run
Custom Quality
cold. Out of (at that time) some 6.5 Never has a sportsman's knife come
million readers, I think about a fourth on themarket that so outdistances the
of them wrote scathing letters bristling present standard in performance and
with four-letter words and exuding the style as does WESTMARK
acrid scent of brimstone. The best Years of research and testing of mate-
(Continued on next page) rials are brought together in the mak-
ing of a knife especially for the sports-
man who wants the very best.
Compare these brilliant new knives
with any on the market today-not
only in eye appeal, but in balance,
feel and finish!
Three WESTMARK models to
choose from atleading sportinggoods
premium steerhide sheath.
$29.95 each.
-- Model 701
Blade 5%"
' Model 703
Blade 41hW
"Fine Knives Since 1897"
WESTERN CUTLERY CO. DEPT. A
5311 Western Ave., Boulder, Colo. 80302
was from some expert (he told us) in
Canada who had invented a superior
paring knife or some such thing. He
said right out (to my boss) that I was a
depraved liar, that it was impossible to
cut the ends from those cans, make
shavings, and skin beaver with the
same knife, let alone the same edge.
I wrote him that I would watch those
outlandish statements in the future. I
took such a shine to that old knife
that Johnnie gave it to me, by the way.
From interminable sharpening, the
blade is worn about half away, all
honorable service. It was loose in the
bolster, too, from Johnnie's forthright
attacks on oil cans, so I prevailed upon
A1 Biesen the famous gunmaker to
overhaul it. It works like new. Better,
in fact. I have retired the little dear,
and have sequestered it under glass,
in my den.
Even tho' he could admirably get by
with one, we are not going to advise
prospective big game hunters to pack
a common, plebian butcher knife on
their belt as their #1 wilderness knife.
There are other considerations. One,
if you are like me, is an inborn love
and respect for a fine knife. Is the cost
justified for you? It is for me. It is
the pride of having the best, a hand-
made carefully tempered, balanced
"blade" that seems to come alive in
my hand. I would far rather bag a
grizzly or a kudu with a beautiful
custom rifle, stocked to fit me, than a
production model and it is the same
thing with a belt knife. I like to carry
a good one - the best I can afford.
As to weight, dimensions, and blade
shape again, let me say I do not believe
these to be as critical as the plus-
minus bearings in a jet engine. Within
reasonable limits, there undoubtedly
are as many trifling variations as pos-
sible poker hands. All will work after
a fashion on most all wilderness
chores, for almost everyone. My favo-
rite belt (sheath-scabbard) knife is of
the best 'steel and design that I can Johnnie Johns, the Yukon outfitter, caping out one of Jobson's goats.

The famed old Remington "Bullet" used in the bush by Johnnie Johns from the middle 1920s to the middle 1950s and now owned by Jobson.
He considers this the ultimate knife and design for a folding hunter.

6 THE AMERICAN BLADE

afford (remembering that inexpensive
steel will get you by in fine shape.
Remember Johnnie Johns). The hilt
comfortable and pleasing to the hand,
the blade around 5" to 5%" with a
good curve toward the point. This
will help in skinning moose or bear,
and make a tough chore much lighter,
ending in a better pelt. But if you are
Muzzleloaders. Supplies & Books
buying a knife just for skinning, only,
go the professional route and get a $5
packing house or butcher's skinner,
which is all curve. The belt knife
should be versatile. You will have to
do a lot more with it than skin out-
size beasts. There is some advantage
to carrying it in a ruck sack or saddle
bag (for one, guides won't borrow Made for Golden Age Arms Company by Master Craftsman Doc Johnston.
and abuse it so much), but if you want Blade is hand ground and polished, then tempered to hold a lasting edge. Blade
tang is bolted to India stag handle. Guard and butt cap are of German silver.
to wear it, hang it in back over one Total length 8%". Blade 4". Hand sewn cowhide sheath comes with knife.
buttock. You ought to have another Knife $60.00 Postage $1.00
knife. One for pocket. Two of the
best are the common familiar long- SEND $1.00 FOR CATALOG NO. 6
proven folding stockman's knife with 155 illustrated pages of muzzle loading supplies; authentic reproduction flintlock
Clip, Sheep, and Spey blades. On and percussion Kentucky rifle and pistol kits; knife kits; powder horn kits; toma-
some, for one blade an awl is substi- hawk kits; almost 800 titles of books on guns, history, antiques, and Americana;
tuted. Or, equally good for the North, Line of leather goods including moccasins, belts and buckskins. All items ad-
vertised are mailed the day we receive an order. We sell only QUALITY.
the "trapper" - which is a two-bladed
folding pocket knife. Widely available KNIFE ASSEMBLY,
in varied quality, my own is a real 12 page book explaining how to build a custom knife. The book lists 30 knife
pearl, the exact, authorized copy of
Remington's out-of-production "Old
Reliable" #R1123. A wonderful, nos-
(Continued on next page)

CUSTOM KNIVES
by John LeBlanc
P.O. Box 81AB
Sulphur, La. 70663

Presentation folder with ivory handles and hand en-

-
graved bolsters in velvet lined walnut box. Limited
numbered model of 100.$150.00.
--.-
i

-as-
i

- -
Folding knives $60.00 in standard model of micarta
handles or $65 with stag as shown.

-- -7 Model 4
$60 with stag handles
Caping on unusually narrow set of
Barren Ground antlers. . . . BROCHURE 50G

VOL. 1 , NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973

talgic, out-of-the-past jewel of a knife
and a wilderness tool which is a joy to
carry and to use. I get a warm feeling
just glancing at those Old Remington
"bullets." I obtained my own from
Blackie Collins of Atlanta. Some fel-
lows like a big, rugged folding knife,
sturdy enough to take the place of the
Johnnie Johns working with a "Bullet"folding knife.
belt knife. Indeed, folded, they are
carried in a leather belt pouch. Mine
is the lovely Bone (#J249) made in
Lubbock, Texas. This knife causes
highly favorable comment wherever
it is shown (particularly among woods-
men) and I would like to see more of
them in use. I have several top belt
knives and take them all with me, in a
pannier. They weigh little, and having
several allows me to change off from
day to day, getting the keenest pleas-
ure and satisfaction from each. Only
true knife lovers will appreciate. I'm
a great fan of having a little pouch af-
fixed to the belt-knife scabbard, con-
THE AMERICAN BLADE
taining an emergency honing stone.
The cutting edge should really be kept
touched up IN CAMP with a good THE CUTLERY STORY
Washita stone and cutting oil. Afield,
a pocket pressed-grit stone or a water We have just republished a classic book about
stone will serve to keep an edge keen cutlery - -
while skinning heavy animals. No
"THE CUTLERY STORY".
knife that I know of, tungsten carbide
laminated insert or jet-engine steel
notwithstanding, can go through a big This 36 page book relates the
chore like that without being kept history, romance. and manufacture
sharp. If there is such a knife, I've
never see it, or know anyone who has. o f cutlery from the earliest times to
At present, I am having a belt knife modem methods of manufacture. It
made for me by Verl Perry of Salt includes pocket knives. sportsmen's
Lake City of a non-ferro metal of in-
knives, professional, industrial and
credible toughness and high-Rockwell
hardness. If any blade, outside of the household cutlery. Plus a summary
Damascus one of the Thief Of Bagdad on the selection and care of knives
can field process a moose without with minimum requirements o f today's
being constantly touched up on the
kitchen.
hone, as is the normal and customary
procedure, this one has a chance of A must for every user o f cutlery, as well as a fine collectors reference
doing it. How knife-lovers may feel book.
about a of blade of something other Order your copies today.
than traditional iron-base steel re-
mains to be seen. The little pocket Single copies 53.00 each. 12 or more less 50%.All postpaid.
"steels" are great for putting that Send checks or Money Orders t o :
final edge on a skinning or butchering Custom Cutlery Co.
knife, but a big butcher's steel in camp P. 0 . Box 1845
will do it best! The only advice I can Dalton, Georgia
give about safety with a knife is that 30720
primary, basic, but often forgotten
tenet to keep the blade sharp. Besides
making tough jobs easy for you (the
blade, not your muscle, does the work)
- a sharp blade goes where you direct
Cuhm Il(,~fma&&&~@irl
it to go. A dullish one richochets Ever wonder where to get that proper item for that
around and about, often into your special knife? Well, most knifemakers come to us
tender anatomy. Jambo! for their ordinary and special needs. Listed below
are some of the items we stock for your pleasure
and profit.
8 Sizes Stag Scales 16 Sizes of Steel
5 Sizes Stag Sticks Including 440A, 440C,
154 CM, and 06
4 Sizes Stag Crown Sticks 3 Sizes Nickel-Silver Bar
1 Size Stag Tines 2 Sizes Nickel-Silver Rod
2 Sizes Carver Handles 2 Sizes Nickel-Silver Sheet
Ivory Many Sizes Brass Bar and
Sheet
Many Woods Micartas in Rod and Sheet,
Ox & Buffalo Horn Items colors: Natural, Black,
and Ivory, Green & Maroon
Many styles of Saddle Leather Sheaths, William
Rodgers Blades, 72 sizes Sharpening Stones, and
. . . . . .JustAsk For It!!! Send 5 0 for
~ catalog.

TT'
MEMBER KNIFE MAKERS GUILD JOHN T,
t i
Bob Schrimsher
s &i/1/Lis~
8 0 4 8 CEDAR CREST DR.
SOUTHAVEN. MISS. 38871
P.O. Box 11448-AB
TEL. 801-393-7081 Dallas, Texas 75223
SEND 504 FOR CATALOG L
 Five Fancy Bowies with the horse-head morifonpommel. From left to right: Massive Bowie by Enoch Drabble, Royal Cutlers, ivory hilted Bowie
by John Yeomans, sheath marked "CALIFORNIA KNIFE"; Ivory hilted Bowie with 9% inch blade marked Cast Steel Bowie Knife by James
Rodgers, Sheffld; small dirk knife by Lumprey; Small Bowie by James Rodgers, Sheffield with 6 inch blade also marked "CAST STEEL
BO WIE KNIFE." AN knives date prior to 1855 period. Steve Miller Collection.

10 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 by Steve Miller

From the latter part of the 18th century his competition to gain the important eagles. The blades were generally
until the end of the 19th century, the American market. Hilts of Ivory, Bone, forged of 1/4 inch thick steel and had
cutlery capitol of the world was Tortoise shell, Pearl, Rosewood and genuine sharpened false edges and
Sheffield, England. Forged steel of the ebony were checkered, carved and in- were usually over 8 inches of length,
very highest quality, probably never laid and fancy pommels of both coin with blades of from 9 to 12 inches
before equalled, with the possible and german silver were supplied in the being common. The sheaths themselves
exception of the early Japanese sword- shapes of horse-heads, alligators, half- were usually of German silver or of
smiths, was turned into implements of horse-half-alligators, lions, crowns and (Continued on next page)
both war and peace. Knives, swords,
axes, tools and kitchen utensils were
turned out in vast quantities and in
various degrees of quality.
The fighting or self defense knife
was of far more importance during the
day of the flintlock and caplock, than
during the mid 19th century when the
self contained cartridge was relatively
reliable. The famous legend of James
Bowie proved this fact beyond any
doubt. After discharging his pistols,
and after having been seriously wound-
ed, he was able to kill his assailant and
save his own life, only by using his
knife.
Long before the name of Bowie
would become a household word, the
Sheffield Cutlers were turning out fine
fighting knives of every description. In
the 1837 Sheffield Trade directory, a
large display by Unwin & Rodgers
advertises "Lock, Sneck, Dagger, Dirk,
American and Indian Hunting Knives
and Self Defense Knives." Ten years
later in a similar ad they now use the
term "Bowie Knife". Had James Bowie
lived long enough and been able to
collect royalties on the use of his name
he would have been a very rich man Top to Bottom: Four typical cutlery hilted knives. The top knife is by Thomas Short, Jr.,
indeed! and has a brass hilt with dolphin mot$ Next is a very rare knife, possibly the only known
The early Sheffield Bowies intended specimen by Shirley's 0 1 0 Cutlery; the next knife is by Edward Barnes & Sons and the
9 inch clip blade is etched over-all with Patriotic mottos; the bottom knfe by Best English
for the American market exhibited fine Cutlery is etched "FOR THE GOLD SEARCHERS PROTECTION and rhefigure of Zack
quality and each maker sought to outdo Taylor on the sheath dates the knife from 1849-1850 period.

VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973 11

 leather trimmed with German silver
and it wasn't until the late 1840-early
1850 when the sheaths became mere
cardboard covered vestiges of what a
sheath should be.
Among the early Sheffield makers
who supplied the best of Sheffield
were: Enoch Drabble, W&S Butcher,
W. Butcher, Broomhead & Thomas,
James Rodgers, Unwin & Rodgers,
Woodhead & Hartley, Jonathan
Crookes, R. Bunting & Sons, C. Con-
greves, Ibbotson Peace & Co., Samuel
Wragg and J. Walters & Co. Any knife
found with the W Crown R symbol
ever the makers name can be dated
with relative ease as being from the
1831-1837 period. The symbol V Crown
R which symbolizes Queen Victoria's
Reign is usually found on knives dating
after 1860 (but not in all cases). Dating
the Sheffield Bowies is a tricky business
at best, but generally the following
rules can be followed:
Prior to 1840: Many knives of this era
that have the pronounced coffin hilts,
either no guards or a rudimentary
guard, a sharpened false edge on a
semi-clip point (the later exaggerated
clip is usually swaged and not actually
functional), occassionally a small cut
out or blade catcher is on the bottom
edge of the blade directly in front of the
choil. The blades are usually not etched Lefr to right: Bowie by Harrison, Sheffield dates 1850 period, 8% inch clipped blade; Fancy
and the sheaths are quitewell made, Hilted Bowie Knife with silver sheath by James Rodgers, Shefjield; Huge Bowie by Samuel
often being made entirely of German C. Wragg, also marked "CAST STEEL BOWIE KNIFE" on 10 inch clip blade. Ivory hilt
ond shell pommel. Steve Miller Collection.
silver.

. Y
Blade of early pre-1850 Bowie by Geoi,ge Wostenholm & Son showing figure of Zack Taylor on ricassso. Harry Thomas Collection.

12 THE AMERICAN BLADE

1840-1850: The coffin hilt is sometimes
still found, and the false edge is still
sharpened. Blades are sometimes
etched "Arkansas Toothpick", "Cali-
fornia Knife", "California Bowie
Knife", "Patriots Self Defender",
"Zack Taylor", "Buena Vista or Pale
Alto", "S&D, stampings are found on
the blade of Old Zack, Running Dogs,
Stags, Sphinx, "Try Me," "I Surpass,"
etc. is often found. The fancy hilts with
horse-head pommels and half-horse-
half-alligator are found and the knives
are still supplied with a mirror finish.
Various references to the Mexican
War denote late 1840 period knives.
1850-1860: The quality of the knives
still remains fairly high, but stag has
become more common than rosewood
and bone more common than ivory.
Many hilts of the German silver cutlery
variety are found, indicating the en-
trance of kitchen knife makers into the
Bowie trade. Blades now are generally
of 1/8 inch steel with the exception of a
few makers such as George Wostenholm
& Son and Joseph Rodgers. The Cali-
forni'a etchings are still found and as
From Top to Bottom: Fancy Dirk-knife by Unwin & Rodgers. Sheffield, Tortoise shell hilt,
Mexican eagle on ricosso and 7 inch spear point blade: Bowie with mint 7 inch blade,
etched with floral motif by Wilson, Hawksworth & Ellison, Sheffield, pearl scales and
German silver mounts. Ellison was the New York agent during the late 1840's; Small dirk
knife by J. Walters, Sheffield; Unmarked Sheffield Bowie with 7 inch clip blade, horn hilt
with inlays. Steve Miller Collection.
VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER. 1973
the civil war nears various north and
south slogans were used such as "Death
to Abolition", ."Death to Traitors" etc.
THE
Many of the 'knives now have mere
swaged false edges, good to look at but TROPHY
quite useless in a fight. Many of the
common makers of this period are
George Wostenholm & Son, Joseph
LINE
Rodgers & Son, W. F. Jackson, Wilson
Swift, Thomas Short Junior, Alexander,
Edward Barnes, G. Woodhead and
Shirley's 0 1 0 Cutlery. The heavy
sheaths are almost extince with the
exception of Joseph Redgers who
continues to use saddle leather. Most of
the makers use a thin veneer of leather
over cardboard. Most of the blades are
found from 5 to 8 inches in length.
1860-1870: With the beginning of the
American Civil War, the Sheffield
Cutlers really began to mass produce
knives of varying degrees of quality.
With very few exceptions, the Bowies
produced are merely overgrown kitchen
knives with the cutlery hilts being the
rule rather than the exception. .Alex-
ander has now put the initials "N.Y."
(Continued on next page)
Each hand-
made OLSEN
KNIFE is truly
the ultimate in qual-
ity and grace of design.
We personally created
/ this line using only the
highest quality Swedish
high carbon tool steel with
durable Neslo wood handles
and solid brass guard. Top grain
cowhide sheathes, are furnished
with each knife. All OLSEN
KNIVES carry a lifetime guarantee.
The usefulness, quality and fine
craftsmanship of each knife assures
you it is the finest in the world.
Write for the complete catalog of
OLSEN KNIVES.
Olsen Knife Co., Inc.
Howard City, Michigan 49329
 and a shield on the ricasso of his blades
and Edward Barnes has gone to U*S in
an effort to identify with the northern
cause. In a blatant effort to copy Alex-
ander, G. Ward puts B4*N.Y. on the
ricasso of his knives. About this time
the heavy re-inforced guard has made
its appearance in order to increase the
weight of the knife without increasing
the diameter of the blade and almost all
knives have been hilted with either
stag, bone or cutlery German silver.
A fascinating and often overlooked
area for collectors is the small Bowie
or dirk knife field. Small, graceful and
beautifully finished knives with slender
blades of from 4 to 6 inches in length
and with hilts of stag, pearl, ivory and
rosewood are often offset with fancy
stamped German silver pommels and
Close-up of Edward Barnes & Sons American Hunting Knife showing maker's mark
on ricasso.

Left to right: Gold Rush Period Bowie by' George Wostenholm & Son, Sheffield with 9 inch clip blade etched "CALIFORNIA KNIFE':.
Early pre-1840 bowie with 9 inch clip blade etched " A S U R E FRIEND" by R. Bunting & Son, also marked with the New York Agent's name,
W. Greaves & Son; Huge Bowie with 12 inch blade by Edward Barnes & Sons, marked ED WAR^ BARNES & SONS AMERICAN HUNTING
KNIFE; another massive Bowie with 12 inch blade by James Rodgers; and a pre-1837 bowie b y G. W. Butcher, S h e f f l d , Note blade catcher
on 9 inch clip blade. Steve Miller Collection.

14 THE AMERICAN BLADE

two piece guards. Knives of this sort
were made from the 1840's right up
until the turn of the century and were
popular with gamblers, soldiers and
ladies of the night. The most commonly
found knives of this sort were made by
George Wostenholm's famous I*XL
brand and his success was quickly
copied by Rodgers, Mappin Brothers
and the rest of the Sheffield makers.
Many of these small knives had blades
etched with both floral motifs and
patriotic mottos, and the collector can
usually amass a fine collection at moder-
ate cost.
The serious Bowie collector can
break down his area of specialization
much like the gun collector. He can
collect the early pre-1840 knives,
knives with fancy pommels, etched
Knife on right by Alexander, Sheflield. Note 4. Y. symbol to sell to Northern troops during
Civil War. The knife on left by Ward is a blatant attempt to cash in on the Alexander's
popularity. Steve Miller Collection.
VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973
blades, or the later civil war era knives
or the small dirk knives. The earlier
and fancier knives will be far more
costly, but as with any form of collect-
ing, it seems to be the better quality
items that gain the most in investment
value. As with guns, the collector
should try to buy knives in the best
possible condition, except in the case
of a very rare knife, where the rarity
alone can often make up for condition.
1 have for some time been trying to buy
a knife by Searles of Baton Rouge and
would buy any knife by that maker in
any condition.
1 WINCHESTER
I 460
PRESS F-112
Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022
I
I Please send me - copies of KNIVES &
tI KNIFEMAKERS @ $15.00 per copy. I enclose
check or money order for -$ in full
I ayment. If not satisfied, I may return the
I gooks within, 10 days for a full refund.
I New York res~dentsadd sales tax.
(I Name ..................................... ;
I Address .................................... II
city ....................................... I
I State ..................... Zip ............ I
I--------------------------!

An artist is an individualist and D. E.
Henry, maker of bowie knives, fills
both classifications.
I had been told that this was a
recluse; an arrogant, ill-tempered
snob. Nothing could be further from
the truth. When queried about this
erroneous impression, Henry's blue
eyes hardened. "This is because of en-
counters with me at gun shows. People
who have read a book and think they
know all about knives, are inclined to
ask questions that have no bearing on
advanced knife making. When I ques-
tion them about their knowledge, they
become insulted and then become in-
sulting in response. If a person is
courteous and friendly to me, I'll talk
to them in the same way. I have had to
walk away from many situations where
I came close to punching someone in
the mouth. I get really steamed."
Hidden away in the foothills of Cali-
fornia gold rush country is D. E.
Henry's home and workshop. Without
specific instructions, which he sent
me, the place would be very hard to
find. In fact, Mountain Ranch is not
16
THE
by Kathie Milon6
shown on all maps. Climbing a small
incline to the house, I was courteously
greeted by D. E. Henry and his dog,
Prince 11. Surrounded by tall pine
trees, his attractive modern home, with
a shop nearby, on 3% acres, blended
into the quiet country hillside.
A quick tour of the shop, a cup of
coffee and then we settled down in his
wood paneled living room for an inter-
view in depth.
Perhaps D. E. Henry was a man of
mystery because of mis-judgements
from statements heard or wrong im-
pressions from a single encounter. But
I found Henry, to the contrary, candid,
revealing and eloquent.
Henry made his very first knife
during World War 11, when he was in
a Marine detachment on a Navy trans-
port. His first attempt was in making a
combat type knife. "Because," he ex-
plained, "there is the type we thought
we would have to rely on to save our
lives."
When he left the Marines in 1946 -
they made him a Corporal the day he
got out - Henry went to the University
of California at Berkeley, where he
majored in criminology. He left school
to become a policeman in Walnut
Creek, California where he remained
for almost five years and also de-
veloped an extremely cynical attitude
toward policework. "I don't miss it a
damn bit," he said.
Something he has never regretted
is that at this point in his life, he re-
turned to school and acquired a liberal
arts degree.
At various times after this, he was
employed by a manufacturer of small
nuclear reactors where he "learned a
hellava lot," and as a personnel direc-
tor for a canning company.
All the while, D. E. Henry was
making knives sporadically; working
out of his garage in Walnut Creek -
learning by trial and error. "If the
neighbors knew what I was doing,"
he said, "they would have run me out
of the neighborhood!" For by this time,
(1965) Henry was making knives full
time with the help and cooperation of
his lovely wife, Helen.
(Continued on next page)
THE AMERICAN BLADE
 Surburbia people harassment drove them to re-locating
in Mountain Ranch in 1968, which Henry feels is not a
complete solution, but a compromise. "We have very few
traveling salesmen here and not very many unexpected
I
visitors. I can always give them a quick brush-off. The
people here still look upon me somewhat as an outsider, \
but I really don't know or care how they feel about me. I
guess I'm a point of interest, but they know enough about
me to realize I'm busy and I wouldn't necessarily wel-
come a stranger. They've all been advised to give only
my telephone number and the person can call first. I like
to know who's coming up the road."
D. E. Henry ran a hand through his graying brown hair
as he explained his philosophy of knife making. "I make
the kind of knives I want to. I'm not adverse to taking a
challenge and it gives me a great deal of pleasure to ap-
proach perfection. It's a personal satisfaction to be able
to do something that many people have tried and failed."
When questioned about the qualities of the perfect
knife, his answer was, "There are several factors: the best
steel available, the best heat treatment, the best design
and execution and authenticity. The balance and execu-
tion lie in the realm of aesthetics."
As to whether he makes a perfect knife, Henry was
emphatic. "Absolutely not! Because I won't know what
perfection is until I become an angel, or whatever! I make THE ART OF BLACKSMITHING
the best knife I can. I'll leave it to the critics whether or
not it is perfect. Furthermore, who is to say? Art or
by Alex W. Bealer
beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
"Yes," he revealed, "I would tell people I can trust This book should be required reading for anyone
about the techniques I use and they can utilize them, but who makes knives or is seriously interested in
there are some things I would reveal to one one. Let them the history of cutlery. While forging plays a very
find out for themselves. I did my basic research almost small part in the production of most modern
20 years ago and they can do the same thing. I learned cutlery, there is still a tremendous amount of
by doing. I had no tutor, but worked alone. I'm still useful information available in this complete
reading and researching." and detailed study of the blacksmiths art and
When the discussion got around to fighting with knives, craft.
Henry had very strong feelings about this. "I never have 425 pages of well written and interesting text
fought with a knife and I hope I never have to. But if the along with hundreds of useful illustrations will
occasion presented itself, I have full confidence in my take you back to the days when the blacksmith
ability - not in a duel situation, because I've never was necessary to the survival and prosperity of
the community. The methods used to make the
practiced. But I certainly would use a knife if I had to - if exotic weapons of the past few thousand years
that was the only thing I had. But I much prefer a 30-30, are carefully explained and with a thorough
a pistol, or a machete, in that order. I never had to fire a study of this book, anyone interested in the art
shot when I was a policeman. Part of my philosophy is to of knife making will certainly be more knowl-
avoid things that eat into your time - and trouble does. I edgeable and competent in this field of interest.
avoid a hassle. Time is our most precious resource." After reading this book don't be surprised i f you
"There is some folklore that when you become s'elf- want to go out and forge a blade.
employed, you become semi-retired. One of the hardest This is an excellent gift item that anyone would
things is to go out and hit it every day. I get up at 6:15 a.m. appreciate and enjoy.
daily and average seven hours in the shop. That, together Send $10.00 plus 500 for postage and handling for each book.
with my correspondence, researching, writing and
traveling - all work related - takes away from actual
production time." Southern House Publications
I was curious as to how Henry began specializing in
P.O. Box 13835
bowie knives. "When I was in college," he related,
Atlanta, Ga. 30324
"History interested me a lot. In 1948, I bought a book
called 'Bowie Knife' by Raymond Thorp for $3.00. (This
is now a collector's item.) This book gave real impetuous

THE AMERICAN BLAl

 Honesteel
to the James Black legend as the man who made the bowie
knife for Jim Bowie. He may have made the knife for Jim, but
it was not THE Bowie Knife. There is an article coming out
soon that will relate the origin and development of the Bowie
knife, by Bill Williamson of Santa Barbara. He has made the
discovery of what the true bowie knife looks like and has
photographs to prove it - and he's right! The exact measure-
All-purpose sharpener
ments of the bowie knife is 9% inches long and 1% inches
wide. This is by Rezin Bowie's own statement, which is com-
pletely foreign to the popular concept of the bowie knife."
When I inquired if specializing in bowie knives was restric-
tive, D. E. responded with, "It's a question of techniques. I
think you should specialize in one or two types, or just a few
models, with size variations. The knifemaker has enough to
do to perfect his knife making on one type alone; use a few
basic designs and strive for absolute perfection with those.
That's what I have tried to do."
In conversing with reference to making knives for collec-
tors or for practical use, D. E. Henry declared flatly. "Anyone
who buys one of my knives is automatically a collector. If
they feel the need for a bowie knife as a defensive weapon,
that's fine! But the whole reason for personal combat has
changed since these knives were developed. Today, the stress
in defensive weapons is on quickness, lightness and conceal-
ment. Hopefully, those that BUY my knives will want to put
them on their mantle, admire it forever, and, perhaps, pass
them on down to their children. But if they want to sell them,
I can't stop them. This has happened many times and they all
have made excellent profits on the sale."
Mention was made that perhaps some of his remarks
would be considered egotistical. D. E. Henry had no smile on
his lips when he spoke unequivocally. "I am aware of my
own talents. I'm stating a fact. I have been told of my great
ability by experts and critics and I'm beginning to believe
them. I am the 6th or 7th in line of seniority in knifemakers.
My background goes back to World War I1 and I've been re-
searching all this time. I will acknowledge no one else in the
field as an expert in making bowie knives."
On the average, since 1967, Henry has made only 30 knives
a year. This year, he feels he will be lucky to make 25.
Even with the prices he charges, D. E. does not earn
enough money to provide a good living. He made a point of
telling me that the money he makes through his knifemaking
only supplements his wife's income. They could not afford
to live in the manner they do without utilizing the income
from Helen's responsible position with the country.
Henry's prices will soon be increased. The least expensive
bowie - stripped down stock model - now cost $225.00.
The highest priced will cost $500.00. The former takes 40
hours labor and the latter 75 hours to finish. This will bring
his hourly rate to approximately $6.00 per hour.
"Nobody," and Henry emphasized this word, "NOBODY
will be able to make the $500.00 model unless they want to
dig up some old-timers that have been in their graves for
75-80 years. When I start making these big ones - these
'fourth generation' as I call it - I'll really get a big backlog
of orders. Many collectors are waiting to see what they are
going to look like."
(Continued on next page) THE WORLDS
FINEST KNIVES Schrade Walden Cutlery Corp.
New York, N.Y. 10019
VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973
 At the present time, he has 35
knives on back order. There is a wait-
ing period of from 20-24 months and
he is adhering quite closely to this
schedule.
Henry has concentrated on bowie
knives. However, he still makes both
a Combat knife and a Killing knife.
The price for both have been $300.00
each for two years. "1 have made a
perfect Combat knife," he described
to me. "I stopped when I went into
bowie knives, but I will make them on
order. There is some controversy as to
what constitutes a combat utility knife.
I make two versions. One is 7" and
one is 6" with a bowie shaped blade
with a straight top edge which is very
sharp. This is made from '/4 inch stock.
The handle is hollow aluminum, bead
blast, anodized black.
"The Killing knife - or Combat
Stiletto - is 6%'' long with a double
edge one half of it's length, then
single edge. This will be made of
shock resistant steel that would be
almost impossible to break."
Usually when someone contacts
Henry unsolicited, he will send a form
letter with prices. Then, upon receipt
of $3.00 to cover time, he will mail
six snapshots of bowie knives he has
already made. When an inquiry is
made, he would like to receive postage
to cover the response.
When an order is placed, a deposit
of $100.00 is required. Before comple-
tion of the work, Henry writes the
client to let them know the balance
due, based on current prices at the
time of delivery. If he is working on
several knives at one time, the client
with the fastest response with the
balance due will be the one who will
receive his knife first. If the balance
is not forthcoming within a reasonable
amount of time, the deposit is lost and
Henry can do what he wishes with the
IN OUR NEXT ISSUE
Sid Latham presents an excei-
lent article on sharpening
knives. We wanted this to be
special and it is well worth
havlng waited for. Every
phase from the standard nat-
ural oilstone to the most re-
cent innovations will be cov-
ered in detail.
knife. Twice, D. E. has broken his hard
and fast rule about paying before de-
livery. Both times, he was disillu-
sioned. One man finally paid several
years later. The other still owes money.
After a short break for lunch -
sandwiches and milk - Henry took
me for a more extensive tour of his
two room workshop. In the first room
is a well-lighted workbench upon
which is mounted a heavy swivel base
vise. There are over a hundred files
with handles, having different shapes
and cuts, lining the walls. There are
several hundred more loose files in
drawers s'cattered about the room.
There is always a radio playing con-
temporary, classical music in the
background.
When watching D. E. Henry work, it
is as though the instrument and the
knife are an extension of himself. He
works with a joyous rhythm and loving
care. He is a true artist - craftsman
at work.
In the second room are his machines
for knifemaking. These consist of the
following:
1. A band saw with a band saw
blade welder and band saw stock in
FINE HANDMADE KNIVES SINCE 1934
Morseth
Knives
1705 Highway
71 North AB
Springdale,
Arkansas 72764
Cascade Skinner - 4lA" blade
100 foot coils so that he can make his
own blades.
2. Two grinders. The smaller one
he uses for incidental grinding other
than on blades. The larger grinder is
used to profile knife blades.
3. A sander that he and a friend
made with a big, special one H P motor
with direct drive. It has a big wooden
pulley on it. The top pulley was
actually made out of an austin front
wheel spindle with a piece of pipe
used to form the pulley and has adjust-
ments in all directions.
4. A floor model drill press that was
purchased about 15 years ago. The
spindles can be changed if necessary.
5. An oxygen-acetylene welding
outfit used for silver soldering to-
gether the metal scabbard mountings.
6. A small metal-turning lathe. This
is used for making studs for fancy
scabbards.
7. A very large older model surface
grinder with an automatic traverse.
This will be used to grind off the
scale on steel bar stock. (Henry buys
steel in 16 foot long bars. The pur-
chase is usually a minimum of 500 lbs.
for $500.00.)
Write for catalog
Standard $45.00
 The financial outlay for material
and equipment to go into the knife-
making business is about $600-$1,000.
Buster's Xniwes
For those of you who would really
like to know how D. E. Henry makes
a knife, he compressed 25 years expe-
rience into a brief dissertation without
getting too technical. In his own
words: "A lot of people - even col- Carson Model
lectors - believe the only way to make w/brass mountings $68 BUSTER WARENSKI
a knife is to hand forge it. Even in the w/nickel silver mountings $88 Box 214
Bowie period in Sheffield, when knives Richfield, Utah 84701
were hand forged, the basic reason 4%" Blade
was economics. The empire was ex- 440-C Steel Send for catalog.
panding and very good steel was in Rosewood Hilt
short supply. S o the makers of swords
and knives took narrow bars of steel
and flattened them out by forging. To

wide section with a narrow tang. p,K*l,

Those of us who are categorized as
the best knifemakers, do not forge our
knives. We take a nice, pure bar of
steel from the mill, annealed to a very
soft condition, and then proceed from
there to shape it.
Repeated beating and hammering -
forging, if you will - was a tech-
nique developed to it's highest state,
by the Japanese sword artisans, but
II
mostly as a method of transforming
iron into very fine steel. This extremely
controlled, secret method was devel-
oped over a long period of time and
used to make the Japanese swords.
Since they didn't have steel to start
with, they took iron and beat carbon
into it. With present day steel, if it is
heated and pounded, three things can
happen; (a) it will pick up carbon,
\
(b) more likely, it will lose carbon

actually burned out by forging heat
and, (c) if you're lucky, it will remain
the same. If the blank is cut out of the
steel bar, ground, heated once, quench-
ed, heated up again for the temper
(or draw), you will find this exposes
steel to only one temperature that can
have any effect on it's carbon centent.
After sawing out the blank and the
edges are profiled, I take it out in the
back yard where I use a copper back-
up plate and a garden hose, rigged to
keep it relatively cool as I grind the
bevels with a disc grinder.
I have already scribed a centerline
around the edge of the whole blank.
(Continued on next page)
Tf\
.,p
-/
\
THE REBEL (R-10)
A product of time patience and dedicated craftsmanship. Each knife is handmade of rust-
resistant high-carbon' steel with a full tang and slab handle. The hilt is constructed with a splid
guard and brass bolsters, thus providing protection, balance and ruggedness. Finger lndentat~ons
are ground into the grip, and the full tang provides the strongest handle possible. Nine models
are available including the folding APACHE.
All knives come in a choice of Brazilian Rosewood or Black Micarta handles and carry a 100%
lifetime guarantee. Each knife comes with a sheath of top grain black leather.
See the complete line of hunting and camping knives a t your dealer or write for free catalog.
Rigid also specializes in custom knife work.
RIGID KNIVES,
Dept. AB, Box 460, Santee, Calif. 92071

VOL. 1. NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973 21

This tells me how far I should go when
grinding the bevel. I have developed a
grinding technique of my own. Most
use pedestal grinders with rotating
abrasive wheels or abrasive belts. I
use a disc grinder or sander, but I use
a very rough cut cup wheel. I can d o
this more quickly and with more con-
trol. I grind away, periodically cooling
the blade with water, all the while
getting closer to the center line on the
cutting edge. Grinding on one side will
make the blade warp.and bend quite
badly. But then the other side will
warp back the other way, and this will
result in a relatively straight blade. In
any event, the steel is so soft, you can
straighten it out by putting it in a vise
and slapping it with your hand.
At this point, it's back into the shop
to use the belt sander. I use a flat 6"
wide sanding belt. Starting with 24
grit and going progressively finer,
semi-finishing the bevel of the blade.
From this point on, it is all hand
work using a special, secret technique.
Other makes use this technique, but I
have greatly refined it and I'm not
about to tell you how I d o it! There is
one other man who knows, but I've
sworn him to secrecy - or 1'11 instantly
behead him!
After the blade is semi-finished, it is
ready for heat treating. I stamp my
name and any identification number
on it and indicate where I want them
Rockwell tested. A "spec" sheet is
written out indicating proper Rockwell
hardness for the particular steel used
in the blade.
I usually send a batch of four blades
for heat treatment to take advantage
of the minimum cost of $7.50. Three
blades cost $124 13.00. These are sent
to a man in Sunnyvale, California,
who is one of the mostly highly quali-
fied 1 have ever known.
I would like to digress for a moment
to discuss various steels. Both the
man who does the heat treatment and
1 agree to the idea of having an indi-
vidual steel type for an individual pur-
pose. For example, for special purpose
knives, special purpose steels should
be utilized. For a hunting knife, the
most desirable attribute is edge holding
ability or wear resistance. Therefore,
you should select a steel noted for its
edge holding ability; which would not
22
necessarily be the toughest steel.
Check the tables developed by the
"Tool Steel Committee of the Ameri-
can Iron And Steel Institute." I select
one out of these steels which suits the
particular purpose. However, this
sometimes creates problems as the
steel may only come in certain size
sections, thicknesses, etc.
I would like to mention stainless
steel. I have never felt it was desirable
to use. It is not generally known that
the high carbon stainless steels were
developed to use at their ultimate
hardness, i.e. untempered, such as the
application' for ball bearings or razor
blades. I have only used it a few times
and have found it's negative aspects
far outweighs it's anti-corrosion prop-
erties. I may collaborate with another
knifemaker to utilize some steels that
have never been used before, including
new anti-corrosive processes.
But to return to the actual knife-
making. The knives are finished indi-
vidually, one at a time. And, as I
mentioned earlier, this takes many
hours of work.
I have already started on the scab-
bard for the knife I'm to complete. I
have a number of aluminum scabbard
forms which resemble the actual blade.
But these are a few thousandths over-
size so that the blade will fit into it's
leather scabbard. Some makers con-
struct scabbards that are far too thick
and do not follow my method at all.
First, I cut a hunk of leather, using
a template and bandsaw. I then soak it
in water and shape it around the form.
I use a special technique to insure the
straightness of the seams. The fancy
scabbards are sewn up the back by
using two needles and polyester
thread. The tricky thing here is know-
ing where to begin the stitches and
where to stop.
The nickel-silver throat and tips are
made and fitted. The throat has to go
on last to line up with the line of the
guard.
The completion of the blade involves
a great deal of sanding toward the
point. I leave the blade quite full when
it goes for heat treatment so that I can
straighten it out if there is warpage.
Occasionally, the blade will warp even
though a special straightening tech-
nique is used. To guys who do their
own heat treat, this fact isn't gen-
erally known.
I take the blade down to the proper
thickness with the sander and repolish
all over again by hand.
The guard is then fitted. I use two
styles of guards for bowie knives; flat
guards which are cut out of 8 guage
sheet nickel silver, and re-inforced
guards made from nickel silver cast-
ings. These are made for me by a man
in the East from patterns I made.
Fitting the guard is very time consum-
ing. Then it must be profiled and
soldered in place.
Once this has been done, I am ready
to put on the handle. Earlier on, I
have cut out the Indian staghorn or
ivory, so it will get any warping out of
it's system and stablize. (Henry also
uses African blackwood and anodized
aluminum on certain models.)
Putting the handle on involves fit-
ting the end of the scale - which is '/2
of the handle - against the guard;
drilling holes on both sides and then
fitting the escutheon plate. 1 fit the
plate on by using a special panto-
graph duplicating machine.
Once this is finished, the final as-
sembly is made. I make the rivets out
of nickel silver welding rod. A 82O
flat head is formed on each rivet with
a little die, then cut to length and the
other end is riveted into a 82' counter-
sink. Sounds easy, bit it ain't! I'm still
researching to try and get this as per-
fect as I can. The edges are then filed
and sanded flush with the edges of
the tang.
By now the throat is cemented in
place in line with the inside of the
guard with black opoxy resin cement.
Before I put the final polish on the
blade, 1 sharpen it using various grits
of aluminum oxide sharpening stones.
I finish up with a hard Arkansas stone
which was made especially for me.
Thus, the knife is completed and on
its way to a happy Henry collector!!"
D. E. Henry makes scabbards for
hunting and combat knives out of sole
leather. The molded-in fillet and seam
run up the outer edge instead of up the
back. The belt loop is formed out of a
separate piece of leather which is
blind-riveted with three copper rivets.
With his eye always toward perfection,
Henry cannot make a hunting knife
THE AMERICAN BLADE
scabbard in less than four hours. It
takes almost an hour to stitch it.
D. E. is interested in seeing original
knife designs from clients, but he
wants to voice loud and clear that
being able to sketch it, does not mean
Rather sadly, Henry continued. "In
six to eight months he could become
as good, if not better, than I am in all
phases. He is the only one that I would
consider. I could show him, and he
could thusly do things that have taken N L L TIME CUSTOM

me years to develop by trial and error."

that it is capable of execution. It re-
quires construction, balance, proper
materials, purpose and the ability to
hold it together.
Henry feels somewhat bitter toward
a writer who misrepresented D. E.
and all he stands for. He is therefore,
in the process of writing a book en-
titled "The Legend Of D. E. Henry,"
under a nom-de-plume. This will soon
be printed in a limited edition.
SMALL MAKER
MADISON, GA.
"But," he added proudly, "as a
doctor, he will be the greatest. He THE WORKING KNIFE
A product of time and dedication-Each knifeis en-
wants to come up here when he's tirely handmade, to make it durable, useful, and
through and be a 'peoples' doctor. He beautiful. See a full line of hand crafted knives in
my catalog-Bowies.Capers.Skinners. Fishing, and
doesn't care about a lot of money." Utilities-all for your choosing.
Despite his bad experiences with
JIM SMALL
people, D. E. will continue to go to THE GEORGIA KNIFEMAKER
knife and gun shows. He wants people 474 Foster St. AB
Madison. Ga. 30650
to see. what he can do in contrast with
other knifemakers. He also eniovs
-~ -
" the - Send 7% for Color Catalog

There is a special promotion con-
nected with this. All of Henry's knives
- with the exception of 8 or 9 early
ones which he intends to keep - bear
an I.D. number. "The Legend of D. E.
Henry" will be a numbered edition.
Each owner of a Henry knife will be
offered the numbered copy of the book
social contacts with friends and col-
lectors.
When asked what he would like to
change, he gave a slow smile. "More
isolation. The only problem is the
further away you are from people, the
greater the distance you have to go to
get back to them."

corresponding with the number of the
Henry knife he owns. He does not as
yet know the price, but states it will
be expensive! The binding and the
photographs will be of the highest
quality.
-JEi
Henry's wife, Helen, is a very at-
tractive woman, whose brillant blue THROWIN(; KNIFE
Eight sharp, plerclng polnts make this 7
eyes show a great depth of under- knife unique. Even the amateur un
make thls knife stick, first time end
standing. When asked to describe her every time. Greet for smell game, or just
target practice. Full 6 inches overall. !',
husband in one word, she was quiet Precision made from 118 inch thick
steel. Only $3.00. California residents
for a long moment. "Genius," she said. add 6% sales tax. K J. L ~ ~ ~ .A

In the back of the book, there will D. E. Henry so impressed my hus- P.O. BOX 3741, ANAHEIM. CALIF. 92803
band with his artistic mastery, that he I I
also be a catalogue of Henry knives
with pictures of his patron's private
collections.
asked D. E. to alter a knife he had
used to fight with for over a quarter I
r 1111111111111

DO-IT-YOURSELF
KNIFE MAKERS
1111

D. E.'s favorite derogatory word is
"honky" which he used consistently
throughout our interview. In fact, he
referred to almost everyone and every-
thing as a "honky and other low types"
with the exception of his wife, Helen,
his son, Pat and his dog, Prince 11.
Henry feels strongly about material
guarantees. Almost angrily, he said,
"I have no controls over the materials
I use. I notice some people guarantee
materials. I can't. No one can. I don't
see how any knifemaker can."
Since Henry's total production is
necessarily so low, I wondered if he
had considered taking an apprentice.
"I've taken all the shortcuts I possibly
could. I guess I could become an em-
of a century. Henry did. My husband
wishes to publicly state to D. E.: 'h
master made this knife that I have
used all these years and now you have
made it a masterful knife. Thank you."
It was getting late and the day was 1 12 ELMWOOD AVE.
ending. But before we left, D. E. IL WELLAND.
Henry had a final statement to make.
"I'm not a religious man - more an
agnostic type, but I've had a very
fortunate life. I've been blessed in
many ways. First of all, by becoming
associated with Mrs. Henry and
having a son as great as ours is. And
lastly, I am blessed by being able to do
what I love most and can do best -
make knives."
We said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs.
II
I
I
1 1 l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 l 1 ~ 1
I P.O. BOX X-50
ONTARIO FERNDALE, MICH. 18220 I
~
You want a folding pocket-size knife for
h u n r ~ n gcamping
, or backpacking. You
want a saw that cuts through animal bone,
weight, compact and
rugged. You pick
the Game W'arden.
forged, hnished and ground by h
super-keen stainless cutting steel.
tested for hardness. Imported Jacaranda
wood handle. Solid brass bolsters. Looks

ployer, but I don't want the headaches
that go with it. There is only one ap-
prentice I would even consider and
that is my son - and he is not
interested." (He is studying pre-
medicine.)
VOL. 1 , NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973
D. E. Henry and left them there on
their little mountain in the foothills.
At local dealers o r write Dept. AB-9
GUTMANN CUTLERY C O . , INC.
900 So. Columbus Ave., Mt. Vernon, N.Y. 1 0 5 5 0
Send 5 0 e I o r n r w brc~churrshowinr: how Puma
Knivrs a r r m a d e plus usrful tips on knife care.
a

q:~:: SPACERS
TANG
-t--
GUARD 8 POMMEL
HANDLE
SPACERS
BLADE 8 TANG
EPOXY
Part I of a Six Part Series
How To Make Knives
In order for the reader to more fully
understand this writing and to be able
to discuss and describe knives in a
more accurate manner, the following
vocabularv is offered:
BALANCE This is a very misused
word when applied to knives in general
and throwing knives in particular. To
be balanced means that a knife should
feel right in the hand without too much
weight forward or aft. Many apply
balance as it is commonly used and
think that to be balanced, a knife
should have an equal amount of weight
evenly distributed over its entire
length. This is a false assumption.
Proper balance simply means that the
knife feels and handles right for its
intended use.
BEVEL The bevels of a knife blade
are the sloping areas which fall from
the spine or thickest section toward
the edge. The bevels can be flat, con-
cave, or convex.
BLOOD GROOVE This is a shallow
concave area of varying width and
depth which runs parallel to the length
of the blade. Its intended purpose is
RiCASSO
- E - - l
CHOIL
White area inside lines of hilt represent excess material which
Is ground away or otherwise removed during final shaping
and finishing.
rather obscure but many feel that it
imparts some sort of dashing appear-
ance to a knife. Actually it is a reliable
indication of poor design and is about
as useful as tits on a wild boar.
CHOIL The choil is the area immedi-
ately in front of the guard at the bottom
of the blade. It is occasionally shaped
to accept the index finger to facilitate
a more secure hold on certain types of
knives for various operations. It
actually serves a more useful purpose
as it allows the full length of the cutting
edge to be properly sharpened.
CLIP The clip is the sharpened area
on the back of the blade immediately
behind the point. It is usually a sloping
or concave shape and can be found on
many Bowie style knives made in the
1800s as it became a popular design
feature during this era.
ESCUTCHEON This is a small metal
plate or shield on the handle and can
be used for engraving the name or
initials of the owner or simply for
decoration. It should be mounted on
the obverse side.
by Blackie Collins
CLIP
FALSE EDGE
/
GRIND LINES
FALSE EDGE This is a swaged or
ground area on the back of the blade
running to the point which gives the
appearance of a true edge when viewed
from the side. The false edge is often
sharpened as in the case of the clip on
bowie style knives or on mme omb bat
and general Purpose designs. On most
hunting type knives the false edge
would not be sharpened but would
merely be shaped td give the appear-
ance of a true edge.
GUARD The guard is a separate
piece of metal which has been affixed
to the blade in front of the handle to
serve the purpose of keeping the hand
away from the sharp edge while cutting
or as in the case of fighting knives, to
keep the opponent's blade away from
the knife hand. The guard is often
referred to as a hilt. It is NOT a hilt.
HILT The hilt of a knife is the handle
section including the guard and pom-
mel. It is NOT a guard.
HOLLOW GROUND This refers to
blade bevels which have been ground
concave in cross section.
OBVERSE SIDE This refers to the
front or display side of a knife. To be
properly displayed, the knife should be
pointing to the right with the edge
down. The obverse side should bear
the maker's mark.
THE AMERICAN BLADE
POMMEL This is the end of the
handle and is usually a separate piece
of material shaped and blended into
the handle. In most instances, the
guard and pommel are of the same ma-
terial which can be brass, German
silver, or steel.
QUILLON The quillon is that area of
the guard which extends out from the
section surrounding the tang and forms
the protective shield for the hand. A
cross guard has two quillons and the
type usually seen on hunting knives
has only one.
RICASSO This is the flat parallel-
sided section of the blade between the
guard and the beginning of the bevels.
It is the area commonly preferred for
the maker% mark as it is the strongest
part of the blade and can more easily
afford stamping or etching.
SCALES The scales are the slabs of
handle material which are attached to
the sides of the tang (square tang) to
form the handle.
TANG This is the section of the blade
which is shaped to facilitate the fitting
of the handle. A SQUARE TANG is
the full width of the handle and is de-
signed to accept scales which are
pinned or riveted in place. A ROUND
TANG is shaped to pass through the
guard and through a hole drilled
lengthwise in the handle material. The
hole drilled for a round tang could be
blind or drilled completely through if a
pommel is to be attached.
The single most important factor nec-
essary to the production of a fine
quality knife is to know what a fine
quality knife actually is. As we go into
this first of a series on how to make
knives, our immediate concern is to
know just exactly what we wish to ac-
complish as knifemakers. If your desire
is to simply put together a serviceable
knife you will find all you need to know
in these articles over the next few
months. If you seek the ability to pro-
duce outstanding work you will cer-
tainly go far beyond these pages to
seek out any possible scrap of informa-
tion and when you make your last
knife you will still be trying to improve.
Its always a lot easier on the maker
to make a good knife than to have to
make excuses for a bad one. It takes
VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973
considerably less time to hand sand a
blade to get out those last few ripples
in the finish than it does to explain
why you left them there to a potential
customer or to the casual observer
who might want to examine your work.
No matter how small the flaw, it will
be seen by the trained eye of someone
who appreciates fine cutlery. A fact to
seriously consider is that a knife will
be around a long time and whatever
the quality of a knife might be, you're
going to have to live with it. If it is
your work you will be identified with
it and by it as long as people get a
chance to see it.
There are several categories which
must be considered when determining
the quality and overall acceptability
of a hand made knife. They are design,
materials, fit, and finish. We will dis-
cuss them in that order.
The acceptability of a particular de-
sign is largely a personal matter left
up to the owner of a knife. There are,
however, a few standard guidelines
which should be considered. If the
knife is to be used there are definitely
going to be some designs which will
perform the intended task better than
others. Knowing which design suits
which job is learned by intelligent ob-
servation and study but is mainly just
plain common sense. A good rule of
thumb is to never put anything into
the design of a working knife that is
not necessary. This does not apply to
tasteful decoration but rather to useless
frills or gimicks which the maker or
designer might claim have some pur-
pose. An example would be a sharp-
ened false edge on a skinning knife.
There are many instances in which a
sharpened false edge would come in
very handy but usually not while
skinning or dressing out game. A
sharpened false edge can, however,
be very inconvenient for field dressing
and skinning operations and should
be considered an undesirable feature
for this type knife. Other design fea-
tures to avoid in this type knife would
be unnecessarily thick blades, double
quillon or cross guards, excessive blade
length, and hilts which are uncom-
fortable for extended periods of use.
An unfortunate but nevertheless
frequent trap for the custom maker is
(Continued on next page)
25
to execute the design of a customer
which is entirely impractical. It is
sometimes difficult to communicate
good taste to others but it is still the
responsibility of the knowledgeable to
try and offer the benefits of expe-
rience and training to those who are
willing to accept them. A good practice
would be to never make a knife that
you think is poorly designed and might
eventually be a reflection on your
abilities as a maker. Many new makers
think that they need the business bad
enough to endulge in this practice and
later regret the results. If you are
making knives to sell, your best sales-
men will be your knives.
About the only serious considera-
tions for the choice of materials would
be durability, availability, and looks.
Entirely acceptable materials for the
hilt would be micarta in its various
grades, stag horn, some of the exotic
woods, and under certain circum-
stances, ivory.
Micarta is probably the most prac-
tical and desirable material for the
handle of a knife which is going to see
much use. It is extremely tough and
is for all practical purposes impervious
to the elements. I t can withstand
enough direct heat to destroy most
other handle materials and it does not
contract or expand when exposed to
heat, cold, or water. A most valuable
consideration for the maker is that
micarta is totally predictable. It does
not contain hidden cracks or voids the
way wood often does. It does not con-
tain soft spots or hard spots and prob-
ably allows more margin for error
than any other material. The only ex-
ception would be canvas base micarta
in which the large fibers of the canvas
base are softer than the phenolic resin
body. This makes final polishing a
little more difficult as it is easy to get
a pitted effect in the finish if proper
precautions are not followed. The
proper methods for obtaining a good
finish are outlined in detail under the
section on finish.
Linen base micarta is the most de-
sirable grade to use for knife handles.
It is available in a variety of colors and
is the most beautiful because of the
wood grain effect when finished prop-
erly. Micarta will shine like glass when
finished right and even this fine finish
is resistant to scratches and dents
which would seriously detract from
the appearance of handles made from
a softer material.
Indian stag horn is an excellent ma-
terial with its major detraction being
the limitations of shape which are
dictated by the natural contours of the
horn. It is also porous in the center
with a soft core and it is necessary to
avoid cutting into this core when shap-
ing the handle and especially in such
operations as making finger grooves.
-
Otherwise, stag finishes well and is a
very beautiful and desirable material.
Domestic antler from our whitetail
deer and elk is usually less acceptable
as it has a much larger core than the
Indian stag and must be worked much
more carefully. Small sections of do-
mestic antler can be used for smaller
knives such as patch knives but in
general it is best to avoid this material
as it can provide more problems than
advantages.
The best of the woods for knife
handles are cocobolo, rosewood, and
tigerwood. Cocobolo is a beautiful and
tough wood which contains a lot of
natural oil and really finishes up nice.
It should only be used for round tang
handles as the natural oil content
makes it tend to have a very poor af-
finity to the bonding agents such as
epoxy which are used to secure slab
handles to a wide or square tang de-
sign. The pins in this type handle are
usually sufficient to hold the scales
in place but the oil in cocobolo actually
causes the scales to slightly separate
from the tang. This is an unsightly
situation at best and can lead to
eventual loosening and complete
\

THE CARIBOU (R-8)

A product of time, patience and dedicated craftsmanship. A knife designed for the professional hunter and
guide, or the sportsman who wants only the best. Each knife is handmade of rust-resistant high carbon steel
with full tang and slab handle. The hllt is constructed with a solid guard and brass bolsters, thus providing pro-
tection, balance and ruggedness. Finger indentations are ground into the grip, and the full tang provides the
strongest handle possible.
The Caribou has the balance and weight to make the toughest skinning and camp job easy. With the thumb and
finger groove ahead of the brass uard one can work close with perfect blade control. Nlne Rigid knife models
available including the FOLDING A~ACHI.
All knives come in a choice of Brazilian Rosewood or Black Micarta handles and carry a 100% lifetime guarantee.
Each knife comes with a sheath of top grain black leather.
See the co,mplete line of hunting and camping knives at your dealer or write for free catalogue. Rigid also
spec~allzesIn custom kn~fework.

RIGID KNIVES,
Dept. AB-9, Box 460, Santee, Calif. 92071
separation of the components. When
cocobolo is used it should be incorpo-
rated into a hilt design which has a
pommel or some type of mechanical
"Tomorrow's Collector's Piece - Today"
retainer such as a pin through the
handle and tang. This will be more
thoroughly explained and illustrated
under the section on hilt construction.
Rosewood and tigerwood are both very
attractive and fairly durable materials Randall Made Knives
c " ~ ~
and adhere to the various bonding
agents with no problems. They are - P.O. BOX1988-AB
Orlando, Florida 32802
suitable for all types of handle con-
struction. Several other woods are ac- Write for 32 page catalogue - Price $ .50
ceptable for handle materials and will
be discussed at more length later in
this series of articles.
Ivory is beautiful and makes an
excellent handle for a fine knife but it
has certain detractions which make it
a material for special consideration. It
is hard to obtain. It is totally unpre-
dictable to the novice craftsman. It is
relatively hard to finish properly
without undue difficulties. While many Bagwell Skinner w/sculpted brass guard and handcarved
knife customers or owners would con- rosewood hilt.
sider the aging which occurs in ivory
to be desirable, there are as many who Write for descriptive brochure of complete line of fine
would consider it undesirable. If ivory handmade knives.
is handled properly and given reason-
able maintenance it is the most beauti-
ful and desirable handle material
available. If it is not it can become
cracked and checked in a short period
of time. The owner of an ivory hilted
knife should be advised of its pecu-
liarities and of the precautions nec-
essary to proper aging. Ivory is not
recommended for knives which will
NEW! ! !
be exposed to extremes in temperature
or humidity and so therefore should THE CUSTOM KNIFE BOOK
not be seriously considered for hunt- by J. Bates & J. Schippers
ing, fishing or utility type knives. An
excellent substitute for ivory is the The long needed comprehensive book on the subject of today's Custom Knife
makers and their product has arrived. This extensively researched, UP TO
new white micarta which. is very attrac- DATE BOOK contining 136 pages, details of 100 of today's famous and not so
tive and almost impossible to tell famous makers. Many photos including Full Color accompany the test which
from the real thing. It even carves and covers; design, history, knife steels, sharpening and production. Also included
individual chapters on each maker, a glossary of knife terms and MUCH,
scrimshaws like real ivory and is MUCH MORE!
covered in more detail under the
section on hilt decoration.
The materials available and most This FIRST EDITION high quality book in soft cover form is
available at $6.95.
often used for the guard and pommel
are brass, nickel silver, and stainless Please include $.25 for postage and handling.
steel. Brass is the most popular and is Get your orders in now for fast delivery.
the easiest to work, with nickel silver Personal checks accepted.
next, and stainless steel last in order
of desirability from the craftsman's THE CUSTOM KNIFE BOOK
standpoint. Brass and nickel silver are Box 4775 AB
(Continued on next page) MEMPHIS, TENN. 38104
Dealer inquiries invited.
VOL. 1 , NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973
easy to solder to the blade material
with most types of low silver bearing
solder as used by knifemakers. Stain-
less is a little harder to solder but can
be satisfactorily bonded to the blade
with the employment of the proper
techniques which are fully explained
under the section on fitting the hilt.
Stainless and nickel silver are the
most desirable materials from the
standpoint of the owner and user of
the knife as they tend to avoid tarnish-
ing and discoloration which so readiIy
attacks brass. The gold color of brass,
however, is quite attractive when used
in conjunction with certain handle ma-
terials and is sure to remain popular
with makers and customers alike.
The choice of blade steel is another
area which is largely a matter of per-
sonal preference. Any good quality
steel with a carbon content around
1.0 percent is usually quite satisfac-
tory. The fairly recent availability of
stain and rust resistant steels with
relatively high carbon content has
changed some long held notions about
the suitability of stainless type steels
for good knife blade material. It is now
possible to obtain stainless type steel
which has good hardenability and is
excellent for knife blades. There are
also certain other modern steels which
deserve mention as good blade ma-
terial and they will be covered fully
under the section on making blades.
Heat treating is probably the one
most important factor in determining
the final quality of a knife blade and a
considerable amount of attention is
also given to this subject under the
section on blade making.
The fitting of the various compo-
nents used in the manufacture of a
knife is absolutely essential to the
quality of the end product. The most
beautiful pieces of ivory and nickel
silver look like hell if they aren't
joined together properly, but the
plainest piece of micarta fitted nicely
to a piece of brass can be an excellent
example of the cutler's art. A quite
simple fact to remember when pre-
paring the components of a knife are
that all pieces of material to be joined
must have parallel mating surfaces. A
flat piece of material will not fit a
curved piece properly regardless of
what color your epoxy is. The critical
areas of fit which are readily apparent
to casual observation are the hole in
the guard through which the blade
tang passes, and the lines formed by
the joining of the handle material to
the guard and pommel. Another criti-
cal but hidden area is that space in the
actual handle material through which
the tang passes. You can bet that if a
maker is careless enough to leave glue
lines and other gaps visible in the
exterior finish that he doesn't give any
consideration at all to careful fitting
where it can't be seen. The tang hole
through a knife handle should accept
passage of the tang with no excessive
space. It is certainly possible to fill
any excess space with epoxy or some
other bonding agent but that is not the
best way. An excellent example of
thoughtful craftsmanship in this area
is the new line of knives being pro-
duced by Smith & Wesson. Not only
do their knives have an excellent heavy
tang but the handles are broached to
fit the tangs almost perfectly. This
process provides for a square or rec-
tangular hole through the handle
material and is well worth the extra
work. The proper methods for facili-
tating this process with the tools found
in the average workshop are outlined
in the section on fitting the hilt.
The processes for fitting the tang
through the handle material will
naturally apply only to the round tang
type handle construction. In the pro-
duction of square tang handles the
tang is the full width of the handle
and is exposed at the top and bottom
for its full length. Fitting this type
handle involves even more attention
to perfectly matched components and
carelessness on the maker's part is
more obvious. So, regardless of the
particular type of construction, the
components should all be fitted per-
fectly and there are no acceptable
excuses if they are not.
Good finish of a knife is fairly in-
volved as there are several different
processes necessary to give acceptable
results on the different materials. Fin-
ishing the blade is altogether different
from finishing the handle material and

F-mzV
7

h
4

I%
KNIVES
Illustrated above is the TMD Integral Hilt knife made from a single block of steel (D-2 or 440-C, your
choice) and having the hilt fashioned integrally with the full tapered tang blade. Blades are concave
ground and mirror finished. Hunting knives from $45 to $225. We also offer two folding knife models.
A full line of kitchen and galley knives, axes and carving sets for the dining table-all individually
made by T. M. Dowell.
Send $1.00 for new August 1973 catalog to
T. M. Dowell, 139 St. Helens Place, Bend, Oregon 97701.
there is even a considerable difference in the proper
methods for finishing brass or nickel silver as opposed
to the common handle materials such as wood, stag,
or micarta. Complete details on all component fin-
ishing processes are covered fully under the sections
on making the blade and finishing the knife.
A well finished blade is perfectly smooth with no COMING SOON
ripples or other distortions in the surface. If you look Who made that pocket knife you just bought? The odds
down the length of a knife blade at about a thirty are probably better than you think that it was not made
degree angle and the blade is finished properly, there by the company whose name is stamped on the blade.
will be a mirror like effect from the surface. Find out who makes what for whom in the pocket knife
Another excellent way to check blade finish is to
Industry. You are in for some big surprises in this inter-
look at your reflection in the surface. Move the blade
back and forth slowly and see if there is any esting and Informative article on cutlery manufacturers.
noticable distortion in the image except that which
is caused by the actual changes in the contours of
the bevels. A gouged area which is otherwise not
noticed will be readily apparent to this careful 06-
servation. Even a satin finished blade will show a
reflection if it is finished properly. A fairly heavy
grit satin finish can still reflect an image if viewed
at an angle.
A well finished blade also has good sharp grind
/ Zimited qdition commemorative TS. \
lines. These lines should be perfectly synetrical and
present the exact same appearance when viewed
from either side of the blade. Rounded corners on
the back of the blade or the underside of the ricasso
and wandering grind lines are definite evidence of
sloppy workmanship.
Another good method for determining the quality
of the grind lines is to view the blade from the point
end. The grind lines should come together at the
point and at the same height on each side of the Only 5 0 0 of this ex-
blade. When viewed from the underside of the blade
the beginning of the bevels should be simultaneous
with the grind lines being located exactly opposite
each other.
Proper finish of the hilt is partially indicated by
no visible differences in the levels of the various com-
ponents where they are joined. Wood is naturally
softer than brass and if not enough attention is given
to the finish of a hilt with a wood handle and a brass
guard and pommel; there will be a distinct un-
eveness where the materials are joined. A good
method to detect this uneveness is to lightly run the
tips of the fingers over the surface of the hilt. Any
lumps or ridges indicate a careless or hasty finish. Warrant and Wilkinson crest,
By careless we mean that the maker simply doesn't and is engraved "United We
Conquer" - proud motto of Com-
care as the proper finish is not the result of some bined Operations Units in W W II.
secret method but is, rather, the result of a little Each knife is displayed within a hand-
extra attention on the maker's part.
If we know what a good knife actually is, we are
1 some velvet and silk lined presenta-
tion case bearing the Commando Battle
ready to start to learn how a good knife is actually
made. The next segment of this series is a detailed
and well illustrated instruction on the making of the
I Honors inside the case lid. A Certificate
of Authenticity accompanies each k n ~ f e
and bears a matched registrationnumber engraved upon the blade.
blade. Every step from the raw material to the fin- Send $85.00 check or money order for each,post paid.Refund-
able in full within 1 5 days if not entirely satisfied. A d d ~ t ~ o n In-
al
ished blade is carefully covered and explained in
simple and easy to understand instructions. Heat
treating processes, forging, grinding, mirror polish-
formation and authoritative brochure. AShort Histo of the Com-
a
mandos 1 9 4 0 - 1 9 4 5 , available for $ 1 . 5 0 . 1 The ritish Com-
mando Association benefits from salesof t h ~ sunlclue k n ~ f eand
ing, and basic blade design are just a few of the brochure.
topics covered in the second installment of How To
Make Knives.
Warketing Services 2 t d .
60 Henderson Lane, Downingtown. Pa. 19335
Exclusive U. S. Distributors of Wilkinson Swords

VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973

\ , .D B Pa. residents add 6% sales tax.
 General view of Knifemakers Show with Corber Sigman in foreground. Almost 40 of thefinest cutlery experts in the country display their wares.

FOURTH ANNUAL MEETING

OF THE
KNIFEMAKERS GUILD
(First in a regular series of articles by Sid Latham)

30 THE AMERICAN BLADE

Once each year many of the country's
finest knifemakers gather for an an-
nual business meeting and show pre-
sented by the four year old Knife-
makers Guild. Ted Dowel1 flew in
from Bend, Oregon and Don Zac-
cagnino came from Pahoke, Florida.
From small towns to big cities, from
the oil fields of Louisiana and the
desert country of Arizona experienced
professionals and beginning craftsmen
arrived at Kansas City's Muehleback
Hotel to display some of the finest in
cutlery.
Traditionally the Guild holds a
business meeting and this year Bob
Loveless was elected Secretary. Four-
teen new knifemakers were admitted
to probationary membership. Their
work, incidentally, incidentally, was of
such high caliber the Guild Technical
Committee didn't turn one applicant
down. The next day, August loth, the
Knifemakers Guild Show opened in
conjunction with the Missouri Valley
Arms Collectors Show for three days
of outstanding displays.
The knife show was such a success
that Chubby Hueske, at the endof the
first day said, "I could leave right now
I'm so happy with sales." It was ob-
vious this was a buying crowd in con-
trast to last years show. For those who
wanted knives just what was there to
choose from? You name the knife and
someone at the show made it. Bill
Moran is a good example. After a num-
ber of years of solid research Moran of-
fered new Damascus blades in their
original combat quality. These superb
knives had over a thousand folds of
steel making beautiful and intricate
patterns in the blade. "I can now con-
trol the design," Bill said proudly, "and
offer a choice to my customers." How
expensive were these new blades?
Hold your breath.. . a $100 per inch.
The price didn't seem to deter cus-
tomers. Bill sold a fifteen inch blade
to one collector and was busy writing
orders as customers clustered around
his display.
Equally exotic was a hand crafted
wavy-blade kris offered by Buster
Warenski. Buster's interest is show-
piece knives and his skill was reflected
in the kris (sold at the show for $300)
and a handsome ivory handled push
dagger with silver sheath. Although
VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973
Sid Latham was a Life Photog-
rapher for seven years before
leaving to take a position with
International News Photos during
WW II where he covered Air
Transport Command and the
Atlantic Fleet. At the end of the
war Sid was assigned to England
and Holland and turned down
an offer to open an INP office in
Paris and took an assignment
with TWA to do public relations
photography from Cairo. An
awful lot of travel in the past
25 years has taken Sid from the
Amazon to the Artic. He has
covered all of North Africa and
the Middle and Near East. Re-
cent years have been spent in
Tahiti, Fiji, Australia, and New
Guinea as well as Japan, Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Malaya, Borneo,
Thailand, and Burma. Special
military training has included
Special Forces Jungle Warfare
Center, Counter Insurgency
School, Air Force Survival School
in Panama, British Jungle War-
fare Center in Johore, and the
Malaya and Royal Air Force
Mountain Rescue Service in
Wales and the Middle East. Sid
has seen more knives in action
than most of us will ever see
hanging on the walls and we are
delighted to have him aboard as
our special assignments editor.
crafting knives for a few years Buster
decided to offer his knives for sale pro-
fessionally only five months ago. Bus-
ter's double edge grind is something
to behold, the symmetry of the blade
is excellent and is evenly ground to
absolute perfection. The artful lines of
Buster's knives is a tribute to a new
maker and this is one craftsman who
should go far.
In fact all the newer makers seemed
to have a lock on the skills necessary
for crafting fine knives. Dan Dennehy
was obviously impressed; "As a pro-
fessional I feel these new men were
sand-bagging some place for the past
fifteen years. I find it impossible to be-
lieve that maker's like Billy Imel, Jim
Small or Dean Holder have been
making knives for so short a time."
Dan had great respect for the skills
shown, "At no time in our history have
we seen such superb craftsmen doing
such spectacular work as we've wit-
nessed at this show."
One of the newer men who caught
attention was Billy Mace Imel of New
Castle, Indiana. At the ripe young age
of 33, Imel has been crafting knives for
only eight months and he has the soul
of an artist with his approach to
knives. "I'd rather destroy a knife than
let a second class blade out of my
shop," is the way Imel stressed it, "if
a knife doesn't feel right to me I'll put
it in a vice and break the blade." Imel
did just that with a boot knife recently.
After four months labor he broke the
blade and tossed it in a trash can. Imel
even admits to considerable relief
afterward. All Billy Mace's knives are
constructed with full tang and integral
hilt by the stock removal method. Imel
firmly believes this is the best way to
make a knife for strength and beauty.
Imel's prices are high, perhaps among
the highest at the show. $200 is
standard for a hunting knife and at the
far end of the scale you'd pay $1200
for a Bowie. In the middle ground you
could buy one of the most beautifully
designed boot knives I've seen for
$430. S o there was something for
everyone.
Two of Bob Loveless' protege's,
Dave Cosby and H. J . Schneider were
among the new makers attending their
first national show.
(Continued on next page)
 Naturally the Loveless influence
was reflected in their blade design but,
more importantly, the workmanship
was top quality. Their steel? 154CM,
what else?
Southerners George Herron and
John Smith both make fine, no non-
sense blades and had large displays
offering an array of hunting, fighting
and boot knives.
For collectors who clamor for highly
decorated blades there were engravers,
etchers and scrimshaw experts on
hand to execute your most fanciful
wish. Henry Frank showed his mag-
nificient hand-crafted folders with im-
peccably engraved blades. Frank is a
double threat artist in that he has the
skills to craft a quality folder with the
ability to relief engrave the tough steel
blades. Another excellent artist was
Jim Layman doing intricate scrimshaw
at Jimmy Lile's table. Jim was put on
the spot when a New York physician
asked for a kidney to be put on an
ivory handled knife. After much dis-
cussion a kidney was sketched on an
old envelope and Jim executed the
design to the doctor's delight. Some of
the finest hand engraving by a rela-
tively unknown artist was that per-
formed by Ronnie White at the Ameri-
can Blade display. Ronnie was engrav-
Henry Frank relief engraving one of his masterpieces. ing knives purchased at the show at
no cost to the customers through the
courtesy of the magazine and his work
is truly outstanding. Look to see a lot
more of this young man in the near
future. Ronnie's shop is located in
New Orleans. Leonard Leibowitz, of
the Shaw-Leibowitz team, came up
with striking miniature paintings in
full color on ivory handled knives. This
is a new technique and Leonard is ob-
viously following in the footsteps of
famed English miniaturist Richard
Cogsway. Leonard does this beauti-
fully detailed work in water color
using fine Russian Sable brushes. I
naturally asked if these paintings
wouldn't wear off? Leonard told me,
"Obviously they would if we didn't
use many of the contemporary space-
age materials now available. We coat
the miniature with special lacquers
then rub them with specially formu-
lated waxes for added protection."
Ted Dowell's matching Bowie and dagger, both with integral hilt. Engraving was done by Leibowitz claims the painting thus
Henry Frank. treated will make it as durable as the

THE AMERICAN BLADE


Buster Warenski admiring a fine show knife.
knife. The cost for this work, for the
present at least, runs $35 per square
inch.
If we seem to emphasize the newer
makers its because they were this
year's big story. Listen to experienced
knifeman Don Couchman on the sub-
ject: "Frankly, I'm impressed with the
new people coming into the Guild. The
rate of improvement of new makers is
going to push all of us." Jim Small is a
good example of a top drawer crafts-
man. Jim recently became a full-time
knifemaker and at age 27 is an excel-
lent bladesmith. Having worked in
television and radio for a couple of
years Jim decided he'd rather make
knives than do anything else. Now he
has a railroad caboose as a workshop
at the edge of town in Madison, Geor-
gia. Jim turns out about ten knives a
week, but after viewing the offerings
at his first Guild Show, Jim mused,
"I've got to go home and really get
to work."
Dean Holder is a part-time maker
who hails from Phoenix, Arizona.
Holder prefers making hunting knives
VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973
CUSTOM ETCHING
For Fine Knives
Any Scene or Des~gn
Catalog $1
SHAW-LEIBOWITZ
Rt 1 Box 421 New Cumberland
W Va 26047
WOOD KNIVES
38 So. Venice Blvd.
Venice, California 90291
*I
,-f
0
-
a
--
e, -==-
$35
Dealer Enquiries Invited
Write for Free Brochure
and when you view the results of his
skill you'll appreciate what fine knife-
making is all about. Gerry Jean of
Manchester, Connecticut is one of a
small handful of Eastern craftsmen. A
tool and die maker Jean does integral
hilt, butt AND handle cutout. . .all
from one piece of steel, the handle
inlay is of exotic wood. Lou Booth of
Boonton, New Jersey offered a wide
range of styles with accolades going to
his all-steel ( 154CM) self-handled
knives.
With the excitement created by the
newer makers the more established
craftsmen shouldn't be forgotten.
Corbet Sigman, who created a modest
furor himself at the 1972 show with
superb grind and right-on bevels, sat
modestly behind an excellent display
of handsomely crafted knives. Lloyd
Hale, now turning out the Morseth
line, stills makes his own fine knives
and prefers custom work for collectors.
Hale's splendid talent was show in
finely decorated Bowies and Arkansas
Toothpicks. Ted Dowel1 proudly Clay R. Gault
(Continued on next page) 1626 Palma Plaza AB
Austin, Texas 78703
(512) 476-2566
 Buster Warneski's unusual Malay Kris
which sold at the show for $300.

showed his fine Presentation set of

Matched Bowie and dagger with
integral hilt. Ted stressed these were
"show" knives and said, "I still can't
recommend the Bowie as a useful
knife in the field."
Many maker's offered such fine
examples of the cutler's art it was dif-
ficult to select a favorite. Rod Chappel,
Harold Corby, Gene Dumatrait and
Jon Kirk all had excellent displays of
knives. Jimmy Lile showed his new
folders for the first time. These solid
and practical folder's had handles
ranging from 440C (yes, an all steel
handle) to exotic wood, stag and ivory.
The blades are crafted of D2 and they
all had sensible blades.
The interest in hand-crafted pocket
knives may be indicative of future
trends in benchmade knives. In fact
Jess Horn, who gained fame a few
years ago with the Remington Bullet
replicas, is now turning to folders full Jim Layman doing fine scrimshaw work on Jimmy Liles knife.
time. When asked about this Horn
replied, "With so many quality makers blade Barlow. Bowen Knife Company
coming along I feel the folder is the (formerly Collins Bros.) offer their
knife of the future." Horn recently ex- version of the authorized Remington
perimented with a new design using reproduction of a Bullet Trapper at
154CM steel for blade material. When $100. Bernie Sparks, Ted Dowel1 and
Bob Loveless saw the prototype he Bill Moran all make excellent folders
suggested they join forces to introduce although I doubt if anyone would dare
new models, after Bob's design, to be take one of Moran's silver decorated,
. offered in the Loveless catalog. ivory handled folder's on a hunting trip.
What these new folders will cost I Three days of visiting with knife-
have no idea and refuse to hazard a makers, and viewing their offerings,
guess. I doubt if other makers will gave me the impression we've about
,
' 1 follow in Horn's footsteps and give up reached the top in quality, but I don't
.J sheath knives, but many makers are doubt improvements in steel will come
Top knqe Ron Lake - second knifefrom offering folders. John LeBlanc offers about and certainly the decor in knives
top is a new model by Jess Horn. Another an excellent folder with 3% inch blade. will continually improve for the spe-
n;w knife by ceorge and The George Stone Trapper is a small, cialist collector. In spite of Bob Love-
folders by Jimmy Lile. 7'his is LileS first
at folders and were finely two bladed knife that is really small. less' fears that many knifemakers will
constructed. New this year for Stone was a single price themselves too high, out of reach

34 THE AMERICAN BLADE

of the average person, men like Bill
Bagwell, Harvey McBurnette, Quinton
"Red" Watson, Clay Gault, Jim
Barbee, Ruffin Johnson, and Track
Knives all offer excellent sportsmens
blades for comfortably under $50 and
in some cases you'll receive a fair
amount of change too. Fine knife-
makers like Jim Nolen or Dwight
Towell, both fairly new, offer splendid
knives at the half-a-hundred mark and
their work is outstanding. In my
opinion all these makers are under-
priced for the quality offered.
If you want something special, how-
ever, you don't have to look further
than Ron Wilson's engraved toma-
hawks or Don Zaccagnino's speciality
series of push daggers, custom Bowies
or Italian Stiletto's.
Bob Loveless, when asked about
new makers and future trends, summed
up the show this way. "We're all im-
pressed with the quality of the new
men coming into the Guild. These men
are good, as new makers they are ex-
tremely good. I've examined their
knives and they all deliver good finish,
The knives by Billy Mace Imel with acid etching by Shaw Leibowitz. Various tones are
reached by using gold, silver and copper.
VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973
fine fit, clean assembly, first-rate
shaping, excellent bevel control and
smooth handles." Bob went on, "The
fact we've established the Guild has
made it possible for new men to know
what they have to come up with in
quality." Asked about the future of
knifemaking Bob replied, "I think
these new makers are indicative of the
enthusiasm for knives. Their arrival
on the scene is also a boost for col-
lectors. The knife business won't re-
main static and it won't taper off. In
the years to come we're going to see
great richness in knifemaking." The
most important point Loveless had to
make was the fact the handmade knife
is now a staple commodity, "It is a
minimum item for many collectors and
outdoorsmen to have."
The show proved one fact: the new
men coming into knifemaking will
stimulate collectors and sportsmen
alike. If knifemakers will keep one fact
in mind: go as high as you want in
price, but still make modestly priced
knives because, as Bob Loveless said,
(Continued on next page)
A matched set of
MINIATURES
with German Silver Mounts
and Ivory hilts
(Actual Size)
Prices start at $1 25.00
Write for information on these
plus a complete line of fine hand-
made knives from Skinners to
Bowies.
JERRY McALPlNE
Custom Knives
P.O. Box 7 AB
Bullard, Texas 75757
I 1
"If some of us don't make a $50 knife
for the $50 buyer we'll become known
as makers of rich men's toys." While
collecting will boom, many makers
were filling orders for hunters and
fishermen. In spite of the ornate decor
on many fine knives, there is little
doubt in my mind the true sportsman
has not been forgotten.
Guild members at the show
Rod Chappel
Davis Custom Knives
North 1405 Ash
Spokane, Wash. 99201
Blackie Collins
894 King's Court
Atlanta, Ga. 30306
Harold Corby
Rt. 3, Bradonwood Dr.
Johnson City, Tenn. 3760 1
Dan Dennehy
Dan-D Knives
Box 4479
Yuma, Arz. 85364 The top two knives, by Bob Ogg and Frank Cenrofanro with water color painting by
Leonard Leibowitz.

Four of the finest craftsmen discuss knives. Left to right: Dan Dennehy, George Herron, Bob Loveless and Bill Bagwell.

36 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 Ted Dowel1 Ron Wilson Gerry Jean
139 St. Helens P1. P. 0. Box 2012 633-D Center St.
Bend, Ore. 97701 Weirton, W. Va. 26062 Manchester, Conn. 06040
Gene Dumatrait Don Zaccagnino Ruffin Johnson
Rt. 1, Box 42 P. 0. Box Zack 742 Edgebrook Dr.
Orange, Tex. 77630 Pahokee, Fla. 33476 Houston, Tex. 77034
Heinrich Frank Probationary members John LeBlanc
1 Mountain Meadows P. 0 . Box 81
Bill Bagwell
Whitefish, Mont. 59937 Sulphur, La. 70663
Box 869
Lloyd Hale Vivian, La. 71082 Jim Nolen
609 Henrietta St. James Barbee 302 Meldo Park Dr.
Springdale, Ark. 72764 P. 0. Box 1702 Corpus Christi, Tex. 7841 1
George Herron Fort Stockton, Tex. 79735 H. J. Schneider
920 Murrah Ave. Lou Booth 24296 Via Aquara
Aiken, S.C. 29801 16 Cypress Terr. Laguna Niguel, Calif. 92677
Jess Horn Boonton, N. J . 07005
Jim Small, Jr.
Box 1274 Dave Cosby 474 Foster St.
Redding, Calif. 9600 1 1016 Cliff Dr., Apt. 111 Madison, Ga. 30650
Santa Barbara, Calif.
Chubby Hueske Dwight Towel1
4808 Tamarisk Clay Gault Midvale, Id. 83645
Bellaire, Tex. 77401 1626 Palma Plaza
Austin, Tex. 78703 Buster Warenski
Jon Kirk P. 0. Box 214
Dean Holder
800 N. Olive St. Richfield. Utah 84701
6808 N. 30th Dr.
Fayetteville, Ark. 72701
Phoenix, Ariz. 85017
Jimmy Lile Billy Mace Imel
Rt. 1 945 Jamison Court
Russelville, Ark. 72801 New Castle, Ind. 47362
Bob Loveless
P. 0. Box 837
Lawndale, Calif. 90260
Wm. Moran
Rt. 5
Frederick, Md. 21701
Morseth Knives
1705 Highway 71 N.
Springdale, Ark. 72764
Corbet Sigman
Star Route 1, Box 3
Red House, W. Va. 25168
John T. Smith
6048 Cedar Crest Dr.
Southaven, Miss. 38671
Bernard Sparks
P. 0 . Box 32
Dingle, Idaho 83233
George Stone
703 Floyd Rd. A fine pride of knives showing the superior quality available at the show. Lefr row, Chubby
Richardson, Tex. 75080 Hueske, Clay Gault, a Dan Dennehy skinner with ivory slabs and decorative pins, small
"Red" Watson skinner, a Ted DoweN lightweight knife. John Smiths utility and Jim Nolen's
Quinton "Red" Watson gut-hook skinner.
6 12 East Olive Right row: H. J. Schneider take-off on the Green River knife. Jim Small's model with
micarta handle, Rod Chappel's sweeping lines with ivory, small knife by Lou Booth and
Upland, Calif. Gerry Jean's utility with cross-cut Zebra wood handle.

VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973 37

 S ~ otrand Profit In
Pocket Knife Collecting
by Edward Y. Breese
My great-great grandfather a couple
of hundred times removed never went
out without a piece of flint carefully
chipped to a sharp edge and a point.
Grandfather (once removed) carried a
stag handled, three bladed, folding
pocket knife. S o d o I.
The lure of the sharp-edged, easily
carried tool we call the jacknife,
whittler, folding hunter, pen or pocket
knife has come right down the ages
without a break. The Romans had a
folding pocket knife. The soldier at
Valley Forge carried one of a distinctive
pattern to cut patches for his gun.
There are fishing knives, gardener's
pruning knives, sailor's knives complete
with small steel marlin spike, electri-
cian's knives and the ubiquitous Barlow
(which is not a brand name but a
generic title for a type of boy's knife).
There are a hundred types and several
hundred makers from a score of coun-
tries - and there lies the lure to attract
the collector and wed him to his hobby
for a lifetime of sport and profit.
As a result knife collecting has be-
come extremely popular in the past few
years. As well as the men and boys who
have always been the backbone of the
collecting fraternity there is now a
regular class of dealers and collectors.
Knives are found in antique shows and
shops - displayed for sale at gun and
sporting shows - and in many stores
specializing in second hand a n d
"collectible" goods.
Last year the National Knife Collec-
tors and Dealers Association was
founded in Del Rio, Tenn., with mem-
bers from all over the country hurrying
to sign up.
All this activity has increased the
value of old and rare knives so that they
now represent a fine investment for the
collector. A few of the most sought
after pocket knives of American manu-
facture (most of which sold originally
for from 7% to $3.50) are now priced
in the collector's price books at as much
as five hundred dollars, if in mint
(perfect) conditions. Even those with
38
Edward Y. Breese is not only a
pocket knife enthusiast of the
first order but is also a widely
accredited writer. His profes-
sional background includes serv-
ice as a news and wire service
reporter and contract writer in
New York City. He attended
Princeton and Harvard univer-
sities and served in professorship
at Georgia Tech and the Univer-
sity of Georgia in Atlanta. Ed
has been a very prolific writer
with a repertoire of subject mat-
ter which places his work in de-
mand from a considerably varied
magazine market. As a charter
member of the National Knife
Collectors and Dealers Associa-
tion, Ed is constantly upgrading
his knowledge of all phases of
pocket knife collecting. His
serious interest and aqtivity in
this field is attested by a per-
sonal collection of over 500
pocket knives. We feel very priv-
ileged to have Ed with us as a
regular contributor and his
knowledge of the subject com-
bined with proven writing ability
will be a welcome compliment
to your magazine.
cracks or chips in the scales of the
handles or with the blades worn and
sharpened down fetch a good price.
These are the exceptions of course -
but there are plenty of others to be
found which will bring ten to fifty
dollars from a real knife buff. That's
not a price to be sneezed at either,
even in these days of inflation.
Not only that - but with more and
more collectors coming into the field
each year the market shows every sign
of staying firm, and with prices going
up steadily in the future.
Only a limited number of each model
knife were manufactured in the first
place. Many of the cutlery firms which
made them have gone out of business,
and thousands upon thousands of the
knives were lost or broken or just worn
out by daily use.
Despite all this there are enough
still around so that anyone with some
time, a lot of interest, and a moderate
amount of cash can still build up a fine
collection.
One of the most fascinating things
for today's serious knife collector is
that he's still in at the start of this
modern gold rush, with many of the
big strikes still to be made. A compar-
atively few earnest buffs have bothered
to really inform themselves about
which are the really rare and valuable
knives. Most people - even the antique
and collectible dealers - just don't
know what they have. They're begin-
ning to over-price the junkers and run-
of-the-mill stuff - but they're also
underpricing a lot of really fine items.
I got a revolutionary soldier's "patch
knife" with its distinctive bog-iron tri-
angular blade and hand whittled wood-
en handle for only seven dollars at a
major show. Better than that I have a
stag handled Remington whittler
worth $35 which I picked up for $2 and
a fine three bladed early Case XX I
picked up for 50c at a local garage sale.
That's the beauty of it. There are
still a lot of knives around. You can
buy them at a fraction of resale col-
lector price - and hold them as an
investment that will steadily increase
in value.
The man (or boy for that matter)
who becomes interested in building up
a knife collection won't find the ones he
THE AMERICAN BLADE
wants carried on the counters of the
big department stores - but he will
find them pretty near everywhere else.
If he has a few dollars to invest, he
can try the antique and collectibles
dealers. Frequently these people will
acquire knives as incidentals when they
buy up an estate or houseful of furniture
or a box of miscellaneous odds and ends
at a storage warehouse auction of
unclaimed or unpaid goods.
Usually this sort of dealer doesn't
know much about knives. He specializes
in china, glass, furniture, brass or
something of the sort. The knives
accumulate in a cigar box or cabinet
drawer. The lucky collector willing to
bid a few dollars for the lot can fre-
quently strike it rich.
"Swap Shops" that concentrate on
tools, small appliances and used house-
hold goods frequently have knives.
These will be valued as pocket knives,
but can often be bought for a dollar or
two a piece even at that. If the jacknife
is by New York Knife, or is a rare
"advertiser" (a knife bearing the name
of a company or product and frequently
given away by salesmen as a premium)
it can be a good buy.
Then there are garage sales. They're
going on all over the country these days,
and I've bought some of my best knives
right there. They belonged to granddad
or Uncle Jack and the housewife run-
ning the sale doesn't really have any
use for them. Besides the treasured
pocket companions of another day
"look old", and that makes them
unwanted surplus in a "modern"
household. It also makes them prime
targets for the collector too.
One caution though. . . Many garage
sale entrepreneurs just don't think to
put out the knives for sale. I make it a
point to ask. Take out a pocket knife
and show it to Mrs. Seller. "Have you
any old jacknives in the house you don't
want to keep?" You'll be amazed at
what some of them bring out. Frequent-
ly you can pay as little as 25c or 500
apiece for these.
As I said - this can be a poor man's
hobby. At least it can till the craving
for a mint Case Bulldog strikes.
Flea markets are a splendid source
for the collector. There are dealers here
who specialize in knives, and you have
to watch the prices and bargain
VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973
shrewdly here. There are also a lot of To be really valuable the knife should
knives offered as incidentals by private be complete - no broken or missing
parties. blades; no bad cracks or chips in the
For the dedicated collector there are handle; springs still strong and "crisp".
knife shows, gun shows, mail order There can be normal wear from sharp-
dealers who advertise in the antique ening, but excessive wear or rust dam-
magazines and similar formal markets. age are bad.
The beginner will d o well to stay away A beginner can buy damaged knives
from these till he knows his way around for interest, to fatten his collection, or
however. just because that particular knife
There are books listing knife brands appeals to him. He can trade or hoard
and prices that can be bought and these. Eventually he may choose to
studied. Other collectors in your town specialize in one brand or type of knife.
are usually glad to show their prizes. Pocket knives in mint or near mint
The best way to learn about knives condition are a real investment. Their
is to see and handle them. Lots of them. price on the collector's market in
As many as you can. recent years has been going up from ten
The beginner should look for OLD to thiriy percent a year - and that's
knives - those that show signs of slight not hay - but whether or not you plan
wear or old fashioned styling. Handles to make money on your collection,
of genuine stag horn or of the imitation you'll find it a fascinating, inexpensive
known as bonestag are particularly and rewarding hobby.
sought after. However imitations in
hard rubber, wood and plastics were
also made in early days.
The primary sign is the fine old steel
used by American cutlers in these
knives. It can't be described. You have HANDMADE KNIVES
to actually see and handle a lot of In stock, STONE, MORAN,
knives, both old and new. Then you get DOWELL, CRONK, LeBLANC,
to recognize the difference. LOVELESS, HERRON, RAN-
Look for the large knives - those DALL, RAUNA. Send 50G for
with three or more blades and an list to:
overall length (closed) of three and a
NICK'S KNIFE SHOP
half inches or more. The old stag
208 S. Penn Ave.
handled knives of four and five inches
Wellston, Ohio 45692
length are real prizes.
I JOHN N. COOPER introduce- bI
SISKIYOU
PAPOOSE
T h ~ sIS the off spring of one of our
best sellers the "SISKIYOU" b u ~ l t
to a 314 scale. Overall length IS '
a
.." *
8". Blade 4". W ~ d t hof the
blade 1 1/8", 3/16 Stock,
FORYOU
We~ght6 ounces
Sheath IS included.
I
?,: -------------------------------.
Cooper knives a
I
P 0 BOX 1423. DEPT AB !
; BURBANK. CALIFORNIA 91 507 ;I
- -
:,,_____,,----,,,,------------
- -
I C A L I F O R N I A RESlDENTS A D D SALES T A X
'I
The Knife Collectors Club, Inc. of
Springdale, Arkansas is offering a new
folding knife for its members and for
sale to the general public. This new
knife is identified as COMMEMORA-
TIVE 2, T H E G R A N D D A D D Y
BARLOW and is available to
members at the special member price
of $20.00 each and to non-members at
This new model from CAROLINA
KNIFE EXCHANGE is an almost
exact duplicate of the famous Reming-
ton Model R1306 and comes in two
sizes. One knife is the original standard
size and the other is a smaller version
for those who like a less bulky knife
for carrying. The blades of these knives
are made from a modified 440-C steel
40
$25.00 each. This is a fine folding
hunter with a 4" blade of extra thick
(. 149) corrosion resistant, high carbon
steel at 57-59 Rockwell C. The bolsters
and the Barlow knife inlay are of 18%
nickel silver. Handle covers are delrin
bone stag. Serial numbers under 1,000
are $35.00 each. (Only members may
reserve specific serial numbers.) To
and are good and hard to make them
excellent hunting knives. These knives
are offered with a choice of three han-
dle materials (original genuine stag,
micarta, and cocobolo) and the bullet
emblems on the handles are made of
sterling silver. The liners and bolsters
are stainless steel. This is surely one of
the finest locking blade designs on the
become a member send $25.00 for the
first knife and $4.50 for membership.
If you're not interested in membership,
just send $25.00 and a knife will be
shipped postpaid.
The Knife Collectors Club, Inc.
1705 Hiway 71 North
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
market and should be a terrific col-
lectors' item. Production is underway
and first delivery should be in about
four months. This limited edition is
serial numbered. For information
write to: CAROLINA KNIFE EX-
CHANGE, P.O. Box 12121, Rock Hill,
South Carolina 29730.
THE AMERICAN BLADE
 Win This Beautiful
Michael eollins Knife

r
The S1Izrr 4 4 0 4 blade is hand finished to a fine
V mirror polish and the German silver guard is
A hand engraved in a delicate oak leaf pattern by
Ronnie White. Nothing to fill out-Nothing to
send in-Just be a subscriber to The American
r Blade and you are automatically eligible for our
drawing for a fine new knife each issue. If you
are not a subscriber now, you still have a
chance to have your name ehtered in the . ,..- I%
>1
drawing for this issue if you subscribe I

r before November 15th.

J$?,
,,,l
v ',-, ,
Y.
#,

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9; i
I

;ipl+ ',, ' I '

The winner of the Ted Dowell Knife was:
Ralph P. Andrew -1601 Matter Park Road. Marion, Ind. 6'':,
t b '

bp5~'."
-
)
#

VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER. 1973

 PRODUCT EVALUATION
Knife.. .Morseth No. 3 Harry's
Hunter. . .43/4" blade Cocobolo han-
dle laminated blade.
Manufacturer.. .Morseth Knives
-
1705 Hiway 71 North Springdale,
Arkansas 72764
Manufacturer's suggested retail
price $38.00
Our first reaction to this as a hunter's
knife was not good. The overall design
looked good but it was hard to get
used to a knife of this type and in-
42
tended purpose not having some type
of guard. A little experimentation soon
belayed any doubts as to whether or
not this specific design could be a
useful and safe knife for hunting and
general purpose use.
The handle shape of this knife has a
distinct profile with a raised area or
bulge around its middle which makes
it extremely comfortable to use as well
as it provides the grip necessary to
keep the hand from sliding forward on
the knife during use. Still wondering
about the lack of a guard while per-
forming some field dressing operation
which might make the hands slippery;
we gave a liberal coating of Vaseline
to the surface to see how this would
effect the grip. It didn't. Quite to our
surprise the knife still felt secure and
steady even while doing some heavy
cutting on an oak stick. We definitely
wouldn't recommend this design for
stabbing or similar work but under
most of the circumstances encountered
while hunting o r around camp it
should perform well.
The fit and finish of this knife is
excellent. Considerable attention has
been paid to the careful fitting of com-
THE AMERICAN BLADE

ponents before assembly. The fit of
the blade through the nickel silver
bolster is about perfect and you won't
find better work on many knives cost-
ing three times as much. No excess
solder is visible and there are no
bubbles or holes in the finish. The
handle shows evidence of proper sand-
ing before buffing as there are no
scratches or drag marks in the wood
and the surface of the wood to spacer
to metal fitting is as smooth as silk.
The grind lines of the blade are very
good and come together at all the right
places. The blade of our knife was
evidently ground from 3/ 16" stock and
while thin enough to be good for slicing
meat and similar cutting chores it is
certainly stout enough to do a lot of
heavy work. The claims of the maker
for the laminated blade construction
are worth mentioning here. The blade
is actually composed of a layer of hard
(Rockwell 63-64C) steel sandwiched
between two layers of soft, ductile
,
iron. This is supposed to provide all
of the advantages of a hard blade
without the disadvantages. In the BUCKER
limited amount of actual cutting we
did with this knife there was no evi-
dence of the cutting edge being brittle
GASCON
and it did stay very sharp. While we Handmade Knives
did not try bend or otherwise stress "If you are a cut
the blade to test the claims against above average"
breakage, we feel that the theory is
sound and should prove out in practice. Excellent Workmanship in the
The blade is slightly hollow ground. materials of your choice.
The construction of the hilt is about
as good as you'll find as far as strength
is concerned. The tang is threaded and
a large brass nut is screwed onto the
end and into a countersunk hole which
is considerably wider than the hole
drilled for the tang. This countersunk
nut is ground off flush with the end of
the handle and provides a pleasant
looking as well as extremely practical
feature.
(Continued on next page) $55.00 Ivory Micarta
Send $1.00 for Catalog
P. 0.Box 398
Brusly, La. 70719

MILITARY KNIFE
COLLECTORS
A BRAND NEW BOOK ON
U.S. MILITARY KNIVES

BOOK TWO
A COLLECTION OF
Careful fitting of blade through bolster with excellent solder job really makes a difference
in the appearance of a knife. U. S.
MILITARY KNIVES
A new hard cover book size
8Ih" x 11" with 92 pages. Over
200 knives, 60 scabbards cov-
ering the complete field.
Especially for
The Collector

M. H. COLE
501 Ridge Road AB
Birmingham, Ala. 35206
I still have copies of my first soft
bound book on U.S. bayonets and
Countersunk brass nut is ground flush with end of hilt after being threaded down tight on knives - $5.00 per copy.
end o f tang. This is a pleasant looking as well as extremely efficient method for securing the
handle to the blade and can't be beat for pure strength.
Price $10.00
P.P.
VOL. 1 , NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973
 The Morseth sheath has always
been good and the sheath of our test
knife is no exception. This particular
knife comes with a standard pouch
type sheath which is simply con-
structed from a good quality leather of
about 9 oz. weight. This type sheath is
very practical for the hunter and will
usually last about as long as the knife
if it is kept lightly oiled to prevent
rotting. It is almost impossible to
damage this type sheath with the knife
unless you really have a bad case of
1 I
HANDMADE KNIVES
473 Durham Ave.
Jack knife with 1
Eugene, Oregon 97402
Four basic blade shapes to choose
from: 3%" blade, models-$45,
4 blade models-$50. Lined thong
hole, Stag or Micarta grips stand-
ard. For two blades, add $20 for

A
butterfingers. It is also a one-hand the second blade. 440c or 154 cm
sheath in that it is not necessary to use Pocket Skinner
blade, add $10. 2%" blade
both hands to remove or insert the
Pocket Skinner with $35
knife. This can be a very useful fea-
ture under certain circumstances.
We feel that this knife deserves
serious consideration by the hunting
sportsman. It is not only a fine hunting
type knife but would also double as an
excellent camp knife and be useful for
a multitude of chores not directly re-
lated to skinning or field dressing
game. The little lady would probably
just love to have one in the kitchen.

P- SMITH &

i'
b

12 to 49 unlts

Order from: -
CAROLINA KNIFE EXCHANGE
P O BOX 12121
Rock HIII, South Carolma 29730

Simple but effective sheath is more than
adequate for a hunting knife of this type.
This particular sheath sryle is very con-
venient for the active outdoorsman.
Only 2,000 of these will be made so if you really want one get your order
in now. Delivery before December 15th.
Ready for you to assemble and finish for yourself. A forged blade,
broached pakawood handle, and semi-finished guard and pommel come
ready to complete with a few simple hand tools.

THE A M E R I C A N BLADE
 The Supreme ~xam~le?
of the Cutler's Art 4

VOL. 1, NO. 3-SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1973

 i
WAMQBABE

"Swamper"
Hunting
Model c

Editors -
I've been waiting for this first issue under the most primitive conditions
since I learned of the new magazine and I wonder how many of today2
and sent in my check on January 20th. knifemakers would be in business if
Believe it was well worth waiting for. they couldn't plug in their equipment.
This being your first issue, you will I have been a knifemaker myself for
probably be interested in reader re- several years and I don't intend to take 5%'' Blade, Bone
actions. any credit from the true craftsmen Micarta Handle
You have a well balanced magazine. who build knives in the contemporary with Formica
There was something for every taste manner, however, there is a tremen- Spacer Laminations
in knives. Personally, I'm not inter- dous amount of benefit to be gained
ested in old relic knives, stories about from studying the work and methods NOW A FULL TIME
KNIFEMAKER
the old masters, or performance tests. of the old masters.
The article I've read and reread the CAJUN HANDMADE KNIVES
last two days is the one you wrote Editors - P.O. Box 149
about Rod Chappel. While the first I think that you will have to improve Llberty, Mississippi 39645
three articles will appeal to many, if if you want to stay in business. I sub-
not most, of your readership, I'm scribed for one year and if you don't
mainly interested in the "how to" type. make improvement that will be it.
At age 34, I have probably wasted I thought you would have ads for
more steel than the people who de- buying and selling old knives instead
signed the Edsel. I am certainly the of pictures of them. You could also
worst knifemaker in Georgia, if not in make it bigger.
the whole southeast. There are hun- Who won the knife that you was
dreds of books on how to make every- advertising for subscriptions? It took
thing but knives. One can't do much you almost three months after you
about a lack of talent but I hope to cashed my check before I received my
gain some knowledge from your magazine. Well good luck.
magazine. Jack Ferris
Richard G . Eley 3725 South Olive
43 1 King Arnold Street West Palm Beach, Florida
Hapeville, Georgia 30354 We couldn't agree with you more
We certainly hope to repay your that we will have to improve our maga-
kind remarks and genuine interest by' zine. This is a standard requisite for
being a source of useful information staying in business and we intend to
to the thousands of hobbyist knife- stay in business. One good way for us
makers throughout the country. Be- to make this a better magazine is to
ginning with this issue we will go into hear intelligent comments from readers
a series on knifemaking that should be with useful recommendations for
of interest to you and anyone who is improvement.
seriously interested in knives. You We would also like to have more
mention a lack of interest in the older ads for buying and selling old knives
knives and the men who made them. but we are not in the knife business
One fact which you can appreciate is and must depend on those who are, to
that these knives were usually made submit advertising. We guarantee you

46 THE AMERICAN BLADE

that we will run every ad we get. Why
don't you send some in?
Mr. T. L. Cox of League City, Texas
won the Dozier knife. Maybe you'll
be our next winner.
Editors -
Congratulations! A great hobby
magazine with a beautiful format.
Now, how about a classified section
for traders and exchange of informa-
tion. Would like to see more on pocket
knives.
Gerry McDaniel
Corinth, Mississippi
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
We start a regular column on pocket
knives in this issue and we hope to
gradually increase our coverage of this
particular phase of knife interest. We
too are very interested in having a
classified section but we have had no
response from our advertisers. Out of
all of the advertising we have received,
we have had only two requests for
classified ads. As soon as we have
enough material we will have a regular
classified section and, believe me, we
look forward to it as much as you do.
of our readers will. If anyone can give
Mr. Hunter the information he needs,
how about dropping us a line. We
would like to know too.
Your request for shoulder patches
has been one of many and we are
presently engaged in having some
made for those readers who are inter-
ested. Watch for complete details in
the next issue.
Editors -
I have read your magazines cover to
cover and I am impressed with the
amount of information you have put
together about my favorite subject. I
have always bought every magazine
or book I could find about knives and I
wonder if you might suggest any other
reading material with information on
this subject. I have bought all of the
books advertised in your magazine.
Sonny Bowen
1945 Winterville Road
Athens, Ga. 30601
We are glad that you like the Blade.
We hope to add more and more useful
information to our format with each
new issue. An excellent book that you
should consider obtaining is the one
coming out soon by Sid Latham and
published by Winchester Press. I had
the privilege of examining this book at
the Kansas City show and I was quite
impressed. The text was extremely
well prepared and the photography
was excellent. It is a rather lengthy
piece of work and should provide
hours of reading entertainment to
anyone who is interested in knives.
After Bates and Schippers came
out with The Custom Knife, it
seems that several others have
jumped on the band wagon with a
couple of hastily prepared books on
knives which are in reality nothing
more than a rehash of previously pub-
lished articles. This is not the case
with Sid Latham's book which is quite
thorough in every respect with some
interesting new thoughts and material.
SidS new book is entitled Knives and
Knifemakers and is available from
the publisher and other sources.

Editors -
You have a great magazine. I really BOWlE KNIFE
liked the article about Rod Chappel.
I think his knives are tops even if I
don't have one yet. I think the entire
magazine is just great.

-
Could you find out who made a knife
called the "Georgia Thumper"? It
was a bowie with a knuckle guard on
W C WILBER
it. I had the catalog about six years ago. HANDCRAFTED KNIVES
P.S. I wish you could make up some Specializing in Building to your Design
shoulder patches with the eagle on
them. -
James A. Hunter
7576 Hudson Street
Warren, Michigan 48091
F~sherrnan $50 0 0 ($80 00 w ~ t hIvory h ~ l as
t ~llustrated)
Thanks for the compliments. We
don't know who made the knife in
question but we'll bet that one or more I-
Boot Kn~fe $55 0 0
W h e n cutting c o u n t s . .
count o n -
' I%*"

COVCIIMAN'S Send Drawing or other illustration for Price and Delivery Information
CUSTOM KNIVES W. C. WILBER - 400 Lucerne Dr.
Spartanburg, South Carol~na 29302
Star Route
La Mesa, N. M. 88044 Telephone 803-582-2627
Hunting season is almost upon us and those of us who like hunting can probably bring to mind many hunting
incidents in which knives played some fairly important part. Chuck Andrews of Sumter, South Carolina was
telling me a while back about killing a couple of wild hogs with a knife he had just made. Seems as how he was
real pleased with the performance of this knife and as usual he is willing to recommend them to anybody. We
are too. I'm trying to get Chuck to give us enough information about this hunt for an article and if he does it will
be worth waiting for.

Many of us who love knives do not hunt but we can appreciate the sportsmanship which is typical of so many of
our hunting friends. We can also deplore and speak out against the practices of those who shouldn't be allowed
in our fields and forests. The fact that a man or a woman can afford a shotgun and some shells doesn't give them
the right to go out and destroy our natural resources and give a bad name to the sport of hunting in general. If it
were not for the thoughtful and intelligent members of the hunting society there probably wouldn't be any
game left in this country outside of a zoo. Try and tell that to some well-intentioned but ill-informed bird
watcher who has just seen where some fool patterned his shotgun on a road sign. More and more no hunting and
no trespassing signs are going up every season and you can't really blame the farmers and landowners. If we
want to be able to keep using those hunting knives that we love so much we had all better do anything we can to
help educate those who would destroy our sport.

A beautiful hunting knife , ~ o k great

s hanging on the wall in the den, but it sure is a pleasure to see if what the
maker said was true. How well suited is it for skinning out a deer? How long will it hold a good edge? All of
these things may well have become part of the good old days before we know it. Let's all try and do something
about it now.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

Two fine examples of Bowies with the mythical half horse-half alligator motif o n the
pommel. The top knife has a 8-3/4 inch clip blade and is by G. Woodhead Sheffield. Blade
i s heavily etched and the scales are of pearl. The name "Power" is engraved onto the ex-
cutcheon. With sheath. $3,000.00

The bottom knife is #I04 in Classic Bowie Knives by Abels. The knife is by WOODHEAD &
HARTLEY and has a 9 inch clip blade. Scales are of Pearl and Pommel and guard are of
German silver. Complete with original sheath which has had the German silver tip re-
placed. A fine knife. Priced: $2,750.00

MAKER: JAMES RODGERS SHEFFIELD; MARKS: JAMES RODGERS & CO. CELE-
BRATED MAKE SHEFFIELD is stamped o n the Ricasso. CAST STEEL BOWlE KNIFE i s
stamped o n the 9 inch semi-clip blade. Hilt i s of Ivory with two shield shaped German
silver escutcheons. Guard, ferrule and Horse-Head Pommel are of German silver.
Original sheath with German silver throat and tip. This knife i s #92 in Classic Bowie
Knives by Abels and was used in several magazine articles for illustration purposes.
Price o n request.
Over 100 Bowie knives in stock at all times for sale from $35.00 t o $3,500.00. Write your
specific field of interest and please include a S.A.S.E.
STEVE M I L L E R
P.O. Box 498
Bennington, Vermont 05201
 -- - --
r-,~- --- 7 -
JUT-~
THE WEIGHTED IMPACT MEMBER HAS IMPROVED THE MECHANICAL FUNCTION OF KNIVES!
-v
AN- JXV--

1 THE MOST EFFICIENT UTILITY KNIFE IN THE WORLD!

I
CHOPPING .. ... .........THRUSTING .............SKINNING.. ...........HAMMERING. .
* -;..r
,*a- y
i r x->,
"..,
' 7,

** :ii%** Skinner Bowie Stilletto

Magnum V VI VII
&GI 3-
-1

i .
$31.95 $34.95 $32.95
I %-*. i
\
. :9 $a ix'h /
\
, 3:
.-
--
II
.- The knlfe that set the first WORLD
RECORD and wlll be used to set the
! l*
next WORLD RECORD.

I j I
f
. 1
QUALITY

$31.95
FOR
-
$34.95
Patented In U.S. and 15 Foreign Patenta Pendlng.
Purchase At Your Local Dealer or Order From
UNIQUE INVENTIONS, INC., 4057 Hollister, ~oust'on,Tex. 77055.
The -.-agazine For Cutlery Enthusiasts
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973 VOL. 1, NO. 4
 #
I

.,.- , ' : ?if>".,

I .
B-' ,%,
A -,?, {'
' < * ! 16 1, ,
,,U"?&. '
'
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We hive had hundreds of requests for a binder which would conveniently hold and protect
The American Blade. This beautiful red leatherette binder for Volume One should ~ r o v i d e
lasting enjoyment for readers of The American Blade as it will keep the first 6 iisues in
perfect shape for many years to come. The design of the Volume One binder facilitates
easy insertion and removal of any issue and is especially good for reference work. If you
need t o look up a past article in The American Blade you can refer to the handy index
inside the back cover of the binder which will help you to quickly find any subject covered
in the last six issues. Also, The American Blade magazine is a collectors' item which should
be kept in excellent condition to protect its value.

. ..
"1, ;. .
5 , r,
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$ 8
PL.
'( '*, -, 2 : , *> '3,:
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i,;'
y i To order, please send $4.50 for each binder to The American Blade magazine. If you wish
to renew your subscription at this time you may deduct $1.00 from the cost of the binder
and subscription combination, and you'll be sure not to miss any issues when your present ',
subscription runs out. You may use the postage paid envelope included with this issu s
to order.
The Cover
Two ways of doing it and both of them
are mighty hot. A . considerable
amount of debate goes on about the
various methods of making a fine
knife. Forging is the oldest means of
shaping a blade, but now, almost all
makers use the stock removal or grind- - -- --

ing process. Each method has its good THE MAGAZINE FOR CUTLERY ENTHUSIASTS
points and proponents of one process
over the other can really work them- NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973 SOUTHERN HOUSE PUBLICATION VOL. 1, NO. 4
selves into a lather trying to convince
the other side that they're all wet. The
fact of the matter is that excellent
knives are made by each method and IN THIS ISSUE
while one may have the advantage
over the other in certain areas, it all
boils down to a matter of who likes
what. There is some good forging and 2 THE AMERICAN
some that's real bad, just as there is
some beautiful grinding and some
BOWIE KNIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Miller
that's awful sloppy. If you're interested 11 JOHN NELSON COOPER . . . Don Murphy
in fine cutlery, learn as much as you
can about it and you'll be able to 20 MAKING THE BLADE-HOW TO
make the right decision when it comes MAKE KNIVES. . . . . . . . . . Blackie Collins
to selecting a knife.
30 KNIFE SHARPENING . . . . . . . . Sid Latham
38 APPLICATION O F EDGED
WEAPONS TO MODERN
PUBLISHED BY SOUTHERN HOUSE WARFARE.. . . Maj. Thomas M. Johnson
PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Walter Collins Editor and Publisher
44 JUDGING POCKET KNIFE
Patricia A. Terry Managing Editor QUALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . Edward Y. Breese
BOARD OF EDITORS
Col. James Pinckney Caston Dallas, Texas
William F. Moran Frederick, Maryland
D. E . Henry Mountain Ranch, California
RESEARCH EDITORS REGULAR FEATURES
Steve Miller Bennington, Vermont
Michael Reese New Orleans, Louisiana
David Berry Spartanburg, South Carolina
Joe Dennard Dalton, Georgia 46 THRUSTS AND PARRIES
Col. Robert Mayes Middlesboro, Kentucky LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Edward Y . Breese Coral Gables, Florida
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS EDITOR 52 EDITOR'S PAGE
Sid Latham New York, New York
DIRECTOR OF GRAPHICS
Ann Baker
STAFF ARTISTS Copyright0 1973'by Southern House Publication, Inc.
Joan Bax THE AMERICAN BLADE is published bi-monthly by Southern House Publications, Inc. at 120
Roger Aiple Alden Ave., N.W., Suite E-I, Atlanta, Georgia 30309. Application to mail at Second-class postage
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS rates is pending at Atlanta, Georgia, and at additional mailing offices. Advertising rates furnished
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VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973

 Jmerican
b9 owie
by Steve Miller

Probably the finest American Bowie knife in existence! Blade is 7% inches in

length and of heavy '/r inch steel. Sheath is of coin silver and has American
Eagle in raised relief: Hilt is of burl walnut and rang is wrapped with coin
silver as is the ricasso to keep the hilt from getting any rust beneath the scales.
The pins are also of coin silver. Steve Miller Collection.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 Relic of knife by John D. Chevalier found on Pennsylvania battlefield. Note the knife in excellent condition by Chevalier of the identicalpattern.
Steve Miller Collection.

m a ~ e r ~: o n nD. Chevalier, New York City, Circa I850

Marks: .I. D. Chevalier New York stamped on blade. Blade: 9 inch clipped with sharpened false edge. Hilt of ebony or dark rosewood with.fancy
heavy brass pommel and guard. Sheath: None.

To the collector of edged weapons, the
American Bowie knife is the Rolls
Royce. For every American Bowie
knife in the hands of collectors today
there are perhaps 100 Sheffield knives.
It is possible for the collector of Shef-
field knives to specialize in knives by
Wostenholm, Rodgers or Wragg, but
for the collector of American knives,
no such great number exist. While the
Sheffield cutlers were turning o u t
knives by the thousands, a few one
man shops in America specializing in
surgical instruments would turn out
one or two knives on special order.
It was not until late in the 19th
century that some American manu-
facturers began to turn out Bowies in
any great number, and by that time
they were intended primarily as hunt-
ing knives: The Bridgeport Gun & Im-
plement Co. (B.G.I. Co.), Landers,
Frary, & Clark, and John Russel's
famous Green River Works, turned
out many thousands of knives but the
survival rate has been small. For every
Green River Bowie knife the author
has seen three B.G.I. Co. Bowies and
for every B.G.I. Co. knife I have seen
five Landers, Frary, & Clark.
The true American Bowie knives
intended for defense first and utility
(Continued on next page)

Exceptionally ,fine Bowie knife by Peter Rose-New York, Circa 1850. This is the only knife by Rose known with the marking " P Rose. Most are
marked simply Rose New York in two lines. Blade is 9% inches long with sharpened false edge and hilt is of ivory. Steve Miller Collection.

VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973 3

 Early and rare Bowie by Henry Schively of Philadelphia with 10 inch clipped blade with sharpened false edge, checkered ivory hilt and silver
mounted leather sheath. Steve Miller Collection.

second made their first appearance
during the early 1830 period. New
York Cutlers and dealers such as Peter
Rose, John D. Chevalier, William R.
Goulding, Wolfe & Clarke, Graveley
& Wreaks, W. Greaves & Sons and
Tiffany iQc Co. turned out a small
number of knives, usually on special
order. Graveley & Wreaks and W.
Greaves & Sons were primarily im-
porters and most bowies bearing their
name were made in Sheffield.
Other cities had their makers as
well. Early Bowie knives by Schively
of Philadelphia date prior to 1836 and
to my knowledge only four such knives
exist, one in the authors collection,
one in Norm Flayderman's, one in
William R. Williamsons and the other,
a Rezin Bowie Presentation knife is in
the museum of the Mississippi His-
torical Society. Fine Bowie knives
marked either Sheffield Works, Phila-
delphia or #2 are circa 1850 and the

Rare and fine Bowie by Wove & Clarke, New York. Blade is I0 inches long with sharpened false edge and scales are of stag. Norm Flayderman
Collection.

Anotherfine Bowie in the Norm Flayderman Collection. This knife has a I0 inch clip blade, silver guard and coffin hilt of burl walnut. It and the
sheath are marked M A R K S & REES, Cincinnati, Ohio. Circa 1845. Only two knives by this maker are known to the author!

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 Unmarked American Bowie, probably by Peter Rose of New York. Blade is etched I NEVER
FAIL. Steve Miller Collection.

few knives by Clarenbach & Herder of mounted gambler's daggers often

Philadelphia date around 1860. Ohio
had Rudolph Hug in Cincinatti, Marks
& Rees, Cincinatti and the famous
Hicks knife from Cleveland.
The California makers actually de-
serve separate treatment, but the
famous knives by Michael Price and
Will & Finck of San Francisco date
from the 1860 to the 1890 period with
most of them probably being from the
mid 1880 period. They are not true
Bowie knives, but are fancy silver
being hilted in Abalone Pearl o r Wal-
rus Ivory.
Knives by Samuel Bell of Knoxville,
Tennessee are exceptionally rare with
only three such knives known. One in
my collection, one in Frank Greenhall's
and the whereabouts of the other is
unknown t o me at this time.
At this time I should make note that
many hundreds of fake knives, alleg-
edly by Bell and by Tiffany have been
(Continued on next page)
/standard of
Custom Quality
Never has a sportsman's knife come
on the market that so outdistances the
present standard in performance and
style as does WESTMARK
Years of research and testing of mate-
rials are brought together in the mak-
ing of a knife especially for the sports-
man who wants the very best.
Compare these brilliant new knives
with any on the market today-not
only in eye appeal, but in balance,
feel and finish!
Three WESTMARK models to
choose from atleadingsportinggoods
stores everywhere. Complete with
premium steerhide sheath
$29.95 each.
-//

A fancy GamblerS Arkansas Toothpick. Mounts are of engraved coin silver and hilt is of
Walrus Ivory with coin silver pins. Blade is 7% inch and razor sharp. Steve Miller Collection. Blade 51hW
A

,'
Blade 5"

Unmarked Civil War Bowie by Rudolph Hug, Cincinnati, Ohio. Steve Miller Collection.
Maker: Rudolph Hug, Cincinnati, Ohio, Circa 1860.
Marks: None. Blade: I0 inch clipped with unsharpenedflase edge. Hilt and guard are cast o f
one piece heavy brass. This knife is the same as figure 62 "American Knives" by Peterson
G*\ Blade 4SX
"Fine Knives Since 1897"
703

and wrongly identified as being by Bown & Tetley of Pittsburgh. Thos. B. Rentschler, a WESTERN CUTLERY CO. DEPT.A
knowledgable bayonet collector researched this knife (from whom the author acquired it) 5311 Wmtern Ave.. Rnlllrler rnln Rnm?
and his research indicates that Rudolph Hug, a Cincinnati surgical instrument maker who was
in business from I853 until 1882 made several known specimens of this knife. See: Gun
I
Report, April 1965, page 12, figure 10, item #5. Sheath: None.

VOL. 1 , NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973

Top knife by Peter Rose of New York has a 9 inch clip blade and clearly shows the usual Rose mark. Hilr is of ebony and studs are silver. The
bottom knife is a homemade Civil War Bowie carried by a Vermont soldier. Sheath is of copper, covered with leather. Hilt is o f carved horn.
Steve Miller Collection.

Maker: Chevalier. New York, Circa 1850.

Marks: J. D. Chevalier New York stamped on blade. 8% inch semi-clipped blade with sharpened,false edge. Fancy brass guard andpommel with
inlaid pearl and stag panels. Original brass sheath. 7% is probably the fanciesr Chevalier knzfe known.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 HAND
a HOMOMADE
Custom Knives
From $35
b

- - Caper w/walnut handles $45

The only known Bowie by W . R. Goulding, New York. The Hayes Foundation owns a Pipe as shown w/ivory micarta $52
Tomahawk by Goulding. Steve Miller Collection.
Maker: Goulding, New York, Circa 1838.
Marks: W. R. Goulding New York stamped on the Ricasso. 8% inch semi-clip blade, brass
guard and ferrule, checkered ebony hilt. With original velvet covered sheath with brass throat
and tip. In Longworth's New York Directory of 1837-8 William R. Goulding is listed as a
maker of surgical instruments at 166 Rivington St. In the 1841 issue of the same reference he
is listed as William R. Goulding & Co. with shop at 33% Chatham and residence at 166 Riving-
ton. This knqe is a fine and early Bowie in mint condition. General purpose knife
w/walnut handles $70
imported in large numbers. The Tif- knives with the obverse ricasso marked as shown w/staghorn $80
fany knives are usually spear point "The Gambler's Companion" and
with fancy ivory hilts usually marked usually have dominos inletted into the Harvey McBurnette
with the name of a non-existant maker hilt. I recently saw a display case filled Rt 4, Box 337 AB
P~edmont,Ala 36272
and are marked Tiffany & Co. Broad- with pearl handled knives by Michael (205) 492-6344 Catalog 50Q
way, New York in a n oval cartouche. Price for sale in the Shotgun News
The fake Bell knives are cheaply made (Continued on next page)

CUSTOM KNIVES
Rt. 1, Box 122C
Lakeside, Arizona
Zip Code 85929

Brochures 50d -

One of the three only known knrves by Silas Walker of Bennington, Vermont. All are in
authors collection and are on view at the Bennington Museum. Blade is 9 inches and has
Wanted:
sharpened false edge.
US. Military Knives
Revolutionary War to
Present Date
Single items or complete
Collections

rr-- -_
I am always interested in purchas-
ing all kinds of U.S. military
knives, U.S. bayonets, foreign
military fighting and trench
Early American Coffin Hilted Bowie. Unmarked and with 6 inch blade. Hilt is of rosewood. knives, and knuckle knives.
Ricasso I S silver wrapped. R. L. Mach Collection.
ADRIAN V A N DYK
604 2nd St. AB Mar~etta,Ohlo 45750
(614) 374-5508
VOL. 1 , NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973
 d

A fine set o f skinning knives b y Tiffany. New York. Steve Miller Collecrion.
Maker: Tiffany, New York, Circa 1870.
Marks: Tiffany & Co N e ~ jYork. Blade: 5 inch skinning blade. Stag hilt and coin silver escutcheons with initials W . E. engraved. This is aset oftwo
skinning knives in a leather case complete with bone saw. Probably made up for a visiting English nobleman on a buffalo hunt.

Late Bowie by Landers. Frary & Clark. Steve Miller Collection.

Maker: Landers, Frary & Clark. New Britian, Connecticut, Circa 1890.
Marks: L.F.&C. Universal etched on blade. Blade: 8 inch clipped with unsharpened,false edge. Guard of German silver. Hi11 o f stag scales.
Sheath: None.

Post Civil War Bowie by Clarenbach & Herder, Philadelphia. Norm Flayderman Collection.
Maker: Clarenbach & Herder. Philadelphia, Pa., 1870.
Marks: Clarenbach & Herder, Philada Cast Steel is stamped on the 8 inch spear point blade. The guard is of brass and the hilt o f checkered wood.
The sheath is of leather and has brass tip and throat.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

and priced at $750.00! The last bona
fide M. Price knife that I saw sold
went for over $3,000.00! Probably the
largest collection of San Francisco
knives is in the hands of William R.
Williamson, a serious Bowie collector
and well known authority on the
subject.
The early American Bowies usually
exhibit the true false edge, sharpened
for use in a backstroke, while the later
knives have the mere swaged false
edge. The Coffin hilt is found quite
often on the early knives and the
usual hilts are of ivory or rose-wood.
Mounts are usually of brass, German
silver, or coin silver, and the blades
are usually not etched. The only
American knives that I have seen with
etched blades are one by Peter Rose of
New York and three by F.C. Georgen
of New Orleans, La. All the knives
are in the Norm Flayderman collec-
tion. Many of the early American
knives were unmarked, as the makers
were often simple blacksmiths and
had no die stamps.
Another almost untouched field is
the area of home-made Bowies that
were often made by country smiths
and carried by the soldiers and moun-
tain men of the era. They can usually
be purchased at a nominal price and
have lots of character.
The knife collector can and should
specialize and should try and buy
knives in the best possible condition,
but when the field of American Bowies
is touched remember that rarity is
more important than condition. The
author owns a relic of a Chevalier
Bowie that was found on a Pennsyl-
vania battlefield and values it much
higher than the $25.00 that he paid at
the Baltimore gun show!
A young knifemaker in the
deep South is really going
places in an old railroad ca-
boose. .that's where he makes
his knlves. Read all about it
and him in the next issue.
'OL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973
NEW! ! !
THE CUSTOM KNIFE BOOK
by J. Bates & J. Schippers
Only 300 Copies Left
The long needed comprehensive book on the subject of today's Custom Knife
makers and their product has arrived. This extensively researched, UP TO
DATE BOOK contining 136 pages, details of 100 of today's famous and not so
famous makers. Many photos including Full Color accompany the test which
covers; design, history, knife steels, sharpening and production. Also included
individual chapters on each maker, a glossary of knife terms and MUCH,
MUCH MORE!
This FIRST EDITION high quality book in soft cover form is
available at $6.95.
Once again available, a limited number
(110 only) of hardbound copies at $10.00
Please include $.25 for postage and handling.
Get your orders in now for fast delivery.
Personal checks accepted.
THE CUSTOM KNIFE BOOK
Box 4775 AB
MEMPHIS, TENN. 38104
Dealer inquiries invited.
You may never get to go. Only a few people do. But if you ever do, Puma
is the knife you'll want to take along. Keen. Rugged. Proven dependable.
Designed to do a man's job. In Africa, or wherever you hunt, you can rely on
a Puma. Hand-made, hand-ground and honed by men who take pride in their
200-~ear-oldSolingen tradition. Diamond tested
for Rockwell hardness. Finest Indian Stag or
Jacaranda wood handles. RTqf
4" lock blade. $37.50
B. #16-675 Stock Knife. 4" closed.
$32.00
C. # I 6 4 3 5 Junior. 3%" closed. $23.00
D.#16-971 Game Warden 4" lock
blade with 4" lock saw blade. $57.50
E. #16-377 White Hunter. 6" blade.
Leather sheath. $45.00
F. tl16.393 Skinner. 5" blade.
Leather sheath. $37.50
At better sporting goods departments, or write: Oept.
GUTMANN CUTLERY CO., INC., 900 S. Columbus Ave., Mt. Vernon, N.Y. 10550
Send 509 for new brochure showing how Puma knives are made plus useful tips on knife care,
I
John Nelson Cooper selects a piece of high carbon tool sreel of rhe proper size and lays our the desired blade shape on the surface.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 John Nelson Cooper
By Don Murphy

In the late spring of 1915, an eight year

old boy sat under a shade tree by a quiet
stream in the town of Tremont,
Pennsylvania. In his left hand, he held a
piece of wood. In the other, a borrowed
pocket knife. With these objects, he
began to carve his way toward the
mastering of an Old World craft.
Without his knowledge, John Nelson
Cooper was on his way to becoming one
of the world's foremost makers of Hand
Crafted Knives.
Nelson, who was born in 1906, recalls,
"As a boy, I was always interested in
knives. I carried a small pocket knife
with me all the time, just because 1 liked
a knife. Whenever 1 had the chance, I
would borrow my daddy's pocket knife
without his knowledge and carve little
kitchen paring knives and daggers out of
the pieces of wood I could find around
the house."
At the age of 16, Nelson, who is com-
pletely self-taught, began to work in
steel, producing his first kitchen carving
knife of steel in 1924.
For the next three years, his
knowledge and experience increased as
he continued to make kitchen knives in
his spare time. In 1927, he decided to put
u -
his knowledge to a test. Selecting the
The basic shape of the blade is then cut our on a band saw.
(Continued on next page)

11
VOL. 1 , NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973
finest materials available, he began to
make an all-purpose field knife. Using
the stock removal method, he slowly
began to grind out the shape of the blade
and tang from the raw steel. When the
blade was finished, he turned his atten-
tion to the shaping of theguard and han-
dle, working slowly to make sure the
measurements and size were exact.
Finally, after 30 days of slow, precise
work, it was finished. Nelson had made
his first Bowie style hunting knife.
This was to be the first of many hunting
knives for use in the field.
For the next 15 years, Nelson, a com-
bination arc and acetylene welder by
trade, continued to make knives in his
spare time until 1942, when he enlisted
in the Army Air Force. After his
training, he was sent to the Panama
Canal Zone. Throughout his tour of
i at- - -----
Final shaping is done on a bench grinder.
12
duty, he made knives for friends in his
company. These knives soon found their
way to, and were being tested in, every
theatre of battle during World War 11.
Upon being discharged from the Air
Force in 1945, Nelson moved to Virginia
Beach, Virginia, where he set up a small
shop in back of his home and began to
design new and better knives for many
different uses.
It was to this small shop that a soldier
came in December of 1950. He had
heard of Nelson and his fine cutlery
from a friend who Nelson had made a
knife for during World War 11. The
soldier wanted a knife made for use in
hand to hand combat. Once again
Nelson's skill and knowledge were being The guard is then acetylene bronze welded
challenged as he began to work a design to the blade and the weld is smoothed out
on a grinding wheel.
to fit the soldier's needs. Finally, after
working all night, it was finished.
A temporary handle is placed onto the
knfe and then the blade and guard are
shaped and smoothed out on a grinding
wheel.
Nelson had made his first fighting knife.
It was this knife and many other knives
made by Nelson that found their way to
the battlefields of Korea.
Upon retiring from the welding trade
in 1964, Nelson decided to come to
California, where together with George
(Continued on next page)
THE AMERICAN BLADE
 -
A semi-hollow grind of about 75% is then placed into the blade.

VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973 '

Cooper, his nephew, and actor Don
Nagel, he formed Cooper Knives and
opened their shop in Burbank.
Nelson's knives are constructed to
form the knife into one solid piece with
all of the joints bonded together for a
lifetime (U.S. Patent #3,481,038 with
other patents pending). Through this
process, he had eliminated all spaces or
recesses in his knives and there is no
chance for blood to build up between
the blade and hilt, which can cause ox-
idation in the handles of even the most
expensive knives.
Cooper, who has been using the stock
removal method since 1927, makes his
knives out of the finest quality oil
hardening tool steel available in the
United States. The non-deforming
characteristics of this annealed steel
makes it a superior material for the
making of a blade. Each blade is
designed with various contours to give
the knife the effect needed for its
purpose, and is tempered to the proper
hardness for an excellent cutting edge.

Place the blade into an electric oven and allow the blade to draw back slowly at approximately
400 degrees. (Note: The temperature and times vary depending upon the size of the blade.) The
blade is allowed to air cool until it can be picked up with the hands. Steps 7 and 8 give the blade
a Rockwell hardness of approximately 58.

The blade is heated to approximately

1500 degret?s Fahrenhe,it with an acetylene
torch;and then quenched in oil. At this time, blocks of micarta and a block o f brass are selected for the handle and butt cap.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 W. C. WILBER
HANDCRAFTED KNIVES
Specializing in Building to your Design
. -
* ,
_r
Ftsherman $50 00 ($8000 w ~ t hIvory hilt a s illustrated )

e- Hunter $60 00
Boot Kn~fe $55 00

The blocks of micarta are slipped over the

0
tang and bonded into place with epoxy.
Then the brass for the butt cap is attached Send Drawing or other illustration for Price and Delivery Information
and tightened into its proper position. The
handle is then allowed to dry for 24 hours.
W. C. WILBER - 400 Lucerne Dr.
Spartanburg, South Carol~na 29302
Telephone 803-582-2627

'
OLDEN AGE ARMS CO.
The handle and butt cap are ground out Mu~zIeloaders,Supplies & Books
to 90% completion on a 12" by 2" high
speed Carhorundum wheel.

He makes the guards and butt caps out

of the highest grade of 70130 cartridge
brass available. The handles are made of
various colors and types of micarta and
each knife is made by sight, sound and
rhythm for durability and beauty. Each
knife is then put through rigid tests to
see that they hold the proper edge.
When asked, "What are the most im-
portant features of a knife?" Nelson
S E N D $1.00 FOR CATALOG NO. 6
replied, "The most important feature of
any knife is the edge. The blade, no 155 Illustrated pages of muzzle loadlng suppl~es,authent~creproduct~onfl~ntlock
matter what is design, should have the and percussion Kentucky rlfle and pistol klts, k n ~ f eklts; powder horn k ~ t stoma-
,
hawk klts, almost 800 t~tlesof books on guns, h~story,antiques, and Americana;
ability to hold a good cutting edge. The L ~ n eof leather goods ~ncludlngmoccasins, belts and bucksk~ns All Items ad-
next most important feature is balance. vertlsed are malled the day we recelve an order. We sell only QUALITY.
The knife should feel good in the hands
of its user. This is even more important KNIFE ASSEMBLY,
12 page book explaining how to bulld a custom knlfe The book lists 30 knlfe
(Continued on next page) blade styles, a var~etyof guards and handles for a do-lt-yourself k n ~ f e

VOL. 1 , NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973

 Of the many other testimonials
received by Nelson Cooper, Tommy
Bish, the technical editor of a major gun
magazine for the past twelve years,
noted hunter and the designer of
Cooper's Model Yucatan Skinner,
wrote, "The Cooper Knife is one of the
finest custom made knives today. I have
used my Yucatan Skinner to cut
saplings to make lean-tos besides skin-
ning animals. I have skinned as many as
two full boars before putting the blade
to a sharpening stone. It is truly a fine
field knife."
Another testimony came from knife
collector Raymond Hill, Chief of the
Los Angeles City Fire Department. He
wrote, "I am justly proud of the 36
knives you have made for me. Each one
is finely finished, very sharp and holds
its edge for an extremely long period of
time. They are beautiful pieces of
craftsmanship and any collector would
be proud to display one of your knives in
a place of prominence within his collec-
tion."
Cooper specializes in making knives
for the movie and television industries.
His knives have been seen in
Paramount's "Night of the Grizzly" and
the soon-to-be-released "Crow Killer"
made by Sidney Pollack, a Warner
Bros. release. Some of the manv movie
Handle, guard.
emery wheel.
v.uuc ur.u ",. ,, ,,, ,,,,,, Ju,,ucu'downto theJarcu!
hollow grind stage on an
(Continued on next page)

in the larger type fighting knives because

they are not only used in hand to hand
combat, but to hack one's way through
the jungle, along with many other uses.
Blade lengths are important also, but
this is dependent on each person's taste.
Some men like large knives and some
men like small knives, but personally, I
prefer to use a hunting knife with a blade
between 4% and 6% inches with 8%
inches for a fighting knife. I feel that
these blade lengths are long enough to
serve the purpose for which each knife
was designed extremely well."
Cooper, who made many knives for
servicemen in World War I1 and the
Korean conflict, has made thousands of
knives for the fighting men in Vietnam.
Many of these knives have been ordered
by the Navy and Regular Army, but the
majority were ordered by the U.S.
Army's Special Forces personnel, which
is alone a testimony of the quality of the
Cooper knife. The blade is taken to the emery wheel and the hollow grind is completed.

THE AMERICAN BLADE


Extreme care must be taken not to allow the knife to get heated to thepoint where loss of the
temper occurs. Intermittent immersion in water is recommended.
The blade, guard, handle and butt cap are smoothed and all lines are trued on the 60 grit
sanding wheel. The knife is then taken to the 100 grit wheel, 180 grit wheel and the 320 grit
wheel and is sanded smooth which leaves the blade with a polishedfinish.
VOL. 1 , NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER,
Here's the first truly
comprehensive book on the
craftsmanship of today's
master knifemakers
by S i d Latham
In recent years there has been a spec-
tacular growth of interest in fine cut-
lery, particularly in the benchmade and
custom-made hunting, skinning, or fighting
knife. Just a decade ago there were only
a handful of makers who undertook such
work, and hardly such a thing as a modern
knife collector. Today, however, the work
of big-name knifemakers is thought by
some to be a better investment than
securities, and though well over a hundred
individual artisans are now active, work-
shops of the most sought-after makers
can fill orders only after a one-to-two-year
delay.
In this beautifully illustrated volume, Sid
Latham explains and depicts the salient
facts about every aspect of the new boom
in knives and the men who make them,
from the historical Bowie and the classic
work of Bill Scagel down through the
work of the modern day masters. Every
facet and application of the modern knife's
material and employment is covered by
Latham's expert photographs (many of
them in color) and authoritative text, and
there is invaluable practical advice on
how to determine what knife to buy and
how to care for and sharpen it. There
is a useful appendix listing knifemakers
and suppliers of knifemaking materials
and equipment.
$1 5.00
'
I
SID LATHAM I
319 E. 44th St., New York, N.Y. 10017 !
Please send me autographed copies of i
KNIVES & KNIFEMAKERS at $15.00 per !copy plus I
$1.00 for handling cost. I enclose check or money I
order for $ in full payment. If notsatisfied, I
I may return the books within 10 days for a full refund. I
New York residents add sales tax. I
I
Name ..................................... I
Address ................................... !
I city ....................................... I '
1973
I State ..................... Zip ............ !
 stars who own Cooper Knives are Clint
Walker, Lee Marvin, the late Audie
Murphy, Robert Stack, Buddy Hackett,
Robert Redford and many others.
Cooper guarantees that each one of
his knives is completely hand crafted,
one of a kind and guaranteed for a
lifetime as long as it remains in the
possession of the original owner and is
used for the purpose for which it was
designed.
Nelson Cooper is one of a very few
knife makers who will make a knife to
the customer's design. Anyone wishing
further information can contact:
Cooper Knives, P.O. Box 1423,
Burbank, California 9 1505.
From an eight-year-old boy with a
pocket knife and a piece of wood, to one
of the world's foremost custom knife
makers and Elder Statesman of the Cus-
tom Knifemakers Guild, John Nelson
The knife is taken to a bufSing wheel and all the fine scratches are buffed out on the blade, Cooper is truly a master of his trade.
hilt, handle and butt cap. The knife is then taken to the 500 grit cloth and the blade is sharpened
to afine edge, after which a sheath is made tofir the size and shape of the blade.

I
Mr. Wlularn K. WIIItamson OJ Junta tsaraura, LarrJornrs,norea correcror ana aurnor wzrn nrs KnrJe made by John N. Cooper, 1972.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 Honesteel
All-purpose sharpener

- PI-

THE ART OF BLACKSMITHING

by Alex W. Bealer

This book should be required reading for anyone

who makes knives or is seriously interested in
the history of cutlery. While forging plays a very
small part in the production of most modern
cutlery, there is still a tremendous amount of
useful information available in this complete
and detailed study of the blacksmiths art and
craft.
425 pages of well written and interesting text
along with hundreds of useful illustrations will
take you back to the days when the blacksmith
was necessary to the survival and prosperity of
the community. The methods used to make the
exotic weapons of the past few thousand years
are carefully explained and with a thorough
study of this book, anyone interested in the art
of knife making will certainly be more knowl-
edgeable and competent in this field of interest.
After reading this book don't be surprised i f you
want to go out and forge a blade.
This is an excellent gift item that anyone would
appreciate and enjoy.
Send $10.00 plus 500 for postage and handling for each book.

Southern House Publicat ions

P.O. Box 13835 SCHRADE
Atlanta, Ga. 30324 WALDEN
THE WORLDS Schrade Walden Cutlery Corp.
New York, N.Y. 10019
 Making C
Tke Blade
Part 2 of a Six Part Series
HOW TO MAKE KNIVES
Making the blade of a fine knife requires
more knowledge than any other phase
of knifemaking. Anyone with the talent,
skill, and equipment can make a very
good looking blade but a lot of good
looking blades are seriously lacking in
other departments. A good knife blade
has to possess all of the following
qualities: good design, good material,
craftsmanship, and proper heat
treating. If only one of these features is
missing the blade cannot be considered
first quality.
Good design is the most flexible
quality as it is largely a matter of
personal opinion except in some ex-
treme cases. Occasionally a very
opinionated individual will insist until
hell freezes over that a particular type of
blade is good for some chore for which it
is not even remotely useful. My only
suggestion to professional knife makers
is not to make it if it is obviously that
ridiculous. If you do you can be sure
that everyone who sees it will think that
it was your idea. You might need the
money but you don't need it that bad.
A useful guideline in designing knife
blades is to never add anything that is
not necessary. This certainly excludes
tasteful and properly executed decora-
tion but does not exclude such niceties
as blood grooves and similar crap.
20
The edge of a well designed blade can
be sharpened properly without undue
manipulation to take care of hard to
reach spots. Racy curves in the cutting
edge of a working knife are nothing but
headaches to the man who has to use
and care for the knife. The design of the
blade should also facilitate proper
sharpening of the entire length of the
cutting edge. Many knife makers deride
the choil as being an unnecessary feature
but it actually serves the purpose of
allowing the man doing the sharpening
to do a better job. Even if it is no more
than a small notch at the beginning of
the ricasso it is helpful in keeping the
edge in good shape. I have heard an oc-
casional comment to the effect that a
cut-out area in the blade of a skinning
knife is bothersome because it catches
on the hide while skinning out game.
This is like saying that a surgeon should
have a crossguard on his scapel so that
he won't cut too deep. Personally, 1
would prefer that surgeons learn how to
use their instruments properly and
hunters would do well to follow the
same advice. I would not advise a maker
to insist on a choil against the cus-
tomer's wishes but he should at least
know the advantages as well as the
disadvantages. Remember that a blade
which has been sharpened evenly
without the stone riding up on the
by Blackie Collins
ricasso is a better looking blade and
offers a more favorable reflection on the
maker's work.
There are several options which may
be added to the blade of a hunting knife
and which serve very well. The gut-hook
is a useful feature on a blade which is to
be used for field dressing and skinning
game. If it is designed properly, it
greatly facilitates removing the skin of
an animal and if not designed properly,
as is usually the case, it does exactly the
opposite. The purpose of the gut-hook is
to allow long cuts to be made in the hide
without having the internal workings of
the subject punctured. If the end of the
hook is not smoothly rounded, it will do
exactly what it was designed not to do.
The only sharp area of the gut-hook
should be the actual cutting area which
is well up into the hook and nowhere
near the end. Small sharpening steels are
useful for keeping the gut-hook sharp. It
is very hard to sharpen with a standard
stone of square or rectangular shape.
Blade length is the most often dis-
cussed and debated design feature and
we won't say any more than to suggest
that if it's longer than necessary, it's too
long. Sword fighting definitely requires
a blade length of more than five inches
but I can't think of many otherjobs that
do. A couple of inches in extra length for
a general purpose knife is not a bad idea
THE AMERICAN BLADE
and for a filleting knife it's downright
necessary if you're catching any keepers.
Other applications and uses deserve
serious consideration. Besides, a longer
blade is harder to make. I personally like
the larger knives from the standpoint of
collecting and strongly advocate the
making and ownership of fine Bowies.
It's just necessary to properly place the
various values of knife design. If a knife
is being made to be used - don't get
carried away.
Fairly active controversy seems to ex-
ist between the factions who are
proponents of one type of blade steel
versus another. Several writers have ex-
pounded the virtues of stainless steel
over carbon steel and there are probably
just as many that claim stainless doesn't
hold a candle to high carbon types.
None of them seem to know what
they're talking about. The so-called
stainless steels are in actuality high
carbon steels also, plus the fact that they
are not really stainless. If a steel is to be
used for the manufacture of a good
quality knife blade, it must possess a
certain amount of carbon to provide
hardenability. The 440 series of high
carbon and rust resistant steels is often
referred to as stainless. The new
154 CM steel is also referred to as
stainless and it isn't either. These steels
are highly rust resistant and with pas-
sivating (soaking in mild nitric acid
solution) can be made even more so.
They will rust and stain, however. Not
one manufacturer in America today
uses a true stainless steel in the produc-
tion of quality cutlery. With the ever in-
creasing technology of the steel in-
dustry, we might soon see a new blade
steel which won't rust, dull, or get cold
to the touch on a winter day.
Meanwhile, we'll have to use what we
have and it's pretty good.
Good blade steel should have a
carbon content of somewhere between
.03 and 1.5 percent. 1'11 surely get a hun-
dred letters saying that that's not exactly
so, and I'll conceed that I might be off
just a few tenths of one percent and save
you the trouble of writing. The lower
figure is definitely on the slack side and
will not make up a very hard blade
without some mighty fancy alloying,
however, some people prefer a softer
blade for their particular needs. Steel
with a low carbon content is certainly
VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973
hardenable but not to the extent that is
necessary to satisfy most knife users. A
lot of folks (old timers in particular) like
a knife that is easy to resharpen and
prefer to occasionally touch up a blade
rather than to have one which will skin
out three wild hogs and a bear and
then shave you before it needs sharpen-
ing. Maybe these poor misguided folks
have been denied the privilege of seeing
this kind of knife in action and don't
know any better. Come to think of it, I
haven't seen one of these miracle knives
either, but I've sure heard a lot about
them. Well, who knows?
The optimum hardness for hunting
knife blades seems to be in the
neighborhood of the 50 to 60 area on the
Rockwell C scale. This is a numerical
scale which designates the hardness of
steel as determined by a simple test. A
diamond point is forced into the surface
of the steel by a known amount of pres-
sure and the depth of the depression is
measured to give the actual hardness of
the steel being tested at the exact spot
where it is tested. Notice that the test
only indicates the hardness of the spot
being tested. This means that in order to
have a valid test, the blade must have
been properly heat treated and have no
soft or hard spots. If the blade has not
been properly heat treated or if the test is
not performed correctly, this means of
testing hardness is useless. Due to the
differences in thickness in a knife blade,
there is considerable possibility that the
thinner portions of the blade might
harden to a different degree than the
thicker areas which take longer to cool
or quench. This fact is mentioned only
to point out the necessity of proper heat
treating. The cutting edge is the most
critical area as far as proper hardness is
concerned and it is impossible to get a
good hardness reading on a piece of
metal unless the area being tested has
parallel sides. The sloping bevels of the
edge make it unacceptable for testing by
the Rockwell method and therefore the
exact spot being tested must be
representative of the whole blade in
order for it to be of use to determine
hardness. Proper methods for heat
treating will be fully covered in the next
article in this series.
In this part of our series of articles on
' knife-making, we will show the
procedures used by a knife maker who
specializes in flat ground blades. All
steps of blade making up to heat treating
will be covered. The knife being made is
a 4" bladed hunting knife with a slightly
dropped point. The blade will be flat
ground and hand sanded to a 600 grit
finish before being mirror polished. This
knife is of round tang construction and
will have an ivory micarta hilt and nickel
silver guard. The hilt will be decorated
with schrimshaw and the guard will
have a moderate amount of decorative
work also. The tools, equipment, and
materials used in the procedures
outlined in this article are listed below:
132" x 2" Bader belt grinder with 14"
hard rubber contact wheel
6" x 48" Sears Craftsman belt sander
Sears Craftsman lhp bench motor
with Everett 8" metal cut-off
wheel
40 grit 132" x 2" 3M belts
60 grit 6" x 48" 3M belts
one piece of 1 '/2" x l/qn 440-C steel
The Bader belt grinder is not neces-
sary but it does speed up the process
considerably and it is useful for several
other operations. The blade which is be-
ing made can be made to the exact same
quality specifications without the use of
the Bader grinder. A E h p motor is more
than sufficient for the cut-off wheel
operations and a smaller flat belt sander
(4" x 36") can be used for the grinding
operations but is not recommended for
larger blades. The equipment used (with
the exception of the Bader) can be
purchased from the Sears, Roebuck &
Co. catalog as well as from Bob Schrim-
sher who advertises in this magazine.
If you follow the instructions in this
article, you will be able to duplicate the
work being performed by the instructor.
!t will take some folks a little more time
than others to accomplish the results
that they desire, but if you have the
desire and patience and can use your
hands, you can do it. If you have any
questions about knife-making, please
feel free to write to me personally and I'll
do my best to help you. When you've
made as many knives as most of our
better makeers, it is easy to take a lot of
things for granted. We have tried to
think of everything but I know that we
have missed a lot and we'll count on you
to let us know what we've left out.
(Continued on next page)
21
 The exact shape of the blade should be laid out on the blank. Since the heat from grinding will obliterate
most markings on steel, it is advisable to coat the surface of the blank with layout fluid and scribe the
design onto the surface with a sharpened piece of steel or a regular steel scribe as illustrated. The layout
fluid is intended for use under the conditions encountered in grinding such as frequent immersion in water
and excessive heat. A good set of French curves are very handy for laying out the blade shape and two or
three different curves will handle almost any blade design imaginable.

22 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 The actual cutting out of the blade shape is performed in this illustration with a metal cut-off wheel
mounted on a I h p electric motor. This task is usually accomplished with a band saw but we suggest the
cut-off wheel since it is so useful for certain shaping operations. To obtain the shape of the blade, a series
of straight cuts are made to give the rough dimensions before the exact shape is ground out on a belt
sander. You will notice that a platen or fixture is used to brace and guide the blank as it is being cut. A
shatterproof Lexan shield is also mounted over the wheel to prevent injury should the wheel break while
in use. The bracing fixture should be mounted so that it will feed the work directly into the center of
the wheel.

Here, the cut-off wheel is used to cut a smooth radius at the junction of the blade and the tang. The radius
is very important from the standpoint of adding strength to this part of the blade. If the shoulders of the
blade form right angles with the tang, there is a much greater possibility of breakage at this point. This
operation also provides an excellent method of cutting the shoulders of the blade perfectly flat where they
will fit against the guard. The cut-off wheel does a great job on this operation and it is one which seldom
receives proper attention.

VOL. 1 , NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973 23

 The roughly shaped blade is ground to its final dimensions on the flat belt sander. Care should be taken to
grind away the metal right up to the scrlbed lines and no further. Don't grind into the scribed lines as it is
too easy to grind away too much metal and change the intended shape of the blade without realizing
how much metal has been removed. Be sure to hold the blade at right angles to the grinding surface.

The shaped blade is ground perfectly flat on the flat sander with a 60 grit belt. Each side must be flat. This
often overlooked step is necessary if the grind lines are to be perfectly straight and even. It is almost
impossible to keep good symmetrical lines if the surface of the blank is not flat. When using the flat belt
sander it is a good idea to check the flat metal surface under the belt frequently. Small deposits of the
bonding agent used i n the manufacture of sanding belts will build up on this surface and cause uneveness
which is reflected directly onto the surface being ground. Do not scrape off the sanding surface as this
might damage it. The best way to remove these deposits is to wash them off with water and then be sure
to thoroughly dry the surface before placing the sanding belt back on the machine.

24 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 The next step is to grind the bevels into the blade. In this illustration the rough bevels are being ground on a
132" x 2" belt grinder with a 40 grit belt. It is possible to do a perfectly adequate job of grinding with the
6" x 48" flat belt sander but the larger grinder makes the job a lot easier. Since the bevels of the blade are
to be flat ground, it is necessary to be careful not to grind too deep with the 14" contact wheel which
gives a hollow grind. The only real guideline for this procedure is to be careful and use a little common
sense as the amount of grinding necessary will change with each different blade shape and size. In this
stage of grinding as in all others the blade is held in the bare hands. Even though the blade has not been
heat treated yet, it is possible to damage the edge by overheating. If you are holding the blade in your
hands you don't have to worry about this happening.

While rough grinding, be careful not to grind the bevels too close back to the tang or into the ricasso section
of the blade. Also be sure that the rough ground areas on each side of the blade are identical in length,
depth, and width.

VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973 25

 The rough ground blade ready for the final flat grind on the 6" x 48" belt grinder.

The rough ground blank is flat ground on the 6" x 48" belt grinder. BE SURE THAT THE SURFACE OF
THE GRINDER IS CLEAN AND SMOOTH. A small piece of wood or other soft material is used to help
hold the tip of the blade flat and to maintain even pressure over the entire length of the blade during
grinding. The edge of the sanding surface of the grinder has been slightly rounded with a file and the belt
is allowed to run over the edge for about '14". This facilitates grinding a smooth radius where the bevels
meet the ricasso. Do not grind into the back of the blade or past the center of the blade at the edge. Keep
the bevel perfectly flat.

26 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 The opposite side of the blade is ground by merely turning the blade over and repeating the operation.
Extreme care is necessary to prevent grinding into the back of the blade or past the center of the edge.
Enough metal should be left at the edge to maintain a flat surface about 1/32" wide until it begins to swell
toward the point.

A properly ground blade will be perfectly symmetrical in all respects. Notice the flat edge and the gentle
and even flare toward the point.

VOL. 1 . NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973 27

 The point is ground by placing the flat bevels on the sander and slowly raising the tang. Do not grind past
the center of the blade at the edge near the point. Grind slowly and examine the edge frequently to make
sure that the lines come together evenly and to a perfectly parallel position. It is best to grind a little from
each side and bring the lines together slowly.

The edge of the completely ground blade is a flat surface of exactly the same width for its total length.

28 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 The blade is now ready for heat treating. If you turn this blade over it looks exactly the same from the
other side.
The blade is now ready for heat treat- sanding, arid mirror polishing. If you a stamped and self-addressed envelope
ing and this will be explained fully in have any questions about the steps out- if you wish a personal reply.
the next issue which will also cover the lined in this article, just drop me a line
complete processes for buffing, hand and I'll try to help out. Please enclose

3Hfa3srnXMCA303e
3EKf13XW3ESs

FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY

ur November 1973 list contains knives by D. E. Henr
.W. Loveless, Corbet Sigman, Morseth, Scagel, Buster, Hal
raper, and many ( -

We sell knives on consignment and take them in trade

12 differelnt knift! books in stock.

A. G. Russell
md 500 for current Ilst. 05 Highway 71 N
Springdale, Ark. 72764
(501) 751-7341

VOL. 1 , NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973 29

 -".
I
"
&, . .. .
.. 9.. '

- I . ' .

Accessories for keeping an edge on your knife. The Buck Honemaster on a Morseth knife, Razor Edge with Allen wrench for tightening
device to blade. Gerber and Schrade-Walden Hone steels.

30 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 -1
Knife
+\-:
<
- ?.).
i
-, Sharpening
The fear of most knifemakers is that
their knives will be ruined, not by use,
but by careless attempts at sharpening.
Unfortunately, experienced sportsmen,
hunters and fishermen alike, have the
greatest proclivity for doing everything
wrong when it comes to putting an edge
on a knife. A man may be the greatest
wing shot in three counties or have the
ability to cast a fly with the grace of a
trout coursing upstream, but hand him a
knife with the request he put an edge on
it and. . .horrors!
Most knives delivered by a master
cutler arrive already sharpened, but in
spite of some pretty fanciful claims all
will require sharpening sometime
during their lifetime of usage.
When I became involved with knives
and knifemakers I slowly learned the
skill's of keeping my knives sharpened.
The more I learned, incidentally, the
more I realized the same methods were
used by my granddad, a machinest and
diemaker, who appreciated the proper
care of fine steel blades. Even with a
straight-edged razor, granddad would
VOL. 1 , NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973
by Sid Latham
pour a generous amount of oil over the
stone and slowly draw the blade back
and forth until the edge suited his
pleasure. T o complete the job the blade
would then be stropped on a leather
strap hanging near the wash basin and
then given a few whisks across the palm
of his hand to settle the edge.
The most important factor in caring
for knives, and they actually require less
attention than firearms for example, is
to have the proper accessories on hand
and know the correct techniques re-
quired. After the last Knifemakers
Show in Kansas City I journeyed down
to Springdale, Arkansas to visit with
A.G. Russell and learn the proper
method of sharpening a knife. Andy
Russell has run his oil stone business
from this area for many years and is an
authority on handmade knives and their
care. While knifemakers may argue
about everything in knifedom, including
steels, epoxy and rivets, there is, I'm
happy to report, general agreement on
Russell's Washita/Arkansas stones. In
(Continued on next page)
31
 A complete kit for proper care of your knife.
-
fact thev are held in high regard and
u

many cutler's not only offer them in

their catalogs but even enclose a small
stone for touch-ups in the field when
you order a knife.
The stone Russell offers his customers
is a carefully graded novaculite. This is a
natural whetstone found in a small area
of Arkansas and is used by most knife
experts. There are two types of stones
and the one you want is the
WashitaISoft. . .more of the Surgical
Black Hard Stone later.
When we asked Russell to outline the
proper method he advised, "Buy a stone
a couple of inches longer than the largest
knife you own." This is a good rule since
most experienced hunters seldom use
knives longer than five inches and the
eight inch stone fills the bill nicely. With
Clamping the stone stand to your bench will hold it firm and allow both hands to
proper care these stones will last a
guide the knife. lifetime so you might consider it a one
time investment.
THE AMERICAN BLADE

Cover the stone with oil smearing about with fingertips.
Andy continued, "Another important
accessory is a sharpening stand to hold
the stone and permit it to be clamped to
a table or workbench with a C clamp.
This is important because you will be us-
ing two hands for pressure and guiding
the blade. And, finally, use a good grade
honing oil. Fine whetstones should
never be used dry and never use an oil
that contains molybdenum disulfide or
graphite for these chemicals will clog the
surface and glaze the stone." Both
Norton's Bear Oil and Russell's
Sharpening & Honing Oil are excellent
since these are specially refined mineral
oils that will not gum in use. Don't
overlook the importance of these oils
either because oil floats the steel
particles to the surface and allows the
blade to move smoothly along the stone.
After you've laid out your sharpening
equipment, and selected the knife you
want to sharpen, wash the blade in
soapy water - particularly if you'vejust
returned from a hunting trip. The blade
must be clean, otherwise you'll grind fat
and blood into the stone's surface and
ruin it in short order. Now pour a
generous amount of honing oil onto the
stone and smear about with your
fingers. Oil is cheap and it's better to use
too much than too little. Now listen to
Andy Russell, "Grasp the handle of
your knife firmly with both hands and
VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973
place the blade on the right hand edge of
the stone with the heel resting at a
20-degree angle. Now, BEAR DOWN
HARD, then draw the blade across the
stone in a slicing motion from heel to
point so you end with the tip of the knife
at the lower left corner of the stone. As
you near the curve of the blade, slightly
change the angle, lift the blade a bit, so
you maintain an even edge to the very
tip. . .and keep bearing down hard." As
Russell says, "gentle swipes accomplish
nothing except make you feel good."
After your first stroke reverse the blade
and repeat the action from left to right.
D o this for ten or ,fifteen times, then
check the edge. If the curve of the blade
(Continued on next page)
" J , -~
1-Rob*" uf H,.ddcn
-
LIGHT BUT EFFICIENT
LIGHT BUT EFFICIENT by Albert
N. Hardin, Jr. and Robert W.
Hedden tells the complete story of
the MI880 Hunting Knife and the
previously unknown final version
of the knife style, the MI890 In-
trenching Knife. It is the first book
to fully detail every aspect of the
concept, design, production,
issues, tests and uses of these
knives and their varied scabbards.
Mr. Harold L. Peterson states in
his Foreword:
"With so much hearsay being
published in the arms field, i t
is a real pleasure to find a book
like this based on primary
sources and thoroughly docu
mented. "
There are 130 reference notes
plus an extensive bibliography.
Twenty-five full page illustrations,
including some contemporary
unit photographs never previously
in popular print, and seven de-
tailed appendices complement
the text. Use by the infantry, ar-
tillery and cavalry is proven.
This book has been endorsed by
The Company of Military His-
torians as "a standard reference
work in American military his-
tory." Every knife collector, .45-
70 era accountrement enthusiast
or military history buff will find it
an indispensible source of factual
information.
The hard cover, full color dust
jacketed, 6" x 9" edition contains
approximately 100 pages, includ-
ing a comprehensive index.
Send $7.95 plus 504 for postage and
handling for each book.
Southern House Publications
P. 0. BOX 13835
Atlanta, Ga. 30324
 sharpening your knife is knowing when
t o stop. Strange as it may seem, you
don't make a knife sharper by honing to
a fine bevel; you only made the edge
weaker. If you insist on shaving with
your blade, a show-off stunt of little
merit, a few strokes across the Arkansas
Surgical Black stone will allow you to
slice your breath in mid-air on a cold
winter's morn.
There is a point of diminishing return
with ultra sharp edges, the finer the edge
the quicker your knife will dull unless its
just used on game. Experienced knife
users agree that a slightly course edge is
to be desired. By this we don't mean an
edge that appears rough to the eye
(although a microscopic examination
will reveal tiny saw teeth on the sharpest
blade) but an edge that is the result of
correct honing and stropping.
When you've finished sharpening
Proper placement of the blade is important. Bear down hard and slice across the stone. your blade clean the stone. Just pour a
bit more oil on the surface, smear
isn't quite as sharp as the straight part - The inside of these clamps are covered around with your fingertips and wipe
and this can happen - repeat the action with neoprene and it won't harm glisten- with a clean rag. Should the stone
paying particular attention t o those ing steel. The Razor Edge is similar ex- become very dirty, the result of careless
portions that don't suit you. cept it tightens with a n Allen wrench housekeeping, take an old toothbrush
Russell also emphasized, "the angle supplied with the kit. Since the Razor and kerosene, o r any good household
you use isn't quite as important as your Edge places raw steel against steel it's cleanser, and give it a good scrubbing
ability to hold and maintain the same wise to cover your blade with then put aside to dry.
angle stroke after stroke. If you use as machinist's tape otherwise the device What of the other accessories you've
much pressure as possible, and don't will mark your blade. seen for knife care? Gerber and
rock the blade during the stroke, you'll Probably the most important point in (Continued on next page)
be surprised at the edge - -you can put
on your knife in short order."
Before attempting a session with your
favorite benchmade knife it might be a
good idea to practice on some kitchen
cutlery first. Your wife will be happy
with sharp kitchen knives for a change
and only practice gives the ability of
maintaining the same angle. In-
cidentally, like everything else in
knifedom this angle question can start a
few m i n o r a r g u m e n t s a m o n g
knifemakers too.
While angle does vary from maker t o
maker most, however, grind their edge
to 20 degrees and if you want t o be
precise a small protractor will give you
the exact angle before you begin.
There.are two interesting devices on
the market that will give you the proper
angle without too much difficulty. T h e
Buck Honemaster is a small clamp that
fastens to your blade and tightens with a
thumb screw. When placed against the
stone it will maintain the angle for you. Maintain the same angle and keep bearing down hard.

34 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 CUSTOM ETCHING
For Fine Knives

i
I

Any Scene or Design

Catalog $1
SHAW-LEIBOWITZ
Rt. 1, Box 421. New Cumberland
W. Va. 26047

WOOD KNIVES

As you near the end of your stroke slightly lift or raise the blade in order to sharpen
the curve toward the tip.
38 So. Venice Blvd.
Venice, California 90291

.F@
" --
-- -

MK.2 $37.50
Dealer Enquiries Invited
Write for Free Brochure

FULL TIME CUSTOM

SMALL MAKER

MADISON, GA.
THE WORKING KNIFE
A product o f time and dedication-Each knife isen-
tirely handmade, to make it durable, useful, and
beautiful. S e e a full line of hand crafted knives in
my catalog-Bowies. Capers. Skinners. Fishing, and
lltilities-all for your choosing.

Reverse direction and continue in opposite direction. Note how pressure causes the oil JIM SMALL
to roll in front of edge. The oil helps the knife to move smoothly and lifts steel filings THE GEORGIA KNIFEMAKER
to the surface. 474 Foster St. AB
Madison. Ga. 30650
Send 75U for Color Catalog
VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973
 Again lift biade slightly to sharpen curve and tip. The dark lines show minute particles of steei removed in the sharpening process.

SchradeWalden offer excellent hone

steels, usually with a leather case that
converts .to a handle, and these may be
used to establish a bevel or touching up
the edge when you're dressing game far
from camp. The smaller stones are also
fine for field use, but neither the steels or
small pocket stones should be used as
the primary instrument for sharpening
your knife.
Now about costs for all this gear. The
stone, naturally, will run the highest. An
8 x 2 ~ 1 inch stone, and this is the
minimum size you should employ for
the average knife, will cost about $15. A
sharpening stand to fit this size stone
will add another $6 and a small can of
honing oil about 75c. If this seems a high
price for keeping an edge on your knife
remember your knife is of no valuedull.
Whether you are sharpening a $10 fac-
When biade is sharpened to your liking then pour a generous amount of oil onto the
stone and smear again with fingers. This will remove ail traces of steei and wipe with tory knife or a $300 custom job a quality
clean cloth. bench stone is not only the best way, it's

36 THE AMERICAN BLADE

 Once the blade has bee
of cardboard or leather a half dozen times and your knlfe is ready for use.
the only way, to keep your knife in
working order.
The few rules of sharpening are easy
to remember: (1) maintain the bevel
ground onto the blade by the maker; (2)
take an equal number of strokes in both
directions, and; (3) when your knife
becomes dull. . .sharpen it, now!
Fine handcrafted knives are the result
of long hours of creative artistry on the
part of a knifemaker. In spite of artful
nay nuasell examlnea m e eagr inrvuyrl
ave missed.
VOL. 1 , NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973
trop across your hand, a piec
decor, ivory handles or engraved blades
these knives are for using. Keep it sharp,
treat it with respect and you'll never
have arguments with any knifemaker.
Further information and sharpening
equipment may be obtained from A.G.
Russell, 1705 Highway 71 N.,
Springdale, Arkansas 72764.
IIUJJ LU IIIIU UIIY IUUYII aledS he might
 U.S. BA YONET-SPRINGFIELD M73 - The 21%" baronet pictured above was utilized on the U.S. 45/70 Springfield Rlfle from 1873-84. This
M'eapon has a steel scabbard equlppcd wrth a leather frog and a brass belt hook hearing the letters "US."

Rpplfcatfon of Mged Weapons

modern Warfare
"You may do anything with bayonets,
except sit on them"
-Napoleon Bonaparte
circa, 1796

by Major Thomas M. Johnson

38 THE AMERICAN BLADE

A multitude of words have been written
concerning the role of edged weapons
throughout the ages of history. From
Biblical days to the twentieth century,
warriors of all nations have carefully in-
cluded edged weapons in their personal
armament. In fact, edged weapons have
long been recognized as symbols of
courage, honor, and authority. Since
they often meant the difference between
life and death, these weapons were
usually treated with respect and affec-
tion.
However, the practicality of con-
tinuing to carry and maintain a weapon
designed for cutting and hand-to-hand
fighting on the twentieth century
nuclear battlefield has become the sub-
ject of extensive controversy
throughout the military today. Has the
Herculean advancement in the state of
the art of modern weaponry reduced
edged weapons to mere anachronisms?
The requiem for these weapons remain-
ing as vital military weapons was not
sounded until the adoption of repeating
arms. As long as firearms were
single-shot weapons and firepower was
relatively low, edged weapons carried
more weight. However, modern
weapons enable soldiers to engage their
planted the pike. The earliest reference
to the use of the bayonet in combat men-
tions British regiments utilizing
bayonets in Tangier as early as 1663. It is
interesting to note that in our own coun-
try the bayonet was adopted more
slowly than in Europe. Until the begin-
ning of the American Revolution,
militiamen were allowed the choice of a
bayonet, a sword, or a tomahawk.
Prior to tracing the utilization of the
bayonet throughout the other wars and
conflicts that this nation has been in-
volved in, it is important to understand
the military uses for the bayonet.
Current U.S. Army doctrinal manuals
prescribe a total of six intended uses:'
1 . New w e a p o n s , i m p r o v e d
equipment, and new tactics have been
introduced into modern warfare;
however, firepower alone will not
always drive a determined enemy from
his position. . .The rifle with fixed
bayonet is one of the final means of
defeating an opponent in an assault.
2. During infiltration missions at
night, or when secrecy must be main-
tained, the bayonet is an excellent silent
weapon.
1U.S. Department of [he Army. Field Manual 21-150. Cori~hu-
otrs. December 1971.
3. When close-in fighting determines
the use of small arms fire or grenades to
be impractical, or when the situation
does not permit the loading of the rifle,
the bayonet is still the weapon available
to the soldier.
4. The bayonet serves as a secondary
weapon should the rifle develop a stop-
page-
5. In hand-to-hand encounters, the
bayonet may be used as a hand-held
weapon.
6. Finally, the bayonet is a
multipurpose weapon and has many
non-fighting uses, such as a probe for
mines, to cut vegetation, and other tasks
where a pointed or cutting tool can be
employed.
To paraphrase the quote by Napoleon
at the beginning of this article, the
bayonet has an abundance of varied
uses.
Now, let us move from the arena of
the conceptual to the actual or "real
world" environment. Has the bayonet
proven itself in past wars and conflicts
as a worthy individual weapon or has it
been relegated to a role of opening cans
(Continued on next page)

opponents at long ranges, negating the

requirement for weapons designed
solely for close-in fighting.
Although the larger edged weapons
like the lance, the sword, and the dagger
have generally been accepted as obsolete
relics of bygone ages, every major
military force in the world has stub-
bornly retained the bayonet as an item
of standard issue for their soldiers.
Many would argue that the time has
come to also place the bayonet on
museum shelves. The purpose of this
article will be to explore the present role,
if in fact a role exists, of edged weapons
in the military today.
A good starting point would be to
trace the history of the sole remaining
edged weapon. The word "bayonet" is
defined as a short, edged weapon of the
dagger type designed for attachment to
the muzzle of a firearm. All attempts to
trace the invention of this weapon fix
the location in the town from which the -- -
word "bayonet" was derived, Bayonne, BAYONET-KNIVES. M6 AND M7 (TOP VIEWS) - Pictured in the foreground is the M6
France, during the mid-seventeenth cen- bayonet whrch was standard rssue wrth the MI4 rrfle. The bayonet prctured in the background
rs the M7 whrch rs designed for the standard U.S. Armv M16Al rifle. The M7 "Bayonet-
tury. This new weapon gradually spread Knrfe" rs presentlg standard-rssue for members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Note the similarity
throughout Europe and rapidly sup- between the M6 and the M7. Both bayonets utrlize the same, M8A1, scabbard.

VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973

of C-Rations in the field? A fair question
and one which is presently the object of
a considerable amount of research by
the U.S. Army.
Since World War I, with the possible
exception of the Korean Conflict, the
bayonet has been responsible for few
combat casualties. In Korea, some six-
teen Medals of Honor specifically men-
tioned the use of the bayonet by the in-
dividual recipient. However, many of
the initial reports from Korea reporting
fierce bayonet charges by both sides
were later dismissed.
Following his in-depth study of
World War 11, General S.L.A. Marshall
had this to say concerning the truecom-
bat worth of the bayonet, "That weapon
(the bayonet) ceased to have any major
tactical value at about the time the inac-
curate and short-range musket was dis-
placed by the rifle. But we have stub-
bornly clung to it-partly because of
tradition which makes it inevitable that
all military habits die a slow death, but
chiefly because of the superstition that
the bayonet makes troops fierce and
audacious, and therefore, more likely to
close with the enemy. I doubt that any
officer of the last war below field grade
would agree that this idea has any merit
whatever."
Although both World Wars and
Korea were "before my time" in the
military, I do have personal knowledge
THIRD RElCH BA YONET- This authenic and ultra-rare Nazi bayonet was evidently carried bj] a member of the elite SS Leibstandarte Adolph
Hitler unit. This unit, the nearest equivalent of which was a regiment, was original1.v formed in 1933 to serve as the Fuhrer's bodyguard. It also
provided guards.for imporrant government buildings and.for Hitler's private residences.
40
of the bayonet being utilized by both
sides during hand-to-hand fighting in
the mountainous Military Region 11
area of South Vietnam during my last
tour in 1971. As a matter of fact, my
closest Vietnamese friend, a young
aggressive operations officer, Dai-uy
(Captain) Hung, was killed by four
thrusts of a fixed SKS bayonet after his
helicopter was shot down by enemy
small-arms ground fire.
A number of U.S. units in Vietnam
did not consider the bayonet important
enough to even issue to the troops. In
other units where they were items of
standard issue, many bayonets never left
the base camps. Innumerable U.S.
soldiers and officers whom I observed in
the jungles of Vietnam carried personal
hunting or fighting knives-the most
popular of which were the famous Ran-
dall-made knives from Florida. Un-
doubtedly, the brand names would be
more diversified today following the
fantastic growth in the number of cus-
tom knifemakers. However, the practice
of carrying a custom-made knife into
combat may have only represented the
"military status symbol" syndrome so
evident in Vietnam, rather than an ac-
tual conviction on the need for a
personal fighting knife. Australian bush
-
hats, Vietnamese tiger fatigues, and cap-
tured Soviet and Chinese weapons were
valued for the same reason.
Today, pro and con advocates for
retaining a military edged weapon
present vehement protests to favor their
respective position. T h e major
argumentative points of both sides are
summaried below. No attempt has been
made to list the points in order of merit
or significance.
PRO
1. Becoming vis-a-vis the enemy will
remain a primary mission of the In-
fantryman, regardless of technological
advances in weaponry.
2. Even well-trained soldiers may run
out of ammunition or be subjected to
malfunctioning rifles.
3. It is ludicrous to deny the soldier
what may well be his only means of
self-preservation.
4. The importance and magnitude of
the few isolated combat actions in which
the bayonet was utilized far outweigh its
infrequent use.
5. The bayonet has become the
symbol of the Infantry, and tradition
dictates its retention.
6. No other major military force in
the world has eliminated the bayonet.
7. The bayonet is invaluable to the in-
dividual soldier as a tool to perform
various non-fighting uses.
8. The bayonet is the only individual
weapon which permits the Infantryman
to kill or capture his enemy in almost
total silence.
THE AMERICAN BLADE
 Handmadr 1

For The )
Discrirninatln@+
Sportsmatt+":

i -

4" Bladc
Selec
MODEL 84/98 M A USER BA YONET - The 15.9" model 84/98 German bayonet served as French Walnut
an extension to the standard Mauser rifle. This bayonet was worn suspended from the waist
belt by means of leather frog and was strapped to the entrenching tool when rhe full field
All Nickel
equipment was worn. (Author's co!lection). Silver Fitting
And Inla]
9. The fixed bayonet is practically in-
dispensable in a civil disturbance con-
trol operation.
CON When you see the name of
1. A bullet or grenade can perform
Clay R. Gauit
an advertiser in this publi- 1626 Palma Plaza AB
the same job as a bayonet much quicker cation, you can be sure that Austin, Texas 78703
and better. (512) 476-2566
he or she is interested in
2. The bayonet has seldom been YOU. The fascinating field
utilized in modern warfare as a weapon.
of knife collecting is made
3. The modern Infantryman is grossly
overloaded in both equipment and up of many different indi-
weight, and the value of a bayonet is not viduals from all walks of
enough to justify the additional weight life but they do have a
penalty it imposes on the soldier. common interest. O u r ad-
4. The psychological threat of naked vertisers allow us to get
bayonets will not frighten a resolute together through the means
enemy. of this magazine and ex-
5. The bayonet has become an pand this interest and our
anachronism and should be relegated to knowledge so that we may
a museum shelf. enjoy knife collecting and
6. The bayonet has become the
just plain knife ownership
symbol of the Infantry, and the mystical
aura that surrounds it makes it difficult
to a much greater degree.
to evaluate the real effectiveness of this Remember, if a manufac-
weapon. turer, importer, or custom
7. The technology of warfare has maker of fine cutlery cares
changed dramatically during the past enough about you to make
300 years, while there has been little this magazine possible, you
change in the bayonet. should let them know that
Let it suffice to say that the arguments you appreciate it. Buy from
are strong for both abolition and reten- our advertisers and let them
tion of the bayonet, although my know you saw their ads in
personal opinion favors retaining the
The American Blade.
bayonet asan ancillary weapon. The last
means of self-preservation issue to me
(Continued on next page)

VOL. 1. NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973

 CLOSE-UP OF ENGRA V E D G E R M A N BA YONET BLADE - As mentioned in the text, the blades qf many Third Reich edged weapons were
elaborately engraved. This particular haj.onet blade bears the motto "Zur Erinnerung An Meine Dieustzeit" (in renzemhrance q f n l y service time).
The small uwrds Geo. Gesc,h. in the right lower corner are abbreviations for Gesetzlich Geschutzt and mean "Patent Pending." The manu/acturer
?/'this partic.ular sidearm was the Puma Firm q f Solingen.

outweighs all of the points in favor of
eliminating the edged weapon from the
modern battlefield.
Another viewpoint expressed above
concerning the psychological aspects of
edged weapons deserves additional con-
sideration. Could a psychological
benefit from edged weapons be a reality
or just a propagandized military myth?
History would definitely favor the
former hypothesis. In the late 1930's,
Adolph Hitler very skillfully employed
the use of elaborate military and
political paraphernalia adorned with
the now infamous Wehrmacht eagle and
swastika to foster unequalled "esprit de
corps" and morale among the members
of his "Thousand Year" Reich. No small
part of Hitler's success in developing
Herculean allegiance from fanatical
followers to a cause doomed for disaster
was his mastery in perfecting the utopia
in military pomp and ceremony.
Of no small consequence were the
elaborate, omnipresent edged weapons
which were worn with both the German
dress and duty uniforms. During the
period 1934 until the end of World War
and issued to some twenty different Nazi Indeed, for a country the size of our
organizations. Many of these weapons state of Texas to sustain a massive war
differed significantly in design and com- effort for seven long years of bitter
position. In several cases different
models were created for officer and
enlisted personnel within the same unit,
resulting in even additional varieties.
Even the smallest organizations of the
Third Reich as the RLB
(Reichsluftshulzbund) consisting of air
raid wardens a n d the NSFK
(Nationalsocialistische Fliegerkorps)
consisting of glider pilots were soon to
fight for their own distinctive edged
weapon sidearm. Although the en-
visioned "Thousand Year" Reich was
drastically reduced to twelve short
years, literally millions of swords,
daggers, and bayonets were produced.
Innumerable blades of these edged
weapons were richly engraved with such
idealistic mottos as, "All for Germany," MILlTA RY POMP A N D CEREMONY
"My Honor Is True," "Labor En- MASTER Y-Adolph Hitler wasable toget
nobles," "Be More Than You Appear literally millions yfpeople involved in the
Nazi movement ~ ' i t hsuch devices as the
T o Be," etc. "Colossal Extravaganza" pictured above.
To consider the existence of any in- Witness the attendance u7hich involved
tangible, psychological, "spirit of the hundreds qf thousands o f dedicated
bayonet'' perception among the ~a~:~~u!~~%~~~tb" hOUrS1O

11, scores of distinctive edged weapons members of a military force to be strictly (Courtesy of Charles M . Campbell
were designed, adopted, manufactured, a myth would definitely be in error. W W l I Photo Library.)

42 THE AMERICAN BLADE

poundings from the Allies, attests to the
tremendous psychological conditioning
of the German forces. At last, an orignal catalog of the Voss cutlery isavailable for
Within the Research and the collector and cutlery enthusiast. This is an original reproduction
Development community of our own of the catalog, which will fill the need of many in what was
manufacutuer. Patterns, pattern numbers,
Army, one position on edged weapons unusual items are shown as originally
which is often stated, "While we may not
need a bayonet, per se, we d o need the
psychological 'spirit of the bayonet'."
No, the U.S. Army has not considered
the bayonet issue an impasse. In 1969,
an Ad Hoc Committee was organized at The catalog is 72 pages in length and it
the Army Infantry School at Fort Ben- is a 8%"x 1 1" in size with a hard flexible
ning, Georgia to study the practicality of
the bayonet on the modern battlefield.
The Ad Hoc Committee findings were
that the present military knife bayonet is
a satisfactory bayonet, but an un- Send orders to:
satisfactory knife. The Committee con-
cluded that an improved utility knife is
Custom Cutlery Co.
needed and stated in their final report,
P. 0.Box 1845
"The survival knife with a contoured Dalton, Georgia 30720
bayonet handle with or without a knuc-
kle guard is the most popular bayonet
knife style of the alternatives offered." . -
At present, five "knife-bayonet"
prototypes with slight modifications are
being produced by the Army Land War
Laboratory (LWL) at Aberdeen Prov-
ing Grounds, Maryland. All five
prototypes will be delivered during
January 1974 to the Infantry School at
Fort Benning, Georgia. A Concept
Evaluation test will determine the
favorite candidate among Airborne and
Ranger students. At that time LWL will
manufacture an additional one hundred
knife-bayonets of the selected variation
for a detailed Military Potential Test at
Fort Benning. The tentative delivery
dates are March and April of 1974. The
results of this testing will determine the
Army's decision to adopt the first major
change to the bayonet in many decades.
In conclusion, there appears to
remain a definite place in the modern
military for edged weapons. Writing in
his book The American Bayonet
1776-1964, Mr. Albert Hardin states,
"Regardless of the formal tactical dic- CAROLINA KNIFE EXCHANGE
tates which the future may hold.. .we P.O. BOX 12121
may safely predict that the battle-ready Rock HIII. South Carolma 29730
soldier of the future will always carry
Each blade is serial numbered a stamped with the famous Smith &
an edged weapon, be it knife or
bayonet." In actuality, it appears that
'I
Wesson trademark and each kit i packaged in the familiar blue and
silver box.
the military edged weapon of the future Only 2.000 of these will be made so if you really want one get yo"; order
will be a combination of the two! in now. Delivery before December 15th.
Ready for you to assemble and finish for A forged blade;
broached pakawood handle, and semi-finished guard and pommel come
ready to complete with a few simple hand tools. , G :(:::,q
i t . # , 5 , .

VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973

 JudgingPocket Knife Quality
The first and most important skill any
of us who want to be a knife collector
has to develop is the ability to judge
the quality of a knife when we inspect
it before purchase. Two knives which
look superficially the same or which
both bear the same maker's name can
vary greatly in value because of what
may seem to be minor differences in
condition.
That doesn't mean I try to buy only
"mint" knives by any means - or that
I won't sometimes pick up what anyone
else would call a real junker if it
catches my eye or I want to fill in my
personal collection with an example of
that particular model.
There are very few of us who could
afford to be absolute purists in de-
manding only "mint."
However I d o have one ironbound
rule. Every time I buy any knife I first
assign it to one of the seven recog-
nized classes for condition. That way I
know what I'm getting and can make
up my mind how much to pay. I also
have a fairly good idea how much I
can expect for that knife when 1 want
to sell or trade it off.
I use the grading standard estab-
lished by the National Knife Collectors
and Dealers Association, which is the
recognized authority on the subject
today. The members themselves are
pledged to use these standards in
buying, selling and trading. The more
widely they are accepted, the better.
Knife collecting is still quite a young
avocation in this country though in-
dividuals have been at it since the
knife was a sliver of flint or obsidian.
The sooner we get a set of recognized
standards and the more rigidly we ob-
serve them, the better for all of us.
44
Here are the seven standard grades
for pocket knives as set by the
NKCDA:
1. Mint - a factory fresh knife, ab-
solutely original as it came from
the manufacturer, not carried or
sharpened, a perfect knife.
2. Near Mint - a new knife that
has seen some time, shows some
slight carry or "shop" wear. Not
sharpened. Tarnished or slightly
rusted new knives fall into this
classification.
3. Excellent - knife shows some
slight sharpening and handle
wear, blades snap perfectly,
handles show no cracks.
4. Very Good - shows no more
than 10% blade wear, handles
are sound, no cracks, blades snap
good.
5. Good - about 25% blade wear,
slight cracks in handles, may
have one lazy blade, stamping
still clearly visible to naked eye,
no blades changed or repaired.
6. Fair - 50% blade wear, blades
lazy, cracks and chips in handles,
handles replaced with same type,
blades repaired, stampings faint
but readable with a glass.
7. Poor - blades very worn, han-
dles bad or missing, blades have
been replaced with the same
type, reading of stamps is almost
impossible even with glass, good
mostly for parts.
Those are the seven recognized
grades. In addition we sometimes
come on what might almost be called
an eighth grade.
8. Parts - handles without blades
or blades without handles, com-
by Edward Y. Breese
ponents only such as springs,
shields, etc., condition may range
from good to terrible, some peo-
ple won't even touch this stuff,
others are born packrats like
me, suit yourself.
All of the above sounds pretty rigid
and didactic. Some men have read it
and wanted to toss out most of their
collection as pure-D junk.
That fails to take into account the
realities of the situation. Those stand-
ards are chiefly valuable in preventing
false or deceptive advertising (a lot of
knives are bought and sold by mail
these days) and in adjusting price as
compared to the top or mint price
listed in the collectors' price books.
When it comes to what to buy and
keep in your collection, that's strictly
up to you and me. Most aficionados I
know are heavy on common sense
here.
First of all, the mint and near mint
knives are really hard to find. They
aren't quite as rare as hen's teeth or
fern seed, but sometimes it seems
that way.
Just think - to be really mint a
knife made by Winchester or Reming-
ton (both of whom have been out of
the business for decades) would have
to have been taken home and stored
away in its original box or wrapper for
lo these many years. Somewhere along
the line it might have been used to cut
butter once or twice, but that's all. If
the ownel: had even yielded to his
very natural inclination to touch up
the edge a few times on his favorite
soft Arkansas stone, blooey.
Most of your prizes will be in the
excellent or very good grades - and
you may find most of these priced up
THE AMERICAN BLADE
today to where your wife will start
screaming her beautiful head off if
she ever finds the check stub. Still -
it's good for the soul to let go all holds
and yield to temptation, just so long as
it isn't overdone.
In this connection we can all keep
in mind that at present rates of in-
crease in collector prices the knife that
seemed like such a crazy extravagance
this time last year has already gone
up in value anywhere from twenty to
forty percent, depending on the make
or model.
At that rate (and the indications are
that it will continue) the knife you buy
this year,will have doubled in value in
only three to five years. There are few
investments that come anywhere close
to that.
Of course the price could go down
too, but in that case you still have a
valuable piece of tangible property. A
share of stock can fade away to noth-
ing at all, but a knife will still be a
knife. I'll make you a bet that at the
worst you will still sell it for the same
or better purchasing power as what it
cost to begin with.
In judging standards for your own
collection salt the stew with a double
handful of good old common sense.
For example, I would personally still
rate a knife in good, sometimes even
very good grade if it meets all the
other criteria but the stampings on
blade or tang needed a glass to make
out. The stampings would have to be
complete enough for positive identifi-
cation of course, but frequently they
were stamped lightly and the blade
fitted too tightly so that wear was ex-
cessive. Besides the print in the phone
book seems to get smaller every year
lately. I'm sure you know what 1 mean.
You will set your own standards of
course, but I'd still go for an excellent
or very good early Winchester three or
four blade knife, even if one of the
blades had been broken off. I wouldn't
go top price of course.
If you happen to be prospecting with
one of those new electric metal finders
and turn up an old Remington bullet,
don't throw it away even if the blades
are rusted into a solid block. Drop me
a line instead. Don't bother though if
it's a foreign made, no-name hunk of
tin.
VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973
Once you get the standard grades
clear in your own mind, the next step
is to know which knives are worth
applying them to. A knife isn't neces-
sarily a collector prize just because it
was made forty or more years back or
because it's in really fine condition.
Some race horses that look good
couldn't beat your kid brother on a
bicycle in a race to the corner.
Before anyone can build up a really
good collection, he has to have a
reallv informed idea of what he's
looking for. There's an intangible qual-
ity here. Some knives just "feel" right
when you heft them.
A real collector can dive into a cigar
box full of absolute junk and come up
with one of the real old Hammer
Brand knives every time or something
equally good.
That takes instinct of course as well
as the skill acquired from actually
handling and examining a lot of
knives. Still there are some general
rules even the beginner can follow to
pan the gold out of the gravel on the
dealer's table or in the box of junk at
the local flea market.
I'm going to talk about these in my
next column for the Blade. Actually
they're rather simple rules and they
By Michael Reese
I
get easier to apply as you practice
them. They'll let you pick the winners
"The camps in t h e large
Northern towns were of regi- I
for your collection. ment caliber. Those of t h e
South reflected a mere com-
pany. The accountrements and
arms of t h e Yankee were of
fine leather and rifled muskets.
The Confederate troops were
always old fashioned smooth
bore squirrel guns and a home
made Bowie knife. The North-
ern troops were well equipped
IN NEXT ISSUE with their neat blue uniforms,
In our next issue, an exclusive which lent an air of some mili-
interview with Bob Loveless. tary discipline. The Confeder-
We ask the questions and Bob ate uniforms were of gray and
gives the answers and what he brown, o r sometimes just lack-
says is what you get. This inter- ing entirely. To t h e casual ob-
view is worth much more than server there was a physical
the price of a year's subscrip- difference between Gray and
tion and we guarantee that it Blue and I lived t o see that ap-
will be a classic. pearances did not deceive. Tis'
the cause that was glorious,
not the fate of the cause."

Editors -
I enjoy your magazine very much but
as it said on the bottom of the Editor's
page in the July-August issue "If you
don't see articles about some particular
field of cutlery that we might be over-
looking, let us know." I've got two sug-
gestions I think might be of use to your
magazine. I'm going to do a bit of ex-
plaining first because I think it will help
put my points across.
I'm 25, single, make about $7,000 a
year working in a cotton mill so you
can see I don't have a lot of money to
"Invest in contemporary cutlery" as
suggested by Col. James P. Caston on
pages 30 and 3 1. I've got 6 Puma knives
and 5 Bucks and that's the extent of my
collection. The point is, if I did buy an
expensive knife how would 1 take care
of it? How about doing like Popular
Science and other magazines along that
line by putting in hints on how to take
care of the knives you have. Such as
when a bone handle starts to dry out or
is dried out what to do? What's the
best method to keep your sheath from
getting brittle? How to remove
scratches from the guard or blades.
Plain and short, how about some ar-
ticles on how to keep your collection in
good shape without ruining the knife or
ruin its value. You probably have a lot
of readers like me who tend to collect
knives because they like knives for their
beauty, feel, usefulness, and good de-
sign but don't really know how to collect
knives and take care of them. Like if 1
got a rusty knife that was rusted shut,
how would I go about getting the rust
off and cleaning the blades without
damaging them?
The aim of The American Blade is to
guide and direct those who must invest
carefully and even ifyou are only going
to own one knife in your whole life, we
think that you will be better oJf it it is
the right one for your needs. Thanks a
lot for your suggestions and interest.
Editors -
I have enjoyed your magazine very
much and look forward to it. Where can
I have Case pocket knives repaired?
1 have been making handles and
sheaths for Indian Ridge Trader
Blades. Will you give me your views of
the English and Russell blades, hard-
ness, workmanship, price, etc.
My second point is that there are a Ruana in Montana has made me a
lot of blade designs and 1 realize each blade to my design. His workmanship
design has its own particular virtue but left something to be desired, but are his
what about a few articles on blade blades good tools? For the price, I
design and such. You've got a lot of think 1 have gotten my moneys worth.
advertisers who specialize in custom Thank you,
work but if the customer sends in a de- Bobby Davis
sign he thinks will be just what he needs Box 6001
and it turns out to be a bad design Sherwood, Ark. 721 16
the knifemaker will get the blame when We do not know of a Case repair
the customer tells the story. So why not station in our area bur we will try and
help the customer out with his designs get a list of Case repair stations pub-
and in the long run if his knife does the lished in our next issue.
job well the knifemaker will get a lot of The Indian Ridge Traders Blades are
good publicity. So it'll help everyone quire good for their price and many
out. The closest you've come to the knifemakers have started out in their
above was the article by John Wooters trade by doing exactly as you are and
in the May-June issue on pages 20 and putting handles on these blades. The
25. In my opinion the best article, along hardness of the type blades you mention
with Knives of The Mountain Men by is usually quite sufficient for the aver-
Steve Miller, was the article by John age user's needs and the workmanship
Wooters. The main thing I like about is what you should expect for the cost
his article is that he gives his preference of the particular blade. These blades
in blade design and other subjects and are inexpensive and so it is nor fair to
then gives his reasons for the pref- expect the same quality that is expected
erence. So why not publish the other from a more costly knife.
side of the fence such as an article Several of our acquaintances have
like "Bone vs. Wood for Handles," used Ruana knives for many years and
describe the advantages of each and let have nothing bur praise for the way they
the reader be the final judge. have performed in the field. A Ruana
Thank you, knife is definitely worth what it sellsfor
Theodore Burgess and as a tool it is more than adequate.
P. 0.Box 3527 Some of the more expensive Ruana
Anderson, S. C. 29621 knives are finished a little better but
they are not meant to beflawless works
The information which you request is of art and they are not.
forthcoming in this and following
issues. We agree that there are a lot of Editors -
people who can't afSord to put a lot of In the article, Sept.-Oct. issue, by
money into cutlery and this magazine John Jobson "Big Game Hunter's
is directed to them even more so than it Knife," he mentions a non-ferous metal
is to those to whom money is no object. for knives.
THE AMERICAN BLADE
 I am interested in this metal. He
doesn't give the trade name. I would
like to make a knife out of this material Buster's Xnives
and wonder if I should write to Mr.
Jobson or if you would be able to get -I
me this information. I will be grateful I
for your help.
Thank you,
David Singer
1223 Sunnymede Classic Bowie 8lA" blade-440C Steel
South Bend, Inc. 4661 5 Stainless and brass fittings c~~~~~~~ hilt $225.00
Brass back strap
We are not familiar with the non-
BUSTER WARENSKI
ferrous metal to which Mr. Jobson Send for catalog Box 214
refers in his article. We will direct your R~chfield,Utah 84701
question to him and hope that we can
help you find out exactly what it is.
Often, there is some reluctance t o di-
vulge new developments until sufficient
"Tomorrow's Collector's Piece - Today"
experimentation has been performed to
assure that a new idea is a good idea.
If such is the case in this matter, there
is surely good reason and any significant
breakthrough in metal technology will
be reported in these pages. Randall Made Knives
Editors - - P 0 BOX 1988-AB
Orlando, Flor~da32802
After reading M r . Edward Y.
Breese's very interesting article on
"Sport and Profit in Pocket Knife Col- Write for 32 page catalogue - Price $ .50
lecting," I wondered if you could tell
me where to acquire collector's price
books which Mr. Breese mentioned?
I would appreciate this information
for folding blade knives as well as NEW!
stationary.
Thank you for any information you
Just Released
can supply. I*XL
K. E. Macht '. Means
22228 Victory Blvd. H-3 15
Woodland Hills, Ca. 91364
by WU- R W I m o n
i.
*'
I EXCEL
America's Foremost Authority
Thanks for your letter asking about A short *. r on Bowie Type Knives
pocket knife price books. There are a history . ,'+
number of these being published lately ofthe
and the prices given generally reflect PZb BowieK*
a

&a OVER 60
those the knives bring in the author's ANTlQU E BOWlE

-I
own area. For a complete list I suggest KNIVES ILLUSTRATED
you write Roy Scott of the National
Knife Collectors & Dealers Assoc. at
203 E. Mineral St., Newport, Tenn. Only 1600
37821. Copies printed
*
However here are a few which I use V11,,,11t*, "111 1 " IIIX*>

myself and find excellent for the pur-

pose. For anything to do with the Paper-back $ 3.95 First-come A certain
famous C A S E line write Dewey P. Hard-bound $10.00 First-served Collector's item
Ferguson, P. 0. Box 929, Fairborn, Shipped postpaid
Ohio 45324, for a list of his latest
(Continued on next page) Dealers w r ~ t eon your letterhead for quantity prices
CHERRY'S / Geneseo, 111. 61254
VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973
books andprices. Another good book is
the "Kentucky Knife- Traders Manual
#4" by R. B. Ritchie, Box 384, Hind-
man, Ky. 41822. Also the "Two In One
Knife and Razor Book" by Robert
Mayes, Middlesboro, Kentucky 40965.
And for anyone interested in knives
carrying product advertising the classic
is Ed Bardy's "Advertising With A
Sharp Edge." Write him at 1215 E.
Front St., Traverse City, Michigan
49684. A s I said there are others - and
new ones coming out as interest in col-
lecting grows. However, these should
give you a good basic library to start
with. -Edward Y. Breese
Editors -
Gentlemen, might I prevail upon you
for some information? Specifically,
what is a good steel for throwing knives,
and to what hardness should it be
taken? At present I have 0 1, W 1, A2,
and 154CM steel in my shop, and was
wondering if any or all of these might
be suitable. Also, let me take the op-
portunity to say that your magazine is
excellent in every respect. Particularly
noteworthy is your apparent determina-
tion to give your readers hard facts
rather than the usual glut of opinions,
baseless superlatives, and dubious
myths and legends with which many
cutlery articles abound. Keep up the
good work.
Martin Rosenfield
40 Blanche Street
Cambridge, Mass. 02139
All of the steels which you mention
having in your shop are suitable for
throwing knives. The proper hardness
for each type will vary slightly but the
most important consideration when heat
treating these various metals is to be
sure that the heat treating process is
thorough and correct. Two samples o f
identical steel can test out to the same
hardness and one can be much tougher
than the other. This is due to the fact
that stresses are set up in the metal by
the heating and quenching and these
stresses must be relieved properly. W e
would like to answer your questions in
full here, but in our next issue there
will be a complete article on proper
heat treating for knife blade steels. I
will be sure to pay particular attention
to your specific questions.
Editors -
Philip Day made the Georgia THROWINO KNIFE
Thumper. It had a 10 inch blade, wood wW.-w-~--""h=.
mbamrru11kacl* b i h ~ I W , h
slab handles and a brass guard. He rmd~r*va**.BmmIrr*~r.wlmI
~Cut*rFrl8lr*r.nnl.mYr
made two types of knuckle guards, a ~*trrtn*rllawla~~,o.lva~r-
~ n U r O J 1 * * r a r .
bow and a duster. I bought a push
,, --.J.KLAE .. .,.. ..-.,
dagger from him back in 1969. His
address is Route 1, Box 465-T, Bay
Minette, Alabama 36507.
I subscribed to the Shotgun News for G, Jeatn
the knife ads. They never had too many
MAKER of
classified ads for knives but it was
worth the money just to find out who HANDMADE KNIVES
was selling his collection. No matter 633-D Center Street
how small your ad section is it will be Manchester, Conn. 06040
well read. In fact, I'll give you an ad to Tel: 203-649-6449
start it off. 203-289-7091
Now that some American makers are
doing some of the more exotic blades
(Warneski's Kris and Cooper's Kukri)
why not do a series on knives of other THE KNIFE SHOP
countries? There are a lot of questions Featuring . . . . Coucbman's
I have wondered about (and many of Custom Knives
your other readers might have also). D o
the teeth on a Scots Dirk really make it Plus everything for your
easier to pull the blade from a deep kitchen, camping, and hunt-
ing needs.
wound? Why the notches at the base of
a Kukri? Are some Kris's wavy to EL P A S 0
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT 79925
Everybody who collects Case
or other pocket knives wants
to know what they are bringing
on the market. Starting in our
1 DAVIS BROS.
next issue, Dewey Ferguson's
regular column on Case pocket
knives will give you pricing
and other useful information.
It doesn't do a whole lot of
good to know what they were
selling for a couple of months
ago and The American Blade
is going to do for pocket knife
collecting what the Wall Street
Journal does for the stock
market.
i
I
DO-IT-YOURSELF
KNIFE MAKERS
i
I
I Skinner model 4" blade
Micarta hilt
! TOP QUALITY BLADES I
Davis Bros. Knives
-
u P.O. Box 793 AB
IIDEQN W
12 ELMWOOD AVE.
I
B ~ ~
P.O. BOX X-50
E
/L ~ SCamden, S.C. 29020
WELLAND. ONTARIO FERNDALE. HICH. 48220 I
Send 504 for color catalog
I
make a stronger blade or a bloodier
wound?
George Cameron Stone, in his book
"A Glossary of the Construction, Deco- CUSTOM KNIVES
I
ration and Use of Arms and Armor in
all Countries and in All Times" says by John LeBlanc
"The most widely used knife is the P. 0. BOX81AB
Arab Jambiya. . .it is one of the best Sulphur, La. 70663
fighting knives ever made. The best

J
purely thrusting knife is the Persian
Peshkabz (which is the same as the
Afgan Choora) either the straight or
curved variety. The best slashing knife
is the Gurka Kukri. . .the Moro Barang
is also excellent. . .The Japanese knives Presentation folder with ivory handles-and hand engraved bolsters
are among the best, largely because in velvet lined walnut box. Limited numbered model of 100. $150.00.
they are made of better steel and extra-
ordinary well ground." Not a word in
the whole (694 page) book about James
Bowie. The book was written in the
1930's. I wonder how Mr. Stone would
have rated his selections against the Folding knives $60.00 in standard model of micarta handles or
Randall Model One (made by so many $65 with; stag as shown.
knifemakers today) or the Fairbairn-
Sykes Commando knife.
Best Wishes,
N. A. Hannon Model 4
107 Atlantic Ave. $60 with stag handles
Providence, R.I. 02907 BROCHURE 50Q

Thanks for the information about

the Georgia Thumper and for the ad.
We are very interested in doing articles
on knives from other countries but we
must depend on writers to submit ar-
ticles of this type as none of those
presently on our staff feel qualgied to
/$$iiIGID KNIVES
write anything of value in this par-
ticular vein. Please accept this as an
invitation to recommend writers or
articles which you think would be of
interest to our readers.
.
THE CARIBOU (R-8)

Mr. Owen Thompson has
sharpened knives for a living
for over thirty years. You'll be
surprised at some of his ob-
servations in the next issue.
A product of time, patience and dedicated craftsmanship. A knife designed for the professional hunter and
guide, or the sportsman who wants only the best. Each knife is handmade of rust-resistant high carbon steel
with full tang and slab handle. The hilt is constructed with a solid guard and brass bolsters, thus providing pro-
tection, balance and ruggedness. Finger indentations are ground into the grip, and the full tang provides the
strongest handle possible.
The Caribou has the balance and weight to make the toughest skinning and camp job easy. With the thumb and
finger groove ahead of the brass uard, one can work close with perfect blade control. Nlne Rigid knife models
available including the FOLDING A~ACHE.
All knives come in a choice of Brazilian Rosewood or Black Micarta handles and carry a 100% lifetime guarantee.
Each knife comes with a sheath of top grain black leather.
See the co,mplete line of hunting and camping knives at your dealer or write for free catalogue. Rigid also
spec~al~zes In custom kn~fework.

RIGID KNIVES,
Oept. AB-9, Box 460, Santee, Calif. 92071

VOL. 1, NO. 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973

 FOR SALE: Rare 18th Century
Chinese Dagger with Jade handle and
scabbard carved from single pieces of
the precious stone. Price: $1,000.00.

Classified flds Photo on request. Q-Air Ind. Corp., 18

Siwanoy Clubway, Bronxville, N.Y.
10708.

Offering immediate delivery on

Classified Ad Rates: 30C per word. Minimum 24 words, $7.20. Zip code
included at no charge.
CRADDOCK CUSTOM KNIVES will
work from your design, to my specifi-
cations. For information write: Mike
Craddock, Route 1, Box 202-C, Bur-
lington, N. C. 27215.
Custom made knives 440C and tool
steel, many different models. Catalog
50c refundable with order. Crawford
Knives, 205 North Center, West Mem-
phis, Ark. 72301.
The American Bayonet, Volume 2, be-
ing drafted. Have you relevant
specimens not in Volume 1, I can
borrow? Al Hardin, 5414 Lexington,
Pennsauken, N.J. 08109.
BOOKS WANTED - Cold Steel by
John Styers; D o or Die by A.J.D. Bid-
dle. A. Hannon, 107 Atlantic Ave.,
Providence, R.I. 02907.
Japanese Samurai Swords, Daggers,
Armor, Artifacts Wanted. Will pay cash
or swap. Parts wanted too. Allen E.
Feldman, P.O. Box 605, Elm City,N.C.
27822.
FOR SALE: Remington, Case, Win-
chester and other older knives.
Reasonable Prices. Send for list.
Member NKC&DA. Tommy Shouse,
Rt. 7, Bunny Trail, Winston-Salem,
N.C. 27105.
handmade knives by: Mustin (CAJUN);
Bagwell; Morseth; and Bone. Send 25e
for list. G.M. Britton, P.O. Box 17454,
Raleigh, N.C. 27609.
FREE throwing knife catalog and
instructions for a stamped, self-ad-
dressed envelope. Write Tru-Balance
Knife Company, 2155 Tremont Blvd.,
N.W., Grand Rapids, Mich. 49504.
Hand Made Custom Hunting Knives
from $35. Catalog 50c. Harvey
McBurnette, Rt. 4, Box 337, Piedmont,
Ala. 36272, (205) 492-6344.
FOR SALE: Military books, war relics,
militaria, etc. Send 25e for complete
listing to Globe Militaria Inc., 6752
Fifth Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. 11220.

0 Bo EN =WIFE
A DIVISION OF ADVENTURE PRODUCTS INC
CO.

Bowen Bullet Locking Back Knife

Model R 1306 4%" closed $30.00
Model R 1306B 3%" closed $25.00

All stainless construction w/delrin bone handles. An almost

exact duplicate of the knife praised by john Jobson in the
last issue of The American Blade. Available in February.

Send cash, check, or money order to:

Bowen Knife Company P. 0. Box 14028AB 593 Westminster Drive, N.E. Atlanta, Ga. 30324
 The Supreme Example . .ul
of the Cutler's Art
150th ANNIVERSARY v

COMMEMORATIVE

VOL. 1, NO 4-NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1973

Beginning with this issue, we will offer The American Blade to our readers on the last day of the last month
for which each issue is dated. For example, the January-February issue will be published on the last day of
February. There are several reasons for our wishing to use a more realistic dating method and we hope you
will agree. First, we think that the date on a magazine should be more than just a way of identifying a particular
issue. Since we and our readers are interested in current events, we think that a magazine should carry
material and information which relates to the period for which it is dated. If you wish to look up something
about the 1973 Kansas City Show which took place in a certain month in 1973,it would certainly be convenient
and reasonable to look up the article in an issue bearing a date near that of the actual event. It doesn't help
much either if you are unable to attend some particular event which we will cover in The American Blade and
you have to wait several months before coverage is published. We're going to do our best to present
interesting and important information as soon as possible to our readers. If you want to know what's going
on in the cutlery industry or the various fields of knife collecting and trading - read about it in The American
Blade when it happens.
Case knife collectors will be glad to know that this fast and accurate coverage will include a regular column by
one of the country's leading authorities on Case knives. Dewey Ferguson will be reporting current selling
prices and other information of interest to the many collectors of Case and other pocket knives. Mr. Ferguson's
column will deal mainly with actual selling prices which change constantly and The American Blade will be
an indispensable aid to the serious collector or trader.

THE AMERICAN BLADE

 4 4
Cooper r,ust
&-mi I r I

combat knif
 n

'- I I The ,
,,hSwiss Army KmIe
a l

Please St-id Up

Spear point general I f you've never seen the real Swiss Army
purpose blade knife, don't be surprised if you guessed
the wrong one. The impostors all look
pretty much like the real thing. They all
have a lot of blades and many of them
are actually made in Switzerland. As is
usually the case, however, there are some
Small screwdriver noteworthy differences in the impostors
and the real item. Our real Swiss Army
knife is actually issued as standard
equipment to the Swiss Army. The
impostors are not issued to the Swiss
Army because-they don't have solid
anodized aluminum handles with heavy
steel rivets and pins. Nor do they have a
positive grip handle finish or the correct
combination of blades, or a can opener
that really works, or screwdrivers that
ACTUAL SIZE , don't come loose when they run into
a screw that needs some vigorous
persuasion. They aren't slender and light
like the real Swiss Army knife either. It
is considerably less than 1W thick and
weighs only 2% ounces. And, the real
Swiss Army knife is made by Victorinox.

If you need a good tough pocket knife

for hunting, camping, or general chores, or
' i f you just appreciate a fine quality knife

I
A
large screwdriver that will serve for a lifetime of use- let
the real Swiss Army knife stand up for you.

Awl
$8.75 each postpaid

TENSAW CUTLERY COMPANY

Order direct from:
1751 Dauphin Street
Mobile, Alabama 36604