Category: Knife News (page 8 of 8)

Everyone knows that the Swiss Army knife is a universal and multipurpose tool that can be used for pretty much anything. However, this week it was used for something that even the creators might not have guessed: an amputation.

After the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, where nearly 100 people have been confirmed dead, hundreds of others were trapped beneath rubble and debris.

One of these trapped people, only identified as Brian, had his legs pinned beneath a collapsed building and needed to have both his legs amputated or he would have died.

According to Dr. Stuart Philip, who oversaw the amputation, a Swiss Army knife was the only tool available:

“There wasn’t really any other option. Essentially the procedure was performed with a Swiss Army knife. I know that sounds terrible, but that’s all we had,” Philip told the Dominion Post newspaper.

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In the word of survival, it’s hard to best Bear Grylls.  The star of Man V. Wild spends most of his TV-time hurdling cliffs, dunking himself in sub-zero ice pools, eating vile animal parts and doing other badass stuff that only a guy whose first name is Bear can do.

At his side is usually a survival knife, which is probably why Gerber decided it was wise to team up with Grylls to pump out a signature collection of Bear Grylls blades.

The latest knife to be unveiled is the Ultimate Knife, a 4.8-inch, stainless steel, serrated, drop-point blade with a range of other features.

One of the most impressive features is the fire starter, which consists of a ferrocerium rod that locks in the sheath and can be rubbed against a striker notch on the back of the knife blade to produce sparks.  The knife also has its own diamond sharpener for sharpening on the go.

The knife’s sheath is made of lightweight nylon and contains an emergency whistle and special survival instructions from Bear, in case you get stuck in a sticky situation and need some sage advice.

The knife is available from a number of distributors and retails for around $60  Anyway, if you want to see the blade and get a description from the Bear himself, here’s a short promo video.

The effort to get knives recognized under the Second Amendment saw another success this week after the Utah legislature took steps to pass a law that would prohibit city and local municipalities from regulating the use of knives.

The passage is seen as a victory for knife rights enthusiasts who see this as an important step to preserving the right to carry knives.

Rep. Ryan Wilcox, the sponsor of the bill, was reported in the Desert News saying that knives should be included under the protections of the Second Amendment and shielded from laws made by municipalities.

“I understand the concern of municipalities,” Wilcox said. “On the other hand, there are some rights that are fundamental to our core as a nation and should be protected.”

What the bill would do is make knife laws around Utah consistent so hunters carrying knives in different cities are not violating local restrictions.

The bill, known as HB271, passed the state’s House of Representatives 52-17 and will now go to the state’s Senate for a vote.

Last year, New Hampshire passed a similar law that recognized knives as protected under the Second Amendment. That law tacked knives onto the existing protections of firearms, effectively doing away with most restrictions on buying and carrying knives in the state.

Victorinox, the Swiss company that took over production of the Swiss army knife after purchasing Wenger SA in 2005, has attracted a variety of new knife owners by altering the design of the Swiss army knife to satisfy a more modern audience.

An article recently published in Bloomberg discussed the company’s move to new models, some of which are bladeless, and have features like altimeters, temperature gauges and flashlights, alongside more traditional features like screwdrivers and hacksaws.

The popular pen knife, which has a cigar cutter, hole punch and a USB data card, is even used by Pope Benedict and the Dalai Lama.

According to the article, upon taking control of the Swiss army knife, Victorinox immediately began brainstorming a variety of modifications to the traditional Swiss army knife model, including features as unorthodox as an integrated  cell phone, an extendible ruler and a small spoon to remove ear wax.

Although those ideas were eventually rejected, the company did produce a $1,200 knife, which has 87 tools, 14 blades, golf tools and a signal whistle and weighs approximately 7 pounds; the knife even made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

If you dabble much in the world of Hollywood socialites, you’ve likely heard the news that Paris Hilton woke up in L.A. yesterday to the sight of a man, who police have identified as 31-year old Nathan Parada,  clamoring outside of her home with a pair of kitchen knives.  She broke the news on Twitter:

Unfortunately, celebrity armed-burglary is a frequent symptom of dull-blade syndrome–something we see too often in the knife world.  Buying poor-quality kitchen knives to save money can seem like a good idea at the time–but fast-forward six months and you may find yourself with a blade so lame you can’t cut through a carrot.

Of course, the smart thing to do would be to check out Knife Depot and pick out a high-quality kitchen knife.  We carry bread knives, boning knives, pairing knives and more.  Not only are our products the sharpest, but they also come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, ensuring that you’ll never cave into hysteria and bash your dull blades against the front door of a woman whose primary source of income is posing provocatively with her pug.