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Blade Show day one round up

June 12, 2011 / Tim / 4 Comments

The annual Blade Show is the Super Bowl of the knife world, and I’ll be covering it from Atlanta all weekend. This year, the show features over 900 exhibitors, in addition to a full schedule of speakers, demonstrations, contests and other events. The exhibition hall opened at 2 p.m. today, and I spent the afternoon wandering through a sea of sharp objects. Here were some of the highlights.

Interview with New Hampshire State Representative Jenn Coffey

A rising star in the world of knife advocacy and libertarian politics, Rep. Coffey was the driving force behind the recent passage of New Hampshire’s pre-exemption knife bill, which legalized knife possession across the state. A former EMT, Coffey talked about her work in the New Hampshire Legislature and how she was driven to activism and politics by the influence of her husband.

Coffey said that on the job she used rescue knives, such as SOG’s and Benchmade knives. She added that “knives that can open quickly, like gravity knives, are extremely important. ”

Coffey was signing copies of her recently released book, Knife, Liberty and Lipstick, which is a call to arms for a return to liberty. A portion of the proceeds for the book are going to Camp Constitution, a summer camp that teaches kids about “our American heritage of courage and ingenuity the genius of the United States Constitution.”

As for her knife advocacy, Coffey encouraged legislators and citizens to move past the glamorization of knives as dangerous weapons.

“I have dangerous knives in my kitchen,” she said, adding that anything, even an umbrella could be used as a deadly weapon. “The emphasis should not be on tools, but on actual criminal acts.”

Getting Medieval with Albion Swords

It’s difficult to cruise by the Albion table without stopping. These guys, based out of New Glarus, Wisconsin, carry a pretty big selection of medieval swords. They’re pricey, most of them all over 1k, but you can play with them for free. The swords range from French to Irish to Italian, most of the designs were carried by knights during their time.

Albion swords have been featured in a few different movies and their full stock of movie swords can be viewed here. Scope out the Conan the Bararian sword, it’s a must see. Here are a few other burly-looking swords in their selection.

Knife Rights takes on New York City DA in lawsuit

June 10, 2011 / Tim / 8 Comments

New York resident John Copeland was shocked when he was nabbed by the police for having a folding knife with a three-inch blade that he bought from a reputable sports store in New York City. Apparently, police wrongly deemed this knife and many other folding knives an illegal gravity knife, according to the New York Post.

So, what’s the best way to get a city to address the problem? Sue them.

Knife Rights, the non-profit knife advocacy group from Arizona, has filed a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Copeland and another man against New York City District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who has been on a yearlong crusade to remove knives from the streets.

The only problem is, Knife Rights claims that Vance and police are wrongfully identifying any knife that’s easily opened with one hand as gravity knives.

NH knife rights preemption bill finally signed into law

June 9, 2011 / Tim / 1 Comment

Knife rights enthusiasts rejoice.

The New Hampshire knife rights preemption bill was finally signed into law by Gov. John Lynch meaning the law will take effect in 60 days, according to Ammoland.

For anyone who’s been following this story, the bill passed the state’s senate and house of representatives a while ago thanks to the effort of Rep. Jenn Coffey, author of the new book “Knives, Lipstick, and Liberty One Woman’s Journey.” But, with Gov. Lynch’s signature, the bill becomes law after 60 days.

New Hampshire is just the third state to enact knife law preemption, but the bill is another victory for the Knife Rights’ National Knife Law Preemption Campaign.

Essentially, what knife law preemption means is that counties or cities within a state cannot enact local ordinances prohibiting the use of certain knives. For example, a person with a several inch hunting knife might be fine in one county, but in the next, they might be breaking a local ordinance.

Laserlyte introduces the "Mini Bayo" for pistols

June 7, 2011 / Tim / 4 Comments

If you think bayonets are only for gigantic, bulky rifles in the midst of war, think again.

Laserlyte, which is in conjunction with KA-BAR Knives, has a collection of bayonets designed for pistols and recently announced the newest member of its line: the Mini Bayo.

According to Ammoland, the knife is equipped with a 2.75 inch KA-BAR blade that attaches to a medium of large pistol with rails. To attach it, you simply press the two buttons on the handle and affix it to the pistol.

The blade is coated with black oxide and the handle is made from 30 percent glass-filled nylon for additional durability. The great thing about this knife is that it comes with a sheath, so when it’s not attached you can safely store it with the pistol or use it independently.

Another option for a pistol bayonet if you want something bigger is the KA-BAR Knives Pistol Bayonet with a high carbon steel blade. Laserlyte and KA-BAR Knives are hard to beat when it comes to bayonets designed specifically for pistols.

What kitchen knives does the Vegan Black Metal Chef use?

June 7, 2011 / Tim / 2 Comments

Who is the Vegan Black Metal Chef?

He’s a Youtube cooking sensation profiled by The Washington Post today.

The Orlando-based chef, whose real name is Brian Manowitz, sports Gothic face paint and rubber armor while slicing, pounding and shredding food into submission; next to him, an Iron Chef is about as intimidating as a high school lunch lady.

Of course, as you might expect, the Vegan Black Metal Chef has some pretty serious cooking knives in his collection:

The cooking utensils on the counter — swords, daggers, blades of chaos — shudder menacingly with pulsing vibrations of the ominous background music, which, like the Vegan Black Metal Chef, is also black metal.

In fact, if you skip through to 1:30 in this video, you can watch this master of culinary death slicing away at some tofu with a downright scary kitchen knife. Check it out.

A badass military boot knife from Smith and Wesson

June 6, 2011 / Tim / 3 Comments

We sell over 10,000 knives in our e-commerce store, some of which we don’t think get the individual attention they deserve. For this reason, every Monday we’ll be doing a product spotlight to feature one of our favorite blades. This week’s featured product is the Smith and Wesson H.R.T Military Boot Knife.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be a modern day Rambo or an Army commando to carry a military boot knife. This 7.5-inch knife, which packs a 3.5-inch stainless steel blade with a spear-point tip, is perfect for any outdoor adventure.

You can slice through brush, hack through small logs, gut a wild pig or stab a bear with this blade, just remember to secure it in the convenient boot clip when you’re done.

At 4.6 ounces, this knife is surprisingly light considering its raw power. The bottom line: it’s a top-quality blade, but it’s not for everyone. However, if you’re a hardcore outdoorsman who needs a hardcore knife, it’s worth checking out.

The Smith and Wesson military boot knife currently retails for only$19.99, meaning you’ll not only get a great knife, but a great deal as well. Want more details? Check it out here.

Victorinox announces new Swiss Army knife model

June 6, 2011 / Tim / 1 Comment

The Swiss Army knife, which is no stranger to redesigns, will be getting an Asian twist in the latest incarnation of the iconic multi-function pocket knife.

According to Reuters, the new model is designed by Japanese designer Kazuma Yamaguchi and will be rectangular-shaped as opposed to the traditional elongated oval shape.

Manufacturer Victorinox will release the model named Tomo (meaning “friends” in Japanese) in July.

The article also says that the knife will come in a range of bright colors from capri blue to lemon yellow (which resemble the second generation iPod nano), and “will target fashion-conscious customers and will be sold in places like the Museum of Modern Arts in New York.”

There are currently more than 300 different types of Swiss Army knife models that range in prices from cheap to extremely expensive, like this $70,000 Diamond Platinum version.

Victorinox is always looking to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to changes in technology and the knife industry. For example, when the company first started, they were in jeopardy of falling behind when a German company began selling a less expensive version of their knife (which was essentially just a plain pocket knife), but the company invented a new spring system that enabled them to add more tools.

More recently, Victorinox added a USB tool to the knife and has been focusing more on technology in their knives and company.

As culture and technology continue to progress, it’ll be interesting to see how the Swiss Army knife grows with the trends.

Top 10 knives disguised as everyday objects

June 4, 2011 / Tim / 18 Comments

There’s nothing cooler than a knife that’s disguised as an everyday object. Although some of these items seem impractical and are illegal in certain states, there’s no denying just how fascinating these hidden blades are. Here are 10 of the most interesting disguised blades.

1. Pen Knife

The pen knife is the classic disguised knife that looks like something straight out of a James Bond film. The great thing about this disguised knife is that it’s perfect for both the knife enthusiast and writer, because it’s actually functional. If you ever run out of ink for your pen knife, simply buy a new ink refill.

2. Lipstick Knife

Lipstick Knife

This is an item almost exclusively for women, as it would probably be pretty strange for a guy to carry this around. The lipstick knife comes in a variety of colors, so a woman looking to coordinate her disguised knife with her outfit will have no problems. To make the knife come out, all you have to do is take the cap off and twist it open. Unlike the pen knife, the lipstick knife doesn’t serve its original purpose.

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Knives Save Lives: Zen Viljoen vs. Cape Buffalo

June 3, 2011 / Tim / 1 Comment

As everyone knows, animals are unpredictable and curiously mercurial. One moment they might seem like harmless creatures out in the wild and the next thing you know, they are viciously and mercilessly attacking anything within sight.

The most recent installment of Knives Save Lives, our effort to illuminate the ways knives have saved lives, demonstrated how a blade rescued campers from the clutches of a rabid mountain lion. Two other stories featured an attack by two pit bulls and a bear.

Our next story of heroic knives takes us deep into the wild of southern Africa.

Joe Viljoen and his two sons, Micha and Zen, run a business out of South Africa called Brave Heart Safaris that takes amateur hunters on trips to hunt big game. Some of the species you can hunt include giraffes, hyenas, elephants, antelopes, lions and warthogs among others.

A few years back, a routine hunt for cape buffalo turned into a potentially deadly trip.

Weekly knife news roundup (June 2)

June 3, 2011 / Tim / 0 Comments

Since the Internet is packed with so much cool knife information, we’ve decided to make it easy for you to get your knife news all in one place: here. Each Thursday, we’ll be hooking our readers up with a quick summary of new knife information, products and articles across the web. Here’s the skinny for this week.

Blade Show announces qualifiers for World Cutting Contest

The folks over at Blade Magazine have announced the qualifiers for the 2011 World Cutting Championship, which will be held on June 11 at the Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia. The crew is headlined by Donavon Phillips, the 2010 Blade Show World Cutting Champion, who is shown above. Other qualifiers are: Dan Keffeler, Ted Ott, Gary Bond, Evan Martin, Bud Robbins, Lars Rosenblad, Jose Diaz, Michael Eubanks and John Czagas.

Don’t buy a a set of kitchen knives, just buy the ones you need

That’s the advice of a cooking article this week in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, which gives the following advice.

You will waste money on specialty knives you won’t ever use. Spend the money on the best 8-inch chef’s knife, 4-inch paring knife and 12-inch serrated-edge knife you can afford. Those three knives will cost $130 to $150.

A review of Gerber’s new portable saw

Gerber has a pretty badass saw that’s on the market and the guys over at the Southwest Gerber blog just gave it a solid review. The saw is about 13 inches long, has an 11-inch blade and weighs in at around one pound. Here’s a snippet.

Probably the most important aspect of the Gerber Gator Saw for that matter, is that it comes with an intensely sharp blade that will maintain its edge retention for a long time under normal use. While it’s a great saw for camping jobs and smaller tasks, as one reviewer said, it’s not designed for “sawing down redwoods.

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The Cutting Edge

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