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Making Your Own Knife Out of a File

March 9, 2011 / Tim / 46 Comments

There’s nothing like finding that perfect knife with the right blade shape, handle size and original look that fits your predilection.

This is one reason why custom knife makers tend to do great business selling knives around the world.

The Chicago Tribune recently published a profile of a knife maker who turned a hobby into a successful worldwide business. Amazingly, the knife maker made his first knife out of an old file.

While making knives from scratch can be a tedious process, making your own custom knife from an old file is not overly difficult.

In fact, several very informative how-to articles lay out the process very clearly. The best article on how to make your own knife out of a file is written by Christopher Cody at Woods Monkey.

The process is straightforward but requires some tools, such as a hack saw, bench grinder, scroll saw, belt sander and drill.

To give you a general idea on what’s required, here are some of the steps in the process.

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Blade Magazine to Host 30th Annual Blade Show in Atlanta in June

March 8, 2011 / Tim / 3 Comments

Blade magazine will host its 30th annual Blade Show from June 10-12 in Atlanta, Georgia.

If you’ve never been before, the Blade Show is essentially the Super Bowl of knife collecting; if you have the time, it’s definitely worth checking out.

The event, which will be held at the Cobb Galleria, is the “world’s largest combined show of handmade, factory and antique knives.” It will feature 700 tables and approximately 175 factory booths.

An award for the 2011 Knife-of-The-Year will be given for factory knives and there will also be inductions to the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame.

Other highlights are: the 9th Annual BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition, forging demos and seminars on how to collect and make knives.

The Lowdown on Survival Knives

March 7, 2011 / Tim / 5 Comments

Dark Ops Survival Knife

A pocket knife is adequate for a number of outdoor tasks, but if you’re a bona fide survivalist, a serious hunter or a Rambo-enthusiast, you’ll want a bigger, burlier, survival blade. Here’s a look at how the survival knife changed over history and what it represents today.

Survival knife prehistoric history

The survival knife has likely existed in some form for thousands of years. When German hikers discovered Otzi the Iceman, Europe’s oldest mummy, he had a flint knife in tow. He likely used that knife to skin animals, start fires, build shelters and defend himself from everything from bears to human attackers.

Jim Bowie, survival knife inventor, fighting machine.

It’s difficult to imagine a historic figure manlier than Jim Bowie. Whether he was operating as a backwoods pirate in the swamps of Louisiana or slaying Mexicans with his back to the wall at the Alamo, Bowie was one of the toughest knife-wielding renegades of the 19th century and a key contributor to the legacy of the survival knife.

In 1930, Bowie designed the most famous version of his Bowie Knife, a monstrous 9.5-inch blade similar to a butcher knife. The knife blade curved at the end, making it especially apt for skinning dead animals; its straighter section was ideal for chopping or cutting smaller items.

However, the most infamous use of the Bowie knife was combat. In 1827, Bowie was a principal at a duel, later termed the sandbar incident, that ended in him being attacked and shot. Bowie defended himself with his Bowie knife, disemboweling one man and nearly slicing off the arm of another.

How Not to Get Your Pocket Knife Jacked by TSA

March 5, 2011 / Tim / 12 Comments

It happens to thousands of knife owners every year. You’re headed through security at the airport. You’ve taken your shoes off, removed your belt and diligently placed your laptop in the required bin. Then, as you’re walking through the metal detector, you hear the shrill beeping that signifies that something on your person is not allowed and you remember, suddenly, that you’ve completely forgotten about your pocket knife.

According to a 2009 CNN report, airports confiscate an estimated 13 million items annually. One of the most common are pocket knives. Many Americans carry a pocket knife everyday, either as part of their key chain or as a work tool, and too often they don’t remember to put it in their checked baggage. So, what can you do to avoid getting you knife swiped by TSA? Here are some tips.

Pack your knife in your checked bag

According to TSA guidelines, the only knives you can carry on are ones with plastic or rounded blades (butter knives). However, almost any knife can be transported to your destination, if it’s checked. Want to bring your sushi knife on Christmas vacation? You can check it. Just bought a new samurai sword that you don’t want to part with? Check it and you’re fine.

You can also check meat cleavers, sabers, ice picks, hatchets, axes and saws. What does all this mean? When in doubt, check your bag. Just remember, if you’re checking a sword, saber, dagger or other big blade, it needs to be properly sheathed.

But, what if you forget to check and get nabbed at security with your blade?

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Top 5 Movie Knives (That You Can Also Own)

March 4, 2011 / Tim / 5 Comments

Movies provide us with a variety of long-lasting cultural tidbits, from famous quotes to iconic costumes. However, some movies have knives that transcend the fantasy of the big screen and enter the commercial market because of their overall impressiveness. That’s why I’ve decided to create a top 5 list of most memorable movie knives.

While there are many notable knives that appear on the big screen, I’ve decided to make this list only include knives (swords will get their own list) that have become so iconic that they are now commercially available. If you think other knives deserve to be on the list, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section. Here we go.

James Franco Wants to Film Real Life Street Fight Between L.A. Gangs for His Next Movie

March 2, 2011 / Tim / 1 Comment

The actor and filmmaker James Franco has plans to film a real life knife fight between L.A. gangs for his next movie.

The news, which comes burning hot off the press from Star Pulse via the New York Post, doesn’t name the movie, but says it is a collaboration with Harmony Korine, the gritty filmmaker who produced the 1995 movie Kids and the 1997 movie Gummo (a movie about teen cat killers).

Apparently, the duo wants to go under cover and film unsuspecting gang members in the act of stabbing each other, leading some associated with the film to worry about safety.

The production team is panicked that they’ll end up with blood, injuries and potentially dead bodies on set, said an anonymous source.

Sharpening Your Knife in Survival Situations

March 1, 2011 / Tim / 0 Comments

Recently, we’ve been hearing a lot about knives being used in extraordinary circumstances, like the case of Aron Ralston or my recent post about doctors using a Swiss Army knife to amputate a man’s legs.

These are just two examples of survival situations where a dull knife simply won’t cut it, literally and figuratively. In many survival situations, knives become dull from overuse, and there are no sharpening tools available.

If you ever find yourself stranded in the wilderness, here are some things you can do to sharpen and hone your knife.

Buying Knives on The Thailand-Burma Border

March 1, 2011 / Tim / 2 Comments

When I arrived in Thailand last month, I only received a 30-day tourist visa. It expired this week and in order to renew it, I had two options: either trek 14 hours to Laos and hit up the Thai embassy for a 60-day visa or take a 3-hour jaunt to the Burma border, walk across for 30 minutes and be granted an automatic 15-day extension upon my return.

I chose the latter.

The border connects the Thai village of Mae Sai with the Burmese town of Myawaddy, which has a lively market that is occasionally jolted by bombs set off by Burmese rebel groups.

It’s a good place to buy DVDS, watches, clothes, electronics and pretty much everything under the sun for a fraction of the price it would cost you in the West. While stumbling through the myriad stalls, I came across a woman selling knives.

She had a little selection of tactical knives, most of which seemed outrageously cheap. I ended up buying a Dark Ops Stratofighter Stilleto, which retails for $250 for 500 baht ($15).

How To Get Skilled In The Art of Knife Throwing

February 28, 2011 / Tim / 2 Comments

There are very few sports in which knives are the primary tool, which is why knife throwing is such an alluring sport for knife enthusiasts.

For anyone unfamiliar with the sport of knife throwing, it’s fairly straightforward. The goal is throw a knife at a wooden bullseye at various distances and try to make it stick as accurately as possible. While it sounds easy, it can be extremely difficult.

Those who practice consistently can do some pretty cool things, like the video here demonstrates.

If you’re interested in learning how to throw knives, here are some steps to guide you along in the process of becoming a great knife thrower.

1. Research knife throwing prior to doing anything

Before committing to buy a throwing knife, you should research the sport and be aware of the potential dangers that come with it. Reading up on safety instructions, looking at the different types of knife throwing styles and viewing videos at places like the Knife Throwing site will prepare you for the next steps.

The Tool Logic Pocket Hunter Card

February 27, 2011 / Tim / 0 Comments

Every week, Samantha James reviews a different Knife Depot product. Check out her past product highlights here.

What’s in your pocket?

Do you carry a stainless steel gut hook blade? How about an LED flashlight? What about a combination can/bottle opener? Do you have a tweezer and toothpick? Do you sport a ruler with centimeters and inches?

If you tried to carry all of these things in the front pocket of your pants, you’d likely (a) slice your hands to pieces and (b) walk very clumsily.

Of course, there is another option.

Scope out the Tool Logic Pocket Hunter Card, a sweet new gadget blade that packs all of the above tools in one multi-faceted package.

This credit-card-size all-in-one is about as versatile and rugged as an all-purpose knife tool can be. It features a wide 2-inch fold-out stainless blade that’s sharp enough to skin animals and has a gut hook on the back.

In addition to its myriad accessories, the hunter card weighs in at a svelte 1.3 ounces, with a length and width of 3.375″ and 2.125″ respectively. It’s made of ABS plastic and comes with a satin finish.

A number of similar pocket hunter cards have been developed recently, but in my opinion the Tool Logic Pocket Hunter Card may be the best of the bunch. And, at 36 bucks, it’s a steal.

If you’re looking to pick up an all-in-one outdoor tool, snag one today.

The Cutting Edge

The official blog of Knife Depot