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Knives Save Lives: Knife scares away shark (video)

July 17, 2012 / Tim / 0 Comments

Diving, despite all the beautiful scenery and whimsical sensations of freedom, is not without danger. Divers can get decompression sickness, become lost, run out of air or get attacked by a great white shark.

That’s the predicament two divers were facing in Australia after a 12-foot shark greeted them after jumping off a boat. The divers were more than a hundred feet away from the boat, and the shark was intently circling them. This is where any sane person would freak out and give the shark a taste of fear.

Here’s a quote from one of the divers, which appeared in Updated News:

“I’d just got into the water and I hadn’t shot a fish or anything and there she was,” Podmore told the newspaper. “She was probably there 25 seconds before we even knew she was there — the video shows it.”

Fortunately, there was no need for the two divers to be afraid because they had knives and harpoons in hand. Instead of being stuck in the middle of the ocean with no recourse, the divers were prepared with the appropriate tools to help them get out of the jam.

Since harpoons are generally difficult to use and would probably attract other sharks with the blood, they opted instead to jab the shark with the knives to discourage it.

After a few jabs from the sharp objects, the huge shark swam away without incident.

How to Care For Knives with Wooden Handles

July 13, 2012 / Tim / 13 Comments

Whether you have a custom knife with a handle made from desert ironwood or a set store-bought steak knives, caring for knives with wooden handles requires more care than steel handles.

Since wood is a natural material, it’s susceptible to rotting, splintering and other issues if not taken care of properly. There are also two major types of wooden handles you should pay attention to: those that are stabilized and those that are not.

Stabilized wooden handles have all of the pores, holes and extra space filled in with resin to make the wood waterproof and generally less likely to warp. The knives that haven’t been treated can swell and crack with exposure to too much water. However, knives that aren’t stabilized tend to retain more of the natural wood feel and look.

Despite the differences, here are some tips you should remember when caring for knives with wooden handles.

Do not put the knife in a dishwasher

Putting a knife with a wooden handle—even if it’s a steak knife—in the dishwasher is a death sentence. Exposing the knife to so much abuse, moisture and temperature changes will cause the knife to shrink and/or swell, meaning your knife will get blemishes and other unpleasant traits.

Do not soak the knife

If there’s grime stuck on a knife, don’t even consider soaking it in water. Wooden handles can become water damaged.

Avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight

STK offers guests $30,000 steak knives to eat with

July 10, 2012 / Tim / 1 Comment

Claire Sinclaire with the knife. (Image from STK Facebook page)

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to hold about $30,000 worth of knives in two hands, all you have to do is head over to STK in Las Vegas (and be a VIP or celebrity). At the swanky steakhouse, you can eat with a set of knives that includes an $18,000 diamond knife and a $12,000 pink sapphire knife, according to ABC News.

While these bejeweled knives probably feel powerful, they’re a symbol of decadence and gluttony that many knife enthusiasts have little interest in. A new Zero Tolerance or Spyderco prototype is likely more coveted than a diamond-encrusted knife.

Nevertheless, these two knives are definitely pieces of work. But, if you’re the average joe, don’t expect to get your hands on these knives pretty easily because they’re usually reserved for celebrities like Leann Rimes and Eddie Cibrian, Gavin Rossdale, the band Foster the People and others.

One of the knives apparently has 300 full-cut pink sapphires set into it. The set of knives was designed by celebrity jewelry designer Jason of Beverly Hills after he created a similar set of knives for the royal family of Saudi Arabia.

Newly introduced Pennsylvania bill would remove knife restrictions

July 6, 2012 / Tim / 0 Comments

A new bill introduced into the Pennsylvania House of Representative will continue the trend toward allowing citizens more freedom when it comes to possessing and carrying knives, according to the American Knife and Tool Institute.

The bill will remove the strict prohibition of switchblades and prevent cities in Pennsylvania from creating their own knife laws that are stricter than the state’s. This means the knife laws will be consistent throughout the state, so someone carrying a knife in one city wouldn’t be subject to fines or arrest in another.

What the bill will do is alter the definition of “offensive weapon” in the Crimes and Offenses statute to remove switchblades. Dan Lawson, AKTI Legal Contributing Counsel, made a very interesting point about the use of switchblades:

“It may be interesting to note that there are a number of states which never adopted a switchblade prohibition. These states include Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota and Arizona. I would suggest…that there is no discernible difference in knife crime in states with extremely stringent knife laws and states with relatively lenient or no knife laws.”

Check out the Free Range Hunter Series from CRKT

July 3, 2012 / Tim / 1 Comment

CRKT came out with a host of new knives in 2012, and if you enjoy knives with comfortable, ergonomic handles, you’ll love the new Free Range Hunter Series.

Upon first glance, the new series actually looks remarkably similar to the Gerber Bear Grylls knives because of the orange and gray color scheme. But, a deeper inspection of the four knives shows fine craftsmanship from CRKT.

The knives were designed by custom knifemaker Russ Kommer, who is the essential outdoorsman. That’s how he was able to create such great outdoor knives with hollow blades.

Here’s an excerpt from the CRKT website:

Handles are comfortably shaped and the optimally sized finger grooves help to provide grip confidence equally well for both large, or small hands. A double injection mold process of both hard and soft polymers creates an ideal all-weather, textured handle surface. All Free Range hunting knives come with their own high strength nylon fabric belt sheaths for convenient, comfortable carry.

The series features two folders and two fixed blades with either clip points or drop points. Aside from the regular clip point knives ideal for everyday carry, you can also pick up the gut hook knives if you’re more a hunter and fisherman.

Take a look at each of the four knives in the series.

Free Range Hunter Clip Point Lockback Folder

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Knives Save Lives: Man proves you can never have too many knives

June 29, 2012 / Tim / 2 Comments

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Image of the crash taken from the Standard-Examiner website.

While casual knife lovers might have a knife or two lying around the house for practical purposes, hardcore knife enthusiasts can have upwards of 50. So, when they get a new knife for their birthday or Father’s Day, it sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.

However, as one man from Utah found out, that’s not always a bad thing.

Jason Navarro received a knife to add to his growing collection from his wife for Father’s Day, but he simply threw it in his work truck, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. On Monday, that one knife in a collection of many was used to save someone’s life.

A woman named Heidi Orosco was driving down a highway when she accidentally swerved into the wrong lane. When she tried to correct her error, she overcompensated and her car ended up overturned in a ditch.

Navarro and another man, Bob Nicholson, witnessed the crash, so they quickly pulled over to help the trapped woman.

BLADE Show Custom Knives/Knifemaker Awards

June 26, 2012 / Tim / 3 Comments

Last week we brought you the winners of the Knife of the Year Awards at this year’s BLADE Show. However, those weren’t the only awards doled out at the BLADE Show.

Also honored at the biggest knife trade show were the best custom knives and knifemakers of the year.

Taking home top honors this year (the Hugh Bartrug Best in Show Award and the Best Sword Award) was Michael Ruth Jr. for his beautiful sword pictured below.

For most innovative knife design, Brian Tighe took home the award for his cutting edge work on the Buy Tighe. It’s hard to deny this double-bladed folder is nothing short of gorgeous.

Knives Save Lives: Kayakers rescued by tour guide with John Wayne knife

June 22, 2012 / Tim / 1 Comment

Image from Blade Mag

It’s always important to be prepared in life because you never know when disaster will strike. For example, you might be attacked by a bear out of the blue or you might get trapped in a burning vehicle. You might even find yourself in the middle of a life or death situation doing something as seemingly innocuous as kayaking.

That’s what happened to three kayakers who ventured out onto Lake Michigan in Wisconsin about two weeks ago. Everything was fine until an offshore breeze pushed them out farther and knocked over the kayak. This isn’t such a big deal if all of them hadn’t become entangled in the ropes.

At this point, many knife owners would reach for their strategically placed knife, whether attached to the belt or strapped around the leg. However, none of the three had a knife nearby. When you compound that with the fact they weren’t wearing life vests, they were in deep trouble.

Fortunately, kayak tour guide Brody Kidd happened to be in the area as he was preparing to give a tour later in the day. When he saw the overturned kayak, he immediately hopped in his and headed over to help.

Like anyone who is always prepared, he was carrying his favorite John Wayne commemorative folding rescue knife. Kidd easily cut free the three people—two of whom had severe hypothermia and were near death.

Blade Show 2012: Knife of the Year Award winners

June 19, 2012 / Tim / 1 Comment

The 2012 BLADE Show down in Atlanta came and went, but not without showing off some awesome knives. One of my favorite events is the Knife of the Year awards, where the top knives are honored by Blade Magazine. For the second straight year, Kershaw’s Zero Tolerance took home top honors for Overall Knife of the Year after the Zero Tolerance 0777 model did so last year.

Here is a shortened list of the winners with photographs from this year’s BLADE Show. For a complete list of winners, check out this post from Blade Magazine.

Overall Knife of the Year: ZT 0888 by Zero Tolerance/KAI USA

Image from knifeblog.com

American-Made Knife of the Year: Socom Delta by Microtech

Image from Hollow Grind

Imported Knife Of The Year: Onion Foresight by CRKT

Most Innovative American Design: Autonomy by Spyderco

Most Innovative Imported Design: DPx HEST T3

Fisherman Nick Doumel talks fishing and the importance of knives

June 16, 2012 / Tim / 3 Comments

Few things in life are more relaxing, liberating and exciting than fishing. And, like any sport or activity that requires quick thinking and skills with your hands, knives are an essential part of fishing.

To get more insight on fishing and knives, I turned to fisherman Nick Doumel who runs the fantastic fishing blog Brookfield Angler, which I highly recommend you check out.

Nick, who is a project manager for a company that builds tradeshow exhibits, lives just outside Chicago with his wife and 10-month-old son.

Here’s more of our conversation that includes what makes fishing so great, why every fisherman needs a knife and what type of knife works best.

How long have you been fishing and how did you first get into it?

I have been fishing since I was just a few years old when I would go with my dad. As I got older, I started to head out more on my own to local ponds, creeks and rivers – basically any place I could ride my bike to. Once I got my driver’s license, my fishing world got a lot bigger.

When I moved to Las Vegas in my early 20s, fishing took a backseat, and the entire six-year period I lived there, I didn’t even touch a fishing pole.

Once I moved back to the Chicago area, I quickly rediscovered fishing and have been making up for lost time ever since. I am amazed at how much my little break has really made me a much more passionate fisherman today.

What do you enjoy most about fishing?

Aside from the typical relaxation, escaping, enjoying nature, blah blah blah answer, my absolute favorite part of fishing is “the take.” I have always known that I love when the bite happens, but I recently read a post from a fellow blogger named Mr. P that made me realize how much I actually enjoy it; it really is the ultimate highlight in fishing. The way he describes it really verbalizes what I have always felt but could never verbally describe. What’s really fascinating about “the take” is that it can apply to a ton of other things in life if you take the time to think about it.

What type of fishing do you do, and what do you fish for?

2012 has been the year of the fly for me. For as long as I can remember, I have admired fly fishing and held it on a pedestal as some mystic art form that only the truly enlightened could enjoy. In the fall of 2011, I decided that my notions were ridiculous and that I was going to do nothing but fly fish until I really learned how to do it and I have really stuck to that.

Throughout the winter, I left all of my spinning and casting gear at home, opting only to bring my fly rods. That dedication has paid off and I can honestly say that I am completely comfortable with a fly rod; as a matter of fact, I prefer it 99% of the time now. Does this mean that I am up there with the ranks of Lefty Kreh or Joan Wulff? Hardly, but that still doesn’t stop me from pretending.

The Cutting Edge

The official blog of Knife Depot