Smith & Bradley Watches

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Wilson

Smith & Bradley Atlantis BrownI thought I had walked straight into a Hollywood buddy film.  You know, two dissimilar dudes with a singular goal.  One is a cop and the other is a regular guy.  They have to cooperate and overcome adversity to win the day.  And there is a moderate amount of snark along the way.  Welcome to Smith & Bradley’s SHOT Show booth!

Jerommie Smith is a police officer.  Ryan Bradley is an attorney.  Ooooo, natural enemies in the wild.  As watch fanatics, the men spent years buying, selling, and repairing many brands of wristwatches in Central Illinois.  The time came when they decided to make a reliable watch that had the features and design they wanted, at a reasonable price.  Smith & Bradley, Ltd. was founded.

Bradley was quick to tell me that there was no professional enmity between Continue reading →

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New CRKT Flavio Ikoma Fossil

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Wilson

CRKT FossilFlavio Ikoma is a Brazilian knifemaker that, to my eye, is able to balance mechanical with biological styling cues.  There is an unmistakable flow to his work in lines and in texture.  His new design collaboration with Columbia River Knife and Tool for 2014 is called Fossil.  Its name captures the knife’s powerful presence.

The Fossil is a framelock folder with the solid structure of an archeological relic.  It is excavated from a pocket at a weighty 6.1 ounces.  At 8.88″ open, with a 3.65″ blade, this is a serious find.  The blade is 8Cr13MoV stainless steel.  The Ikoma Korth Bearing System efficiently rotates open the hollow ground drop point blade via a flipper.  IKBS and a flipper are natural Continue reading →

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Ontario Knife Company Blackbird Noir

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Wilson

OKC Blackbird NoirBlackbird SK-5 is one of the Ontario Knife Company‘s fixed blade knives.  Paul Sheiter’s, the Blackbird’s designer said, “I believe the more complicated a product becomes, the more likely it is to fail when your life depends on it.  For this reason I designed the Blackbird SK-5 Knife to achieve maximum function delivered through pure simplicity. You won’t see gimmicks or gadgets on this knife.”

New for 2014 is the black-bladed Blackbird Noir.  OKC said the knife steel is subdued with a Special Operations Capable (SOC) black powder coating.  The original knife comes in satin finish.  Crucible Material’s 154CM, at 0.13″ thick, is the basis for the full tang blade.  It is hardened to 58-60 RHC.  The Blackbird’s blade has a flat grind with a tapered cross-section.  The butt is flat for pounding. Continue reading →

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New SOG Zoom Assisted Folders

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Wilson

SOG ZoomOut on the dusty range at Media Day, SOG Knives had new wares.  Next to the SOG Kiku fixed blade were some new folding knives.  SOG representative Chris Cashbaugh showed off a new folder in the Zoom series of knives.  Using SOG’s assisted technology (S.A.T.), this knife was tuned to find the right balance between speed and force in opening the AUS-8 blade.  I manipulated the knife and found that Cashbaugh was right, indeed.  The Zoom had a nice snap without being too harsh.

SOG Zoom Reverse Continue reading →

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Zero Tolerance Also Cozies Up With Emerson

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Wilson

Zero Tolerance EmersonKAI Group’s Kershaw Knives has spun up a collaboration with Ernest Emerson and his resources.  KAI’s upscale brand Zero Tolerance (think Nissan/Infiniti) also gets a turn.  At SHOT Show 2014, ZT introduced its new Emerson collaborations, the models 0620CF and 0620.

The 0620CF, shown above, has a 3.6″ tanto blade of Böhler M390 powdered steel.  The blade flats are stonewashed, while the bevels get a contrasting satin finish.  A wave shaped feature or disk opens the blade.  The pivot point appears to be substantial.

This ZT/Emerson is a titanium frame lock.  Hardened steel inserts ensure the lock’s strength and longevity.  The 0620CF’s left side scale is smooth carbon fiber; the right side’s titanium is bead blasted.  There are a lot of Continue reading →

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New Timberline BattleHog Folders

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Wilson

Timberline BattleHogGATCO/ Timberline had a few new knives at their SHOT Show 2014 booth.  The Butch Vallotton-designed BattleHog series was so recent, Timberline’s new-for-2014 catalog insert did not contain the knives.  The BattleHogs are a 3″ bladed tactical knife with a reasonable size and price.

A spearpoint blade and a tanto blade are available, as is plain or serrated versions of either style.  The steel is 9Cr13MoV.  Subduing and protecting the blade is a titanium nitride coating.  Liner locks hold the knives fast in the open position.  I found the examples they showed me had good clean lock up.  BattleHogs have Timberline’s KickStart opening assist technology, which find the sweet spot between Continue reading →

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Assembling a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Wilson

IMG_4074I had to stop at the Victorinox booth at SHOT Show 2014.  Dontrese Brown was assembling Victorinox Swiss Army Knives!  Integral to the construction of a knife is the special mechanical press that mates the component parts together. Only two of these special presses exist:  one in Europe and one in the United States.  Both are for demonstrating how a Victorinox knife is built.  Obviously, production knives are made on large industrial machines.

Brown, who is actually a creative director for the Victorinox company, said he began learning how to build the knives for events and shows about two years ago.  He told me he made nearly 500 knives before he was able to assemble one that he would actually give to someone.  The process looks simple, but it takes some practice to ensure the parts are fitted properly.

IMG_4067 Continue reading →

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Spyderco Displays New Jani-Song Knife Prototype at SHOT Show 2014

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Wilson
Discontinued BLACKHAWK! Jani-Song

Discontinued BLACKHAWK! Jani-Song

I got to flip a Jani-Song at SHOT Show 2014!  Okay, let’s all just take a moment here.  I was at the smaller of the two Spyderco booths talking to knifemaker Howard Viele’s son Gene, who was manning the space.  There was a case of prototype knives which, like at the main booth, was strictly verboten to photograph.  I swear one of my retinas nearly detached as my face accelerated toward the glass then abruptly stopped.  “Is that a…Jani-Song?” I asked quietly.  Mr. Viele said, “Yes, would you like to see it?”  Uh-huhhh.

The elusive Jani-Song is Michael Janich’s practical re-design of the traditional balisong, or butterfly knife, from the Philippines.  Said Mr. Janich in August of 2010, “The Jani-Song was patented while I was employed by BlackHawk.  When my employment with them was terminated, I bought the patent rights from them.  When Spyderco hired me, they purchased those rights, so the Jani-Song now belongs to them.”

I had spoken to Mr. Janich at the 2013 SHOT Show about the Jani-Song, but he asked for our conversation to be off the record.  I honored that.  Since the cat’s out, I will say that the Jani-Song was patiently waiting for further development, since Spyderco has many great designs and designers to consider when choosing which knives to put into production.

I asked Mr. Viele, a retired USAF senior master sergeant, to give me a ground school on the Jani-Song.  He showed me the Continue reading →

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New CRKT Lucas Burnley Obake

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Wilson

CRKT Obake 2As I stood at the Columbia River Knife and Tool’s SHOT Show 2014 booth, talking to custom maker Alan Folts (Minimalist, S.P.E.W.), I suddenly vapor-locked as I glanced into the glass case below.  “Oooooo, what’s that?”  I may have interrupted Mr. Folts mid-sentence.  He said, “Let me show you.”  Out came the new CRKT Obake, designed by Lucas Burnley.

Obake is a Japanese term that refers to ghostly transformation of a living thing or supernatural beings.  It can also refer to human ghosts, though less so.  We will have to see if Mr. Burnley will divulge more about the name of this knife in the future.

The particular Obake I was admiring is a production prototype and had not been branded with the CRKT or Burnley logo.  This obviously Japanese-inspired fixed kwaiken measures 7.630″ overall.  The full tang stainless steel is 8Cr14MoV at a Rockwell hardness of 58-59.  The length of the blade is 3.640″.

What captures the eye about the blade is its acid-etched appearance.  CRKT accomplished this by layering Continue reading →

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A Trio of New Benchmade Knives for 2014

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Wilson

New Benchmade Knives for 2014At SHOT Show 2014, I picked out what I thought were three of the more interesting Benchmade Knives’ products from their case of new blades for 2014.  I know, two of the knives are actually branded from Benchmade’s HK division.  Same difference…

The top knife is the new HK Axis model.  This Made in the USA offering has a 3.69″ black coated D2 blade at a hard RH of 60-62.  Its black G-10 scales are supported by stainless steel liners.  This is a 4.96 ounce knife with Benchmade’s ambidextrous Axis lock.  Equipped with a right or left, tip up pocket clip, the HK Axis is a no-nonsense tactical folder which retails for $155.00.

The center knife is Benchmade’s new Model 300-1 Axis Flipper in blue and black G-10.  The stout 3.18″ clip point blade is made of 154 CM.  This is a very smooth flipper designed by Continue reading →

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