Jason Brous Triple Threat Becomes the SOG Growl

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Wilson

BrousTriple ThreatDespite my time being short at Blade Show 2013, I just had to swing by Jason Brous’ display to converse with him.  The backstory of this twenty-something year old maker is told in the unusual angles and curves in his work.  His knives are influenced by 10 years spent in his father’s CNC shop making precision medical equipment and by his love for biomechanical art.

Though Biomech art is most popularly represented by the striking visual work of H.R. Geiger in the Alien movie series, Jason credits Brazilian artist/tattooist Lango with sparking his desire to use knife making as a creative outlet.  Biomech art combines the mechanical and the organic in a fusion of disparate forms.  This can be seen in Jason’s work.

It seems that Brous Blades and its owner are on fire in the knife world.  Having been constructing blades for only about three years, Jason was approached by SOG Knives (a company at least as old as Jason) for two collaborations.  Jason has been making Continue reading →

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Schrade Adds New Knives for 2013

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Wilson

IMG_3217Blade Show 2013’s Schrade Knives booth had some new offerings I had not seen at SHOT Show.  I really liked their SCHA4B above.  The crosshatching on the flats of the blade are reminiscent of a vintage knife forged from a mill file.  The texturing was very appealing.  This knife, with a 4034 blade and aluminum/rubber handles, retails for under $40.00.

IMG_3220 IMG_3225Unusual, to say the least, was Schrade’s Viper Side Opening Assisted Folder.  A sliding safety switch on top keeps the blade either locked closed or open.  To deploy the 4034 steel blade, the right handed user pushes the blade from Continue reading →

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Zero Tolerance/ Dmitry Sinkevich 0454 Folder–Best in Show

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Wilson

ZT Sinkevich 0454This is an eye-popping prototype of the new Zero Tolerance Knives model 0454, designed by Dmitry Sinkevich, which took home the distinction of Best Overall Knife at Blade Show 2013!  I think you can see why.

That three-piece composite blade is made of CPM D2 at the cutting edge and spine with a core of Sandvik 14C28N.  My photos do not do this knife justice.  Seriously.  The D2 is blackened and the 14C28N has a contrasting tumbled finish.  The juxtaposition of textures, colors, and shapes on this 4.1″ blade is breathtaking.

Machined carbon fiber handles contain a sub-frame lock with a titanium lockbar and a stainless steel lockbar insert for strength.  I can attest that this knife flips open with smooth precision on its KVT bearings–ZT rep Jim McNair nearly Continue reading →

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Timberline Vallotton Kickstart Steel Blade

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Wilson

Timberline 1243Timberline Knives, founded in the early 1980’s by the late Jim Hardenbrook and Vaughn Neeley, has a history of successful collaborations, whether the early ones with Bob Lum and Ernest Emerson (the Emerson-Neeley SPECWAR won Blade Show’s Best American Knife in 1995), or their later work with Chuck Ochs, Greg Lightfoot, and Butch Vallotton.

The Timberline Kickstart model 1243 folding knife above is a prototype designed by Mr. Vallotton.  It carries an AUS-8 stainless steel blade, unlike Timberline’s similar ceramic bladed Kickstart model 8018.  This is a very nice gentleman’s folder with a 3.25″ blade, left side carbon fiber handle scale, and framelock.  Vallotton’s Kickstart assisted opening mechanism actuates the blade.

Though Timberlines’s Zirconium ceramic blades are wicked sharp and super light, some users prefer the overall durability of steel.  Ceramic composites are a little on the brittle side and can chip or break when dropped.  This is not a problem if the intended use for Continue reading →

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HTM Kirby Lambert SNAP Folding Knife

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Wilson

IMG_3273New for 2013 is the HTM Knives (Hand Tech Made) SNAP.  Famed Canadian knife maker Kirby Lambert designed the SNAP and HTM picked it up as a semi-custom production knife.  I immediately thought of an old WWII-era U.S. Mk 2 pineapple hand grenade when I saw the knife’s handle.  But, of course, the SNAP is actually a friendly thing to have in the hand.

SNAP’s 3 1/2″ clip point blade has a recurve, which gives the edge extra belly. The blade rolls open on either HTM’s Maxx Glide Pivot Bearing System or via their Spring Assisted Opening system.  This knife is a well-executed version of Lambert’s 2012 Blade Show and West Coast Custom Knife Show Best Continue reading →

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Blade Show 2013: My Last Hours

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Wilson
Mayhem at Busse

Mayhem at Busse

Here are some more photos I just snapped in the last several hours at Blade Show.  I’ll be finding transport back to the airport shortly.  It has been an inspiring show for me as I intend on making my own knives again in the future.  I told quite a few makers that I admired their work and their artisanship.  Nearly everyone told me to get back into it, if even making only Continue reading →

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Blade Show 2013: The First Hours

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Wilson

imageBlade Show has started off with a sea of humanity crashing upon a shore of steel.  VIPs and Press were admitted early at noon, but you would have thought it was General Admission.  There was a huge line snaking through the Cobb Galleria Center at this “selective” pre-show entry.  Still, for a knife enthusiast, it was worth it. I was pleased to have spoken with a few of the up-and-coming makers, such as Jason Brous and DJ Urbanovsky today.  Both were very nice and had some comments about the industry that I will share at a later date.  After handling some of their work in person, I only wish I could have been a buyer.  I have posted some photos of the show floor below.  More to come!

Continue reading →

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Blade Show Airport Shuttle

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Wilson

BladeShowI had an enlightening ride from Hartfield-Jackson to my hotel.  I took the shuttle in and ended up sharing a van with a gentleman helping out his aging uncle man his custom Scagel-style knife booth.  The other fellow was a product development manager for a maaaajor American knife manufacturer. Both were very affable guys.  The talk was mostly about hunting/dressing/skinning knives and, well, hunting in different locales and terrain.

The ProdDevMgr said that other than SHOT Show, NRA Show, and Safari Club International Convention, his personnel try to attend the smaller trade shows to see what The-Other-Guys are putting out there, especially the custom makers.  Another benefit is gauging the specialty markets for new product ideas.  He hinted at a new mid-year-release item he said I could see tomorrow at their booth…hmmm.

I was a minor player in the conversation, but saw that the PDM was truly interested in what the field user had to say about what he took into the woods.  Nice to see an exec from a multi-million dollar company really care about his potential customer base.

The ride was well worth the $35.00 flat rate, plus tip.  Double Scotch rocks and off to bed.

by Wilson

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Blade Show 2013

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Wilson

BladeShowBlade Show 2013 runs from May 31 to June 2 at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta, GA.  I will be attending the show floor as press, so I’m charging up the camera batteries and dragging out the notebook, pen, and iPad.  I hope to get some great photos, interesting stories, and scope out what will be new from the manufacturers and makers.

Blade Show KnifeAbove is the limited edition CRKT Kit Carson designed M4-02.  It features a 3.25″ drop point blade of 8CR13MoV, OutBurst assisted opening mechanism, and handles scales of black G10 and white bone.  Of course, it sports the Blade Show logo.  I had to have one, but it cost me less than $50.00.

by Wilson

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Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select Review

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Wilson

Woodford ReserveI made a call.  My old friend answered his cell phone, saying, “Oh, you…very bad man!”  Yeah, I am half Asian.  Funny.  I said Hi and I have a problem.  I am going on a trip.  I am standing in a big box liquor store.  I need to buy some Kentucky bourbon.  What do you guys drink up there in BlueGrassia?  He said without hesitation, “Labrot & Graham’s Woodford Reserve.”

He added, “But you have to like vanilla.”  My friend explained that, to him, Woodford Reserve has an assertive vanilla flavor.  Intrigued, I purchased a bottle–along with an entire box full of other liquors.  Hey, it was a long trip.

Woodford Reserve is made at the vintage distillery near Versailles, Kentucky which once housed the Old Oscar Pepper Distillery, then Labrot & Graham.  The Brown-Forman Corporation had owned the property since 1941, but distilling ceased between 1971 and Continue reading →

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