Roger Eckstine - Shooters Bible Guide to Knives: A Complete Guide to Hunting Knives, Survival Knives, Folding Knives, Skinning Knives, Sharpeners, and More

Copyright 2012 by Roger Eckstine

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. ISBN: 978-1-61608-577-3

Printed in China

INDEX

W elcome to the first edition of Shooter's Bible Guide to Knives. If you're wondering why the name begins with a reference to firearms, it's because we wanted our knife bible to be immediately associated with the Shooter's Bible tradition. In a sense, it's our promise that this book will live up to the standards of the title that has earned the respect of enthusiasts worldwide.

My personal fascination with knives began in the backyard when I was still too young for Cub Scouts. My father introduced my siblings and me to the game of mumblety-peg. The game was played by balancing a knife in the palm of the hand and releasing it to the ground so that it entered the earth blade tip first. Actually, that first summer we used a long-handled screwdriver instead of a real knife. The winner of the game was the player who could produce the most graceful and intricate gyrations before it hit the ground. I remember trying to copy the cliff divers I had seen on ABC's Wide World of Sports. At the time I had no idea that the knife was actually one of the single most important inventions in the history of mankind.

When it comes to survival man is possibly the least physically able creature on planet Earth. Man's ability to develop weapons for defense and for harvesting food may be the only reason the species has survived. Long before gunpowder and firearms, it was the development of edged weapons that helped assure the evolution of man. Unlike blunt-force weapons that are swung or propelled, the knife is a lethal extension of the hand. I was reminded of this one day when working behind the counter of a local gun shop. A customer asked to see a combat folding knife on display inside the showcase next to a .357 Magnum revolver. I closed the knife and handed it to him. The man glared at me and handed it back without opening it. Then he asked to see one of the fixed-blade knives on display. Without making a move I asked him what he didn't like about the first knife. He said something under his breath and walked out of the store. Had he asked to see a handgun I would have gladly shown him several, handing them over after making sure they weren't loaded. Was I a poor knife salesman or simply living by the words knives are always loaded?

If knives are akin to guns in personal appeal, they certainly can be just as deadly. Barely minutes into one of the first concealed handgun license classes held in the state of Texas, the instructor, Tim Oxley, brought the class outside to demonstrate how anyone, no matter how out of shape they appeared to be, could defeat even an experienced shooter ready with a holstered gun. This exercise, known as the (Dennis) Tueller drill, proved that with just 21 feet between us and a knife-wielding assailant, it might be impossible to avoid being stabbed before we could draw and fire.

Aside from hunting and self defense, today's knives are designed to render many services. They can open packages, cut a seatbelt, cut away cloth to treat a wound, or merely serve the aesthetic desires of the collector. A knife can be a tool, a weapon, or an object of art. Some makers specialize in a single category. Some manufacturers are so prolific they might beg a separate volume of their own, prompting us to favor the latest designs. If the number of guns displayed in our sister publication Shooter's Bible is a daunting task, just remember that while guns in one form or another have been around for hundreds of years, edged weapons may predate the discovery of fire. Listing and describing every knife or knife maker in a single publication is likely an impossible task. But that won't keep us from trying.

Roger Eckstine
2012

T o begin with, I feel honored to have been chosen to author the first edition of Shooter's Bible Guide to Knives. The desire to expand the Shooter's Bible series to include a study of edged weapons speaks volumes about the publisher. Thank you to Jay Cassell for drawing the first sword and starting the good fight. Thank you to my editor Julie Matysik for making it a reality. I'd like to thank Todd Woodard for his professional guidance throughout my writing career. I'd like my wife and family to know how much I appreciate their support. But there would be no story to tell if it weren't for the people inside the knife industry. I would like to thank the designers, whether they've contributed only a handful of ideas or a generation of blades and machines. And shake the rough-hewn hand of every machinist that knows the cost of a fine edged blade. I recognize that some makers were born directly into the trade, and I thank them for honoring the pact of their traditions. I would also like to thank the makers that came to the knife industry out of necessity or to help out a friend or two in bringing to life their vision of what a knife should be. Once that first knife was made they were hooked, like we all were. I'd like to thank shops, like Beckwith's Blades in Houston, Texas, that make a go of selling knives by offering quality products and expertise. I'd like to thank the special operators for lending their knowledge and experience to the development of edged weapons as a viable option for the civilian as well as the professional. I'd like to thank the personnel at each knife company, large and small, who share their passion and commitment to making good knives. There is much more to be written about knives. So, to you the reader, I'll just say thank you, until the next time.

R oger Eckstine is arguably the most prolific writer of in-depth tests and evaluations of firearms to emerge over the past twenty years. Eckstine brings his eye for function and detail to the Shooter's Bible Guide to Knives after a lifetime connection with edged weapons. Born in New York when much of Long Island was still rural, Eckstine grew up at a time when knives were commonplace but demanded respect. Instruction by his father, a decorated World War II veteran who himself bore the scars of edged weapons, had a lasting effect on a young Eckstine. A natural writer and musician, Eckstine chose first to follow his passion for musicbecoming a successful recording artistwhich included a stint in Europe. Returning to the States, his interest in competitive shooting and martial arts led to a career in writing, after his experiences on the national competitive shooting circuit began to appear in magazines such as Gun Games and Performance Shooter.