Joe Kertzman - Knives 2009

KNIVES
2009

Edited by
Joe Kertzman

2008 Krause Publications
Published by

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715-445-2214 888-457-2873
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ISSN 0277-0725

ISBN 13-digit: 978-0-89689-675-8
ISBN 10-digit: 0-89689-675-7

Designed by Kara Grundman
Edited by Derrek Sigler

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication and
Acknowledgments

I ve never dedicated the Knives annual book. No one has ever asked me to do so, and I didnt look upon it as my right as an author. Perhaps it is, and I feel honored. Im honored mostly because I know who to dedicate it tomy wife, Tricia, who moved from Milwaukee, Wis., to Iola, a town of 1,300 people, so I could become associate editor of BLADE Magazine. I also dedicate this book to Steve Shackleford, editor of BLADE, who taught me the ropes and has an abundance of patience and talent. I dedicate the Knives annual to all of the editors and publishers who have given me a chance to hone my skills, including my current boss, whos more friend than supervisor, Paul Kennedy.

I dedicate this to my children, Danny and Cora, who would be lucky to meet as many fantastic people and be given as many opportunities in their lifetimes as I have in mine. Be good kids, and Dad loves you.

Acknowledgments are an equally painless process. Recognition and gratitude are extended to the knifemakers themselves, those who spend unimaginable, inhuman hours wrestling steel, forging it, pounding it, polishing alloys, carving knife grips, sanding, engraving and inlaying. They work for themselves but also for collectors and knife enthusiasts. Most knifemakers aspire to great art. They work to improve themselves and to build better tools. The results, and a reader needs only flip a few pages of this book to agree, are inspirational. The art shines through the utility of the edged objects.

The knives embody the American spirit, showcasing such traits as ingenuity, quality, greatness, worth and integrity. They represent people who are dedicated to improving the world, who wish to make quality products, but also those who appreciate the finer things in life, who have taste and hold high standards. These are knives that will undoubtedly make their owners proud, pieces of cutlery that take their place among display cases, shelves and art museums.

The photographers deserve recognition for their role in photographing the shiny steel, sans reflections and shadows, and holding them up to the light they deserve. Thank you one and all for allowing your art to be shared.

Joe Kertzman

On the Cover

P rettier than a sows ear and more dangerous than a polecat are the cover knives chosen for this edition of the greatest book of blades in existence, Knives2009. Starting, from left to right, with Wade Colters locking-liner folder, it showcases a niter-blued damascus blade and bolsters with fade away coloring, and a carved ancient-walrus-ivory handle. Propped up against the pool cue beside it stands a .22-caliber, black powder, muzzle-loading pistol knife from the hands and mind of Bruce D. Bump. Features include a twist-pattern damascus blade, a preban ivory handle, Jere Davidson engraving on the bolsters, grip and spine, and a ramrod stored in the pommel. Doug Turnbull is credited for the charcoal bluing and the color case hardening of the pistol knife.

To its right leans the Ken Steigerwalt Supreme Custom Dagger sculpted from one solid slab of 440C steel and sporting a pin-shell handle with 18k-gold wire inlay, gold pins on the blade and handle, and a thin strip of stainless damascus following the curved bolsters. At far right remains Scot Matsuokas colorful flipper folder parading a hollow-ground CPM-154 blade, a box elder handle, titanium bolsters engraved by C.J. Cai, and an anodized-titanium back strap in a vine file-work pattern.

Contents

Introduction

T he knife industry is a welcome respite from a frenetic, fast-paced world. While automation, technology, the Internet, microcomputers, iPods and streaming video creep into ever facet of human existence, and the rest of the upload, download, crash and burn planet spins wildly out of control in an attempt to keep pace, a segment of society still polishes knife blades by hand.

A group of custom artisans tans, stitches and stamps leather sheaths, pins custom-made bolsters onto sanded wood knife handles, files liners and frames, engraves metal with handheld tools, scrimshaws ivory with needles and ink, and uses grinding wheels and belts to shape steel before rubbing it with incrementally decreasing grits of sandpaper until a sheen so bright winks back at them.

There are those who adorn their works of edged art with pearl and ivory, cutting gemstones into cabochon-shaped facets, setting them in gold and silver, inlaying wire, engraving precious metal and adding embellishments previously saved for the likes of kings, queens, masters and commanders.

While the world goes green, the prices of gas skyrocket, the polar icecaps melt, the politicians jockey for position and insurance companies, oil companies and drug companies report record profits, custom knifemakers buy more equipment, pay for show tables, research new materials and better steels, and, yes, some even take pictures and set up websites where they can exhibit their wares.

Even the knifemaker is affected by technology, mostly in a good way, through self-promotion, better tools and materials, steel that cuts longer and remains flexible enough to chop with, handles that withstand the elements yet parade arrays of colors only dreamed of a century ago, and Internet shopping that allows a craftsmen in Idaho to market his edged creations to an appreciative collector in Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong or Columbia.

Rest assured, few knifemakers download Justin Timberlake songs onto their iPods for a few hours work in the shop. And not many custom craftsmen use camera phones to share pictures amongst each other while forging mosaicdamascus sword blades. Only a select few text message their buddies in the middle of heat treating and quenching.

It seems theyve found other secrets to societal living besides instant gratification and exotic vacations. They prefer historical perspectives, proven designs, exotic materials, creative thinking, individualism, craftsmanship, finely finished products and pride in ownership. Dont those seem like rare qualities today? Welcome to the world of knives, its a fine land in which to live, a refuge from the brutality of modernism and a peaceful place to stop and rest, admire the surroundings and clear your head. There are too many things demanding our attention these days, and so few of them are as worthwhile as a handmade knife.