Anyone else read the new Blade?

S

stevomiller

Joined
May 4, 2001
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I picked up the latest Blade magazine this past Saturday so I could read the article on kukris ~ what a disappointment, to say the least. There is almost no pictures, and nothing of substance as far as information goes. :( I can honestly say that my knowledge of k's was greater than what was presented 5 years ago, and tha was before I even owned one or had access to the web. I have decided that Blade magazine sucks; I used to buy it for Goddard and Fowler's how to articles (I think the rest is mostly fluff from their so called eperts), but lately even the how to articles are missing. Instead they are reminicings and rumanations of the authors. I guess that is ok for some, it's not what I want though. Ditto Knives Illustrated. Fighting Knives was good, they told it how it was even if a reviewed knife was crap ~ guess that's why they went the way of the dinasaur.

Is there a solid knife magazine any more?

If anyone ever wondered why the Himalayan Imports forum is so popular, and why JP's articles are golden, just compare them to the mags that are out there.

Whew, I feel cleansed now. Sorry for the rant!

stevo
 
you are absolutely right.

Blade and Knives Illustrated both have basicly nothing for content.
The latter does have nice knives featured, but the former does'nt know how to find real photographers at all. The photos in Blade look like a five year old was behind the camera. The articles are pretty laughable... and all i see the magazine being good for is advertising.

Back to Knives illustrated, nice pictures, 15 pages. For this they charge a huge premium. Since i'm not going to be purchasing $30,000 knives anytime soon, i don't really need the maker's biographies, and thats basicly all they provide. The mag should be priced reasonable, but it's not, thus i won't subscribe.

I heard some things about Tactical knives magazine, but i can't find it here in NY, so i don't know if it's good. I hear MANY complaints about subscription fulfillment hassles on the West coast, while supposedly the East coast is well covered... i'm on the East coast and this mag is nowhere to be found.

I love reading, and hate having a lack of good hobby material.
 
It's supposed to be a 2-part article, though I doubt that the second part will have any greater substance than the first. Most people reading BLADE don't know anything at all about khukuris except that they're bent-looking. If it gave them as much information as they could get here, the magazine would be called "Nepalese Blade" and that one article would take up the whole magazine. I'm sure that it will give the reader just enough information to think, "hey, that's a pretty nifty design for a knife" and then maybe go buy a cold steel.

Sam
 
Dissappoinment! Well saves me buying a copy. I wanted the July issue to read the article on Katanas, especially the Bugei L6 sword. That one was kind of dissappointing too. Bummer.
As far as Tactical Knives, I have subscribed for a few years and they usually have something interesting to read. To me at least, maybe not everybody. Actually Tactical Knives printed the article by Ron Hood that got me interested in khuks (Gurkha House) but also had an advertisement for Himalayan Imports. The article was good and guess they have printed articles on HI and Uncle Bill too!
 
Jim, your check is in the mail and thanks for sending me this issue of BLADE. Very disappointing kukri article and a very disappointing magazine. I have no interest in seeing part 2.
 
Now theres an idea, JP if the book is a bit of a hurdle in one leap,
what about a magazine format, perhaps with other contributors or whatever. Just a thought. Rod
 
Hi Guys
Blade costs nearly nz$16.00, way too dear for a student.It used to have good solid content but now mainly ballocks.
Phil
 
Jim, now that's not nice; if JP has to read that drivel it will just give him indigestion and drive him mad!

:D

JP, thanks again for the research that you have done and the manner in which you convey it to the rest of us. BTW, I wonder if part two will have stories of boomerang kukris, the 2 asasination by-knives, or Nepali warriors self mutilating themselves so that they can resheath their kukris after clearing a trail. Only the shadow knows..
 
I can honestly say that my knowledge of k's was greater than what was presented 5 years ago, and tha was before I even owned one or had access to the web.
Click to expand...

Hank must be slipping. His article on khukuries in the March 1989 issue of Blade was much better. At least in that rendition he included a better copy of the sketch shown on page 108 of the December 2003 issue of Blade.

John, about that book of yours....... :p :p

n2s
 
N2, I couldn't agree more. Hank Reinhardt's 1989 article was well done, had all the right basic facts known then and found its way into my files. This version will not.

Very little I read these days gives me indigestion except eBay descriptions/claims and emails from "Saint".
 
Gonzo, I can usually find Tactical Knives at Barnes and Noble in Saratoga, which is close by. That is my favorite of the knife mags.

Wolvesclaw
 
JP,NOW,you get every issue of Blade that has K's,might not stop,just send every new issue!
THE SAINT!:cool:
 
Wolvesclaw, Thank you.

I'm in Buffalo, NY... quite a haul from Saratoga. I've tried Borders, Media Play, and news stands... with no luck. There's not really a Barnes/Noble in the immediate vicinity, but i might take a drive to check it out. Your comments give me some hope that there is content in that there Tactical Knives mag.

I'd much rather subscribe than buy off the rack, to save cash. But man have i heard bad things about their delivery. Off hand, can you tell me what the subscription rate is?

Thanks again!
 
I buy blade.. I like the pretty pictures!

But yeh, there isn't all that much for actual useful content, it's all usually about the makers, or 'what's new!' like most other magazines knife or not.
 
Like all things the magazine changes from month to month. Some months it's pretty good. Some months it ain't.:)
I need to get the back copies of the yearly "Knives 20**" books I've missed.
But they're the same as Blade, except on a yearly basis.:(
 
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