Custom Knife History

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

Custom Knife History

From the beginning of man there have been some type of cutting tools that they made and used. These tools were made with all kinds of material such as bone, wood, stone, flint, brass and eventually steel. All these were very crude looking, and all made by hand to help with survival at that time. As time passed by they learned how to make them better and better. So now here we are thousands of years later were a person can have a knife custom made. They are made from some of the finest steels ever developed. And from some of the best materials available to make the very best knives possible by some of the best skilled craftsmen in the world.

I’ve started this thread hopefully (with your help) to pass along some of the history of the custom knives made and being made. There is a ton of history in knives them selves. Such as the bowie knife history, knife designs & types made over the years. But I would like this to be about Custom Knives and their history over the years. What designs, materials, and trends that have brought us to this point. Who were the knife makers that pushed the market in certain directions with their designs. Were did they come from? Why & how did they start making knives? Why did some do better then others? What are some of the old stories that happened around these knife shops that folks collecting custom knives now and in the future may like to know?

Anyone who has been around custom knives for a while will know the big names in the game. These for sure will be talked about here for good reason. But there are others that are not that well known that should be included here also. So with all of us adding a bit of what we know here? Maybe we can pass a long to future knife collectors some of the knowledge before it’s lost? So please if you have photos & stories or any knowledge you would like to pass a long? Please do so, this is your thread.

(Gus had started a thread called Memories and I had added a lot of old photo that I had saved from the web. I will probably add some of them here as we get going. Sorry for messing up that thread Gus, I did not mean to do that.)

Thanks for your help - I hope all knife enthusiasts will enjoy this thread for years to come.

So were should we begin?

 

[Kohai999]

Here is a photo of Bill Mittleman, Bill from Bill's Custom Cases.

When I started collecting knives in the '80's, I used the vinyl cases that everyone seemed to use. Was doing a show in Eugene, OR in 1992, and the point of a particularly sharp Ron Gaston knife cut through the case, into my hand...not too far, but far enough that I never used that type of case again. I have been corking the tips and using Bill's Custom Cases exclusively since 1993.

Bill makes cases out of cordura, pig suede, leather, patterned vinyl. AFAIK, he revolutionized cases by putting elastic straps on the cases for sheaths and a non-scratching interior plush that does not hold moisture. He is a craftsman and a major contributor to the history of knives, as I see it, by making a product specifically for our needs.

Good thread, hope it keeps going on.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

Prior to the late 19th century, outdoorsmen and military personnel did not use knives that were notably different from the knives used by butchers. Blades were relatively thin and the handles were often no more than two wooden slabs riveted to the tang. Serrations appeared on knives in the 19th century for use as a wood saw or fish scaler. Around the turn of the century, Webster L. Marble introduced the modern concept of the "hunting knife." These knives incorporated heavier blades, crossguards, and pommels. They very much resembled miniaturized Bowie knives.

Marble Safety Axe Company, Gladstone Manufacturing Company,
rifles, gun sights, axes, hunting knives, and other outdoor accessories\

Founder - Webster L. Marble
Gladstone, Michigan, United States

Birth: Mar. 23, 1854
Milwaukee
Milwaukee County
Wisconsin, USA
Death: Sep. 22, 1930
Delta County
Michigan, USA

son of Lansing Marble and a grandson of Jason Marble, the latter from Vermont and of English descent.


Marble loved the outdoors and the vast Upper Peninsula offered innumerable opportunities to hunt, fish, camp and explore the environment. An inventor by nature, he was continually seeking to create useful tools and equipment that would be both practical and durable in the outdoors.

Marble Arms created the Ideal hunting knife in 1898.

Webster L. Marble was the third born of six children, and his life's history is a story of wonderful success. Born in Milwaukee. Wisconsin, while yet a small boy his parents moved to Vassar, Michigan, and there his youth was spent. His father was a woodsman, hunter and trapper, and the son became a "chip of the old block," for nothing pleased him better than a tramp in the woods for game or fish, and he soon became an expert trapper, hunter and fisherman. His natural love of the woods and all field sports led him to take up the occupation of surveyor and timber cruiser, and he followed that work for twenty five years, first around his home at Frankfort, Michigan, where his parents had moved when he was fifteen years of age. and later in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with headquarters at Gladstone.



During these years in the woods he came more and more to feel the need of an axe light enough to be carried in his pocket while cruising, yet of practical utility. Moreover he realized the necessity of a waterproof match box, and setting himself to the task of supplying these articles the Safety Pocket Axe and the Water-proof Match Box were the result. Circumstances and a natural inventive mind have combined to lead up to the twenty or more patents which were secured and which are now the foundation of this large enterprise. Mr. Marble built a little shop back of his home where he set up a small engine and some light machinery. At odd hours, between his trips in the woods, he thought and planned, developing his patents and working out his ideas, for he did not give up his regular employment. Thus he continued on for several years, and in August of 1898 enlarged his shop to six hundred and forty square feet of floor space and began the manufacture of one style of safety axe. In the next year Mr. F. H. Van Cleve of Escanaba, Michigan, became a partner in the business and a new factory covering nine thousand square feet was built. It has since been enlarged to thirteen thousand square feet. The amount of the business of the Marble Safety Axe Company has nearly doubled each year since its organization, and the word "Marble" has become a synonym for extra quality in sporting equipment.

Kenosha Evening News Wed Sept 24, 1913.

His favorite tie pin was a miniature Safety Ax, not only bacause he was proud of his invention, but because an ax symbolized a woodsman.

Webster L. Marble - shown in photo below at age 55.

In 1890 Webster L. Marble also became connected with the banking business, being made in that year the president of the Exchange Bank at Gladstone, one of the strongest banking houses of this section of the state. He has ever since filled that important position. He married in 1878 Rosa M. Derry, a resident at that time of Frankfort, Michigan, but born in Fulton, New York, a daughter of William T. and Harriet Derry. Two sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Marble, William L. and Floyd W., the elder the manager of the Marble Safety Axe Company, and the younger assistant cashier in the Exchange Bank. Mr. Marble is a member of the Republican party, of the Gladstone school board and of the Masonic order. He is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is one of the trustees and the present treasurer of his church. The place he was won in business circles is accorded him in recognition of his skill and ability and as a tribute to true and genuine worth.

Frank H. Van Cleve of Escanaba, Michigan shared patent rights on some of the early patents applied for by Webster L. Marble

Marble's Woodcraft is one of the most instantly recognized knives that was ever made in the entire world. Patent applied for in 1915, W L Marble was quoted: Be it be known that I, Webster L Marble...have invented a new & original Design for a Blade of a new Hunting Knife...that patent was granted to Marble on February 22, 1916...the Woodcrafts success not only in the USA but also around the world became legendary! After the patent ran out in 1930, the Woodcraft became the most copied knife blade pattern by almost every other knife company in the world. (see photo below)

Marble's Ideal was the 1st knife in the Marble's lineup.
Some famous people to carry Marble's Ideal knives were Teddy Roosevelt, Peary & Byrd who were the explorers to reach the north & south poles. Charles Lindbergh carried a Marble's Ideal, in the cockpit of the 1st solo Trans-Atlantic flight, now it's on display in the Smithsonian Institution.

Another knife made was the Marbles Sport. This knife pattern came out about 1930,, Marble's made one version of this identical knife with a collaboration with the late Bob LoveLess, it had a drop point blade pattern. In the 1930's, this knife was the Official knife of the Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts of America.

The Marble's Expert knife is the Marbles Corp. longest running pattern than any other of Marbles original designs. This knife started in the Marble's line in 1906. W.L. Marble's intent was to offer a a knife suited to the professional hunter, guides, trapper, that needed a light blade for skinning & dressing, yet with enough strength to handle all the rest of regular outdoor chores.

The Marble's Trailmaker knife is the biggest knife Marble's ever made at 15" OAL. It was the heaviest at over 1 LB, and it was the most expensive knife ever offered in Marble's Corp.

And Marble Knives made the stacked leather handles famous......

[/URL]

Timeline

1887 Webster Marble moves family to Gladstone, Michigan.

1890 Marble founds Gladstone Exchange Bank and is President.

1892 Manufactures Universal Rifle Sight and incorporates as Gladstone Manufacturing Company.

1893 Makes first Pocket Axes; recession causes Panic of 1893.

1894 Marble returns to surveying and timber cruising.

1898 Patents Safety Pocket Axe and incorporates as Marble Safety Axe Company.

1899 Exhibits first products at Sports Expo in Madison Square Garden.

1902 Introduces Improved Front Sight; British Army adopts Marbles No. 3 Safety Pocket Axes.

1903 Patents Automatic Flexible Joint Rear Sight.

1909 New 24,000 square foot factory completed and lauded as “Finest of its kind in the world.”

1910 First Game Getter Guns shipped from the factory.

1912 Magazine advertising reaches 20,000,000 readers world wide.

1913 Theodore Roosevelt carries Marble’s compasses during Expandicao Scientifica exploration of Brazilian wilderness.

1914 WWI U.S. Army trucks equipped with Marble’s compasses.

1916 British government buys Marble’s hunting knives for Army issue.

1927 Charles Lindbergh carries Marble’s knife, compass, and matchbox on first solo transatlantic flight.

1930 Founder, Webster Marble dies. Son William becomes President; son Floyd is President of subsidiary Marble Card.

1957 Marble Arms is purchased by Bell and Gossett Inc.

1958 Marble Arms Corporation sells 500 Pilot Survival knives to U.S. Navy and releases proprietary manufacturing specifications.

1966 New plant built at present location


Something I thought was pretty interesting putting this post together, was they said he was very sought after for his ability to look at an area of forest and tell you approximately how many board feet of lumber you get out of it?
And I guess he was right most of the time?

And out of the thousands of adds and magazine articles over the early years, with millions of viewers. The ONLY real person they ever used in an add in a catalog... was a guy named Captain Jack.

Captain Jack




Marble - DeWeese........ knife maker designer in photo below.

.

 

[Kohai999]

That is a great beginning to a thread, Al.

Starting with Marbles is really interesting because the knives were turn of the century hand-built, especially in the beginning. I think this had a major influence on Scagel knives(also of Michigan, interestingly enough), which had an influence on Randall knives(largest known collection of Scagel knives is at the Randall factory), which were inspirations to Loveless.

Like to see some other afficianados jump on this thread because there is so much knowledge out there and so many thirsty minds looking for this type of information.

This is the anthropological segment of knives as I see them....how did we get "HERE"?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

That is a great beginning to a thread, Al.

Starting with Marbles is really interesting because the knives were turn of the century hand-built, especially in the beginning. I think this had a major influence on Scagel knives(also of Michigan, interestingly enough), which had an influence on Randall knives(largest known collection of Scagel knives is at the Randall factory), which were inspirations to Loveless.

Like to see some other afficianados jump on this thread because there is so much knowledge out there and so many thirsty minds looking for this type of information.

This is the anthropological segment of knives as I see them....how did we get "HERE"?

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

And then Loveless was an inspiration to how many other makers?

I think the KNIFE HISTORY is very interesting to more knife enthusiast, than not? I would guess maybe towards 80% of collectors would like to know?

How did we get here?........


Thanks! STeven

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

Cutting tools made from stone were known to be used by early men, the closest resemblance to today's knives made its first appearance only in 2,000 B.C. Blades of these knife sets were made from copper and bronze and with crude wooden handles to protect the user's hand.

Spoons came in during 5000 B.C while forks are believed to be used only in the 9th century. Initial days' forks looked like a spear and were used to hold the meat in place while it was carved. Shortly after this discovery, forks with one and two prongs were made, which resemble the modern day forks.
At the end of Bronze Age, bronze blades were replaced by more versatile iron blades. Romans were the first to use these refined forms of kitchen cutlery including spoons and knives. Until 1600, the concept of Kitchen Cutlery never existed. Pen knives and pocket knives were used, which were usually shared among family members while dining. (I think some still practice this?)


Around 3000 BC, iron was a scarce and precious metal in the Near East. The earliest known iron artifacts are nine small beads, dated to 3200 BC, from burials in Gerzeh, northern Egypt, that were made from meteoritic iron, and shaped by careful hammering. Iron's qualities, in contrast to those of bronze, were not understood. Between 1200 BC and 1000 BC, diffusion in the understanding of iron metallurgy and use of iron objects was fast and far-flung. In the history of ferrous metallurgy, iron smelting — the extraction of usable metal from oxidized iron ores — is more difficult than tin and copper smelting. These other metals and their alloys can be cold-worked, or melted in simple pottery kilns and cast in molds; but smelted iron requires hot-working and can be melted only in specially designed furnaces. It is therefore not surprising that humans only mastered iron smelting after several millennia of bronze metallurgy.

1742 - Sheffield clockmaker Benjamin Huntsman invented crucible cast steel, the first modern cutlery blade steel.

Prior to 1903 factory knives were hand made by single craftsman called "cutlers"

After 1903 the "Hemming grinder" (first automatic grinder) was introduced and knives started being mass-produced.

1907 the "Heroult" electric furnace came into play.

1914 - Around this time stainless steel was in vented.

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Some very good stuff you may like to look at and read....... thanks Jack - :thumbup:

The-Dairy-Maids-of-Porter-Brook-(Part-1)

The-Dairy-Maids-of-Porter-Brook-(Part-2)

The-Dairy-Maids-of-Porter-Brook-(Part-3)

All links are threads here on Bladeforums, so they are safe.

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

William Wales Scagel or Bill Scagel

(February 12, 1873 – March 26, 1963)

Born near Alpena, Michigan and raised in Canada, -- < This is wrong, he was born in Canada.
(Dr. James R. Lucie says Scagel was born in Canada, but on several documents, put down that he was born in the USA.)
Scagel began making knives in 1910 while working at lumber camps throughout Michigan and Canada. Prior to this he worked as a bridgebuilder and an artist in wrought iron. In 1920, after his shop in Muskegon, Michigan burned down he settled in nearby Fruitport and built a new shop on a piece of land he named "Dogwood Nub" which began his long full-time career of making knives, axes, cookware, and boats.

From 1920 through 1929 Scagel sold his knives through Abercrombie & Fitch of New York and their subsidiaries such as Von Lengerke & Antoine. Scagel made hunting knives, machetes, and axes for the expeditions of the Smithsonian Institution. Scagel made a variety of knives throughout his career including Bowie knives, fighting knives, and pocketknives. One of the rarest of Scagel's knives is his personal hunting knife pattern, a fixed blade drop-point hunter with a secondary folding spey-blade in the handle. Valued at over $15,000, seven of the twelve made are accounted for in private collections.

Scagel used a half stag and half leather stacked washer assembly in his knife handles that became his trademark style. One such Scagel knife provided the influence for Bo Randall to start making his own knives. In 1937, Randall witnessed someone using a Scagel knife to scrape paint off of a boat near Walloon Lake, without damaging the edge of the blade.Randall bought the knife and in the years that followed Scagel became a mentor to Randall, influencing many of his designs. In addition to leather and stag handles, Scagel had several friends who worked at the Brunswick Pool Table and Bowling Ball Company who kept him supplied with scrap pieces of ivory, rosewood, bakelite, vulcanized fiber, and maple spacers which he used in his knife handles over the years.

Every knife Scagel made was completely by hand and without modern tools such as a grinder or buffer, his Fruitport shop was powered off a gasoline engine from a Cadillac automobile and as a result, the quantity of knives he produced over his 50 years of knifemaking is very low. Scagel was known for not trusting "mass produced items" and even made his own rifle for hunting. Scagel never visited doctors, resetting his own broken wrist at one time and successfully extracting his own teeth and making his own dentures. During a polio epidemic in 1939, he made leg braces for children at his shop. He made his last knife in 1962, the year before he died. Twenty-three years later he was inducted into the Blade magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1990 Blade Show. In 1996, Scagel was inducted into the American Bladesmith Society Hall of Fame as an inauguree. The Randall Knife Museum in Orlando, Florida is home to the world's largest collection of Scagel's knives.

Read more on Scagel and see more of his knives in post 59 & 61



Marble's Knives had to have a very strong influence on him (Scagel) and the knives he made? Like STeven said - look were he was at........?
And HOW MUCH! Marble's advertised and ran a HIGH QUALITY Co.
Look at the photo's of Marble's add's and knives..... The stacked leather handles..... Scagle was seeing these knives every were I would think?
The Woodcraft blade and style of a Scagel blade? They stacked handles together - - Scagel stacked handles together?

I like the Marble's photo of them with the display of knives.....The counter, the amount of products and the banners an ribbons. They had their game ON!:thumbup:

(Some/a lot of this info is available in several places - the web & books. But putting it together in one place, will be very helpful to read.)

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

Walter Doane "Bo" Randall also known as Bo Randall or WD Randall

(1909 &#8211; December 25, 1989)

Randall was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1909. His family moved to Orlando, Florida in 1916. As a youth Randall enjoyed hunting and fishing and went on to become a successful citrus rancher. He first became interested in making knives after he purchased in 1936 a William Scagel knife that was being used to scrape paint off of a boat without showing any signs of wear or damage.

Impressed with his Scagel knife, Randall located Scagel and asked him how to make knives. Over the years he visited Scagel and corresponded with him, becoming his "pupil" with regard to knifemaking. Randall forged his first knife out of a leaf spring from an automobile in his garage in Lake Ivanhoe, Florida with a handle of stag and made his first hunting knife. On his first hunting trip with that knife he sold it to a companion and made another, repeating the pattern of making knives and selling them to friends one at a time.

In 1938 Randall opened a shop in Orlando, Florida. Although Randall's initial efforts were inspired by Scagel's designs and were predominantly "sporting knives" for hunters and fisherman, a visit by a soldier bound for WW2 changed that. Randall began production of the "All Purpose Fighting Knife" giving it the designation of "Number 1" in his catalog. Between 1942 and 1945, Randall Made Knives produced 4,000 of these knives for US Troops in the war, with approximately 1,058 subcontracted out to Northampton Cutlery Company in Springfield, Massachusetts to meet the demand. In the 1950s Randall would return to the pattern of the Bowie knife for several of his combat knife designs.

Randall designed the Model 17 Astro Model and built 7 of these knives for NASA. In addition to the knife that made 21 orbits around the earth, several of Randall's knives are displayed in the Smithsonian Institution and in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. One Model 8 "Trout and Bird Knife" was displayed in the Monino Airbase museum near Moscow as part of the equipment carried by U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers who was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960.

Randall died in 1989 in Orlando, Florida, at 80 years of age.

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

Randall was inducted into the Blade magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1983 Blade Show as an inauguree. In 1997, Randall was inducted into the American Bladesmith Society Hall of Fame. In 2001, Randall's knives were listed as "Best Sheath Knife" as part of Forbes "50 Best List".

.

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

.
Intro - post 1

Bill's Custom Knife Cases - post 2

Marble Knives - post 3

The beginning - post 6

William Scagel - post 7, 59 & 61

Bo Randall - post 8 & 9

Bob Loveless - post 12 & 93, 98

George Herron - posts 13 & 34

Knife Guild - post 14

William Moran - post 16 & 18

ABS - post 19

John Nelson Cooper - post 23

Bladeforums.com History - post 24

Custom Knife Makers Time Line - post 28

Jimmy Lile - post 29

Buster Warenski - post 30

Daniel John Dannehy - post 31

Over View - post 35

Jess Horn - 36 - info added soon......

Walter Wells "Blackie" Collins, Jr - post 37

Damascus History By AG - post 42

CopperCulture (old stuff) - post 65

Fisk - post 66, 68 & 69

Joe Kious & John White - post 84 & 85

Ruana - 103 & 104







.

 

[Kohai999]

Great stuff, Al.

I had never noticed the style of handles, from Marbles to Scagel to Randall as being so similar.

Keep it going!

I am sure some of the Forumites will get off the sofa and start contributing, once they see the value of a thread like this.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

Robert Waldorf Loveless

Also known as Bob Loveless or R.W. Loveless,

Born January 2, 1929 in Warren, Ohio.

Bob was and still is probably the most well known custom knife maker who ever lived. His knives are some of the most sought after designs ever made, and some of the most copied designs by other knife makers in the world. He died September 2, 2010 at his home in Riverside, California at the age of 81. Bob was one of the founding members of the Knife Makers Guild in 1970, he was the guilds first Secretary and later served two terms as the Guilds president from 1973 to 1976.

Bob grew up with his grandfather in Warren, Ohio. Working with him on the farm and hunting at times Bob got his first taste for knives. When he was 14, he altered his birth certificate and joined the Merchant Marine and later served as an Air Corps control tower operator on Iwo Jima. He witnessed a number of knife fights in the bars of foreign ports, which he attributed to giving him an even more interest in knives.

In 1950 Loveless attended Chicago's Armour Institute of Technology (later renamed Illinois Institute of Technology - IIT) and took a course taught by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In 1951 he returned to Ohio and studied literature and sociology at Kent State.

In December 1953, Loveless returned to the Merchant Marine on a tanker based in New York. He went to Madison and 45th Street to the great store, Abercrombie and Fitch. Were he saw a knife made by Bo Randall, ask about the knife, and was told it would be at least 9 months wait time. He did not want to wait this long for a knife. So he went and ground his first blade from a 1937 Packard Automobile spring found in a Newark, New Jersey junkyard and forged it on the oil-fired galley stove of the ship on which he was serving. After showing this homemade knife to the head of the Abercrombie & Fitch cutlery department he formed a relationship with the retailer to sell his knives. Bob would sell these at a good price of $20.70 each; the store would sell them for $34.50.

From 1954 to 1960 Loveless made over one thousand knives called "Delaware Maids" and they became Abercrombie & Fitch's best-selling handmade items, outselling the Randall blades. Loveless admitted that these knives were copies of Randall's designs, but by 1960 he began making his own innovations which set them apart.

Bob was shown an old knife with a taper tang that came from a knife collector (DuPont) and he started making his knives with that design added.
Like many of Bob's knife designs it caught on quickly with other makers.

Photo below - Bob 1974

Bob Loveless was close friends with David Crosby ( Crosby, Stills & Nash) John Lennon & Yoko Ono had visited his shop at one time. ( I wonder what knife John liked?)

.

 

[Shaw Blades]

I feel like George Herron would be a good entry next.

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

The influence in custom knives and the knife makers guild.......

The Knife makers' Guild is an organization made up of knife makers to promote custom knives, encourage ethical business practices, assist with technical aspects of knife making, and to sponsor knife shows. The Guild is composed of 300 knife maker members and several thousand collectors, writers, and other investors as honorary members.


The idea for Knife makers' Guild came about at a Las Vegas, Nevada gun show held at the Sahara Casino in February 1970. The actual founding occurred in November 1970 by A.G. Russell in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Charter members included Blackie Collins, Bob Loveless, John Nelson Cooper, and Dan Dennehy. Russell was made the first president with Loveless as the Secretary.

Presidents have included Jimmy Lile, Frank Centofante, D'Alton Holder, George Herron, Buster Warenski, and William F. Moran. The Knife makers' Guild is composed of over 300 members worldwide.

The Knife makers' Guild hosts an annual show where members meet once a year to conduct business, elect officers, and display their work. The show is attended by thousands of collectors.

NOTE: -- See the quote in the photo above -- It's WRONG -- AG Russell was first President of the Guild in 1970.

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

A.G. Russell -

Born August 27, 1933

In Eudora, Arkansas. A southern hamlet located in the extreme southeast corner of Arkansas; scrappy flatland where you can put one foot in Louisiana and stare across the river at the state of Mississippi simultaneously. This is where his great-grandfather taught him how to make knives when he was nine.

Russell went on to make knives as a hobby and profession. In 1964, Russell switched his focus to selling Arkansas whetstones and a year later began selling knives. In 1968 he started the first forum for selling aftermarket knives, the A.G. Russell List of Knives for Immediate Delivery, which later became The Cutting Edge. His mailing list was used as a basis for the first two knife magazines, Knife World and The American Blade, now known as Blade. In 1970 he co-founded the Knife Collectors Club and the Knife makers' Guild, both of which are the oldest continuously functioning organizations of their types.

Russell was the first member of the Knife Digest Cutlery Hall of Fame and produced the first commemorative pocket knife. Russell designed and produced the first linerless pocket knife with all-plastic handles in 1970. In 1975, he designed a unique boot knife he called the "Sting", a small knife intended for hunting and personal defense. In 1987, he introduced the "A.G. Russell One Hand Knife" which was one of the first production knives to use a blade thumbstud for one-handed opening. In 1988 he was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame.

In 1964 Russell founded "A.G. Russell Knives", the largest reseller of aftermarket knives. The company began selling Arkansas Whetstones and moved on to sell Randall Made Knives, Morseth Knives, and what were becoming collectible custom knives. By the 1970's, Russell was hiring knife makers to assemble in-house designs.

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

.

William F. Moran Jr. or Bill Moran (May 1, 1925 - February 12, 2006)

He was a knife maker who founded the American Bladesmith Society and reintroduced the process of making pattern welded steel to modern knife making. Moran's knives were sought after by celebrities and heads-of-state. The "William F. Moran School of Bladesmithing" bears his name and in addition to founding the ABS, he was a Blade Magazine Hall of Fame Member and a President of the Knife makers' Guild


Moran was born on a dairy farm near Lime Kiln, Maryland in 1925. There he learned the craft of blacksmithing by trial and error using an old coal forge that he found on the farm and made his first forged knife at the age of 12, (Actually made his first knives a year or two before this by the stock removal method.) by the age of 14 he was making knives to sell. As a teenager he taught himself how to forge a blade, obtaining advice from local blacksmiths (although in a 2003 interview with The Washington Post, Moran said he was "getting all the wrong answers" from them) and by the 1950's he was publishing a catalog and selling his forged blades. In 1960 he sold the family farm to become a full-time knife maker.

Moran forged his knives using a coal forge in the manner of a blacksmith using a hammer and anvil to shape the steel. In the 1950s he was one of the last few bladesmiths in the United States, forging his metal as opposed to grinding blades out of stock. Moran began trying to revive the ancient process of forging Damascus steel in the late 1960s. However, no living bladesmith knew the exact techniques and without a recipe for the process, it was in danger of being lost; through trial and error he taught himself pattern welding and referred to it as "Damascus steel".

NOTE: See A.G. Russell's post 42

In 1972, Moran was elected president of the Knifemakers' Guild. The following year he unveiled his "Damascus knives" at the Guild Show and created a revival of interest in the forged blade, and along with the knives he gave away free booklets detailing how he made them. In 1976 he founded the American Bladesmith Society (ABS), a group of knife makers dedicated to preserving the forged blade and educating the public about traditional bladesmithing techniques. Moran had a 20-year long waiting list and sold knives to such celebrities as Sylvester Stallone and members of royalty including Queen Elizabeth II and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. According to the Washington Post, Sylvester Stallone's knife cost the actor $7,000 and included over 30 feet of silver wire in the handle.

Bill at Blade Show 2005


Bill grew up hunting and fishing around the family farm. When he was about ten years old trapping was a big part of his life. He said that he wanted to be "king of the polecat trappers!" This was around the mid-1930's, and America's financial depression was going on. At the time, a prime skunk pelt would bring $1.00 to $1.25, which was more than many men made in a full day of work. However, skunks trapped during hot weather did not possess prime fur, so he would keep them alive in an old chicken house until the weather turned cold. That way the pelts would be in their prime and he could skin and sale them at that time.

Young Bill had a strong dislike for school. Although he confesses that he enjoyed history and reading, he didn't much care for the other subjects. He discovered that his teacher had no stomach what soever for the odor generally associated with polecats. So to get out of going to school he would pay a visit to his chicken house and kick a skunk! The animal would spray Bill with a generous supply of the dreaded liquid. Suitably drenched, young Moran would go off to school, where the teacher would immediately send him home!



Bill Morans knife shop....

Bill made his first knife when he was ten or eleven, and he smiles as he remembers that he made it by "the stock removal procedure." Essentially, he took his father's prized crosscut saw, placed it in a vise, and using a hammer, he proceeded to break off those portions of the saw that didn't look like a knife! He then "finished" it with a grindstone. For a handle, he took some scrap wood and wrapped it with green cowhide, which worked out quite nice securing it.

Moran and a friend who was a year or two younger didn't like this bully who lived about quarter mile away. So while his parents were away, he went and got two old rubber tractor inner tubes. Bill and his playmate fashioned a giant slingshot, attaching the tubes to two trees stationed approximately three feet apart and situated in exactly the correct manner so that a projectile could be aimed at their tormentor's house. The "pouch" was an old gunny sack, and the missile was to be a more-or-less a round rock about the size of a bowling ball! No halfway measures for William F. Moran, Jr.! The two youngsters knew that they could not possibly draw back the giant sling by hand, so they tied a rope onto the inner tubes and attached the other end of the rope to a horse owned by Bill's father. At this point, Bill's companion urged the horse slowly away from the trees, drawing the inner tubes back in a satisfying manner. The plan was for Bill to take his trusty knife the one made from the crosscut saw and, at what seemed to be an appropriate time, cut the rope, thereby sending the large rock crashing through the older boy's roof.

Perhaps Dame Fortune stepped in at this point, but whatever the motivation, the rope broke, resulting in the rock's traveling no more than a hundred feet or so, and the other end of the line recoiled and smacked the horse on the rear, sending it scurrying over hill, and tumbling the other lad head over heels. Bill remembers that it took several hours to run the horse down. Nothing more came of that grand scheme.

.

 

[HwangJino]

I want that folding axe...

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

Moran died of cancer on February 12, 2006, at Frederick Memorial Hospital. After his death, one of his Bowie knives sold for $30,000 at auction. According to his obituary in the Washington Post, Moran willed his forge and tools to the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation.


Apart from his influence regarding the forged blade, pattern welding, and damascus steel, Moran's influence has spread to other realms of the cutlery industry beyond "Art Knives". Copies of Moran's knives have been made by production knife companies. Spyderco has long made a Drop point hunting knife, inspired by a Moran designs. Blackjack Knives made several tactical versions of Moran's fighting knives. Paul Chen's Hanwei Forge of China made a damascus steel version of the Moran Kenshar, complete with silver wire inlay. Custom Knifemaker Ernest Emerson has long stated that the Moran ST-23 was one of the inspirations for his CQC-8 folding knife.

In 1986, Moran was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame. Two years later in 1988, Moran and the ABS founded a Bladesmithing School in cooperation with Texarkana College. The campus was located in Washington, Arkansas near the place where James Black, made the first Bowie knife. In 1996, Moran was inducted into the American Bladesmith Society Hall of Fame as an inauguree. From 1988 to 2001, Moran taught at least one class a year at the school. Upon his retirement from teaching in 2001, the school was renamed the "William F. Moran School of Bladesmithing".

As of 2008, the American Bladesmith Society is in the process of creating a Moran Museum as a wing of a new Frederick County Library in Middletown, Maryland, less than a mile from where Moran's shop stood.

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

The ABS


The American Bladesmith Society or ABS is a non-profit organization composed of knifemakers whose primary function is to promote the techniques of forging steel blades. The ABS was founded by knifemaker William F. Moran, who came up with the concept in 1972 when Moran was chairman of the Knifemakers' Guild and he introduced Damascus steel blades at an annual show; in 1976 he incorporated the organization and received non-profit status in 1985.

ABS knifemakers forge blades as opposed to making them via the stock-removal method. ABS has developed a system of ratings designating whether a member is an Apprentice, a Journeyman or a Master smith. ABS has partnered with several colleges to offer courses in bladesmithing and has launched its own museum.

Bill Moran had been elected chairman of the Knifemakers' Guild in 1972. At that time, there were less than a dozen practicing bladesmiths in America, and this number was decreasing, whereas the number of stock removal knifemakers was increasing. To remedy this, Moran unveiled 8 pattern welded blades at the 1973 show, dubbing them "Damascus Steel" and handed out a booklet on how to forge the steel to the knifemakers in attendance.

Within months, a handful of knifemakers began making Damascus blades: Bill Bagwell, Don Hastings, Michael Connor, and Sid Birt. By 1976 more than a dozen bladesmiths were making Damascus steel and on December 4, 1976, Moran wrote the by-laws.

In 1985, the ABS held its first hammer-in at Dubois, Wyoming in conjunction with the University of Wyoming. The following year it was moved to Washington, Arkansas in conjunction with Texarkana College. This campus had a replica of James Black’s blacksmith shop where during the winter of 1830-1831 James Bowie purchased a knife from Black. This hammer-in, named the Piney Woods Hammer-In, still occurs semi annually.

In 1988, the ABS established the criteria for Mastersmith and Journeyman. In 1991, Moran stepped down as president but the Society unanimously elected him “Chairman Emeritus”, meaning that he would serve on the board for the balance of his life.

In 1988 on the grounds of Historic Washington State Park in Hempstead County, Arkansas, The ABS and Texarkana College founded a Bladesmithing School in collaboration with the Pioneer Washington Foundation and the Arkansas State Parks. The campus was located near where historians believe that James Black, created the Bowie knife. From 1988 to 2001, Bill Moran taught at least one class a year at the school from basic knife making to the forging of Damascus steel. Upon his retirement from teaching in 2001, the school was renamed the William F. Moran School of Bladesmithing. The American Bladesmith Society is now associated with Texarkana College in Arkansas, Haywood Community College in North Carolina, and the New England School of Metalwork in Maine which offer Bladesmithing courses taught by experienced ABS Master Smiths and Journeyman Smiths.

The ABS launched its own museum and Hall of Fame in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 in conjunction with the Historic Arkansas Museum. The first year inductions were held in 1996: James Black, Jim Bowie, Don Hastings, B. R. Hughes, William F. Moran, and William Scagel.

Journeyman Smith

An applicant is eligible to apply for Journeyman Smith judging and rating at the Annual ABS meeting, after they have been a member of the ABS for 3 years. Following the "Introduction to Bladesmithing Course", the applicant may take the test under the supervision of a Master Smith. The applicant must have personally forged and performed all work on the test blade, with no other person physically assisting in its construction or heat-treating. The test knife must be a carbon steel forged blade with a maximum overall length of 15 inches, maximum width of 2 inches and blade length of 10 inches. Damascus or laminated blades are not allowed as test blades. Once the test begins, no work, not even light stropping, may be done to the test blade. The test blade is used to cut a free hanging rope, chop through 2 2X4" pieces of lumber and retain an edge capable of shaving hair from the judge's arm. Lastly the knife is placed into a vise and flexed. The knife must spring back without breaking and remain functional. If successful, the applicant must submit 5 forged carbon steel knives for judging on symmetry, balance, and aesthetics. Knifemakers who have attained this title frequently use the suffix "JS" when informing the public about their knives.

Master Smith

At the New York Knife Show in 1981, the first Master bladesmith ratings were awarded to: Bill Bagwell, Jimmy Fikes, Don Fogg, Don Hastings, Bill Moran, and James Schmidt. Years later tests were established for a maker to attain a rating of "Master smith". The tests for Master smith include using a forged Damascus steel blade with a minimum of 300 layers and fashioned as a "stick tang knife" (as opposed to a full-tang) to cut a free hanging rope, chop through 2 2X4" pieces of lumber and retain an edge capable of shaving hair. Lastly the knife is placed into a vise and flexed for 90 degrees. The knife must spring back without breaking and remain functional and not slip from the handle. Once the performance test is passed, the applicant must submit 5 knives to a panel of judges, all knives are judged on balance, beauty, and symmetry, but one must be an "Art Knife" or a "European style" dagger.

The first smith to receive the Master title under these requirements was Wayne Goddard.

Wyoming knifemaker Audra Draper became the first woman to hold a Master smith title in 1999.

Knifemakers who have attained this title frequently use the suffix "MS" when informing the public about their knives.

 

[Clem Kadiddlehopper]

I think this gives a good foundation and a good start....... like I said most of this is known to a lot of us, but not to all.
As we continue - I think the juicy stuff will come up, that a lot of us don't know?

So someone step up and do a post....... I'll take a break...... Thanks!