We are experiencing a knife revolution...

Crayola

Crayola

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
Messages
3,831
I love the line in Under Seige where Tommy Lee Jones talkes about how he is a revolution, and the defining characteristic of a revolution is that it fades away and then comes right back in your face. Well, I must say that we are in this "in your face" period of a knife revolution. One book that I have worn out from the local College lobrary is Sid Latham's book on knives that was written in the '70's. I think that it was the first book on knives!!!! Well, so it wasn't, but it was, in my opinion, the best book on knives at that point. At that time, Sid describes that the custom knife world was undergoing a real boost at that point. Bob Loveless had recently discovered 154-CM and Sid spends about two pages detailing Loveless' search for the ultimate steel and having found that steel. Featured in the book are Loveless knives, Randalls, Knives from Corbet Sigman, Morseth, Harvey, and other greats that I have forgotten. There is even talk about Moran and a smidgen about damascus steel, which was still quite new then. And, in the sheath section, Sid reports thta many of the great knifemakers then liked leather but hoped for further developments in the world of synthetics because they have many advantages over leather.

Do some reading, especailly of Sid's book, and you may come to agree with me that the 1970's was a great revolution in the world of knives. Inbetween then and now it seems that innovation and growth of the knife world wasn't as exposive as it was in the '70s. I may be wrong, so I ask for my fellow forumites to fill me in here. But it seems to me that things have come back around in our faces again and we are amidst another explosion. That development in sheaths that the guys of the 70's is here, and it is kydex/consealex. And we are calling for somethign new too- something with the corrosion proofness of kydex and its superb utility that is scratch proof, as is leather. 154-CM still is a great steel, but we have sooooo many options now, and really innovative ones I mean. 440V, 420V, 3V, 10V, ... you know, all of those goodies. Handle materials? Carbon Fiber and G-10 kick butt. Zytel, although not as good as micarta, offers an improvement on "affordable" using knives for people over the traditional xyzwood with brass bolsters. Annodizing kicks butt today over what was done 25 years ago. And I need not mention the options we have over a lock back folder!!!!! One other thing that I am excited about is how ideas from other cultures are working their way into our knives today. In the Sid Latham book the most exotic it gets is a mentioning (no pic) of a kukri if memory serves me correctly (there definitely was no pic.) Now we khave kukris, "Persian" style blades, Pukkos, japanese styles (both the blade and handles), parangs and other blade styles that come from a host of regions, including the Philippines, and on and on.

I could go on much longer, but I will leave you with this. I firmly believe that we are in a knife revolution. The 70's were a boom for knives and I agree that there was development and growth in the 80's and early 90's, but I think that we have been experiencing another rebolution/explosion for the past few years and we have yet to reach the peak. If you agree, say so and please add to what I have said about what has been unique or qood about the boom we are experiencing. If you disagree, please let me know what I am missing!!

Long live the revolution!!!!

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"Come What May..."
 
I agree that we are experiencing a revolution and I think the Walker lock is what kicked it off.My first was a BM Brend I picked up in the 80`s.Before that the Buck 110 was about the last word in folding knives.Can anyone tell me when the Walker lock was invented?IMO the pocket clip is another idea that advanced the revolution.It`s way easier to just slip your knife securely into a pocket without having to strap on a pouch.More convience equals more people buying and carrying knives.

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~Gordon~
 
Great Thread Gentlemen!

I'll say that I believe there has NEVER been a better time to be in the Knife Business.....I sincerely believe that.

I also believe that the late Mr. Al Mar is probally who started this revolution for the production side of the cutlery world[IMHO]. Lets see where this ride will take us....
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Stay Sharp!
Will Fennell
Camillus Cutlery
www.camillusknives.com
 
I definitely agree with all you guys. I remember when I though the Buck 110 was the best too. Then I found spyderco and that just blew me away. I think the pocket clip, opening hole and the serrations really moved the industry forward. I mean there were folder out before but not like a spydie folder. Not one that you can reach and open in an instant. That spawn new ideas, like the thumb wheel, thumb button and now it is the wave that is the quickest. And just look at all the other steel for blades now. I just can't wait to see want else people are coming up with.And it is true that all other cultures blending their influence in to this industry is the reason why we have so many wonderful blade shapes. It is great.

Liong
 
This is a great time for knife-lovers. I was wondering, how much is the anti-handgun sentiment helping knife sales? I think alot of folks have been scared or legislated out of having a handgun but they still want portable, concealable protection.
 
No question, Al Mar elevated the factory made knife to near custom quality and redirected the whole industry in that regard. Walker's liner lock also helped, since it made locking folders easier to make, allowing more art and function to be added to the resulting knife.

In the custom world, I believe the whole idea of using blades, versus collectibles, is a largely new ground swell. People are becoming more knowledgeable of knives, their materials and their use, and are demanding ever higher quality of everybody. Certainly the Internet has helped that.

viva la revolucion!
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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
allenC, there may be a correlation in that those who appreciate guns for the fine tools they are likely to also appreciate knives.

As for the current proliferation of knife design, I consider the appreciation of Finnish, Japanese, Nepalese, etc., etc. designs an outcome of globalization which in turn is primarily driven by the internet. The free flow of information has become a torrent. Consider our own individual knife knowledge prior to rec.blades, bladeforums, manufacturer's websites and such.

This same free flow of information has made us all become aware of different steels, handle materials, edge grinds, etc., etc. Knife publications have done some of it, but two days of internet searching will yield anyone a good amount of info on any particular subject one is interested in.

Now we are a market of much more knowledgable knife buyers, and makers play to this by offering new and different, latest and greatest. This is a feedback cycle, making us more knowledgable and demanding, and the makers in turn becoming more creative.

Result: I have 4 or 5 "daily carry" pocket knives and oodles of "non-daily carry" backups, way more hunting knives than critters I've shot, more money in brush clearing and wood chopping knives/axes than if I bought the gas-powered tools, and so forth. And the cycle continues.

When I bought my first "real" knife a couple of years ago, it was a Gerber "Covert". At the time, it was a darling of the knife media. Six months later, it was old hat. The knife industry is approaching a design cycle that is as quick as the PC industry.


[This message has been edited by kevinb17 (edited 06-20-2000).]
 
I agree with much of the above. That said, to be technical, Michael Walker did not invent the liner lock, he perfected it. As was stated by St. James on a recent thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum54/HTML/000386.html

From the A.G. Russell's Knife Encyclopedia;

Liner-Lock®
Michael Walker modernized the old use of the center liner for locking a blade open. Never successful outside of linemen's knives until Walker developed a knife with easy moving blade and positive lock and a detent to keep the blade closed.
Click to expand...

Electrician's knives with this feature date from the early 1900's.

Walt
 
Well Walt, to be completely technical, Walker has a patent on his lock, and that usually suggests invention.
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Technology, both in materials and mechanisms, is certainly driving a lot of this. Frankly, it's a knifemakers dream come true. Every week it seems, there is something new to use, try, work with, experiment on, or just admire that is making knives better than they have ever been. There's still junk around and that will likely dominate the total cutlery market forever, but demand for the very finest blades that can be built is soaring, pushing both the market and the makers to whole new levels.

These are fun times. Even Tom Mayo is smiling these days.
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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
GaKnife,
I would really rather be agreeing with you, since I LOVE it when doctors are wrong<G>, but Doc Welch is closer to the mark. Walker has a TRADEMARK on the term 'LinerLock'. He certainly brought this mechanism to new levels, and I believe, but certainly could be wrong, that he is the one that started putting ball detents in the liners to hold the blade in the CLOSED position.

Without a doubt, Micheal Walker helped make the locking liner knife what it is today. But....

People have been making folding knives that lock open a blade with a split liner since the early 1900's,..and as suredly as I have opened my mouth, possibly even earlier. I know CAMILLUS has made the TL29 Electricians knife, that uses a locking liner, since pre WW2. We also made what I think MAY be the first 'TACTICAL' locking liner knife[IMHO], the military Pilot's Folding Survival Machete[WW2] that utilized a massive steel locking liner to lock the blade. It used a traditional back-spring to hold the blade closed.

All this is good trivia, but there is no doubt, Micheal Walker shaped what we know TODAY as a LINERLOCK.

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Stay Sharp!
Will Fennell
Camillus Cutlery www.camillusknives.com

[This message has been edited by Will Fennell (edited 06-21-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Will Fennell (edited 06-21-2000).]
 
Will, Walt is one of the nicest docs I've ever met, so I don't mind being wrong where he's concerned. I do recall reading however that Walker had a patent which he didn't endeavor to enforce. But as you say, if he does or doesn't, he made liner locks work for everybody.

Ray Appleton has probably invented more locks than anyone I know, but he's the only person (excluding his son) who knows how to make them. Heck, I couldn't even open one of his folders at the Blade show, even after he showed me. Subtle, very subtle.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
I think what Mr. Walker has a patent on is the ball-bearing detent (though I may be wrong). So, in a sense, everyone's right.
 
We are experiencing a knife revolution in more than design and sales. The REAL revolution-in-the-making is the emergence of Taiwan as a major player in the knife world. Witness the CRKT line and its explosive popularity. I am reminded of a time when Japanese knives were shunned until a couple of prestigious makers began having a few models made there.The rest, as they say, is history. I believe the same thing is happening (much more rapidly) now with Taiwan. It remains to be seen whether or not domestic and Japanese makers can keep up in both quality and price. If you haven't done so, take a very close look at the CRKT Crawford/Kasper and try to imagine the price if made in the U.S. or Japan.Makers who are already offering a lot of quality for the buck (Spyderco, Cold Steel, etc.) will probably be fine. Those offering only higher priced production models may be in trouble. What do you think?

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AKTI Member #A000934
"Always just one knife short of perfection!"
 
ATTENTION: Jerry Hossom: someone is impersonating you on the forums!!! He said:

Will, Walt is one of the nicest docs I've ever met, so I don't mind being wrong where he's concerned.
Click to expand...

This is obviously not the crusty old fellow I have come to respect; the one who threatened me with bodily harm at a knife show, ganging up with Tom Mayo!
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In addition, Will Fennel, you might be the victim of an impersonator as well! Your alleged post was far too nice to expect from you!
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Actually, there is a considerable difference between a TM and a patent. However, even though a person has a patent, doesn't mean the invention is completely new. There is such a thing as a use patent, where something which already exists is utilized in a new manner, sometimes slightly refined.

However, the truth is not important (WW: someone is impersonating you!).
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Like Burke said, everybody's right. So, let's join arms and sing 'Kumbaya.'
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Crusty? Moi? HAHAHAHA
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Walt, it's a good thing that you, Tom and I are spread across six times zones. Any closer and we might reach critical mass.

Besides, crusty is better than rusty! Crucible is making its new S30V just for you.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
It would seem to me that we are truly in the midst of something akin to a revolution, for lack of a better term. I believe that it has been largely driven by "tactical" knives. I am not knowledagable enough to claim I know who started the craze, but certainly do benefit from it. I perceive knives as tools, not weapons, but the sheer utility of holding something in one hand and opening / cutting with a knife with the other is certainly different than the way my Dad did it! I don't hold much truck with all of the chisel ground / Tanto blades that are sold due to the violent "intent" behind that style. I view knives as tools, potentially dangerous tools, but utilitarian in the end. But I have to admit that all of the knives I have purchased in the last 2 years have been one hand openers. With the addition of a liner lock, rolling lock or similar, it makes for a totally one handed operation. That to me is the nature of the revolution, the ease of use for perhaps the most important tool in human history. An object that had been unchanged for thousands of years suddenly underwent a transformation! And is it a cool transformation or what!


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It's a long road, a small wheel and takes alot darned turns to get there.
 
"Tom and Jerry" -- I just got the connection! How fitting!

I myself think that, along with all the technical innovation, the fact that we in the USA have had a good economy for a number of years now, is playing no small part in the Knife Revolution.

[This message has been edited by Joel Stave (edited 06-22-2000).]
 
And don't forget Taiwan having a good economy.
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-Chang, Asian Janitorial Apparatus
 
Wilkinson Sword produced a cavalry sword that wouldn't break and mass produced it. That was a revolution 170 years ago.

Kar Bar, Gerber, Buck, Shrade, Victronox, and a whole lot more mass producers were producing great blades for ages.

Al Mar made the difference between mass production and custom. A little more cash for a superior design and quality. Big focus on better steels.

Cold Steel with their Master Tanto put Al Mar's methods to the masses.

Chris Reeve and a few others followed the "as near to custom as you can get for your $$$'s".

Custom makers are now having to work hard and give added value to their products. Better design, new ideas and more embellishments.

The larger manufacturers are pushing forward to keep up with the times.

What everyone benefits from are the better steels, new materials and better methods of production. Bar stock steels have never been better.

What I think is a down side from all this competition is that some of the designs coming out are of dubious benefit other than to interest the NIB collectors. Choise is good, but the market is getting crowded.

There will be casualties, like Blackjack, soom. Price wars will lead to a drop in quality. Will the likes of Benchmade as they expand keep their early standards or lose favour?

Will we all be fashion victims soon?

I have six knives I use a lot. I have a few more collecting dust. How many do I need? A little like watches. It takes something quite impressive/inovative for me to part with my cash now.
 
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