The Knife Junkie Podcast is the place for knife newbies and knife junkies to learn about knives and knife collecting. Twice per week Bob DeMarco talks knives. Email Bob at theknifejunkie@gmail.com; visit https://theknifejunkie.com.
©2025, Bob DeMarco
The Knife Junkie Podcast
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Bob DeMarco [00:00:00]:
Coming up, the Gentleman Junkie giveaway knife for December 2025 Wild Turkey but not that Wild Turkey and 10 great modern classic folders. I'm Bob DeMarco.

Bob DeMarco [00:00:11]:
This is the Knife Junkie Podcast.

Bob DeMarco [00:00:16]:
Welcome to the Knife Junkie Podcast, your weekly dose of knife news and information about knives and knife collecting. Here's your host, Bob DeMarco.

Bob DeMarco [00:00:29]:
Welcome back to the show. A couple of my favor comments this past week were on my interview with KC from Knives Fast and Tempest Knives Angry Tom's Hat next door. A member here says my two favorite channels. Of course that had to be one.

Bob DeMarco [00:00:44]:
Of my favorite comments.

Bob DeMarco [00:00:45]:
And then that was followed up by Byron of Split and Slices who said I'll agree with Angry Tom's Hat. Pretty sure these are my favorite two YouTube knife channels for both the knowledge, passion and or drive to manage growth and improve. The two best market examples of this are the business relationships between KC and Tempest and Kubi knives as well as Bob with Tekel knives. Still waiting for the 4 inch black Chinook AC says Byron. So thank you both very very much. I had to put those in there because they put wind in my sails and hopefully they do the same for Bob.

Bob DeMarco [00:01:23]:
Casey, another great guy out there in the knife verse.

Bob DeMarco [00:01:28]:
All right, that said, let's get to a pocket check.

Bob DeMarco [00:01:32]:
what's in his pocket.

Bob DeMarco [00:01:33]:
Let's find out.

Bob DeMarco [00:01:36]:
Here's the Knife junkie with his pocket.

Bob DeMarco [00:01:38]:
Check of knives in my front right pocket tonight. Today I should say the beautiful.

Bob DeMarco [00:01:45]:
Tough knives designed DeMarco by concept. So the concept DeMarco designed by Jeff Blauvelt of Tough Knives. I love this knife concept sent this to me. They they wanted to know if I wanted to check out any of their knives because they saw a few a few worshipful videos I did of the bison. They thought well you like our knives, maybe you'll like some of these others. And I picked the DeMarco because I just think it's beautiful and I didn't even know at the time that it's a Jeff Blauvelt design knife. Now I love tough knives. He was tough thumbs way back in the day when he was just modding knives and I always wanted one of his designs though his customs are obviously quite pricey.

Bob DeMarco [00:02:33]:
So to have this has been a pleasure. S35VN A really cool carbon fiber and.

Bob DeMarco [00:02:39]:
Big old titanium bolsters there. Great knife.

Bob DeMarco [00:02:44]:
Next knife. I had an old one in my pocket today. Old. This is relative when you have this many knives and I don't mean that as a brag but this is from the very beginning of Jack Wolf knives. The second knife I believe, or the third knife. Ben Belkin and Jack Wolf knives ever released. This is the first release of the Little Bro and this did not go far and wide because there is an issue in manufacturing that my knife was not victim to. So I got to keep it.

Bob DeMarco [00:03:17]:
And I absolutely love this little sleeve board knife with the gorgeous clip point blade. Very much like the great eastern cutlery number 15 there on my belt today, riding front scout is my beloved.

Bob DeMarco [00:03:36]:
Hob Tooth Knives Nova 2. This is my collaboration with Matt Chase of Hog Tooth Knives. This is the second one we did together and this is the prototype. I think about 15 people ordered this knife and got it and still carry it because they mention it on Thursday Night Knives. It's my ode to the Kiridashi and Japanese knives without going down the Tanto route. I really love this thing. And Matt Chase does an absolutely beautiful job both with his forged fancy custom knives and his knives that are more like this.

Bob DeMarco [00:04:17]:
154Cm water jetted out.

Bob DeMarco [00:04:20]:
We do have a Nova 3 that we're working on right now and you'll.

Bob DeMarco [00:04:25]:
See that when it's ready. It'll be a while.

Bob DeMarco [00:04:30]:
And my Esk today, my emotional support knife was the Vaquero Grande from Cold Steel. This is the predecessor to the XL Vaquero Voyager. This one I've been carrying for at least 20 years. I know it's more, I just don't want to guess how much more. But this recently did incredible duty cutting up a bunch of carpet in my man cave. It had to be removed. And this was the knife that did the best job I did. I used this and I also used the mayhem which was great.

Bob DeMarco [00:05:08]:
But I gotta say the serrations on this deep recurve did a fantastic job.

Bob DeMarco [00:05:14]:
On cutting the carpet.

Bob DeMarco [00:05:16]:
...the beautiful Deadite from Jeff Blauvelt. And DeMarco. One of my favorite producers of production knives out there.

Bob DeMarco [00:05:45]:
I love DeMarco.

Bob DeMarco [00:05:46]:
All right, next up I want to tell you about a deal that we have and I'm going to do it illustrating it with this beautiful three dog knife champions blade. This is a Trevor Barrett design. Trevor Barrett, say Alaska knife maker who won an episode of Forged in Fire. He has teamed up with the great and Powerful three dog knife. That is the in house knife brand of Northern Knives and our good friend Mike and Dakota up there. So this is the knife we're going to be actually giving away in January of 2025. But the reason I bring it up is that we have an affiliate deal with three dog knife that is unreal 25% off. One of these hardcore Alaska made knives.

Bob DeMarco [00:06:40]:
They have a bunch of different models. I've shown off the riot. I've shown off the Mac which stands for multi animal knife. Mike and three dog knife have embraced the concept of the outdoor tanto which I think is so cool and incredibly useful. But this knife is man. This really goes to show what this blade shape can be used for all sorts of stuff, not just tactical. So just use the code Knife Junkie, all lowercase, all one word at checkout at the three dog knife website we have a shortcut. Just go to the knifejunkie.com three dog knife and any knife you buy there made by three dog knife is eligible for this deal.

Bob DeMarco [00:07:29]:
By the way, incredible leather sheaths also by D. Johnston of Alaska. Beautiful sheets, beautiful knives and an outstanding deal. 25 off if you put in coupon code Knife Junkie at checkout. That does not count on the Northern Knives website. So go to the knifejunkie.com three dog.

Bob DeMarco [00:07:52]:
Knife for that outstanding deal.

Bob DeMarco [00:07:55]:
All right, since we were talking about gentleman junkie giveaway knives, let's talk about what we're giving away this month, the month of December 2025. It is this wicked little custom knife. Yes, it's got some schmutz on it from the Kydex because it's brand spanking new. But look at this beautiful knife. This is from Gunfighter Custom Wipe off.

Bob DeMarco [00:08:19]:
This is from Gunfighter Customs. That's Jared Franklin. And then this is a Michael Elliot design. Beautiful sort of take on the clinch pit. But in my opinion and perhaps many people's opinion, it really improves on the clinch pick. You get that reverse cutting edge and this one you get a forward cutting edge. So double edged here but also a place for your thumb.

Bob DeMarco [00:08:46]:
Nay, no, two places for your thumb.

Bob DeMarco [00:08:49]:
And so yeah, it really is an improvement on that design in my opinion.

Bob DeMarco [00:08:56]:
Beautiful butterscotch micarta, a vintage Bob DeMarco here, a rich light, nice grooves all around the handle for easy grippage on this egg shaped handle. Such a cool knife. These are not inexpensive. So all you got to do is become a gentleman junkie and you'll be thrown, your name will be thrown in the hopper to win this on December 18th a very special day in my family. So go check that out. Go to the knife junkie.com and join their knife junkie.com patreon or you can join us right here on YouTube.

Bob DeMarco [00:09:33]:
The join button somewhere right below my finger.

Bob DeMarco [00:09:37]:
This is the gunfighter from Gunfighter Customs.

Bob DeMarco [00:09:41]:
And it could be yours on December 18th. All right, I'm going to put this.

Bob DeMarco [00:09:47]:
A very, very sharp, double edged knife away also, just in case you were wondering, you know, fixed blades rely on good sheets and this has a fantastic sheet.

Bob DeMarco [00:09:56]:
So check that out.

Bob DeMarco [00:09:58]:
All right, last up, before we get to knife life news, since I was talking about Patreon, let me, let me show you one of the great new features. Well, it's a, it's not so new but this is a new addition to the Maker Monday. It's Bob DeMarco. I have an amazing Bob DeMarco knife and I would have loved to have had more an amazing knife maker who really popularized a lot of large CNC made folding custom knives. Just wicked custom that you may you may remember one of his knives made famous from the movie the Expendables. I love the whole series of Expendables. Don't ask me to tell you why, it's just an awesome guy's movie. But Jason Statham uses Bob DeMarco.

Bob DeMarco [00:10:48]:
Great effect and comedic effect in the beginning of the first Expendable.

Bob DeMarco [00:10:53]:
So go to the knife junkie.com Patreon want to sell your custom knives online with Launch Cart you can easily create your own e commerce store. No coding required. Launch Cart is designed for knife makers like you with built in tools to showcase your craftsmanship, manage orders and grow your brand. It's fast, flexible and even includes low cost payment processing to help you keep more of your profits. Start your online knife store today@the knifejunkie.com launch and turn your passion into a business.

Bob DeMarco [00:11:07]:
All of them are are awesome.

Bob DeMarco [00:11:10]:
Plus the interview extras with everyone we interview here. Plus you get thrown in the hopper to like I said before to win a great knife if you become a.

Bob DeMarco [00:11:21]:
Gentleman junkie every month.

Bob DeMarco [00:11:23]:
So go to the knife junkie.com Patreon check it out. Scan the QR code on your screen. Buy a year at once and save 12%. That's quite a savings people.

Bob DeMarco [00:11:32]:
So go to the knife junkie.com Patreon check it out. Scan the QR code on your screen. Buy a year at once and save 12%. That's quite a savings people.

Announcer [00:12:08]:
You're listening to the Knife Junkie podcast and now here's the knife junkie with The knife life news.

Bob DeMarco [00:12:14]:
So first up in knife life news, this is an exciting one. It's from Civivi and I believe I have one on the way from them. But it's called the partake. Like let us partake of some vittles, some food, let's eat. The partake is a fantastic looking deal right here. You can see it on the screen.

Bob DeMarco [00:12:36]:
We used to call them hobo knives because they were knives that came apart and then had your fork, your knife.

Bob DeMarco [00:12:42]:
Your spoon and can opener.

Bob DeMarco [00:12:44]:
But now we call them food based.

Bob DeMarco [00:12:46]:
4 in 1 multi tools.

Bob DeMarco [00:12:48]:
And that's what this is. This is a food based 4 in 1 multi tool or hobo knife that is. I'm so happy to see this coming out from Civivi. I've had, I've had some kind of random and janky hobo knives over the years, but this is the first one that looks like it's really nicely made. You got a fork and a can or bottle opener on one side and then a spoon and a food knife on the other side. And they stick together, they fold out, all of those implements fold out and then the whole thing sticks together with a very strong magnet, just like a hobo knife. Uh, the steel listed on the website is stainless. It's about as specific as they get, but very cool.

Bob DeMarco [00:13:37]:
Bronze washers and aluminum handles. So aluminum, bronze magnets and stainless, it's like good old classic four in one multi tool.

Bob DeMarco [00:13:49]:
Food based or hobo knives is what I prefer.

Bob DeMarco [00:13:52]:
And what else is cool is that there's no room for a clip on this sucker. So it all gets put into a waxed canvas pouch. And I am such a stupid sucker for waxed canvas. I love it. I have, I have. Well, let's just say over the past year I've spent a little money on.

Bob DeMarco [00:14:12]:
Some waxed canvas here and there.

Bob DeMarco [00:14:14]:
4.2 ounces coming out soon for about a hundred bucks. Okay, next up is from Buck knives. Now they have something new out called the 117 Mini. And you know the 117, that's their fixed blade knife called the DeMarco.

Bob DeMarco [00:14:30]:
Like I think named after the cow.

Bob DeMarco [00:14:33]:
But this one is the 117 Mini. And it takes the blade, the beautiful clip point blade from the 117 DeMarco and puts it on the 102 Woodsman's handle. So you've got that phenolic handle with the, with the, with the aluminum butt cap. But unlike the DeMarco, the 102 has a more slender tapering towards the pommel, so the whole thing is lighter. This is a lean 3.1 ounces as compared to the 117 grams 4.9 ounces. A little confusing here, but it's a mashup of Buck knives and it's a stealth release. So this is already out. Only 500 pieces made and did not.

Bob DeMarco [00:15:22]:
Come out to much fanfare.

Bob DeMarco [00:15:24]:
That blade is Magnacut with the Paul Boss Heat Treat. Comes with a beautiful black leather sheath per usual. And that handle, you probably can't tell.

Bob DeMarco [00:15:34]:
From the pictures, is a deep dark.

Bob DeMarco [00:15:36]:
Maroon as a opposed to the black.

Bob DeMarco [00:15:39]:
Which it usually comes in.

Bob DeMarco [00:15:40]:
And these are coming in at $175 MSRP. And I'm pretty sure that's the only.

Bob DeMarco [00:15:46]:
Way you can get it is by the manufacturer.

Bob DeMarco [00:15:49]:
That's the Buck 117 Mini. All right, last up, this is an exciting one also. This is from JW Collab. Our good friends at Jack Wolf Knives, Ben Belkin, has gotten together in a collaborative knife designing sense with Melissa DeMarco. I just call her Melissa Backwoods because that's what she goes by on Instagram and YouTube. But Melissa Miller was a contestant on Naked and Afraid years ago and is a knife designer. She designed a knife with Tim Kell and Tkel knives and this is her latest design. It is with JW Collab and as.

Bob DeMarco [00:16:35]:
You can see, it's a beautiful little.

Bob DeMarco [00:16:37]:
Clip point blade on a sort of sleeve board style handle, much like this.

Bob DeMarco [00:16:45]:
Little bro Jack handle I was holding up before.

Bob DeMarco [00:16:48]:
A very similar handle shape. I saw a video where she was talking about the inspiration for this knife. She has a.

Bob DeMarco [00:16:56]:
It was a.

Bob DeMarco [00:16:59]:
What was it?

Bob DeMarco [00:17:00]:
A steak knife from.

Bob DeMarco [00:17:03]:
I don't remember where, but it was.

Bob DeMarco [00:17:05]:
A steak knife and it was clip point. And she thought how cool would it be to have an updated version? And so this is what she and Bob DeMarco came up with. Looks very cool. I know mine is arriving, I believe, tomorrow as I record this, so I'm very much looking forward to that. 2.9 inches of the usual S90v hollow ground clip point blade, sleeve board handle. As I said, four different handle materials. I think what we're seeing here is abalone. On the screen there, a pocket leather sheath, black with the DCC style clip.

Bob DeMarco [00:17:43]:
2.1 ounces.

Bob DeMarco [00:17:44]:
There you see it in the sheath.

Bob DeMarco [00:17:47]:
2.1 ounces. Pretty light. And will be available on December 12, 2025. So if you're listening to this, as soon as it drops, which I'm sure you all are, two days hence, this will be dropping so $245 MSRP. Check it out. The JW Collab Fix EDC or Backwoods.

Bob DeMarco [00:18:10]:
Fix EDC By Melissa Miller Very, very cool.

Bob DeMarco [00:18:15]:
All right, still to come on the Knife Junkie podcast, we're going to talk about the first tool we got something really cool. We're going to talk about K bars.

Announcer [00:18:25]:
You're listening to the Knife Junkie podcast. Here's some cool knife history with the Knife junkies.

Announcer [00:18:30]:
The First Tool. If you ask a room full of knife collectors to picture a fighting knife, chances are they'll all see the same silhouette.

Bob DeMarco [00:18:33]:
If you ask a room full of knife collectors to picture a fighting knife, chances are they'll all.

Bob DeMarco [00:18:39]:
See the same silhouette.

Bob DeMarco [00:18:41]:
A long, lean blade with a stacked leather handle with the bold stamp of USMC on the tank. That's the KA Bar, one of the few knives whose name alone can summon an entire era. But the story of the KA Bar doesn't begin in the mud of World War II. It starts in the lean years before it, when the US Marine Corps needed something better, something tougher. Their old issue knives were breaking, bending, or simply failing at the worst possible times. So the Marines turned to a consortium of American knife makers and said, in essence, give us a blade that can dig a foxhole, pry open a crate.

Bob DeMarco [00:19:24]:
And still be sharp enough to fight with.

Bob DeMarco [00:19:27]:
What they got in 1942 was the 7 inch clip point bruiser. Part utility knife, part battlefield companion, it wasn't delicate, it wasn't elegant, but it did exactly what it was needed to do. That leather handle soaked up shock like a dream. The guard kept fingers exactly where they were supposed to stay, and the fullers on either side of the blade cut.

Bob DeMarco [00:19:52]:
Weight without sacrificing strength.

Bob DeMarco [00:19:55]:
It was the sort of knife that you could survive, that could survive the.

Bob DeMarco [00:19:59]:
Pacific because it had to.

Bob DeMarco [00:20:02]:
The KA Bar's name itself came early, purportedly from a fur trapper's letter claiming he used one of the company's knives to kill a bear, a phrase that, through rough handwriting, became K A Bar. The name stuck, and once the Marines adopted the knife, it became legend. And make no mistake, Marines carried it everywhere, across Tarawa's reefs, through the jungles of Guadalcanal, and into the black sand of Iwo Jima. The knife was a tool, a morale.

Bob DeMarco [00:20:37]:
Booster, a symbol of grit.

Bob DeMarco [00:20:40]:
Veterans talked about sharpening them on helmet rims, used them to open rations, even pounding them into wooden beams to hang their gear. If a Marine had a KA Bar on his belt, he felt just a.

Bob DeMarco [00:20:54]:
Little more ready for whatever came next.

Bob DeMarco [00:20:58]:
After the war, the KA Bar didn't fade away. Hunters adopted it, campers adopted it, even branches of the military kept some variations of it. And today, 80 years later, that same unmistakable silhouette still shows in the hands of soldiers, collectors and outdoorsmen alike. Because some knives are just tools and some become icons. The KA Bar, that's the one that.

Bob DeMarco [00:21:25]:
Went to war and never came home. It simply became a part of who we are.

Bob DeMarco [00:21:32]:
Okay, coming up on the Knife Junkie podcast, we're going to take a look at some new knives or a new.

Bob DeMarco [00:21:38]:
Knife in my collection.

Bob DeMarco [00:21:39]:
But first, I want to urge you to join us on Thursday Night Knives. This is your mission. Join us here. You should probably subscribe and click the notification bell.

Bob DeMarco [00:21:50]:
It'll give you a reminder.

Bob DeMarco [00:21:52]:
Every Thursday we go live here at 10:00pm Eastern Standard Time and we talk knives and we have a big crowd and it is very fun and we have a lot of knowledgeable and funny.

Bob DeMarco [00:22:05]:
Members who come on and talk.

Bob DeMarco [00:22:06]:
So please, please join the conversation and.

Bob DeMarco [00:22:10]:
Join us for Thursday Night Knives. All right, let's get to the state. of the collection

Announcer [00:22:14]:
adventure. Delivered your monthly subscription for handpicked outdoor survival, EDC and other cool gear from our expert team of outdoor professionals. Thenifejunkie.com Battlebox

Bob DeMarco [00:22:14]:
Christmas came early for me this year, my friends, and that's due to my friend Jim. He just bought this for me and I love it. Look at this beautiful big western style Bowie. Let me put it under the knife camera.

Bob DeMarco [00:22:45]:
Here it is.

Bob DeMarco [00:22:46]:
It barely fits.

Bob DeMarco [00:22:48]:
So beautiful and glorious it is.

Bob DeMarco [00:22:50]:
Here, let me.

Bob DeMarco [00:22:52]:
All right, so Jim just got this for me and it is a gorgeous western style Bowie as you can tell. As you can tell here, it's got hollow ground bevels much like the Western 49 and it's got a really nice swedge and a gorgeous shape. It came really sharp. I'd never heard of wild, tricky handmade knives before, but this one came really sharp. I did of course run it over my strop a few times and get it razor sharp. It has this beautiful sort of gray purplish pakkawood handle and a brass escutcheon. Really, really nice. And then it also came in this white stitched leather sheath.

Bob DeMarco [00:23:41]:
I like the sheath quite a bit. I am considering removing the belt loop, but I'm gonna wait and see if that urge passes because I hate to do things that you can't take back and then realize it was a stupid idea. You got a true full tang here, a perfect handle. It's very comfortable and hand filling. And I gotta tell you, we had, I mentioned this on Thursday Night Knives last week, but we had a plumber here one day not too long ago, and long story short, this room is going to change. But I'll tell you that another time. But the whole time, whenever someone is in the house working, I'm like, here's someone with power tools. A stranger in my house.

Bob DeMarco [00:24:27]:
He was a great plumber, did a wonderful job.

Bob DeMarco [00:24:29]:
Personable guy, but still, I'm like, I don't know.

Bob DeMarco [00:24:32]:
I don't know who this guy is.

Bob DeMarco [00:24:34]:
So this was my.

Bob DeMarco [00:24:37]:
This was my comfort that day.

Bob DeMarco [00:24:38]:
This was my. This was my esk, really. It gave me the emotional support I needed to have a stranger in the house all day long. You know, I'm a private guy, and when I'm in my home, I look, you know, I like to feel comfortable, and this is what helped. So thank you, Jim. I love this thing, and it's another.

Bob DeMarco [00:24:58]:
Bowie in my quiver, another Bowie in my collection of awesome Bowie knives. So I'm really, really psyched, Bob. Thank you, sir.

Bob DeMarco [00:25:08]:
All right, I'm gonna. I'm gonna put this away. And as I do, we have a new design.

Bob DeMarco [00:25:14]:
I don't want to cut my. All right, sorry. Oh, there it is. It's safely, safely stashed away.

Bob DeMarco [00:25:22]:
All right. Check out this new design. This knife has seen things. None of them are a sharpening stone. I absolutely love this because most of the people I know, this is the story with them. This is the story I've. I've even met. And we've all known people who have gotten rid of knives that just kind of passed them aside and bought new ones when their knives go dull, which is crazy.

Bob DeMarco [00:25:47]:
It's like throwing your car away when it runs out of gas. Am I right? I mean, it's got a gas tank for a reason. You fill it up and you get.

Bob DeMarco [00:25:56]:
To use it again.

Bob DeMarco [00:25:57]:
Same thing with a knife. It's got a blade, you sharpen again.

Bob DeMarco [00:26:00]:
It again, and then you use it again.

Bob DeMarco [00:26:03]:
But I love this. It's got some real attitude. You can get this on any number of things. T shirt, apron, other stuff. At the knife junkie.com shop, we've got 30 some odd pages of really cool merchandise with all of these incredible and funny designs that Jim comes up with.

Bob DeMarco [00:26:25]:
Is one of my favorites from the recent past.

Bob DeMarco [00:26:27]:
So go check that out at the knife junkie.com shop. All right, let's talk about it. Modern classics. Okay, what are we talking about here, Bob? Modern classics. So if you look at modern art, and this is.

Bob DeMarco [00:26:45]:
This is not really based on modern art, but it does go back to somewhere around World War I. Or so we're, we're updating this, we're starting in the late 60s, but we only really have one, one occurrence in the 60s. And then we kind of jump to.

Bob DeMarco [00:27:03]:
The early 80s with these.

Bob DeMarco [00:27:05]:
And I'm not going to be dating them, but these are 10 knives here, 10 folders that have had an outsized impact on the industry through, through their strength, through the steels they've used, through their designs and innovation, and through their adoption, not only from users, people who hardcore use their knives, but then later collectors. So what are we going to start with?

Bob DeMarco [00:27:33]:
You know what, we're starting with the Buck 110.

Bob DeMarco [00:27:36]:
So let's take a look at this Buck 110. This one just got a bunch of use from me. This one lives on my desk in the leather sheath, the leather belt sheath.

Bob DeMarco [00:27:50]:
That came with it.

Bob DeMarco [00:27:52]:
And I keep it always handy, use it somewhat rarely carry or carry it.

Bob DeMarco [00:27:56]:
Rarely I should say.

Bob DeMarco [00:27:59]:
But living on my desk it sees some use. But this past weekend I had a lot of work to do both inside and outside and I had some stuff to burn off. So when I did, I lit that fire using this Buck 110. You can see all the gunk on.

Bob DeMarco [00:28:17]:
There from the, from the Fatwood, but.

Bob DeMarco [00:28:21]:
420 HC blade steel here. Razor freaking sharp, man. Hollow ground, razor sharp. 420 HC. Imagine that. It's not a super steel and yet it still functions as a knife. Unbelievable.

Bob DeMarco [00:28:36]:
Who would, who would, who would Imagine.

Bob DeMarco [00:28:39]:
You'Ve got integral brass bolsters and liners and nice and thick and just a super sturdy lock back. I love this knife. I do. I gotta say, for a lock back, I like the mid back locks that you see on Cold Steels because they're easier to one hand close. But at the time this was designed, one hand closing wasn't really a consideration. Bob didn't care that much about it.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:04]:
People didn't care that much about it.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:06]:
Plus you can always close this on.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:08]:
Your leg, you know what I'm talking.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:10]:
About, when it's like this and then you just depress it and you put.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:14]:
It against your jeans and close it.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:16]:
This is how we used to close.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:17]:
Knives before we were pampered by the modern age.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:21]:
The buck 110 has a nice solid feel to it. Super sturdy and really changed the industry not only with its, its strength, taking something that was a hunting knife and turning it into something smaller, more easy to carry in a folding format, but also that lock itself was super, is super strong and really changed things.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:49]:
Permanently.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:50]:
In the knife business.

Bob DeMarco [00:29:53]:
This gave birth to a whole slew of copycats from the moment it hit the market to now, you can still.

Bob DeMarco [00:30:02]:
Find knives that emulate the Bob 110.

Bob DeMarco [00:30:06]:
What a great knife. I love this. And it's small, brother.

Bob DeMarco [00:30:09]:
The Bob 112.

Bob DeMarco [00:30:13]:
Okay, next up. This one is the Chris Reeve knives Sebenza. This is the Sebenza 21, which came out 21 years after the original Sebenza. And it came with some design changes, just as the 31 came out 31 years after the original Sebenza with its changes. But to me, the 21 is the true classic. Maybe that's just because it's what I've got. But this, really, if it didn't invent it, definitely popularized the frame lock. I, I, I'm pretty sure this was the knife that invented, I know that Chris Reeve invented the frame lock.

Bob DeMarco [00:30:55]:
So the integral frame lock, meaning it's not a thin liner with scales over it. The lock itself and the locking leaf here is exposed and enhanced by your grip. So use of titanium at this point, when the, when the Sebenza first came out was barely heard of in the knife world.

Bob DeMarco [00:31:20]:
I know some people were using liners.

Bob DeMarco [00:31:23]:
At the time out of titanium, but a full frame titanium frame lock just didn't exist until Bob DeMarco came along with it. And this one has S35VN. S35 was also a steel that was pioneered by Chris Reeve when he was updating the Sebenza.

Bob DeMarco [00:31:58]:
And he got that with the S35.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:03]:
So a really great and classic knife. This is one of those folding knives against which all others are measured. And I feel very grateful to have this knife. It's not, again, it's not an inexpensive knife.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:18]:
Few of these are.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:20]:
And so to be able to have one, especially a.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:25]:
I can't open this.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:26]:
With my left hand.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:27]:
Especially a Sebenza 21, which was made on Leap Day 2016. Yeah, that's right. You get a birth card with every Chris Reeve knife. And this one was made on Leap Day 2016, so it only has a.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:40]:
Birthday every four years.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:43]:
So this is the Chris Reeve knives, Sebenza, and in this case, the 21.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:50]:
...And this was one of them. Ernest DeMarco. And Emerson knives was using titanium liners. This has titanium liners. And this is the Commander. This Commander was made in the year 2000. So this is a 25 year old knife at this point and I still remember ordering it, thinking I would get it the next day and waiting a year and thinking I got ripped off.

Bob DeMarco [00:33:21]:
By the Internet and then it showed up.

Bob DeMarco [00:33:24]:
But I ordered it in 1999, showed up in 2000. Here's your maker's mark, 154cm blade steel, which at the time was a big deal. This also has some early G10.

Bob DeMarco [00:33:41]:
Looks kind of Micarta E, but this.

Bob DeMarco [00:33:43]:
...with sort of a clip. I know it doesn't really look like Bob.

Bob DeMarco [00:34:00]:
It, but you can see a little.

Bob DeMarco [00:34:01]:
...the knife that Ernest DeMarco made pro, the prototype of which he gave to some Navy SEALs to check out in California. And they discovered that this, which is now called the Emerson Wave.

Bob DeMarco [00:34:23]:
Which was intended as a blade catch. Like you're going toe to toe and fighting knife to knife with someone and.

Bob DeMarco [00:34:31]:
You'Re going to catch their blade in.

Bob DeMarco [00:34:33]:
So it was a mistake that led to the Bob DeMarco Wave, which is now, you know, Emerson's thing for sure.

Bob DeMarco [00:35:04]:
It from your pocket.

Bob DeMarco [00:35:07]:
Uses that standard three screw quote unquote benchmade style clip. And just, and a really, really iconic knife.

Bob DeMarco [00:35:18]:
And I don't use the word iconic much.

Bob DeMarco [00:35:20]:
Easy may have noticed like many or most Emerson knives, it's got a V ground bevel but a chisel ground edge. So only sharpened on one edge really makes it super sharp. And according to Ernest Emerson, a big inspiration for the chisel edge was easier to sharpen the field because you only.

Bob DeMarco [00:35:44]:
Have one side to sharpen.

Bob DeMarco [00:35:47]:
That's the Emerson Commander.

Bob DeMarco [00:35:50]:
Next up, this is. You'll recognize this as my dedicated road trip knife, the Microtech SOCOM Elite. This one made in March of 2012.

Bob DeMarco [00:36:06]:
You can see that right there.

Bob DeMarco [00:36:08]:
So pretty, pretty old knife. This knife represents a lot of firsts in my collection. First S35VN knife I got. First knife with ball bearings. Though I didn't know it at the time, I just thought it was crazy smooth. First knife With a glass breaker first.

Bob DeMarco [00:36:23]:
Knife with carbon fiber.

Bob DeMarco [00:36:25]:
This was a lot of firsts for me. What really drove me to this knife and I bought it used on blade forms from a guy who was building a house and needed to free up some funds.

Bob DeMarco [00:36:36]:
I remember that.

Bob DeMarco [00:36:37]:
But what always drew me to this knife was that incredible American tanto grind with the, with the clip point and the long swedge. This thing is just beautiful. But since buying this knife and since.

Bob DeMarco [00:36:55]:
Basically I don't want to say what's the word buying this knife and.

Bob DeMarco [00:37:03]:
Typecasting it as my road trip knife because it has the glass breaker on the back, I've really grown to see what an amazing knife these SOCOM Elites are. I have the SOCOM Bravo. I like it plenty. Bob.

Bob DeMarco [00:37:15]:
It's beautiful and sculptural.

Bob DeMarco [00:37:17]:
But just give me the aluminum handles with the nested liner lock and even that tip down carry doesn't bum me.

Bob DeMarco [00:37:25]:
Out on this type.

Bob DeMarco [00:37:27]:
This is one of two knives for, for that really nice big thumb studs are also the blade stop. You've got a thumb thumb ramp with jimping and then this reverse thumb ramp on the forward part of the blade which I love. It's a great place to have your hand or to have your thumb to really create tension between your forefinger and.

Bob DeMarco [00:37:48]:
Your thumb for a super solid grip.

Bob DeMarco [00:37:52]:
I love this knife. This is, this is one of the last ones I would ever sell. It's just been on so many great family road trips and adventures that it's cut everything including pancakes. That is my microtech SOCOM elite.

Bob DeMarco [00:38:11]:
Okay, next up. This is one that you know, no list of modern classic folding knives would be complete without the paramilitary tube. This very, very little special about this particular paramilitary tube from Spyderco.

Bob DeMarco [00:38:30]:
It is the standard S 30v blade steel standard everything is just a standard paramilitary. And it's a great knife. I've used this one a lot over the years. This one goes in my pocket when I actually really know I. I'm going to be needing to cut stuff, you know, as opposed to emotional support or anything like that. And yeah, you can see it's it, it's wearing some of the experience on its sleeve. I remember carrying this days on end when we were. The place I was working was shooting the world of police and fire games in D.C.

Bob DeMarco [00:39:17]:
and there was a couple of day event and.

Bob DeMarco [00:39:20]:
And we were working very long hard.

Bob DeMarco [00:39:22]:
Hours and there was a lot of actual cutting which is great, you know. Hey Bob, you got a knife. And this is the knife I was.

Bob DeMarco [00:39:30]:
Handing around to people and it was.

Bob DeMarco [00:39:32]:
Funny because.

Bob DeMarco [00:39:35]:
One guy in particular couldn't figure out how to close it. And, and I thought, you know what.

Bob DeMarco [00:39:40]:
That'S so typical of that guy. Look at, just look at it.

Bob DeMarco [00:39:43]:
So this has, on its innovative side, it's got the compression lock which has, I, I believe the patent for this has run out. And people are starting to use a similar system here. But you use this, it wedges a leaf of steel in a slot in the back of the tang here. Unlike a back liner lock which looks very much the same.

Bob DeMarco [00:40:15]:
And this is what gives it so much of its appeal and its fidgetiness is that awesome luck. Also you have a 5050 choil here, something that I feel that Spyderco has really pioneered and run with and doesn't bother me on this knife though the blade to handle ratio has always irked me a little bit. I always thought the blade should be.

Bob DeMarco [00:40:37]:
A little bit longer. But hey, that's just me.

Bob DeMarco [00:40:39]:
I'm not the genius Sal Glesser who.

Bob DeMarco [00:40:42]:
Actually designed this gorgeous knife.

Bob DeMarco [00:40:44]:
So this is the Spyderco paramilitary two and most definitely a modern classic. And before I said that the Paramilit or that the Sebenza was a folding knife against which all others are measured.

Bob DeMarco [00:41:01]:
This is another one of those knives.

Bob DeMarco [00:41:03]:
For a good 12 years there, you could not see a single knife review.

Bob DeMarco [00:41:08]:
Without someone referencing the Spyderco paramilitary military too.

Bob DeMarco [00:41:14]:
All right, next up, the rick Hinderer Knives XM18. This knife also has some innovation on it. You can see the, the over travel stop there for the lock that stabilizes the lock up and down and stops it from being over extended side to side. So it, it really helps. That.

Bob DeMarco [00:41:40]:
Helps that lock in two different, on two different axes. And this was due to the fact that Rick Hinderer who designed this knife and owns Rick Hinderer knives, obviously used to be not only a horse trainer but a firefighter. And he talks about how he was on a job once, firefighting job, and he un unlocked his frame lock knife, whatever he was using and there was no stabilizer and he over bent it.

Bob DeMarco [00:42:09]:
And then the blade wouldn't stay shut.

Bob DeMarco [00:42:11]:
And kind of made the, the knife use useless until he could take it.

Bob DeMarco [00:42:15]:
Apart and, and fix it.

Bob DeMarco [00:42:16]:
So that's when he dreamt up the lock bar stabilizer.

Bob DeMarco [00:42:21]:
That little button you see right there.

Bob DeMarco [00:42:24]:
Under the clip like I said, stops it from being compressed this way north to south, but also stops it from being overextended east to west.

Bob DeMarco [00:42:35]:
A beautiful design. This one is the Sponto. So it's Part.

Bob DeMarco [00:42:41]:
Spear point.

Bob DeMarco [00:42:44]:
Part spear point, part Tonto. But in this case I had mine reground by by Josh of Razor razor edge knives. And he gave it a deep hollow grind like it was originally intended. I think for mass production they just do them flat ground. And it was nice as a flat ground knife, but as a really thin hollow ground knife.

Bob DeMarco [00:43:12]:
This thing is an incredible cutter.

Bob DeMarco [00:43:15]:
S35VN on this one though. I know these days they use 20cv and Magna cut and all sorts of other knives. Other steel's beautiful titanium frame lock on this side with the hinderer right up front. Kind of like the Idaho made on the Chris Reeve knives. Great knife, great flipper. This is free tri way. So this is just one type of pivot and it's our one type of, yeah, pivoting system and it's the Nylotron washers. Nowadays you get one of these and you can choose between Nylotron washers, bronze washers, or the captured ball bearings that.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:02]:
Pivot that it ships with.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:06]:
This is an aftermarket though, Hinderer sanctioned.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:12]:
We call it scale. That's a maroon micarta which turned black for a while with pork fat. But over the years that pork fat has gone away. Probably all in my pockets now and.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:26]:
It'S back to its maroon beauty flow.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:28]:
So love this knife. I've got four Hinderers and I have no plans on getting any others, but.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:34]:
I'm happy with the four that I.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:37]:
Okay, next up, a true modern classic.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:40]:
I mean these are all true modern.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:41]:
Classics, but this, you know, as a cold steel fanboy.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:45]:
Oh no.

Bob DeMarco [00:44:45]:
No conversation is complete without the Recon 1. This is an old Recon 1. This is from the AUS 8 Hollow Ground Days. And when they put that sort of glorified spray paint on the blade, well, I got some, some solvent, took it off, scraped off the the coating and lo and behold, underneath found a beautiful.

Bob DeMarco [00:45:09]:
Stonewashed Finish on this AUS 8 blade.

Bob DeMarco [00:45:13]:
Incredibly sharp. That sharpening choil is my own doing. I was never happy with the sharpening choil. Not that I'm some big sharpening junkie, but you can tell when it's not right.

Bob DeMarco [00:45:24]:
So I just kind of tweaked the.

Bob DeMarco [00:45:26]:
Choil on this one. And this is so old.

Bob DeMarco [00:45:31]:
Probably 2010, so old that the G10 is almost smooth.

Bob DeMarco [00:45:36]:
I've had it for so long and.

Bob DeMarco [00:45:37]:
We know how rough the G10 is.

Bob DeMarco [00:45:40]:
When you buy a brand new cold steel.

Bob DeMarco [00:45:44]:
This one was one of the first knives cold steel produced and maybe one of the first out there, period, that just relied on the solidity and strength of the G10 relatively fat G10 slabs without nested liners or any other kind of metallic liner on the inside. So an innovation there. Also one of the early adoptees of the triad lock. So that is a back lock with a big old stop pin separating the blade from the.

Bob DeMarco [00:46:19]:
From the lock locking leaf.

Bob DeMarco [00:46:21]:
Here you can see that's the stop pin right there. And so the tang of the blade does not come right up to the spring like you see on the buck. See the difference?

Bob DeMarco [00:46:35]:
There's a gap on the cold steel.

Bob DeMarco [00:46:37]:
Below that gap where the blade meets the stop pin meets the lock. That's where all of the shock is absorbed. And that's where you get the major strength from the. The legendary strength from the triad lock. It's because.

Bob DeMarco [00:46:56]:
The force that's being exerted on the blade.

Bob DeMarco [00:47:00]:
Is transferred into that big stop pin and then from the stop pin into the rest of the knife as opposed to onto the.

Bob DeMarco [00:47:10]:
Onto the locking spring there. So an awesome knife. I love the recon one. It comes in a number of different flavors and. And also in large. So you can get this in the. I'm sorry, xl. So five and a half inches.

Bob DeMarco [00:47:26]:
This is the four inch. You can get them in the three inch and then the old micro recons for your keychain. So no matter what size Recon 1.

Bob DeMarco [00:47:38]:
You get, it is a modern classic, to be sure.

Bob DeMarco [00:47:43]:
All right, next up is Benchmade. Yeah, I don't talk about Benchmade much. Not a huge Benchmade fan, But I am a huge fan of the Benchmade bugout. This one wearing aftermarket Allen Putnam Micarta scales with the. With the anzo pattern milled into it. And of course, a snaggle teeth tactical on there. Because I used to carry this in my back pocket all the time. Also used to carry it in the breast pocket of my winter jacket.

Bob DeMarco [00:48:15]:
I'll probably do that again this year.

Bob DeMarco [00:48:18]:
But I always thought that this. This should. If I need to reach into my pocket, sure, I'll give you my wallet. And I decide that I can take the guy. Why not have it wave open with the snaggle teeth tactical? I know, I know, I know.

Bob DeMarco [00:48:34]:
You don't have to say it.

Bob DeMarco [00:48:35]:
I know it's ridiculous, but, you know.

Bob DeMarco [00:48:38]:
I'm prone to ridiculousness sometimes.

Bob DeMarco [00:48:40]:
I love it because it matches the color of the standoffs here. And really, really nice clip on this. But feather weight, that's what makes this a real classic. Thin and feather weight with that awesome axis lock. One of my best Ambidextrous bar locks out there. The original axis lock is not always.

Bob DeMarco [00:49:05]:
The best in my opinion, but in.

Bob DeMarco [00:49:06]:
This case it is truly awesome. So lightweight, small, thin, ultra capable. Some people thought it was too lightweight and I may have been one of those guys. I. I did not like the scales.

Bob DeMarco [00:49:21]:
That this came with the blue scales.

Bob DeMarco [00:49:23]:
The original blue scales. So thin you could bend them and see them bend under, under your, under the pressure of your fingers. I thought I wanted something a little.

Bob DeMarco [00:49:32]:
More stiff, so I got this Micarta.

Bob DeMarco [00:49:35]:
I've had this for who knows how long and it's. It's been with me. I carry this thing especially in the.

Bob DeMarco [00:49:43]:
Winter a lot.

Bob DeMarco [00:49:46]:
And it's kind of an unsung hero for me. It's the Benchmade bug out. All right, penultimate here in my collection of ten modern classic folders. By the way, I know these aren't all of them, so let me know.

Bob DeMarco [00:50:01]:
What you think the modern classics are and drop them in the comments below. I'd be interested to find out.

Bob DeMarco [00:50:08]:
Second to last here is from Ernest Emerson, designer and zero tolerance maker. This is the ZT06 40A. It is a version of an old Ernest Emerson design from the days right when he was making his switch from art knives to tactical knives. And this was one of the five models he had at that time and he updated it for zt.

Bob DeMarco [00:50:39]:
And I love this thing.

Bob DeMarco [00:50:42]:
This is universally loved. I think even people who don't like Emerson knives or aren't crazy about ZT knives, everyone seems to love the 0640. However, no one seems to love the. The split pea soup carbon fiber scales.

Bob DeMarco [00:50:59]:
That come with it.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:00]:
So it's very frequent to see these knives with aftermarket scales on.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:05]:
Like I have here.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:07]:
Beautiful Micarta. I put on here 10 Micarta and.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:11]:
An aftermarket clip on mine.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:16]:
This one has 20 CV steel, a beautiful clip point blade, 3.7 inches. Not a shrinking violet, but also kind of. I don't know, I, I sort of put this on the same shelf with my Sebenza and with the knife that's coming up next. It's got a really nice glassy action.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:37]:
To it on those phosphor bronze washers.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:40]:
And is just a.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:43]:
Has a sort of neutral handle, a.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:45]:
Somewhat neutral blade, if you can even call it that. There's nothing about this that screams tactical.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:52]:
But it's totally tactical and practical every day.

Bob DeMarco [00:51:57]:
I. I would call this for, for all intents and purposes, it's a frame lock with overlays here. So really nice titanium.

Bob DeMarco [00:52:09]:
We'll call it frame lock with overlays folder. Love this knife.

Bob DeMarco [00:52:13]:
The zero tolerance,06 fluid.

Bob DeMarco [00:52:18]:
All right, last up.

Bob DeMarco [00:52:22]:
The Spartan Harsey.

Bob DeMarco [00:52:24]:
You knew that this was going to be on this list.

Bob DeMarco [00:52:26]:
The Spartan Harsey folder.

Bob DeMarco [00:52:28]:
So everything about this knife is super appealing to me. I Love William Harsey Jr. Or Bill Harsey. I love his designs. They are recognizable from a mile away. And this knife, to me, when you look at just the profile of it, looks a lot like the Lone Wolf knives. Remember Lone Wolf knives? Are you old enough to remember Lone Wolf knives? I think they were subsumed by Benchmade at some point.

Bob DeMarco [00:52:56]:
I think Benchmade bought them and then put them out of business.

Bob DeMarco [00:52:59]:
But Bill Harsey did a number of designs for Lone Wolf, and they kind.

Bob DeMarco [00:53:04]:
Of had this vibe.

Bob DeMarco [00:53:07]:
Very gentle recurve on this. You can barely see it. It's the kind of recurve that you sharpen through, and eventually you don't have it, but you use the knife so much that you.

Bob DeMarco [00:53:19]:
You sharpen through that sort of recurve there.

Bob DeMarco [00:53:23]:
Kind of like a traditional clip point on a.

Bob DeMarco [00:53:25]:
On a slip joint here.

Bob DeMarco [00:53:27]:
But this is a drop point with a swedge. S35VN is what these were originally done in.

Bob DeMarco [00:53:32]:
That's what this is.

Bob DeMarco [00:53:34]:
Damn. Thick slabs of titanium. No relief, no weight relief. Milled on the inside.

Bob DeMarco [00:53:40]:
Come on, you don't need that.

Bob DeMarco [00:53:43]:
Giant, thick, sturdy standoffs. This is a knife you could run over with a. With a. With an M1 tank, and it's probably going to retain its shape.

Bob DeMarco [00:53:55]:
So I wouldn't. Maybe not an M1 pen. Who knows?

Bob DeMarco [00:53:59]:
Really, really solid, solid build. Super sharp, though. A little oblique behind the edge. I've thought of having this one reground, but.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:09]:
Oh, what end.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:10]:
Why, Bob, are you gonna start slicing things, like, more than you do already?

Bob DeMarco [00:54:16]:
Probably not.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:17]:
Cool.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:18]:
Arrowhead clip here.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:20]:
There's Bill Harsey's. Oops.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:23]:
There's Bill Harsey's maker's marker signature there.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:29]:
And you see my logo etched in there after I had Curtis Iovito on the show years ago.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:36]:
At this point, I'd like to have him back on.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:39]:
He. He said, send me your Spartan RZ folder.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:41]:
I'll engrave your logo on it. And he did.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:45]:
Not only there, but also on the filler tab.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:48]:
Beautiful job.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:49]:
And so this knife is not only one of the greatest modern, classic folders out there, but also it has a lot of sentimental.

Bob DeMarco [00:55:01]:
All right, well, that just about does it for this list of awesome modern folders. Like I said before, tell me what.

Bob DeMarco [00:55:08]:
You think the modern folders are.

Bob DeMarco [00:55:11]:
You know, you may have noticed there's no Strider in this. Yes, Strider could be in this, I guess, but I don't know. That seems a little more niche at this point. At one point it was part of the holy trinity of knives, and I feel like they've kind of fallen off a little. Still love them, don't get me wrong. But. So let me know what you think.

Bob DeMarco [00:55:29]:
Tell me what you think those modern classic holders are.

Bob DeMarco [00:55:33]:
All right, everybody, be sure to join us on Sundays for interviews Thursdays for Thursday Night Knives.

Bob DeMarco [00:55:39]:
And join us again here on the.

Bob DeMarco [00:55:41]:
Midweek supplemental for Jim working his magic behind the switcher. I'm Bob DeMarco saying until next time.

Bob DeMarco [00:55:48]:
Don'T take Dull for an answer.

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