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. Call the Listener Line at 724-466-4487; Visit https://theknifejunkie.com.
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Automated Transcript

[0:00] Welcome to the Knife Junkie Podcast, the place for blade lovers to learn about knives and hear from the makers, manufacturers, and reviewers that make the knife world go round.
Coming up, an amazing new Jack Wolf knife.
I show off the Gentleman Junkie Knife giveaway knife for July, or I mean June, 2023.
And then, what if you were prop master?

[0:22] The three knife carry of five different character types coming up right here on the Knife Junkie Podcast.
Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast, your weekly dose of knife news and information about knives and knife collecting.
Here's your host, Bob the Knife Junkie DeMarco. Welcome back to the show.
My favorite comment from this past week made me think was from John Motor on the Winkler interview podcast. He commented, Winkler knives do have this charm of old times.
I think they do not only fit in American history, I can tell you they also fit very well in dark German and European forests.
So I like this for a couple of reasons. First of all, I like the imagery of dark German and European forests.
And yes, they do seem, it does seem like they would fit in there.
The Winkler knives are very simple, I mean they are incredibly effective, strong, durable, beautiful knives but they're also very simple in their design and they're sort of meta knives and yeah they would fit in anywhere but another part of this that I like is that just sort of underlines the fact that even though Winkler knives do have this very old feel to them Daniel Winkler coming out of the reenactment, the Revolutionary War reenactment scene.

[1:48] But they still resonate with people like the U.S. Navy SEALs who have their hands on the most advanced equipment possible, yet still they go for these knives that are just sort of old world.
So they fit in across space, i.e. Germany and dark European forests, and America, as well as time.
So they're timeless designs. Anyway, waxed a little philosophical when I read that, but thank you John and thank you one and all for watching and commenting. It's greatly appreciated.
Now all that being said, and that was quite a bit, I think it's time for a pocket check.
TRM Atom: A Quality Knife with Customizable Scales

[2:29] Today in my front right pocket, starring role, was the TRM Atom. I have not carried this one in quite a while. This was a gift from TRM. Well, it was a sort of gift. When these were very hard hard to come by, especially with that DLC coating.
Marianne totally hooked me up.
This is a factory second, and you can see that from the two dots right next to the, hang on.
Get this in focus.
Two dots right next to the TRM USA, and it is because of a tiny little blemish in that DLC.
That just goes to show you the kind of quality there after a TRM.
Such a great company.
This is such a nice knife. It's so thin and still sturdy and it's got that nice 3.7 inch, 3.6 inch blade, very, very slicey.
This one is in 20CV and the reason I'm carrying it is because I just recently swapped out the scales.
This was kind of the first knife where you could do that. I know NAF's knives now, you can do that and some others.
But all you have to do to change the scales out, and they sell many different types of of scales is just remove those two screws.
That simple. And on the backside, it's the two screws for the pocket clip, and then this screw right here.

[3:48] And then you've got a seemingly brand new knife. These scales were a gift to me from Marianne from Blade Show 2022.
And I really love burlap micarta, but they also have this milled-in wing pattern.
So I like the brown and the black together, and this is nice summer weight carry.
And summer's starting to come on pretty strong around these parts.
All right, next up in my pocket I had the Sharpshooter Jack from Jack Wolf Knives.
The one that started it all, this was the very first one.

[4:21] And I still love this knife, I say still, because 12 others have come since, and you'll be seeing in the state of the collection, the one that just showed up, it's amazing.
And Ben Belkin does not, I don't say this lightly, he does not fail to amaze, because he's been designing these really impeccable slip joint knives, and now he's come out with something new, a totally new format, if you will, and he's nailed it on his first time out.
We'll check that out shortly.
But this is a little foreshadowing to that, given the pattern type.
This is the gunstock pattern. If you look at that handle, it looks like gunstock, like an old lever action gunstock.
And the great thing about all of these Jack Wolf knives being single-bladed, you really do get to experience the full ergonomics of these different handle types and these different pattern types.
The other Gunstock Jacks I have is the 44, and it's a great knife, but you don't feel that little step in the ergonomics because there's a pen blade there, and the spine of the pen blade obscures that shape.
So it's really great to have that on all of these knives. But this is what was in my slip joint pocket.
That varies. It usually starts the day in the left pocket, ends up migrating to my back pocket.
Auxiliary Manufacturing Pocket Rocket: Comfortable and Secure Dagger

[5:46] Okay, next up, in the fixed blade roll today, I had a new knife, one that I got from Blade Show.
This was my Auxiliary Manufacturing Pocket Rocket. This is the dagger, the three-inch dagger.
Now, they have a larger one and a smaller one. They even have a three-inch with a small handle.
That's very interesting. It's like a three-finger handle or a two-and-a-half-finger handle.
This one is, this is a perfect knife, I'll say, first of all.
Upon examining it, Michael Jarvis, the maker of this and the proprietor of auxiliary manufacturing, is a very, very good knife maker.
I mean, you look at all of these grinds, they're perfectly symmetrical, and he does these by hand, and the blades come to a very thin edge and a very acute point, and this faceted handle.

[6:44] It's sort of got these curved facets everywhere, is incredibly comfortable and very secure in hand.
You know, this is a dagger minus any quillions or hand guards so these swales on both sides of the handle, both here and here, really aid in keeping that knife in hand.
Now, I have not thrusted this into anything at all, actually, but I would imagine if you were to, you'd be relying on that super acute point to be breaching whatever you're going into, and then you have, again, these swales here, and then as it wraps around, your finger is going into this side swale, too, so it's three-dimensional.
You get a really, really good grip. But of course, the way I carry it, appendix style.

[7:34] It's more likely to be drawn in a reverse grip, though it is very easy to just turn your hand and draw it in a forward grip.
So I'm really a big proponent now of Appendix Carry. This one, having a short blade, is great for Appendix Carry because when you sit down, you don't get the digging down issue that might happen.
You don't have to like change positions, its position when you sit.
And then I have added, I'm a new devotee to this. I like this.
Added a bit of inner tube.
Under the clip here, and that prevents it from changing angle.
Once I've gotten it into a comfortable position under my waistband, that rubber kind of keeps it anchored in the spot you want it, at the angle you want it.

[8:22] So there's the Pocket Rocket. Really, really nice knife. You should check out Auxiliary Manufacturing.
Go to the website, follow them on Instagram. He does amazing stuff.
A lot of it is EDC and self-defense oriented, but he also does incredible kitchen knives.
Just beautiful work. And he's a nice guy. That's Michael Jarvis.
All right, next up, lastly, I'm gonna speak in the nice guy's, lefty and Collins pony stout right here, Devo Knives, was in my pocket for emotional support and for any sort of cutting.
This is a great knife.
I love this knife. I totally get why people went gaga over it.
Now me, I like when people that are my friends.
Introduction to the Knife

[9:06] And my buddies are doing good and making awesome knives. So, you know, I might be inclined to like this anyway, but it is awesome.
Now I had the first one, the Stout, the full-size, which was larger overall but had the same basic profile.
I had that one on loan when it first came out. I believe it was a prototype, and that was a great knife.
But in this sort of Contour G10, and I love the looks of the totally blacked-out blade, but with this Contour G10 and the hollow-ground blade, this thing is a really, really good cutter, slicer.
Even that tip, though, it's not super acute. That tip is really good for draw cutting.
Discussion of Knives and Knife Giveaway Announcement

[9:54] But emotional support, yes, indeed. This is a great fidget knife, especially for reverse flicking and then dropping the blade, you know, fidgeting.
And I've felt it over the past week since they gave this to me, which I greatly appreciate, thank you fellas.
Since they gave this to me, I can feel it breaking in. And what I mean by that is sometimes with coated blades, the bearings in the pivot need to sort of wear down a race in the coating, and then you can just feel it get smoother and smoother.
To do that. Four great knives. And now that I'm looking at it for four people that I've interviewed or six, five people that I've interviewed and just a bunch of.

[10:39] Great knives coming out of these, out of these people, American designers and makers, the TRM Adam, the jack wolf knives, sharpshooter jack, the pocket rocket by auxiliary manufacturing and the Devo knives, pony stout. What did you have in your pocket? Let me know, drop it in the comments below. I love to get ideas but I also just like to hear what you classy individuals carry. Now when I say ladies and gentlemen, now, I know that I can I can actually say ladies, plural, because I was just informed yesterday that one of my daughter's 13 year old friends follows the knife junkie. So I like that we're spreading the good word of the knives throughout the generation and.

[11:21] Across time. So still to come on the knife junkie podcast. Well, actually, before we get to that, I would be remiss if I didn't show this spectacular knife given to the channel by Dave This Old Sword Blade Reviews. This is from one of my favorite companies, period, from Concept Knives. This is the Warrior.
Look at that tanto. A really cool looking tanto. This is going to be the Gentleman Junkie Knife giveaway for June, June 15th. Look at that beautiful blade. I love that tanto blade with that. It's got a sort of little clip right up front. It just gives it a menace and I'm sure quite a utility too, but let's face it, I like the menace factor. You've got a liner lock here with bolsters and a deep carry pocket clip and a high visibility G10 milled, incredible action, and thumb stud action with bearings.
And thank you so much, Dave. This is such a luck. I love Concept.

[12:29] I think they were one of my favorite production tables to lurk around at Blade Show.
I'm not, when I go to Blade Show, I spend most of my time at custom maker's tables and smaller maker's tables.
But I do go to the big booths too.
Where I hang out the most, I have to say, is usually Concept the last two years.
I like we it's it's cool to pick up and and experience a lot of the knives I talked about here on the channel through the year throughout the year. So VV we they put out a lot of knives.
It's great to go check those out. But the ones I get most excited about are concept also best. But anyway, so this this will be the knife giveaway knife. I gotta say wait, wait, I'm not sure who designed this.
And the only reason I put that into question is I look at that jimping, and it looks like Pinkerton jimping, where it doesn't go all the way across, it's little divots on both sides.
But that being said, his name would be on this if he desired it. So, I don't believe that's true.

[13:33] But anyway, so stay tuned. What is a Gentleman Junkie? A Gentleman Junkie is the high tier of support at Patreon.
We have three levels of support, traditional junkie, tactical junkie, and gentleman junkie.
And no matter which level you join in on, you get exclusives from the interviews we do and other stuff, other content.
And then as gentleman junkie, you get entered automatically into a monthly knife giveaway.
So that's what that was all about. And this month, it is this beautiful Concept Warrior.

[14:04] Thanks to Dave, this old sword, Blade Reviews. Okay, still to come on the Knife Junkie podcast, we're going to take a look at the James brand in Knife Life News and then beyond that the State of the Collection. We got a real banger coming up. If you're interested in helping support with Patreon and everything else I was just talking about, be sure to scan this QR code or you can go to theknifejunkie.com slash Patreon. I will say that again, that's, theknifejunkie.com slash Patreon.
If you're a knife junkie, you're always in the market for a new knife, and we've got you covered. For the latest weekly knife deals be sure to visit theknifejunkie.com slash knives.
Through our special affiliate relationships we bring you weekly knife specials on your favorite knives. Help support the show and save money on a new knife. Shop at theknifejunkie.com slash knives.
That's theknifejunkie.com slash knives. You're listening to the Knife Junkie podcast and now here's the Knife Junkie with the Knife Life News.
Knife Life News and Discussion of Bastinelli Knives

[15:05] You know, seeing that liner always drives me nuts because Kniveships Free has such amazing, knives. But I saw those Bastinelli's and it sent my mind tripping in a couple of directions.
One being, it's been a year since I lost my little neck knife and I got to get another one of those. I can't remember what it's called at this point.

[15:27] The Bastinelli little karambit. But also, I forgot to show you all this thing that I got from Bastinelli this year.
Beautiful rosary.
Discussion on a Tactical Rosary

[15:41] It's got this bronze, what do you call these guys?
Crusader here, and it says Credo on it, and I was talking to him, and then the string is Kevlar.

[15:57] And you can hold several hundred pounds with this Kevlar, and I was talking to Bastien about it, and it's a tactical rosary, and I love it, Rosary, and I love it, but I feel a little weird about it.
I want to wear it, but you're not supposed to wear rosaries, and I don't exactly know how to pray the rosary. I looked it up, and there are a couple of prayers, or there's one prayer that I don't know in there.
But I really love this object. I have it hanging on one of the swords behind me right now.
I have mixed feelings about it, a rosary with a skull on it that you use as, because he was showing me how you can use the crusader, this piece of bronze as a weapon and, you know, how you can swing it and use it as a flail.

[16:42] And, you know, I think it's very cool. It'd be like having a crucifix with a switchblade.
I would love that, but I'm not so sure how it jibes with actual religion.
So anyway, beautiful, beautiful thing here from Bastinelli and all things being serious, if you have need for a rosary or like this kind of item, it is very durable, made out of bronze and Kevlar and and it and all the beads are, you know, it has the 10 beads between the spacer beads. So it's all it's all, correct and legit. All right, but I don't believe they're blessed. All right, there you go. So first up in knife life news, James brand is doing something that we've seen from other outfits like off grid, and, and artists and cutlery making kitchen slash outdoor knives, multipurpose knives. And.

[17:35] This one, they're making with Sitka Gear, a company that I believe I've heard of, but I'm not sure.
This is their kitchen outdoor knife. Now, to me, it looks straight up kitchen, whereas you look at the Grizzly from Off-Grid Knives, it goes both ways, you know, you can definitely see it in either role.
This one definitely does just look like a really nice and refined kitchen knife.

[17:59] But it is a durable MagnaCut, eight inches there. It's called the Anzick.
It comes with a sheath, unlike most kitchen knives. They only made 600 of them.
These are full tangs, so they assure you, but.
So, I'm wondering, how do you, I guess you have to have it a little thicker.
I mean, they say in that article that it's optimized for slicing.
You can see that garlic up there, but down below, you see some bushcraft stuff happening.
So, interesting. I love it. It looks more kitchen-y than any other kitchen outdoor knife that I've seen.
I don't know. I do not have a James Brand knife. I have experienced one.
It was well made. So we'll see. They're a favorite of mine.
I like to call them a hipster brand because they are pretty lifestyle oriented.
All that said, I do think that they produce some really nice stuff.
And from what I've heard, that is, and I do know from my eyes and my head that their designs are actually quite nice.
All right, so that is the James Brand and Sitka Made Anzic Indoor Outdoor Knife.
600 made, so jump on it.
Next up, I just wanted to show off a couple of Sivivi's interesting ones here.
Introduction to Sivivi's Snek's Vision Knife Design

[19:17] The first one and the last one are most interesting to me.
The Snek's Vision, which started as the Vision R with Wee.

[19:26] Snek's, if you don't know him, Snek's Tan, he's a, I believe he's Indonesian, and for a few years there on Instagram, he was painstakingly documenting his process of designing and creating these exquisite folders that he'd make maybe 12 of, and were very coveted, but were feats of engineering.

[19:49] No hardware is a big hallmark of a lot of his designs, where they come together without any screws or anything like that, and he was just kind of making them by hand, incredible, incredible knives.
Well, he broke through to the production world, I believe, initially with Wii, and now, you can see that lock on the back, looks kind of it's evocative of a shark lock. But that was it.
That's called the super lock. Now. It's hitting Civivi. So now it's coming down into my realm. Not. I've always been fascinated with snacks and, and his designs. He seems like a mysterious dude, making these very sophisticated designs.
But I've never been that into them that I wanted to lay out a lot of money, certainly not custom money or effort, and not even really Wii money. But now that it's in the Civivi realm, I want to check out the Super Lock, and it'd be cool to just own a Snek's design.
So looking forward to that. That it will be, I believe in...
Introduction to Knife Designs: Ostop Hell, Bestech, Sibibi, and Cedar by Ben Peterson

[20:53] I did not write down the steel here. Well, I guess they're not saying what it is.
I'm imagining it'll be in 14C28.
And just like this next one, the Kral from Ostop Hell. This is a cool little knife from Ostop.
He designs a lot of cool little knives. I'm thinking currently of the Bouquet series of gorgeous little flower-inspired knives with Bestech.
This Sibibi, this is a cool little neck knife. He probably designed this while sleeping.
It looks, it's very cool, it's very simple.
I like it. I'm all for fixed blades and neck knives, so the more appealing they are to a broader audience, the happier it makes me.
But the one down below is the one that most interests me in this whole article, and this is The Cedar by Ben Peterson, what is up, guys, formerly of Blade HQ, and currently of NAFS, he seems to be a very nice guy.
I kept meaning to go introduce myself at the late show, but he was a very, very busy man, so I'll introduce myself to him virtually. I'd love to have him on the show and talk with him.
The Lander, a huge success for him, and of course the banter and the baby banter, huge successes for him.

[22:19] This one is really interesting to me. This one looks like one that I might go out of my way to get.
This one he's calling the Cedar, has a spade blade, first of all, which I love.
You don't see spade main or only blades too often.
And here it is, and it's kind of funny because that came up in conversation with Ben Belkin.
Would you ever make a knife with a spade blade? And he said, I don't know, I'd have to do some research on that, something tells me that they wouldn't sell. And I kind of concurred with him.
But the look of this spade blade with the point in the center, and it's got a little bit of a sharper point, it almost looks like a clip point, or sort of is a clip point, is an interesting take on the spade.
Of course, the spade blade is not supposed to have much of a point because it's meant for castration, and you don't want to, you're just there to do your business with that straight edge, you're not there to poke and stab anything unnecessarily.
So this looks like a pointier version of a spade. Anyway, I like it.
I love this sort of neutral handle. Looks sort of like a Barlow or maybe even evocative of a Swiss Army knife, something like that.

[23:36] But what's very evocative of the Swiss Army knife is the toothpick and tweezers that come in the handle very much like a Victorinox.
So this thing looks very cool. I like how we in Civivi, or Civivi, I guess, has been dabbling and flirting with multi-tool knives.
That is, primarily knives, but with secondary tools like bottle openers and toothpicks, stuff like that.
Very interesting to me, and this looks cool. And I would love to get a Ben Peterson knife.
He was such a part of my knife viewing for a few years there, and seems like a great guy.
I'd love to help support him. The Knaff's knives are not as interesting to me personally, but that's because they look like what they are. Super practical, great user knives, charming.
Just not up my alley like this one looks like it is. All right, next up, Giant Mouse.
Now this one I saw at their booth. There are a lot of people there and I didn't get a chance to handle this one, I don't think.
Giant Mouse's New Rio Knife Design

[24:39] This is the new Rio from Giant Mouse. It is a 3.35 MagnaCut blade, a very nice, sort of slender drop point with a comet-shaped opening lozenge shape hole.

[24:53] Sorry, that was too many words. They say comet-shaped, I say lozenge, but yeah, I think it's more comet-shaped because one end is broader.
Anyway, perfect for flipping open. Beautiful blade.
There's just a very, very slight, sinuous nature to it. If you look at the spine of that blade, it sort of looks like it dips down near that opening hole and then comes up a little on the spine and then back down.
It is a beautiful design, and I like how it's put here with a nice maritime-looking watch, like a sailing watch and glasses.
It looks like a sophisticated man or woman of adventures kind of knife, you know?

[25:32] It's the knife you have in your pocket while you're sailing to Belize or something like that.
A very, very nice-looking thing.
I like the designs of Giant Mouse knives. I have luckily escaped the moral imperative of owning their knives because they usually tend to be just below my preferred size.
That's very convenient for me because I think it's saved me a lot of money.
This is in their Ace lineup, which means it won't cost you as much money as some of their other knives.
So that's definitely a plus here.
So this comes in denim or green canvas micarta, or you can get it with black G10 wire clip.
Under three ounces is the new Rio from Giant Mouse. mouse. Okay, last up, I just wanted to rattle off a couple of the production awards from Blade Show.
I was remiss last week in letting you know. Now, at Blade Show, as you may know, there are a lot of awards given, many of them to custom makers, and for the purpose of brevity and also to keep the things that most of us know, I'm just going to talk about the production awards. Okay, so So just speaking of Giant Mouse, the overall knife of the year is the Giant Mouse GMX.
American-made Knife of the Year, the Benchmade Narrows.

[26:57] Okay, I'm going to tell you my theory about these awards when we're done.
Okay, the Imported Knife of the Year is the Rosecraft Blades Clinch River Swayback.
The Most Innovative, Innovative American Knife is the Buck 590 Paradigm. I believe that's the one.

[27:16] It's a bolster release lock, I believe. Most Innovative Imported Knife, the Mazarin W Lock.
Manufacturing Quality Spartan Blades Limited Edition Spartan Harzee Folder.
I could concur with that, man. Spartan Harzees are quite amazing.
Best Collaboration We Knife Solid.
Now, that's with Gustavo Ciccini. That's GTC. Talk about an innovative designer. His stuff is incredible.
And I got a chance to check out that We Knife at their U-shaped table.
Best Investor Knife. I like the term. Cool category. Shura Gorov Knives Mini Quantum CD.
Best Kitchen Knife, the MKM Prima from Italia.
Best Buy, the Kershaw Iridium. I don't wanna get my hands on that.
And then Accessory of the Year, the Work Sharp Professional Precision Adjust.
That one, I believe, is their sort of version of the Wicked Edge. Very awesome knives.
Now, I said that I would tell you my theory about this, and I'm not trying to be cynical, and I love Blade Show, But sometimes it seems like a lot of the awards go to sponsors, you know?
And I'm thinking of the Benchmade Narrows, which just came out and is extremely expensive.
And I just don't think it's been in too many hands.
And I guess that's not the point.

[28:40] Also, Rosecraft, a big sponsor.

[28:47] But also making cool knives, making great knives. I went up to their booth and checked out all their work.
And it is good stuff. But it just kind of makes you wonder especially that Benchmade narrows. I don't know I think I, think I'm not crazy about that knife for some reason. I think it needs to come down in price and I can't remember what its actual U.S.

[29:06] He is, what its unique selling proposition is, what it is, that justifies its very high price. Can you remember and put it in the comments for me? No. Okay, so that's blade show. What an awesome time, of course, as you hear me and so many other people say, but don't forget, it's also an awarded a show with awards and also people who are going for their, their master Smith and their journeyman Smith test there. So it's a it's a, locus of knife, victory and drama. Let's say that. Okay.

[29:43] Coming up on the Knife Junkie podcast, we'll take a look at the new Jack Wolf knives knife, which is amazing. And it also fits into our list after that. What if you were prop master of the movies? These are three knife carry EDCs for five different movie character types coming up on the Knife Junkie podcast. Don't take dull for an answer. It's the Knife Junkies favorite sign-off phrase and now you can get that tagline on a variety of merchandise like a t-shirt, sweatshirt, hoodie, long-sleeve tee, and more. Even on coasters, tote bags, a coffee mug, water bottle, and stickers. Let everyone know that you're a Knife Junkie and that you don't take dull for an answer. Get yours at theknifejunkie.com and shop for all of your Knife Junkies merchandise at the knifejunkie.com slash shop.
And now that we're caught up with Knife Life news, let's hear more of the Knife Junkie podcast. He did it, Paul. He went and did it.
Ben Belkin designed a locking knife. He didn't just design a locking knife.
He designed like one of the best front flippers of all time.

[30:52] Okay, so this is the new Jack Wolf knife for June of 2023, and this thing is amazing.
Now, before you saw that I was carrying the sharpshooter jack, obviously there's a family resemblance.
These are both gunstock jack patterns. The new gunslinger jack is larger, and yes, it is a front flipper.
It is a bolster lock, and the thing that really is impressive to me is that, you know, Belkin, I'm gonna call him Belkin, Ben set out to make the best slip joints, and he succeeded, in my humble opinion, he succeeded.
And when I say the best slip joints, I mean taking all of the qualities.
Introduction of Ben Peterson, Knife Designer

[31:44] That slip joint connoisseurs find to be most appealing, to be most appealing and he put them all into these classic designs that he updated and and And I believe he succeeded like with.
He succeeded in the best way. He made these great knives. He changed the expression of these patterns, to be a personal expression of his knife taste.
And he's produced these awesome things. Well, now, he's bent himself after 12 knives to bolster lock front flippers, and he's nailed it on his first outing.
And to me, that's impressive. To me, that is a multifaceted knife designer.
So now I am fully confident that he could design a fixed blade and he could design anything.
I mean, if he could make this pivot, and that's not a pun, because it's a different kind of pivot.

[32:46] I don't know. Do you find that as impressive as I do? I hope you do, because this knife is really, really something to write home about.
It comes with a sculpted titanium pocket clip, and if you like, you can remove that pocket clip and put a filler tab in there.

[33:03] Now, the hardware is hidden, so it would take a little doing, but he supplies a filler tab, which is so cool, and it's that same blue anodized color.
This is coming in five different flavors of carbon fiber. This is the absolutely gorgeous Arctic Storm blue carbon fiber, just beautiful. I would say that Ben has sent me a number of carbon fiber knives while the micarta knives were available. He frequently sent me those because he knows how much I love that. But when he'd send me carbon fiber is either black, or the or the blue and you saw the blue. It's just so beautiful. I really like these. I think I think I tend towards these warmer. I mean, these cooler carbon fiber colors. I don't know, I haven't had the red or the yellow or anything like that, but my eye really goes to this blue.
It's got jimping, it's got a really nice locking setup here, those thick titanium slabs, and then you've got the carbon fiber arresting the outward motion.
Again it's got a steel insert there.
It's really, really thinly ground S90V. It's got great action.
I don't know what else to say about it. It's perfect. It's perfect.
I don't think I have any sort of beef at all.

[34:30] Some might say more access to the lock bar. I say in this case, even though there is no cutout, you put your finger in there, it is how it should be in my book.

[34:43] So, very, very psyched about this. Now, this knife does not come with the standard jackwolf knives leather slip. It does not fit in the standard slip. It's bigger than any of the other jackwolves. So, if you do want to remove that clip and put in the spacer and then keep it in a slip, there are a couple, I believe two, different leather makers on the jackwolf Knives website. I'm gonna do this. I have to do this. Just to give myself the option.
Where you can buy these beautiful leather slips. They look different from this so they're unique and carry around your gunslinger so it all fits in there. So I might have to do that just so that I have options. That is the gunslinger jack. Very, very nice and beautiful and I'm very excited to have that.
Now that's gonna come into the list coming up here.
Discussion on Knives in Movies

[35:41] So I am always looking at knives in movies, and I'm always wondering, like, oftentimes, you'll see that knives are definitely a second thought.
Guns are so cool, and you can really define a character with their gun, because that's generally what they're gonna use more of in an action movie.
But I say that you can subtly say an awful lot about a character through their knives.
Think of, well, think of Rambo.
We learn about Rambo, that not only is he big and dangerous and a badass, but he's also, he can take care of himself.
He's a survivalist.
You find all of that out through his knife. Think of the knives they use in Predator.
Think of the knives in Commando.
They all say something about the characters.

[36:32] Well, sometimes it seems like these prop masters just don't care.
So I'm gonna give my advice on five different character types and what their three knife carry should be.
This is inspired partially by a video that I saw Scab of Choir Boys Cutlery put out where he was saying you only get three more knives for the rest of your life, what are they?
And of course I didn't want to think about that, that's just the kind of thought that is just unbearable to me, so I thought, what about if it weren't me, but it were these three different character types, and they could only have three knives.
You know, so I put it on them. So, first character type is riverboat gambler slash gunfighter.
Someone you'd see on a riverboat in the early 1800s, or someone that you might see on a dusty old street, getting ready to square off with someone with revolvers.
Okay, first up, their main fighter, their big knife, if you will, would be the.

[37:33] Sub-hilt fighter. It would be this, uh, hog-tooth knives or something like it.
A custom fighting knife, just for fighting.
This is not for splitting wood for the campfire, or for skinning that elk that's gonna feed you for the rest of the season.
This is for fighting.
This is for cards. This is for the bar. This is for squaring off by the jakes.
Double edged, you got a long clip point blade. This is of course a special steel because you're a gunfighter and you had someone make this from the barrels of the men you killed.

[38:14] Perhaps same with the quillions. And then you have the stag handle. So it's got the...
It's got all the nastiness of something that a gunfighter would want.
You have specially made for him because he's been in enough situations where his guns have jammed or he's run out of ammo and he'd have to move to a knife.
And this is kind of all those things distilled into one night.
But of course he's gonna have to eat steak and he's gonna have to cut an apple and eat an apple off his knife and give sage advice and he's gonna do that with this.
Great Eastern Cutlery number 97. It's no shrinking violet, but it is a folding knife, a slip joint knife, non-locking. You've got that beautiful, long, western looking, to me anyway, clip point blade with that recurve. That recurve is so that as you sharpen it over time, you'll kind of sharpen through that recurve and still have a clip point shaped blade. Beautiful Autumn Jig Bone Handle, I love these handles.
These bone handles from GEC. So that's gonna be his pocket knife.
And then that knife that he has stashed in his cummerbund or in his waistband when he's supposed to be disarmed, he's playing cards, but he's got a little something Just in case.

[39:36] Well, that's going to be this, a push dagger. And in this case, it's the Stroopknives push dagger, a new model in their lineup.
I highly recommend this. If you have a hankering for a push dagger, like I did when I went to Blade Show, this one really fits the bill.
I love a double-edged push dagger. Always will go for that first.

[39:58] But I also have learned that I like a push dagger that protrudes between the, middle finger and the forefinger, not between the ring finger and the middle finger. I am much more... I like this better up here, a little bit higher. This one has a sort of rustic look, almost looks like a napped spearhead that you've perhaps picked up off the frontier and turned into a push dagger. So this is the riverboat gambler slash gunfighter set up here. It's a sub-hilt fighter. I understand the sub-hilt fighter. It wasn't invented until after this era, but it doesn't matter. This is kind of a fantasy thing. And this is the movies. It doesn't have to be real. It just has to look real. So yes, So, yes, a double-edged sub-hilt fighter, a big slip joint like this Great Eastern Cutlery 97, and then a push dagger for those moments around the card table when things are exploding and you don't want to be unarmed.

[41:04] Okay, next up, let's take a look at someone who's, I call, I've loosely called for a long time, the classy assassin, or now that John Wick is such a part of our parlance, we'll say like a John Wick character, you know, like the classy assassin, someone who's in a black suit, albeit Kevlar, but a black suit and just looking cool, and has a really cool gun, and lots of them and is very good with martial arts.
And everything like that, but he does have to have knives, and he's gonna have a few of them, three of them, and let's rattle them off here.

[41:41] Now, instead of an out the front, I know you're thinking out the front.
I'm not thinking out the front.
I love the out the fronts, and it's great for John Wick, but this is a different character. This is Max Corinth.
This is a different guy, and that is a character I came up with when I was about 12, and we still talk about him around the dinner. Okay, so this is Max Corinth, and he is a badass Supreme.
And instead of an out-the-front, he carries a bally song. Not like they do at Blade Show.
He doesn't endlessly twirl it around and zone out in that sort of eerie way that they do.
He opens it and uses it and closes it.
But the reason I'm going with bally song for this classy assassin is because of all the cool fight choreography you can do with a ballet song, opening it, closing it, using it like a flail, hitting people in the head with the handle, and then and then stabbing them, you know, like, there's a lot of very cinematic stuff you can do with with a ballet song, and then think of it in slow motion.
Classy assassin's Knife Selection

[42:46] You know, hitting someone and then turning it around and then slashing them, you do a lot of cool stuff. So so my classy assassin would definitely have a large butterfly knife as their, as their main. Now, would it be the Kershaw Lucha? Probably not.
We'd have to go with something ridiculously expensive.
And outlandish looking, maybe with a crisp blade or something like that.
Or a double-edged dagger, though for me personally, with the way I flip a butterfly knife, I can never have a double-edged, it would just cut my hand too badly.

[43:21] Alright, next up, this classy assassin is going to have to do normal things, and you know, cut the apple, or cut the label, cut the foil off a bottle of whiskey or something.
And he's gonna use this. Now, I was just showing this off. This knife, to me, belongs in the pocket of a classy assassin, super spy type.
This is the Jack Wolf Knives Gunslinger Jack, and you've got this mix of old and new that I like so much.
It's this old pattern in that gun stock, but you've got the new manufacturing, you've got the modern bolster lock in a modern front flipper setup.
And then this beautiful carbon fiber, black and blue would match perfectly with the shiny black suit Max Corinth is wearing as he's shooting his way through whatever metropolis he's in.

[44:18] But also it will stay secured to his pants with this pocket clip.
So you've got some of the old and classy. You could pull this out and cut your steak, and no one's gonna bat an eye.
Whereas, you pull this out and flip it around, people think you're ready for action.
So, just, you know, when there's peace and you still have to use a knife, the classy assassin will use this.
Jack Wolf Knives Gunslinger Jack.
Now, when he's in an all-out knife brawl, he's in a knife fight with another certain someone, it's gonna be with this.
This is the attention to detail mercantile medium folder with the.

[45:03] Tortoiseshell handles, brass liners, and double-edged S35VN blade.
Those bevels are all deeply hollow ground, so this thing is a slasher, slicer.

[45:16] But also it is very pointy and quite nasty at the tip.
You've got this luxurious crowning of the spine. The spine stands tall of the handle and is very, very comfortable and you can see that that that crown is fine you've got that very nice jimping going high up that bayonet style blade so your thumb can really get some pressure on there for Filipino style holds and grips. In reverse grip it's awesome your your thumb perfectly hooks over that pommel and you've got that that double edge to do all your business with and then look at it. It's just beautiful. It fits in with the kit. You know, you've got, you can see this hanging upside down next to a couple of pistol magazines under the left arm or under the right arm, you know, and it can just be drawn and used to balletic effect, you know, as you're moving through the room dispatching bad guys. So that is, this is the john wick type, the, the, the classy assassin, he would have a large butterfly knife for effect for flash for intimidation, but also for its non lethal applications, you know, using it as a flail would make for some cool fight scenes.

[46:44] Second, for you know, at the bar scenes and that kind of thing.
And I'm sure he would dispatch a few people with it also.
The very thinly hollow ground razor-like gunslinger jack front flipper bolster lock from Jack Wolf Knives, and then the to detail mercantile double-edged medium fighter.

[47:05] In a shoulder holster that I don't have but I can imagine and it's very cool, believe me.
All right, next up, the professional adventurer type, the mercenary, the seasoned military guy.
Three Unique Blades for the Professional Adventurer

[47:18] I mean, this could be a guy that's the head of the platoon, you know, who's been in country for years, or this could be almost like an Indiana Jones type.
But this is like someone who's definitely served many years in the military and is now a merc or a professional adventurer, or is just that seasoned old grizzled dude in the platoon who knows everything. Okay, so he has three unique blades. First one, we'll start with the folder.
First one has to be the Buck 110. So this is on his belt, and it's constantly getting rusty because they're in the jungle, but... Oh, actually, no, no, not with this steel. Okay, so this is, you know, about 10 pounds on his belt here, extra.
But he doesn't care because he's old school.
He's an old school guy. He doesn't need some fancy new front flipper from Jack Wolf Knives.
He's gonna go with this boat anchor of a buck that he knows with that super acute point, that deep hollow ground blade, and that nice heavy handle, that brass handle.
He's dispatched a few suckers with this thing. and then cleaned game with it.

[48:31] So this knife is ready to roll, and then the old leather sheath has gotta be on the belt.
This character does not have a pocket clip.
This guy does not have a pocket clip protruding from his pocket.
He has no carbon fiber on him.
He has no lightweight materials. He has leather, he has brass, he has wood, he has steel.
Okay, so the Buck 110 is on his belt, also on his belt.
Mm-hmm from his from the war the he's got a randall made knife on his belt in this case it is the number one bladed 16 special fighter so this is what he's got on his on his belt but I would imagine that the blade has changed shape slightly because it's been sharpened and used and been through hell several times and so, you know, it has changed shape ever so slightly, but still has a very sharp back swedge like this one does, and that classic number one style Randall blade.
Let me try and keep it still. Sorry, I'm moving it so much.

[49:41] And then the number 16 part is the handle. The 16 is originally a dive knife, so it has a handle like this, and the original one has a drop point blade with a saw back.
So this is a special one marrying those two models together.
So that guy would have that.
Some sort of exotic, unusual Randall-made knife that he carried in the war, and that saved him more than many times, that would be on his belt.
So lastly, what does this guy carry last? What's his third knife?
It would be this or something like this. Something that he got from a native on some old battlefield.
Filipino barangay.

[50:23] So on his backpack, he's got this. He's got some sort of barang or parang. I like the barang because it is a machete, but it's also very much a weapon with that point, the centerline point, that big, big belly here, and the handle that is not only ornate and beautiful, but will really stay in your hand as you swing it. And then interesting thing about this, I talk frequently about how Filipino blades have that downward angle from the handle. And that makes the cutting very efficient. This one does not. This comes straight.
But when you look at the end of the handle, it's the end of the handle that curves. So given the belly and then the curve at the end of the handle, you're still getting that downward angle that, you have more that you can see more extremely, unlike a Taliban or something like that, which would also be an acceptable large knife for this professional adventurer Merc slash seasoned military guy. So his this this would be his his three knife carry here. A barong or something big like it from from one of the places he served his old sidearm knife from from the war that was given to him by his grandfather will say and.

[51:47] Then the buck 110 that he got at the PX that is just, you know.

[51:53] Has been killing it for the last 30 years. I love this carry personally, I like the addition of the of the bring back the native pickup in the whole in the whole character thing that would really add to his character you would you would see this guy's been around the block with he's even carrying a around.
All right, next up, we got sort of a pioneer type, you know, not necessarily a cowboy, but someone who's, I see it like, kind of on a wagon train or, or a trapper, maybe someone, maybe someone from the Revenant, someone like that. Okay, so of course, these are modern knives. So they wouldn't have existed back then. But you're suspending your disbelief because you're watching a movie and I'm the prop master. Okay, so in this movie, he is a trapper. We'll call him a trapper. Pioneer trapper type, someone like from a Cormac McCarthy book movie and.
Bowie Knife for the Pioneer Trapper Type

[52:50] This is his this is what he's carrying on his belt And it's a big old Bowie knife and in this case. It's the shining mountain Bowie from Bark River knives. I, Left the frog on you know usually I take the frog off because I I like the idea of just slipping this under the belt, But in this case, this guy keeps this dangling from his belt.
So I left the frog.
They, Bark River Knives, makes the most exquisite cheese. They really do.
So does Randall, actually. They make very good cheese, too.
So this would be on the side. Of course, this is for everything.
You will cut kindling with this to make your fire.
You will dress out that moose with this when you shoot it.
And you're gonna cut it up to eat and make pelts and stuff.

[53:43] You're gonna use this to fight, you know, in a barroom brawl or that fight out by the Jake's.
This is the one you're gonna use right here.
This big intimidator. There have been times where you've pulled this out, and people have just gone running.
They know, they see the look in your eye and they know when they see that Bowie that you just mean business.
And then you hold it backwards and they know you mean business.
So this is the Great Eastern Cutlery, I mean this is the Bark River knives that you're going to be this frontiersman, Trapper Pioneer Guideway.
Next up, you have to have something smaller to do utility stuff with or, you know, when you're supposed to not have a knife on you, this will be on you somewhere.
And that is going to be the hogtooth knives ruffian.

[54:30] Of course, hogtooth knives wasn't around back then. Neither was kydex, unfortunately.
I'm sure they would have loved kydex back in the pioneer days.
Doesn't rot, and with this, you can carry it the waistband and under your leather tassel suede vest, no one's gonna see it. But really what you have here is a very nicely hollow ground utility blade. You've got a nice belly for doing your hunting stuff, you've got a nice point if you ever have to stab, and you got that long, long swedge and a good place to put your thumb. And the scallops in the grip are very, very ergonomic. This thing is not going anywhere, even if you got blood on your hands from your hunting activities and such. Got a little flash of blue there, a little flash of blue to remind you of heaven, towards which you are always aiming. And then, the really nicely antiqued, it would be wood back in the day, but here it's micarta. So You've got the Ruffian, you've got the Great Eastern, the Bark River Knives, Shining Mountain Bowie, and then you gotta have a little folder for when you're in town, or maybe you go to the saloon and visit the ladies, and you don't wanna be all weaponed up.
So you would have this finch buffalo too, in Cocobolo.
Now if you're real fancy from the coast, you'd have it with the abalone, but I like it with the Cocobolo. I think it's a.

[55:58] It fits the bill perfectly. When I got this knife, I kept talking about what a gentleman's knife it is, and it is. It is a gentleman's knife. Just because it's not super slender and super small doesn't mean it's not a gentleman's knife. But in compiling this list, it occurred to me it's a certain kind of gentleman. Perhaps it's not the Armani suit-wearing gentleman. Perhaps it's the country frontier gentleman. You know what I mean? You're like, I'm like, no Bob, you have totally lost me at this point.
But you've got the super thin, high height, useful flat ground blade.
I mean, this thing is very useful. It's also a spear point, which can be useful in a pinch.
But it's got this really nice big handle.
And I'm imagining this frontier guy as a big dude with big mittens.
And so he's gotta have something big to hold on to. So this is, again, not a shrinking violet of a folding knife And I feel like the folding knives in this list have to be very substantial.

[57:01] And there you go. So this is the frontiersman and pioneer. Now last up, last up is your Arnold Schwarzenegger type, your rock type, your the rock type.
Knives for Arnold Schwarzenegger Type

[57:13] You know, just immense human beings doing adventuresome stuff.
No matter if it's Predator style or Commando style style or or whatever it is I say the rock because he's a big person but I'm thinking more about Schwarzenegger in terms of the kind of roles he's done so he's got to have three knives but what's this guy gonna carry I mean you know, well he's got to have a folder for practical purposes so his folder is gonna be this the XL Espada by Cold Steel of course by whom else so this is This is a big Navaja, 7 1⁄2 inch, in my case, hollow ground Aus8 blade, with the shiny bolster and the shiny handle, it is something that was given to him by someone that trained him years ago, and so he always, always carries it.
This is the guy who taught him European knife fighting, and then gave him this giant Navaja.
It's always on him, and has gotten him out of many a pinch, Including after ribs and corn on the cob, he's used this as a toothpick.
He's such a big dude, this has even come out as a toothpick.

[58:30] This is the Espada XL. Now I know you're spotting this over here, so I'll just, I'll take it out right now.
His main blade, you know, just for doing your average everyday fixed blade stuff.

[58:46] Of course, has to be the Pouzon Predator Hunter Bowie here. This thing is just adequate for this gigantic dude.
Because you've got this huge handle here with the horse hoof pommel.
Love that pommel. Great for swinging, keeping that in your hand.
But you can also put your giant finger right in here in this huge choil and choke up and do that kind of work.

[59:14] So, your Arnie type, your The Rock type, these huge individuals who need knives would definitely have as a pocket knife the seven and a half inch XL Voyager, and then they would have the WorkTough gear Pouzon Predator Hunter Bowie as their main fixed blade.
But what if they get in a fight?
You know, what if they get in a fight and they want something, you know, that's efficient and just perfect for that, and doesn't give you too much handle for disarming or anything like that.
Well, he would go for the Odenwolf recurved double-edged sowcatcher dagger.
This thing at nine inches in D2 steel with the really nicely flared out blade would be just enough. You know, he could grip this in reverse grip and bury that handle under his thumb.
No one would ever be able to lever it out of his hands if they could even come close to him.
And this would be just a great knife for this giant dude to fight with.
Now if you look at it here, I've got plenty of handle.
But this larger than life action hero would just bury the handle in his fist, and this would become a secondary part of his body.

[1:00:28] Also makes for a good toothpick. So here it is, this is the last of the movie character types.
This is the Arnie type, the big action hero dude.
Would be his three knife carry. If I were prop master in Hollywood. Now this, this is I'm, I'm considering this a resume reel. To all of you Hollywood types who are watching right now and I know you're legion, just know that I charge reasonable prices. And really, I'm a thoughtful, thoughtful A nice prop.

[1:01:00] Will call me consultant. I will really think about it, and I will give your character the best knife to define that character.

[1:01:11] Important stuff happening here at the Knife Junkie Podcast. Thank you for joining me, and as always, be sure to join us on Sunday for a great interview, and then tomorrow night for Thursday Night Knives at 10pm EST, right here on YouTube, Facebook, and does Twitch still exist? I'm not sure.
But there if they're still around. Be sure to join us, and then also, you can download this to a podcast app.
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[1:01:44] Try sharing this show with someone. Send this show to someone that you think just might have the knife proclivity, and sharing does a lot of good.
All right, for Jim, working his magic behind the switcher, I'm Bob DeMarco saying until next time, I implore you people don't take dull for an answer.
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[1:02:44] Music.