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Announcer [00:00:03]:
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.

Bob DeMarco [00:00:16]:
Welcome to the Knife Junkie podcast. I'm Bob DeMarco. On this edition of the show, I'm speaking with blade collector, martial artist, and knife content creator, Steve Price. Steve has been impressing me for quite a while, with his amazing collection of ethnographic knives, swords, and tomahawks made by Smiths from around the globe. But not only does he show his impressive stash of exotic weaponry, Steve is an accomplished martial artist and illustrates the efficacy of the blades he collects in astounding cutting demonstration videos. Steve is also a first responder, a family man, and a regular contributing voice to Thursday Night Knives. We'll find out how he got, into all of these amazing swords and also how he acquired those skills. But first, be sure to like, comment, subscribe, hit the notification bell, and, download the show to your favorite podcast app.

Bob DeMarco [00:01:09]:
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Bob DeMarco [00:01:37]:
Steve, welcome to the show.

Steve Price [00:01:39]:
Glad to be here. What an honor.

Bob DeMarco [00:01:42]:
Well, like I said, I've been I've been watching you do these cut videos, for quite some time, and they are, they are really impressive. And the weapons you use, are are impressive and different and, stuff you just don't see much of. That's why I, you know, I've I've always been kinda fascinated, with your collection. And we're gonna talk about it. You obviously have a lot of really cool stuff all around you we'll take a look at, but, I wanna find out a little more about you and and how you got to be skilled like that. But first of all, we I mentioned you're a first responder. Right?

Steve Price [00:02:19]:
Yes, sir. I just retired January 1st as a captain with, engine 1 b at Huron Huntsville, Alabama. I gave them, 27 years of 3 bucks. And, before before that, from 1989 to 1995, I was also a hospital police officer. So I gave the city 33 years total. Wow.

Bob DeMarco [00:02:43]:
That's awesome. I'm sure they thank you for your service. I've I work adjacent to a lot of first responders, and I'm always impressed by them and, I don't know, the character to go into danger and to help out. So, how how do you think that that, like, working as a firefighter, working as a police officer, how did that stoke your love of blades, or or was that, around long before?

Steve Price [00:03:12]:
Yeah. That was around a long before. You're talking about the martial arts, well, my my history in martial arts goes way back to the mid seventies because I'm, I'm 57 years old. So back around 1977, 1978, a man named Yong Lee moved to Huntsville from Seoul, South Korea. He opened up Kang Seo Do Studio. And my father was in real estate at the time, and he sold him his house when he moved here. So me and my younger brother started, our journey to Tang Soo Do. And, that's how I first got started martial arts.

Steve Price [00:03:49]:
Of course, all through those years I was watching the normal movies everybody was watching back then, which was Bruce Lee of the seventies and that really spoke my interest. Billy Jack was probably my hero of all time and that was just due to no. He studied keto, and it was called that for the movie. But, his love for the American Indian and, fighting for the underdog, if you've watched his movies Yeah. That really just sit well with me. And, so that started my journey to martial arts. Years later, when I became a police officer, there was a man here that was teaching the wing show to Kung Fu. And that's a funny story, boss.

Steve Price [00:04:35]:
So you have to, this was like this is like a movie setting. So we had a motorcycle club that was in this block building on a certain street here in Huntsville. And in the back of this motorcycle club was the Wing Chun studio. So, you had to be pretty brave just to get to the Wing Chun Studio. But, my love for Wing Chun started there, and, and then later on as a police officer, I studied Joshikai Karate, which is a brother to to Kyoshikin. Mas Oyama was the founder of both of those systems from Japan. And that's where my love of martial arts started. But, funny story here, I never studied weapons during all those different martial arts.

Steve Price [00:05:25]:
Oh. I just picked up the blades, just out of curiosity and from watching Forged in Fire, and it was just a natural innate ability to maneuver the blades the way I do. People always ask me, like, where did you study your blade systems? Or who taught you this? And I'm like, nobody taught it to me. I was just self taught.

Bob DeMarco [00:05:51]:
So I I I totally assumed that since you posted on your, Instagram feed, various Iaido demonstrations from Japanese masters, I sort of figured that that's where you, picked it up or that's where you learned it because you're doing cut tests unlike so many not cut tests, but cut demos, on bottles and paper and and all sorts of stuff. But you're doing it from the draw, from the sheath. You're not you're not holding the knife in your hand and then cutting, and and I find that very impressive because you're always, kind of dropping the target and then drawing the knife. It's not on a post or anything like that. Yeah. And it's and

Steve Price [00:06:35]:
it's funny you say that because, there are Japanese highly respected Japanese martial artists. One of them was raised in the way of the samurai. His family go way back. He moved to, Poland to start a martial arts school in the way of the samurai. And there's other samurai influencers in Japan. And when I started doing that, Bob, that they all followed me and started liking what I did, which was an honor for me because I highly respect those men, and I don't count myself nowhere near the ability of those those individuals. But it was just an honor for them to start following me.

Bob DeMarco [00:07:15]:
So I I'm curious. You did so many years of, I can't remember what kind of karate, but it was a Mas Oyama. I know who he is, right? That's his name, Mas?

Steve Price [00:07:26]:
Yeah. Yes.

Bob DeMarco [00:07:27]:
I just had a brain lock there. I had a whole magazine on him years ago, a and he was he was pretty cool with something I always liked were he used a lot of elbows and I always liked elbows. But what I always wondered about karate, is, if it's developed for fighting someone with a sword, when you're empty handed, at least that's what I've heard, does that make it less functional these days? Well,

Steve Price [00:07:59]:
that's that's a interesting question. Not I don't really have I've had any of the traditionalists because that's how I grew up, is in the traditional styles. But I have to be honest about what we're talking about too and transparent in that. My eyes got opened. I remember I invited some friends over in 1992, I believe it was. I may be getting to hear it all. But when the first UFC was broadcast on pay per view, I invited some friends over, some martial artists and some other friends and I I did the pay per views for the very first and my eyes got opened with hoist grace. And that style of jujitsu, which I'd never seen here before.

Steve Price [00:08:44]:
You had a few people, very few people in Huntsville that were doing Judo. No Jiu Jitsu at that time. And, and that was against Aubrey Styles, no weight classes. The only thing you could not do in the UFC first tournament, you could not eye gouge, you could not bite. Everything else, rolling stripe, everything else was leaked. And it showed you real quick what action worked on the street in real life. Because, a lot of traditional karate with your reverse punches and your upper and down the blocks. And I I understand about getting the technique dialer the form down.

Steve Price [00:09:25]:
But if you and and but you have to spar, and a a a Kiyosheken is good about that. I will say that. Kiyosha ken, those spiders are some of the toughest spiders around. I think they're flawed in in one way. And and that is, they do not push to the head. Now, they can kick to the head in their tournaments and knock you out, and they can do that efficiently. But if you always practice not striking with your fist to the head, and in real life, you've lost some of that. For me, I would tell my children and anybody else that's interested, wrestling, Greco Roman wrestling, Muay Thai, and jiu jitsu.

Steve Price [00:10:10]:
If you have those 4 bases growled in you, then I don't think there's anything that that can pit you in that aspect. You're ready for about 8.

Bob DeMarco [00:10:21]:
You said 4, but you mentioned 3. What was the 4th?

Steve Price [00:10:24]:
Don't don't I mentioned wrestling and brecco rolling, which are 2.

Bob DeMarco [00:10:28]:
Oh, oh, oh, oh, I got you.

Steve Price [00:10:29]:
Yes. And also in boxing in that too, Bob, boxing is good, but if you notice throughout the years of boxers that get into street fights, they're they're most of them are smart enough Bob to do that. But they're used to hitting with gloves. And the first thing they get, if somebody ducks their head, they break their hand, set their courier back. Mhmm. Because the the the bolts of your head are very fragile. And and if and if you watch Hoists and a lot of the jiu jitsu guys back in the early days, they would use palm strikes, to the back of the head, you know, anywhere they could get. They would they would they would use that because they knew if they hit with the smallest bones in their body, you have a good chance of breaking.

Bob DeMarco [00:11:17]:
Well, you, obviously have, quite a collection of swords, and we see them around you. How did how did it come to pass that you were collecting swords? Most of the people that we, know who collect blades are into pocket knives and fixed blades and things that are, well, let's say less expensive and more manageable, more, you know, and you've got this like wicked collection of swords and, and things, and they're from all around the world. How did you start on this trip?

Steve Price [00:11:53]:
Well, I was, fortunate in that aspect. Internet and YouTube, especially YouTube, Bob, there there were a lot of Blake forums, and I I would get to see different makers and and people around the world. And and, when I first started out, you know, being transparent, when I first started out, I I was buying most of my plates, which which is, you know, as you well, as you know, it's expensive hobby. But when I started doing the videos, makers from around the world saw the videos and and they saw how many people were watching and the followers that I accumulated and they decided to start sending me the blades so I didn't have to pay for the blade And what it did, it guarded themselves. So the the blade was my payment. And, you know, of course, I didn't ask for any money or anything from the sales. Yeah. I was just honored that they thought highly enough of me to, to do that for me.

Steve Price [00:12:55]:
And, it was a privilege and honor to me because I've been sent some very high end blades, some very blood off blades that, are just exceptional. And and I will I'll say this too is, I'm very impressed. And don't get me wrong, I I I love our American makers. I'm very impressed with some third world makers who have minimal, very little tools. But they they forge in the tradition of their ancestors, and, they do an exceptional job.

Bob DeMarco [00:13:32]:
Alright. So, couple of weeks ago when we were, first, talking to one another, you wanted to hold off to talk to me until you got a certain new something. What is that? I'm dying to see what you got.

Steve Price [00:13:45]:
Okay. So I'll try to show this up close, the sheath, but if you can see that sheath, it is remarkable. So this blade is called the jakobou. And so what that stands for is is what a yakuza in Japan, you know, it's but we have the Masi over here. Japan has a yakuza. That's their games. What they would carry if they were carrying a Bob in us. Oh.

Steve Price [00:14:16]:
So I will show you, like, I will get over here and show you, get close, show you the blade, and then show you this head on a stand up.

Bob DeMarco [00:14:30]:
Oh, what is that? A burl handle? That'll stop burning.

Steve Price [00:14:34]:
Wow. It is in its full tang. It is an exceptional blade. And lastly, extremely sharp. I wanna do a video with it. It is extremely sharp. This came from Mohammed Hassan Saeed out of Indonesia. He owns Deli Craft and he made some superior blades.

Steve Price [00:15:02]:
I've already done it. And here's the thing too, his Deli Craft emblem is here. He put my initials on the blank. Oh. And, like I said, I told you, I'd already done the, free fall paper cut test and it was nothing for this blade. So that's where I take a piece of paper, like a computer sheet of paper, I drop it and cut it mid air and it went through it like nothing. It was in front of me. The, the tip of this blade is amazing.

Steve Price [00:15:34]:
And just you can see the how they force this blade, and it is just I can't tell you how remarkable it is. It's very light, extremely light on hand.

Bob DeMarco [00:15:44]:
I should have weighed it, but I can tell you from the blades I own, it's one of the lightest blades I own. Twelve inch blade, 6 inch handle. It is just utter real. So, this is made in Indonesia. What, do you have any idea what the conditions are? I've seen a lot of Filipino cutlers, and it's it to our, to our Western eye, it looks somewhat primitive or, or at least, definitely, somewhat impoverished, I guess, is Yes. That's not exactly the right term, but That's correct. Very minimalistic,

Steve Price [00:16:25]:
very basic. Just it it's very minimal tools. And then, Bob, that's what's most impressive to me is, I've seen this from one of my good friends, Perla Denal from Nepal. I've seen this from Mohammed and some others. Those are men of the Tedrick. If they tell you they're gonna make you a blade and send it to you in this amount of time, that's what they do. And they're in there on their knees, squatted down, fought over the coals, forging a blade with, with a guy, 2 weren't you guys hammering it out while they're moving it in and out, tempering the blade, forging it. And I have a lot of respect for those men because, here in America, I have run into it.

Steve Price [00:17:17]:
There's a lot of people running into this of having a blade made, and it takes 6 months, a year, 2 years, 3 years to get a plate. And so you have to wonder sometimes about people's work ethic, their integrity when it comes to that. But the men I and I mentioned are men of integrity.

Bob DeMarco [00:17:48]:
Do you think some of that might have to do with the fact that, I don't know. I guess a lot of the cutlers I've seen are maybe a little bit older and they're doing something in the traditional way and it's kind of in their, it's like reflexive.

Steve Price [00:18:04]:
Yes. And and and it is. They've been doing it for so long. Their ass sisters have done it. So and and that's the thing. Over here in America, we are we have amazing bladesmiths. We we have amazing bladesmiths, that make amazing blades. But those cultures, for instance, in Nepal, Indonesia, over in or even over in China.

Steve Price [00:18:31]:
And I'm I'm talking about the traditional makers over there. Traditional makers in Japan, Filipino makers. The Philippine the Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal, those are lay cultures. So if you go back 100 and 100 of years, they've been making blades forever. And and so and blade cultures, yes. They they can they can forge out a blade fairly quick.

Bob DeMarco [00:19:00]:
Yeah. Like in the Philippines, it's an archipelago, many, many, many islands, and each island has towns and each town has their blade designs and their different, smiths who do different versions of old designs. And I I I just love that. I love that, what, that traditional panoply that you see sometimes of all the different Filipino blades on on the shield. I don't know. I used to have a t shirt of that. I I I love looking at that because they're so varied. And that's what I love about, well, your collection, for instance, is, I I have a little bit of ethnographic weaponry around me that, my parents have gotten on their travels or that I've, gotten when I lived in New York and had, access to flea markets and stuff like that, where I found some real gems, especially bring backs.

Bob DeMarco [00:19:53]:
But all the variety of shape and, and, kind of use that you get from weapons and knives from around the world. What, is your, wheelhouse, if you will? What are the kind of knives and swords that you really, go after?

Steve Price [00:20:09]:
So any anybody knows me, and there's a there's a story behind this. So the cookery and I have weapons from all over the world, and I love them all. But for me, it's I can explain it. There's a Nepalese man, which, you you know, be a Christian, we have different beliefs, but some of the Nepalese men have followed me over there for a while. And and see me do the things with the kukri, especially the reverse fast draw

Bob DeMarco [00:20:47]:
Yeah.

Steve Price [00:20:47]:
With the kukri. This one is from Clyde Dardal of Nepal, one of my best friends. I I love that, man. This coupe weighs about 11 ounces per year.

Bob DeMarco [00:20:58]:
God, that is gorgeous.

Steve Price [00:20:59]:
It is extremely, extremely fast. The angiometry is superb and it's razor, razor sharp. I can this is probably one of my fastest blades in the hand. I can maneuver this so fast, like, it's just a blur. But when I started doing all the cut tests and and the drawers and everything, one of the men over there, we got to talk to him, message him back and forth, and I had a lot of respect for him. And, he said something about me and maybe that I had been in a previous life. So, you know, and and they believe in that there's there's a lot of Hindu religion over there and different, but of course, blah, blah, blah. I I was honored that he said that.

Steve Price [00:21:50]:
Sure. I have a different belief in that, being a Christian, but I was honored that he thought that, about me and and the coop because he he could see how I could how I could do with this blade. And I I would always tell him. I said, I don't know what it is. I said, this blade is just an extension of me, and it's just innate in me. I couldn't explain, Bob. It's like, his buddy's always just been with me. It's like, I'm most comfortable with this.

Steve Price [00:22:21]:
It's like natural. It's something that's it's a part of me and I can't explain it. In fact, I can't. But this is this is my favorite style blade.

Bob DeMarco [00:22:32]:
So you're talking about the kukri in general, not necessarily that specific one in your hand.

Steve Price [00:22:37]:
Right. The kukri in jewel. Okay. Yeah. Now there are there are different sizes and weights of the kukri.

Bob DeMarco [00:22:47]:
This this one you just put away is so nice and slender. I love the look of that. It it it's, looks like that's gonna be a really nice one. Let's see that. Oh my

Steve Price [00:22:58]:
god. This is, this is probably one of the most beautiful kookries I have. This is the papa kookery, And, this one, if you can see the width of the blade. Oh. And the force and that blade. And if you can see the handle.

Bob DeMarco [00:23:20]:
So it's got that, the brass fittings, the beautiful is that buffalo, a water buffalo horn?

Steve Price [00:23:25]:
It is buffalo horn. So this blade is a lot wider and it's heavier than the previous blade. But the edge geometry on this blade, Bob, is such that, I I took a Clorox bottle, a big the big Clorox bottle, like the gallon jug, and I rinsed it out real well, because that actually damaged my blade. And I filled it up completely with water, and I just held it up and I had already had the cookery in hand, and I just dropped the container and I sliced it. And I I showed the the container, in the picture of that post I made, and it looked like, no joke, that a circular saw had made the cut. A fine circular saw. It was that clean. It it was amazing.

Steve Price [00:24:18]:
So that that's due to the edge geometry and the

Bob DeMarco [00:24:20]:
sharpness of that blade. So Kukri how many Kukris do you have, would you say, in your collection?

Steve Price [00:24:27]:
Probably have, let me just think about that,

Bob DeMarco [00:24:32]:
maybe 30? Alright. Alright. So 30, okay, kukri is definitely your thing, and we were talking about the copus that's over your left shoulder. That's kind of a that's like a proto kukri. So we know that that's your what what else? What else, is is out there in the world that's fetching? Is that a Crabeet Travanc sword behind you? This is this is a quarter sword. This was made by Verna,

Steve Price [00:24:59]:
and this is an amazing, amazing.

Bob DeMarco [00:25:03]:
I've seen this on Forged in Fire. That is really cool. Yes. It's like a sword axe.

Steve Price [00:25:09]:
Yes. So the all the inside is sharpened.

Bob DeMarco [00:25:14]:
Oh, yeah.

Steve Price [00:25:14]:
See the detail on that, And then, of course, the pommel. But this sword is extremely light in my hand. It's it's amazing. So on this blade, like I said, inside is sharpened. But if that point catches, it comes in and draws everything into it. That point is razor razor sharp. So that's the corded sword. So this sword is popular in Nepal and in India.

Steve Price [00:25:54]:
But part of part of towards that, and it's one of my prize blades. I'll never sell back when that's a that's just a prize blade to me.

Bob DeMarco [00:26:03]:
So how did you start making content, for for social media, for YouTube and Instagram? Like, what what was it that drove you to that?

Steve Price [00:26:13]:
Well, you know, I've seen other people start doing the videos and everything, Bob, and then I think somebody at the fire department actually, one of my firefighters might have said something to me about, you know, maybe I should start doing the videos and doing that. And, so I I started I mainly do Facebook and Instagram, and I'll every once in a while, I'll post to YouTube. Now there was a man in Las Vegas, a good friend of mine who has a huge collection of blades. He's a older gentleman, and he was gonna sponsor me on YouTube and everything. But I'll tell you how how I am, Bob. I I go with how I feel, if that makes any sense. Like, I know that there are bladesmiths who do take a lot of time because they have to have the right mindset and feeling when they start forging a blade. They may start forging it out, They may take a week off and they go back to it.

Steve Price [00:27:13]:
Mhmm. Until they get the right frame of mind and have the right feel toward it. That's, that's my, my way of doing the videos is I, I, I don't want to be like under the gun, it's so to say, like that it's a burden to have to do videos. I love to do them, but I have to do them, go by my field, I guess is what I'm trying to say, and express myself in that way. But, yeah, that's how I got started. I saw all the people doing it and then somebody at the fire department, I believe, to save y'all start doing that, and it was just a natural thing. I was I was seeing other people do it, and I just started out doing test cut videos of different blades. It's a really simple test, and it went from that to, I decided, well, let me see if I can draw a blade.

Steve Price [00:28:04]:
And let me see if I can draw it fast. And then let me see if I can draw it fast enough to cut a container that I just drop out of my hand. And, that's how it progressed. Just that that that's simple.

Bob DeMarco [00:28:18]:
So how how is watching yourself, do those cut tests improved your, skills with the sword?

Steve Price [00:28:27]:
Oh, it it does a lot because you it's trial and error. Highly is everything on those those cut tests. And you have to be fast, but you also have to be careful because there's a fine line when you're dealing with a light blade. A very fine line. I I have found that out the hard way before, but you're not going to progress in anything if you stay scared or if you let something, discourage you. And I've had a lot of people encourage me from the blade community, because I don't know if you knew this, Bob. I had an accident back in February of last year. Good.

Steve Price [00:29:12]:
So I had a very, very sharp blade. It was a big Kardashian Kardashian, Japanese style, razor sharp. The blade itself is about little over 5 inches with a tip that I would say is probably my most it'll penetrate any clothing, anything like it's not even there. It's it's the best penetrator I have. The best thrusting weapon I have. And I was doing a quick draw from underneath Russian Oh, yeah. Yes. I I wasn't oh, okay.

Steve Price [00:29:48]:
I wasn't doing a video, thank god, at the time, but, I had it in a sheath underneath my shirt to draw it off my right hand. I was gonna pick up the shirt from my left hand. I've done this numerous times. And my philosophy of why I was doing that is I felt like, no matter where you are, y'all did a draw fast, just out of the blue. Yeah. Hate it. For real world application. So I did, didn't pull the shirt up high enough, the butt of the blade caught my shirt, rebounded in at a transverse angle into my abdomen, through my stomach.

Steve Price [00:30:29]:
So at the time, I didn't know. I I wouldn't grab a washcloth with shoulder pressure. I need and I was just hoping that it was just stuck in the muscle, didn't didn't penetrate any further. But by the time I got to the emergency room and they put me back, to the CAT scan, fortunate for me, I had probably the number one trauma doctor that was on call that that night. And he came back, says, Steve, we got bad news. You're bleeding internally.

Bob DeMarco [00:31:01]:
Oh, my god.

Steve Price [00:31:02]:
So he had to do emergency surgery. He had to go in, scope me 3 different places, sew me up from the inside and from the outside. And after that, you know, yeah, that's a that's a traumatic experience. I I I'll say, you know, it it it is traumatic, but I have a I had a lot of people that I highly respect. Message me, call me, and encourage me because they knew it was gonna be a overcoming to get back to do what I was doing. And I appreciate everybody that called me, messaged me, made a post on the Facebook page where I made a post about that. I want everybody to know how precious you are to me. That meant the world to me.

Steve Price [00:31:49]:
And, it was just one of those things, you know, and I would advise anybody that's practicing to use a trained blade. From from from cover, use a trained blade, because it it can happen to anybody. But, yeah, that that's your experience.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:06]:
Yeah. I mean, that you're really underlining that it can happen to anybody because you're obviously, skilled and you do a lot of that. You've done a lot of that quick draw stuff that we've seen. And yeah, but from under the shirt, catching on the catching on the shirt and pushing it right in, I mean, I, I could totally visualize that and man, that's, that's awful. But like you said, anyone can make a mistake like that, and, I have, not, not as high stakes as yours, because I wasn't doing anything as high stakes as you, but, that's a learning experience for sure. And, and not that you didn't have ultimate respect for the blade, but that'll give you even more of it

Steve Price [00:32:52]:
as that. Yeah.

Bob DeMarco [00:32:54]:
So on the job, over over the years as a fireman and as a policeman, did you see, the damage that knives can do to people from fights and stuff like that? Was that something you were around at all?

Steve Price [00:33:09]:
Mostly mostly gunshots, but I'll I'll say this because I I'm no vulgar police officer, so I can talk about it. But when I was a rookie police officer here in Huntsville, I I saw what a an ax can do to a person. I'm trying to think if it was an ax or a machete. There's a way at that time, I can't recall if it was an actual machete. It might have been a machete. It was at a hotel here in Huntsville and we get there and the guy had been hit in the head with it. And, needless to say, the the head is no no match for machete. Yeah.

Steve Price [00:33:53]:
It was it was very bad, Bob. So, yeah. But mainly, what I've been involved with is is gunshots. They're more prevalent here in Huntsville than than bows are. Although, there are people that get stabbed, you know, quite often, but mainly mainly we don't hear about those a lot, Mainly it's gunshots.

Bob DeMarco [00:34:12]:
That's, yeah. That's, just incidentally, I'm gonna be shooting a video soon with the fire department around here about stopping bleeding, you know, excessive bleeding from things like gunshots and stabbings or whatever. You know, you you you could be out swimming and you cut yourself on a piece of metal, whatever it is. But, how how important is it for us knife, dudes and dudettes to learn medical stuff, first aid stuff like real legit first aid?

Steve Price [00:34:45]:
Oh, it is absolutely important. I mean, the first thing I did when I had my accident, right away, about in a split second, was grab a washed off and do compression on my abdomen. You can't put a tourniquet on a abdomen. Absolutely. Yeah. There are places on your body that a tourniquet is not gonna help. But I would I would be very familiar with tourniquet application, compression, and everything like that and and just wound mitigation. So if you're around blades at all, you definitely, definitely need that knowledge, because you can cut a place in your arm, you can get an artery, you you know.

Steve Price [00:35:23]:
I remember a a man that I followed for a while on YouTube, who's very, very proficient with a katana. And I'm being trained with a fish. But he had one that was a little longer that he had just got. And mainly, you know, they're go around 28 to 29 inch blade length. This, I think, might have been over 30. And he did a draw, and he hit the upper part of his arm right here where he drooped. And I don't know if he just nicked the artery or whatever, but he'll hit hit hit it all the way through. But it it it it just put him down for a while, hitting that place, in the break.

Steve Price [00:36:07]:
So you got a break in your artery with that runs right through there. And, he might have knitted somewhere, but he I know it scared him because he was off there a little while off the channel. But then he came back and talked about it, And he's learned from that experience of what blade length he could draw that technique proficiently with. He'd been doing the draw with the 20, 29 inch blades all along. And when he had that longer blade it coming up, it did not make it out of that area without cutting. So, yes, Learning how to mitigate that is essential for anybody dealing with the blade. I I highly recommend.

Bob DeMarco [00:36:50]:
I find myself sometimes absent mindedly, playing with or handling, whatever knife happens to be on me or in my pocket. And, I'm okay with that. If I'm stationary, say if I'm sitting at my desk, and I'm just absentmindedly playing with a knife, worst I can do is probably cut my head or something, but, I'll find myself walking around doing that, and I have to stop myself, put it back, because that's that's how I've done dumb dumb stuff. And I'm not calling, you know, not, not every knife mistake is a dumb mistake, but I've made some really stupid ones. Yeah. And, yeah, I've been lucky, that I haven't, hit the wrong spot. Actually, the worst some of the worst accidents I've ever had was when I worked in professional kitchens, you know, just as a as a prep guy, but but still those big knives and just, coming in early in the morning and prepping all sorts of food and doing it absentmindedly. So, yeah, it's sort of mindfulness is a pretty important thing, especially around blades.

Bob DeMarco [00:37:59]:
How much of what you do, especially with these, with the cutting and with the drawing and cutting, how quickly you do it? How much of that, is a mind game?

Steve Price [00:38:11]:
Yeah. It it it it starts with the mind, Bob. Your focus has to be there. There there there cannot there has to be focus. I've done a couple of blindfold cut tests where I blindfold myself and do the draw and cut and you have to have spatial awareness, body awareness, and you have to be dialed in in the zone. Nothing else can be on your mind. Nothing exterior. You can't be thinking about something, anything, anything else has to be cleared out of your mind.

Steve Price [00:38:48]:
You know, we, Americans, we caught being zoned in, and that litigated a lot of the problems. You guys have respect for the blade because you know why I use our live blades. And and what people can they can make a mistake by watching certain individuals that are just drawing blade really fast, especially in the katana arena. Mhmm. And a lot of those katanas are not shikings, they're not they're not sharp and sore. And those people can get away with that. They can draw extremely fast, put it, re sheet it extremely fast, back and forth, back and forth. And don't get me wrong, that's a good way to familiarize yourself, practice it, practice it, practice it, and then when you get to a live blade, you've got the fundamentals and the foundation built.

Steve Price [00:39:43]:
But it's totally different when you put a live blade in your hand. If if you've only been doing Bob sharpened blades all your life for many years, and then you put a live blade in there, it it's a different mindset. Totally different mindset. Do I I believe you have to have both. I believe you need your frame with a unsharpened blade and frame with a live blade. Even though I I started with live blades and and but it yeah. That one time it did cost, but I I I I would be better off for certain areas if I would get me some trailing blades and practice and practice and practice and and get some more fundamentals down to sharpen my skills even more. But, yeah, don't I I don't want people make that mistake of of watching somebody who does something extremely fast and going down that road.

Steve Price [00:40:42]:
It it takes time and time and effort and concentration, and knowing your own abilities. You have to know yourself above all other. You know, you you have to know what you're capable of and what your limitations are. I know what our limitations are. And I try to stay right there as that lip that limit, not go

Bob DeMarco [00:41:03]:
over it. Oh, what what to you are the modern applications of such a skill you mentioned, as, in your time as a police officer and a firefighter in Huntsville, you saw mostly gunshot wounds. Is there any modern application to knowing the sword?

Steve Price [00:41:23]:
That's a good question. And I I know a lot of people have thoughts on this and opinions on this. I'm I'm trying to make sure I say this in the right way, not fit anybody because I love the sword. And a lot of my friends love the sword. But I I feel like, unless somebody, you know, if somebody does a whole invasion on you, you're probably gonna put a firearm. You're not gonna go to your sword. Unless, Bob, there's, and I hate to use this terminology, unless there, some people say zombie apocalypse, but let's just say, I'm not gonna say zombie apocalypse, I'm gonna say, let's just say something happens to where, something bad happens in this world and we're, you know, we're dialed to where you're having to survive, of what you can get your hands on, feed yourself off of killing live game, that sort of stuff. And then ammo eventually down the road, because it's gonna be way down the road because there's America had a lot of ammo and a lot of guns.

Steve Price [00:42:32]:
But down the road, ammo runs out. Then I can see where a blade, such as a sword would come in handy as far as self defense. A blade's gonna come in handy anyway in that scenario as far as process and gain, chopping vegetables, chopping down trees to build your fire. Well, you know, anything like that. A a blaze will come in handy. Don't get me wrong. But as before our self defense goes, that's the only that's the only thing I I think it would be handy for at that time. You're not gonna tear around a sword underneath your garment or you're not gonna wear it, even though Texas out here, you can wear a sword in Texas.

Steve Price [00:43:17]:
You you like well, because how the public sees, you know, I I do wear pretty large blades out of public sometimes. Yeah. I would wear I've worn this quite often.

Bob DeMarco [00:43:31]:
Wow. That's cool.

Steve Price [00:43:33]:
I wear this from Kiku Matsuda. Oh,

Announcer [00:43:38]:
master smith

Steve Price [00:43:39]:
out of Japan.

Bob DeMarco [00:43:41]:
Hey. Well, Steve, how much of the sword skill translates into knife skill or empty hand skill?

Steve Price [00:43:48]:
Oh, it it it does. So the the now the sword skill, when we get into that, we're talking about different ranges. So anybody that's familiar with there's there's a lot of people that are familiar with the sword. You got your Hima people who are extremely familiar with it. And I have respect for those people because they practice that art all the time. And then your Kenjutsu practitioners, I have high respect for those men and women that do that. We're talking about range. So a sword is built for a certain range, but the way you can maneuver it and your awareness of the blade, how it cuts, some of that will transfer to a a shorter blade.

Steve Price [00:44:27]:
But I'll because this is a closer range application. And your maneuvers of how you would maneuver a blade. So if you come down at angle strike, right, you're with 1 hand, You're of the long sword, do not wanna do that. European long sword, do not use too advanced, and you may make a one cut at an angle. But this, as far as I'm talking about, maneuvering it fast. So if you get to the Filipino FMA martial arts, Bob, you know what I'm talking about. So you come in straight, come in at different angles. Right? Different angles, applications.

Steve Price [00:45:07]:
There's a different set of applications for a short blade in the code for range. There's a different application for a karambit, which I should have had up here because that's my short range favorite weapon. And I have some from Indonesia, that are extremely, extremely well built, extremely sharp. So those those require different techniques at close range. And there's been people that have built different blades for extreme close range, for wrapper blades. And I think you've went over some of those men that teach those combatives and developed the, I can't remember the name of it, but it it's a really it's got like a ball grip and and the blade is curved in,

Bob DeMarco [00:45:54]:
You're talking about the Shiv works? Alright. You're talking about

Steve Price [00:45:57]:
Shiv works. Yes. The Shiv works. So and and so that man, he knows, he knows his stuff. Yeah. I have followed him some. He's he's done the work. He's been undercover.

Steve Price [00:46:07]:
He knows what it takes when you get into those scenarios in a tight DeMarco, whether you're sitting in a car as an undercover agent and the person you're buying from, they have, questions and they start asking you and they get the wrong feeling towards you and then they attack because they think you're a cop. Well, he's been in those situations. He knows close range, grab the range, what's gonna work. What you can draw, how you can draw it, How's how long the blade needs to be? Because you may not have room to draw a long blade. Yeah. Then when you're close in grappling with somebody, So around them and out would mean to get groceries or anything. But I was saying, if you have to come around the back of the neck, back anywhere back. So you're around them and you're directly access your blade.

Steve Price [00:46:55]:
You know what I'm saying, Bob. That that light comes in handy because the way it's designed and configured for that application. So there's different range. I I a sword, so it's transferable to a shorter blades, not all of it.

Bob DeMarco [00:47:11]:
In in the Filipino martial arts, at least as I've been exposed to them, the where where the swords themselves, except for you know, with the with the few exceptions, the swords themselves are about 29 inches or so, as the practice sticks are. So about the length of the blade of an average katana. So, so it's a shorter range weapon and it all, oh, there's that, the Beigler, gununte. So, so they, they, that short range, weapon translates into a knife, translates into empty hand pretty pretty flawlessly. But when you start getting longer and the ranges get bigger, it, it changes. Let's hold that up. I, I have to did one of these at blade show and really fell in love with it. Beautiful, modern gununting by Biegler Blade Works?

Steve Price [00:48:04]:
Yeah. It's a baker. Beigler.

Bob DeMarco [00:48:06]:
Okay.

Steve Price [00:48:06]:
Brian Beigler, Blade Works. Yeah. It's a remarkable blade. And I I'll say this about this. I, I told you like, that Ferdowschied that was made by Jeremy Bowler Ballantyne, by the way. Highly recommend him. He's an American blade maker and I highly recommend Jeremy. He makes some incredible blades.

Steve Price [00:48:28]:
But, this would be my second one as far as thrusting ability. The tip on this, when I say it's amazing, it's amazing. It doesn't matter how many layers of clothing you put on. It it's gonna go through. I have tested this, and and what's, what's different about this tip to me is, and I I'm I'm sure you're familiar with some of this, Bob, is this tip, it's hard to explain. It comes to a rounded, extremely sharp tip. So where some blades, the geometry is more like a triangular point. And those two Oh.

Steve Price [00:49:12]:
Oh. Oh. Okay. This is a point. It is a round when I say rounded, it's it's extremely sharp point, but it's a rounded sort of tip geometry. And so it thrust through everything. It's it's incredible.

Bob DeMarco [00:49:30]:
That I I know what you're saying. It kinda comes to, like, if you will, a pencil tip. Yes. That, that seems great. And, and there are, I can't name them, but there are a lot of examples where I've seen thrusting, knives throughout history that have tips like that. And then the blade changes after the tip. Yeah. This is gorgeous.

Bob DeMarco [00:49:50]:
You got about 6 inches of the top edge sharp. Yes. Man, that that is a a definitely enviable blade. So with all of this and with, you know, having the medical training, have having, I'm just talking about the average person because I wanna get your advice on this. So we've we've talked about, knives, self defense, and medical training to make sure that, if your knife hobby gets out of hand for an instant, you can take care of yourself. But what about exercise? What about, staying in shape? You obviously are in great shape. We've seen, or I've seen on Instagram you, deadlifting £450 10 times in a row, you know, or or what have you. Obviously, fitness means something to you.

Bob DeMarco [00:50:47]:
What what advice do you give people about the importance of that, especially when it comes to self defense, especially when it comes to survival or or enjoying the hobby of swordplay?

Steve Price [00:51:00]:
So there's a lot of aspects to, I'll I'll I'll say this about martial arts and and and blade works in in the martial arts. You have some people who are, they they they look from the outside. Bob, you can't always judge a book by its cover, for instance. They look, they look like they might be out of shape, but they're in better shape than you think they are. And they are highly skilled with the Blake, highly skilled with the Blake. I'll say some of those individuals. But I I will say this, even if you're highly skilled, If you run up against somebody who is also highly skilled but is extremely fit, That's where you're gonna run into trouble. So if you have unfranked person and a highly, highly skilled person who's in alright shape, you know what I'm saying, alright.

Steve Price [00:52:02]:
This person is gonna win out the highest skilled person. But if you have a person equal skill level, but is in a lot better shape than you, you're gonna lose. Because fatigue makes cowards of us all. And, Lawrence is gonna come into it because if you have a man who is highly skilled, and let's say you're highly skilled yourself, and you can block so it just maneuvers or whatever. When he gets into grab to reach, and gets a hold of you, it's it's a different ballgame. And and a person that's out of shape, and let's say, comes to hands, right? The person that's they may have a minute, 2 minutes at the most in them. And there's a lot of people out there that that think they can, fight well, and they might can go hard a minute or 2. Yeah.

Steve Price [00:52:55]:
But if there's a person that that knows what they're doing, you're gonna have to last a lot longer than that. That's where fitness and strength come into play. Even been able to maneuver a play back, but the this another team is very light. But your power and speed and and your your force equal mass times acceleration. Right? So would you come in for a blade extremely fast for the power that you can generate? That that cutting ability is exponentially advanced up, up. So and and that even come even even working out with a blade. Right? If you work out with a blade for a period of time, you can see how maneuvering with a blade and and your footwork and and doing everything. You gotta be in shape to do that.

Steve Price [00:53:47]:
You you look at a lot of the Hema Yes. And, those those guys that are like really upper level, they are in great, great shape. So, yeah, fitness comes into it because, you know, you you have to have the cardiovascular along with the strength. And that's why when I was 44, like I said, I'm 57 now. But when I was 44, I started doing, CrossFit. And, there's a lot lot of opinions about CrossFit and everything else. And I I've been in global gyms all my life and grew up doing martial arts and everything. But as far as functional fitness, having the cardio, the VO 2 max, the strength, being able to move your body with explosive power.

Steve Price [00:54:34]:
I've I've not found anything like that. I started when I was sports, so I've been doing it for 13 years. Yes. And it kept me in great shape as a firefighter. I wish I'd had it back when I was a police officer, but they didn't have it back then. But, yeah, fitness fitness is key. It is. Training is key.

Steve Price [00:54:52]:
Fitness is key. Have the right instructor's key. There there's a lot of keys to that journey.

Bob DeMarco [00:54:59]:
Well, one last question before I let you go, and it's about the journey, if you will, and it's about the collecting. What recommendation, what advice do you give, someone who's new, who who wants to have a collection like yours? They wanna have exotic weapons from actual makers from around the world. How do you start? I don't mind. Anybody that wants to contact me, Bob, because they may not know the makers to contact. And and I'll say this, I I

Steve Price [00:55:28]:
I wanna support our American blade makers. They've been good to me, for instance. Oh. There's the Wakizashi from Forged in Fire champion, James Hill.

Bob DeMarco [00:55:42]:
Yeah. That is gorgeous. And

Steve Price [00:55:45]:
I bought this at Blaze Show year before last. I've done demos with this. It's an exceptional blade, exceptional blade. And Americans, because of our economy, Bob, and the high cost of living, people need to understand, American bladesmiths, and I'm not talking about black cold steel. Right? I'm not talking about the Roger, which you can get for $70 or $80 or whatever, which I love this blade. But it it, you know, that's coming from a big company that processes a lot of blades, that manufactures a lot of blade. To get to get a custom blade is very it's it's pretty expensive here at the moment. You can get a high quality blade overseas, delivered to you in a very short time, made by some some men of of gray integrity, forge of blades like their ancestors did.

Steve Price [00:56:44]:
Anybody that that I I would I would recommend starting out with with those blades because they're not too expensive. They're they're not expensive at all. And then when you get into the hobby and you wanna go with like Brian's blade or James blade or a blade for me from Kiku Matsuda. Or let me see here. Oh, and so I I'm gonna show this blade real quick. So this blade Oh, I know

Bob DeMarco [00:57:13]:
what this is.

Steve Price [00:57:13]:
A lot of people love this blade.

Bob DeMarco [00:57:16]:
So cool.

Steve Price [00:57:17]:
So the Raja Walli. That's from Shadi and Ralph Pinata out of Indonesia. That blade is incredible itself. So you can get a blade like this for a reasonable price. And then you've got blade blade papers like Christopher Linton, who I'm good friends with, and he started working for, R and J Tactical. He's he's a custom blade maker. But this is the semire, I believe, that he forced out.

Bob DeMarco [00:57:50]:
That is something else with that sub hilt. I love that. Yes.

Steve Price [00:57:54]:
It is it is an incredible, incredible blade. I've done I've done tatami cuts with this, back when I was getting some tatami mats in, and it's it's an incredible blade. That's a samurai buoy knife. And and so, yeah, start out with something relatively inexpensive, but but but high but but it's high quality. And then you can work your way up to some of the custom makers. You know, a lot of this I got at Blade Show, starting out. I've been, I think, 4 or 5 years, and and you get to see some I I highly recommend everybody go to Blade Show. The community is incredible.

Steve Price [00:58:38]:
Everybody is very humble. Even the bladesmiths are very humble. There's there are bladesmiths there with 2, 3, $4,000 blades on their table. And a person may walk up and they the blade maker themselves may know that this person probably is not gonna buy their blade. Oh, yeah. It's a bit is, But they will talk to that person just as if they were talking to somebody who was a millionaire who walked up, who was absolutely gonna buy that blade. That's what I love about the Blade community. It's a brotherhood and a sisterhood.

Steve Price [00:59:13]:
And everybody at Blade Show is so humble, so nice and kind. And it's the best community. It is the best community.

Bob DeMarco [00:59:22]:
I couldn't agree more with you, Steve. Great way to great words to end on. It is a great community, and, it's people like you, people like me, people like all of us, getting together, talking about these things and also sharing, sharing our love. Some people love small EDC's. Some people love, slip joints, some fixed blades, some swords, but we kinda all come together around the sharpened, heat treated steel. Steve Price, Bladetastic Knives, thank you so much for coming on the Knife Junkie podcast. Been a pleasure to have this time talking with you.

Steve Price [00:59:57]:
Thank you so much, Bob. It's been an honor and a privilege. Loved your show. You you are the best. I mean, you you did the best job. You have some incredible, incredible people on your show. And, you do so much for the Blake community, and and we value you. I want you to know that.

Steve Price [01:00:15]:
The community value you. You you you are exceptional at what you do. And I hope to see you at GLAZE show this year.

Bob DeMarco [01:00:21]:
Absolutely. Yes. Yes, sir. Alright. Well, thank you for those kind words. Put wind in my sails, sir. Yes, sir. You take care.

Steve Price [01:00:30]:
You too.

Announcer [01:00:30]:
Knife themed shirts, hoodies, mugs, water bottles, and more. The knife junkie.com/shop. Do you carry multiple knives? Then overthink which one to use when an actual cutting chore pops up. You're a knife junkie of the first order.

Bob DeMarco [01:00:45]:
There he goes, ladies and gentlemen. Steve Price of Bladetastic Knives. Those are that's his, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube handle, and and his advice a lot like, mine. It seems like, when I talk about getting into custom fixed blades, starting small and starting with people, whose work you like. Maybe you're scrolling on Instagram. That's how I find them. And then starting small and building up And, you could have an amazing collection of, of custom swords yourself. All right.

Bob DeMarco [01:01:15]:
Be sure to join us, on Wednesday for the midweek supplemental Thursday for Thursday night knives at 10 PM Eastern Standard Time right here on use YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch, and we'll see you there. Alright. For Jim working his magic behind the switcher, I'm Bob DeMarco saying until next time, don't take dull for an answer.

Announcer [01:01:34]:
Thanks for listening to the Knife Junkie podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please rate and review at review the podcast dot com. For show notes for today's episode, additional resources, and to listen to past episodes, visit our website, the knifejunkie.com. You can also watch our latest videos on YouTube at the knifejunkie.com/youtube. Check out out some great knife photos on the knifejunkie.com/instagram, and join our Facebook group at the knifejunkie.com/facebook. Facebook. And if you have a question or comment, email them to Bob at the knifejunkie.com or call our 247 listener line at 724-466-4487. And you may hear your comment or question answered on an upcoming episode of the Knife Junkie