a 6-page article

FIRST LOOK!
SHOT 201
0
Review
The 2010 Las Vegas show guaranteed there will be many exciting
new products to cover in Tactical Knives for the next year.
by
I
Steven Dick
photos by
terrill hoffman
TK STAFF PHOTO
defy anyone to spend four days at the S.H.O.T. (Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade)
show and not discover a week later that they had missed several booths they had
really intended to visit. Not only does the show cover miles and miles of aisles,
this year it was laid out on two levels and in—I was never quite sure how many
rooms. All of this is basically an apology to those we missed, but we certainly found
plenty of exciting new knives that will be of great interest to TK readers. Just to cover them in alphabetical order, here are some of the highlights of the 2010 event.
Dennis Miller (left) kicked off the “State of the
Industry” dinner on evening one of S.H.O.T.
Overall attendance was 58,444, only several
hundred shy of the show’s all-time record set
in 2008. Steven Dick (far right) sought medical
attention at the Lansky booth.
CAS Hanwei Wakizashi
CAS Hanwei’s new “Tactical Wakizashi” was a hit with all of the
martial artists looking for a practical blade for strenuous outdoor
use. The 5160 carbon steel blade
is 20 inches long and on an 8.5inch handle with Kraton scales.
www.cashanwei.com
TK STAFF PHOTO
PHOTOS COURTESY NSSF
L to R: Jerry Hossom, J. Wayne Fears,
Mark Scheifley, Steven Dick.
Benchmade Onslaught
One of the new Benchmade models that seems to be
creating quite a stir is their 741 Onslaught Axis Lock
designed by the late Bob Lum. This is one big knife
with a 4.16-inch blade of premium 154CM stainless on black G-10 handle. As with many of
Bob’s creations, the Onslaught seems
to have been influenced by the
traditional Chinese dao saber
in its point style.
www.benchmade.com
74 TACTICAL KNIVES/July 2010
Boker A-F EDC
Boker’s new A-F EDC is a
product of recent German
restrictions on carrying
double-edge knives
and fixed blades over a
certain length. The 440C
single-edge version of
the Applegate Fairbairn
is 4-7/8 inches long
with a canvas Micarta
handle. Just handling this model
at the show, I
would have to say
it has much more
utility potential
than the classic
dagger.
www.bokerusa.
com
CAMILLUS CUTLERY
Much like Imperial Schrade, Camillus
Cutlery is back as an imported line of
knives from China. Unlike the U.S.
factory’s line, the new owners seem
to be concentrating more on tactical folders and fixed blades.
Among other features, many
models are now offered
with bamboo handles
and Carbonitride Titanium blades. www.
camillusknives.com
Chef’sChoice Sportsman
Chef’sChoice is celebrating its 25th year
in the business of being
the originator of the
electric diamond-hone
knife sharpener. New
this year is the “Hybrid
220,” a combination
electric and manual pullthrough sharpener and the “Sportsman” line. The launch of the Sportsman line of multi-stage electric
and manual knife sharpeners is geared towards the budget-minded
sports enthusiast. The sharpeners are available in a color palette indicative of the outdoors, featuring white, gray and green casings.
Combining EdgeCraft’s signature technology and commitment to
quality, the Sportsman line of sharpeners will be manufactured in
Avondale, Pennsylvania, USA, the same facility as the Chef’sChoice
brand of products. www.chefschoice.com
TACTICAL KNIVES/July 2010 75
CONDOR TOOL AND KNIFE
KA-BAR Baconmaker
Ever want a “Ray Mearst” style parang machete? This was just one
of the many new model jungle blades and knives from Condor
Tool and Knife. I also found the “Hudson Bay” pattern camp knife, a
model that looked like it might have great potential on backcountry adventures.
www.condortk.com
EMERSON KNIVES
If you ever thought to yourself, “The Emerson Commander would
be a nice knife if only it was a little larger,” you are in luck; there
will be a new version with a blade close to 5 inches long in the
near future. Also new this year was the “Gentleman Jim,” a very pointy 3-1/2-inch bladed
folder that rides the line between urban and outdoor tactical.
www.emersonknives.com
KA-BAR’s Johnson Adventure designed
“Baconmaker” was originally created for
someone in the Spec Ops community to “stick things.” It was
later found to also be ideal for hunting wild boar. The 1095
carbon steel recurved blade is 7-1/8 inches long and comes in a nylon sheath
with an extra large storage pouch for survival items. www.kabarknives.com
GREAT AMERICAN TOOL COMPANY
Kershaw Rake
After several years of showing the prototypes, the Timberline
Tactical ECS series of quick-release sheath knives is finally
ready. The knife comes in a choice of tanto, drop or spear
points and with a combination of sheath options. GATCO has
also added a new line of ceramic-bladed kitchen knives to
their Cape Cod collection. www.timberlineknives.com
One of the Kershaw’s new models that seemed to be
making a big splash with everyone at the show was
the “Rake,” a 3-1/2-inch blade folder with a composite
D2/14C28N blade. This wide clip-point looked like it
would be an outstanding field performer.
www.kershawknives.com
Lone Wolf Trailmate
The Lone Wolf Steve Kelley-designed “Trailmate” certainly
looked like a handy little hunter. Its 154CM stainless blade
is 3-1/2 inches long and the handle comes in a choice
of jigged bone or black G-10.
www.lonewolfknives.com
Ontario Knife Company Gen IIs PERSONAL PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS
Ontario Knife Company’s big news was that veteran
custom knifemaker Dan Maragni has created a new
family of blades for them called the GEN II series. All
are 5160 carbon steel with a special “snap temper
system” for added strength. Like all Spec Plus models, the knives will have Kraton handles and nylon
sheaths. www.ontarioknife.com
76 TACTICAL KNIVES/July 2010
Both the Prometheus
fixed blade and the RhinoTooth
folding version of the same design were on
display this year. The knives offer a unique
12-position handle for those needing an alternative to firearms. www.p2sys.com
TACTICAL KNIVES/July 2010 77
PRO TOOL
SPYDERCO KNIVES
Pro Tool actually had two
big cutlery ann o u n ce m e n t s :
a line of knives designed by
Wayne Fears and a second by Jerry Hossom. Fear’s blades will be very practical, a
family of 1075 carbon steel outdoor knives
with wood handles. The Hossom group recreated a number of his most popular custom patterns including the Retribution.
www.protoolindustries.net
Spyderco’s big news is that their version of the Bob Taylor/Randy Warner/Mike Echanis “Warrior” combat knife is
now shipping. Reconfigured for use by Israeli Spec Ops,
the knife comes complete with a pamphlet giving the full
history of the unique design. Stay tuned for a major feature in TK in the near future.
www.spyderco.com
SureFire Charlie
Even cutlery writers as jaded as myself find new models
at S.H.O.T. that they particularly like. The SureFire “Charlie”
was one of those for me. This massive Steve Ryan-designed
folder offers a 4-inch 154CM stainless blade on a 5-inch G-10
handle frame. www.surefire.com
RAT CUTLERY (now esee knives)
TOPS Power Eagle and Haket
Rat Cutlery, recently renamed ESEE Knives, had both
the new Junglas 9-inch blade heavy-duty utility
knife and their 18-inch blade ESEE Lite Machete on
display. The Lite machete features a blade by Imacasa in El Salvador, mounted on a Micarta handle
by Rowen Manufacturing.
www.eseeknives.com
TOPS Knives was another
company with several dozen
new products that will require
a full year of TK to cover in useful
depth. A couple interesting models that
caught my eye were the Power Eagle bolo machete and the Haket tomahawk. The Power Eagle
features a 12-inch blade of 5160 carbon steel on a
handle of canvas Micarta. Photo 26. The Haket offers a
dual-purpose take-down head on a chrome moly tubing
handle. www.topsknives.com
SMITH’S EDGESPORT
Among other products, Smith’s has added two new electric knife sharpeners this year, the Model 50139 and
the Model 50138. The 50139
offers both coarse and fine
diamond stages while the
50138 offers coarse diamonds with a manual pullthrough ceramic stage for
finishing edges.
www.smithsedge.com
Wenger Swiss Army Alinghi
Zero Tolerance
Zero Tolerance’s new model 0170 combat
knife looks like a great new weapon for the
troops on the frontlines. The 5.7-inch blade
is ground from 14C28N stainless and is
coated with Tungsten DLC. The handle
is G-10 with an “aggressive thumb
rise and front quillon.”
www.zerotolernaceknives.com
SOG Specialty Knives & Tools
SOG Knives had at least two dozen
new models with the Aura SEAL
and the Tomcat 3.0 being a couple
of the more unique ones. The Aura
SEAL offers a carbide knife and
hook sharpener that screws into
the back of the hollow Zytel handle. The Tomcat 3.0 sports a VG-10/
carbon fiber laminated blade for
extra stealthy carry.
www.sogknives.com
78 TACTICAL KNIVES/July 2010
Wenger Swiss Army has created the Alinghi SUI1 folder
in conjunction with the 2010 America’s Cup race as the
perfect yachtsman’s knife. Along with a 4-inch locking
blade, the knife offers pliers, can opener, marlin spike,
corkscrew, leather punch, and several screw driver points
and bits. www.wengerna.com
Editor’s note: While the show is closed
to the general public, for those with proper
trade credentials the next S.H.O.T. show will
take place from January 18 to 21, 2011 at the
TK
Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas.
TACTICAL KNIVES/July 2010 79