THE LAST GREAT BAYONET CHARGE IN US HISTORY

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to visit that National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, in Columbus, Georgia. It is an incredible facility, with far too much to review here. But there was one exhibit called the “Last 100 Yards” that will leave you speechless. One of the many features is the story of Captain… Read more »

THE HISTORY OF ERNEST WRIGHT

We have a very special announcement this month. Ernest Wright is back with a new vitality. Paul Jacobs and Jan Bart Fanoy of Rotterdam recently purchased the company and gave the famous scissor-maker a new beginning; with capital, new equipment, and a fresh vision of the future with a dedication to preserving the past. This… Read more »

MANIAGO ITALY – CENTER OF CUTLERY

This month we are featuring another European cutlery center which still contributes some of the finest knives made in the world today. While blacksmithing was necessary for any town to have basic implements for farming, certain areas of Europe seemed to have special resources that made them ideal to develop into steel production and cutlery… Read more »

HAVE A COKE AND A SMILE

There are a few inventions that have advanced the human civilization in exponential leaps; the wheel, penicillin, the steam engine, paper, the telephone, gunpowder, the compass, optical lenses, nuclear fission, and of course, Coca-Cola. (Please note that these are not in order of importance; as we all know that Coca-Cola would indisputably be the first… Read more »

Tumbling Waters – Amicalola Falls

I felt it; if only briefly. If you are an outdoor person, you will immediately know what I’m talking about. That first time you walk outside in late summer and you feel a crispness to the air. It’s that Indian-Summer feeling where it is still warm but not sticky. The wind feels different; the air… Read more »

Discover Cutlery Artifacts

One of my favorite past-times is visiting Revolutionary and Civil War battlefields and National Historic sites. Ever since I was a kid, I have been enthralled by placing myself back in time at these hallowed grounds. Recently, Melissa and I have been able to visit the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia, Harpers… Read more »

American Cutlery Renaissance

American Cutlery is now known as the finest in the world, rivaling the cutleries of Seki, Japan, Solingen, Germany, Toledo, Spain, Maniago, Italy and others. As we discussed in Newsletters Volume III and IV, American Cutlery was borne out of the English Roots in Sheffield, England. For much of the 18th and 19th century, if… Read more »

The Origin of the Barlow

There are some knives so famous that everyone knows what they are, including non-knife people; the Bowie knife, the Ka-Bar fighting knife, and the famous Barlow to name a few. Of all the well-known knives out there, the Barlow probably has the greatest following in the collector community and the most longevity in popularity. Though… Read more »

CONNECTIONS TO HISTORY THROUGH A POCKET KNIFE

On April 15, 1912, the RMS Titanic sank in the north Atlantic after hitting an iceberg, killing 1,517 people. It is a tragic story that has achieved sensational fame because of Hollywood, numerous museums, and the sheer magnitude of the tragedy. Built in England as an “unsinkable ship”, the sinking on her maiden voyage shocked… Read more »

PRESIDENTIAL KNIVES

American Presidential history is dotted with great knives.  Partly because a healthy percentage of our Presidents have had military careers and view knives as indispensable tools, but moreover because our Presidents have often mirrored the spirit of America. That spirit of course was coined by Teddy Roosevelt as “Rugged Individualism” and no two words in… Read more »