Shop Notes Archive
May, 2010
“We had a great A.C.E. show on April 10th and expect an even better one next year. Be sure to let me know if you want to be invited next year. I will link the other members of the Artisans of Cutlery Event on my CONTACT page. I am a new member of the CKCA and would encourage everyone to get involved with this group. Click here for more info: www.customknifecollectorsassociation.com
Please consider joining Blade Sports and come cut some stuff, www.bladesports.org I’m currently working on my mastersmith knives and I hope to have a few additional pieces available for sale at Blade Show this June 4-6. I hope to see you there.”
January, 2009
A bunch of new things are happening this Winter and here
is what’s going on: I was just elected the new Vice
President of the Northwest Knife Collectors for 2010 and
will also be the newsletter editor as well. If you live
in the Northwest, please consider supporting our club. (www.nwkc.com)
My participation in Blade Sports is continuing to grow
and I am having a very competitive season this year (www.bladesports.org) . Our next cut will be in Ellensburg, WA, on April 4th,
and I want you there. I will be holding a free safety certification
meeting on March 7th in Bothell, WA, so if you ever wanted
to be a part of the cutting competitions and are in the
area, please stop in for a couple hours. (Info on my Calendar
page)
If you are not a subscriber to Blade Magazine, rush out
and get the “Spring 2010” issue. (There is a
photo of a Swamp Rat short sword and “Complete Knife
Guide 2010” in bold on the cover) Do get this, as
the knife guide inside has the contact info for every known
knife maker and supplier in it. Get it now. In addition,
I will have an article coming out soon on my woodworking
and handle design. I plan to write articles for Blade on
a regular basis, so it will definitely be worth subscribing. www.blademag.com
I will be testing for my Mastersmith rating in June of
2010, so wish me luck. I might have to turn down or delay
a few custom orders over the next couple months as I prepare
my five test knives, but don’t be afraid to ask and
get on my waiting list. E-mail me now: michael@raderblade.com Also, be sure to check out my new Sales page and always
click on the link to Blade Gallery, as I will always try
to get new swords or knives up there on a regular basis.
Thanks, -Michael
July 14, 2008
Over the past year, I've really been taken in by kitchen knives
and hope to present one for my upcoming mastersmith test.
You are going to see more and more of my work in integrals,
as I've made a few discoveries that you may find interesting.
First, a full-tang integral knife is really quite simple -
no guards or other moving parts. The lines are really smooth
and the big thing for me is that they are super easy to repair.
Say you scratch your normal hunter just above the guard, or
maybe it even starts rusting in the joint - very hard to clean
and fix. With an integral there is no joint to get stuff stuck
in, just a nice flowing plunge from the handle/bolster down
to the blade. Repairing scratches is very quick and easy.
Worried about your fingers sliding up on the edge? No. With
the large heel of the blade coming down in front of your index
finger, "stubbing" is quite rare. There really is
no need for a guard here. I actually make all of my competition
knives as integrals as well. It just is a nice design and
one that I will continue with as long as I can.
-- Michael Rader
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