Upcoming Events

September 26-28
Visit me in Portland for Blade Show West
at the Monarch Hotel and Conference Center
Clackamas (Portland, OR)
www.bladeshowwest.com
I'll have a few VIP passes available so e-mail me and just ask.

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Shop Notes

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