Knives and Knife Accessories
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Sheaths
AA&E Leathercraft,
Cold Steel,
Columbia River,
Gerber Blades,
Ka-Bar |
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Spears
Cold Steel |
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Machetes
Cold Steel,
Coleman,
Gerber Blades,
Ka-Bar |
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Fixed Blade
Bear & Son Cutlery, Inc.,
BlackHawk Products Group,
Browning,
Cold Steel,
Columbia River,
Do-All Traps,
Gerber Blades,
Ka-Bar,
Kershaw,
SOG Knives,
Winchester Knives |
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Folding & Lock Back
Bear & Son Cutlery, Inc.
BlackHawk Products Group,
Browning,
Carolina Knife,
Cold Steel,
Columbia River,
Gerber Blades,
Ka-Bar,
Kershaw,
Leupold,
SOG Knives,
Winchester Knives |
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Sharpeners & Accessories
Columbia River,
DMT,
Gerber Bladess,
Lansky Sharpeners,
Smith Abrasives |
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Axes, Saws, & Shears
Bear & Son Cutlery, Inc.,
Browning,
Cold Steel,
Coleman,
Gerber Blades,
Kershaw
SOG Knives |
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Swords
Cold Steel |
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Multi-Purpose Tools
Browning,
Buck Knives,
Cold Steel,
Coleman,
Columbia River,
Gerber Blades,
Kershaw
Leatherman,
SOG Knives,
Superknife,
Victorinox,
Winchester Knivess |
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Fishing
Bear & Son Cutlery, Inc.,
Browning,
Gerber Blades,
Kershaw |
A knife is a handheld sharp-edged instrument
consisting of handle attached to a blade used
for cutting. The knife is a tool that can be
used as a weapon. Its origins date as far back
as two-and-a-half million years ago.
The earliest knives were shaped by striking
rocks against each other, particularly harder
rocks such as obsidian and flint. As recent as
five thousand years ago, as advances in
metallurgy progressed, stone, wood, and bone
blades were gradually succeeded by copper,
bronze, iron, and eventually steel. Modern
knives may be made from many different materials
such as alloy tool steels, carbon fiber,
ceramics, and titanium. There is a very active
community of modern custom knife makers and
collectors, whom often pioneer the use of new
materials in knives.
Today, knives come in many forms but can be
generally categorized between two broad types:
fixed blade knives and folding, or pocket,
knives.
A fixed blade knife does not fold or slide, and
is typically stronger due to the tang, the
extension of the blade into the handle, and lack
of movable parts.
A folding knife connects the blade to the
handle through a pivot, allowing the blade to
fold into the handle. To prevent injury to the
knife user through the blade accidentally
closing on the user's hand, folding knives
typically have a locking mechanism.
Modern knives consist of a blade and handle.
The blade edge can be plain or serrated or a
combination of both. The handle, used to grip
and manipulate the blade safely, may include the
tang, a portion of the blade that extends into
the handle. The handle can also include a
bolster, which is a piece of material used to
balance the knife, usually brass or other metal,
at the front of the handle where it meets the
blade. The blade consists of the point, the end
of the knife used for piercing, the edge, the
cutting surface of the knife extending from the
point to the heel, the grind, the cross-section
shape of the blade, the spine, the top, thicker
portion of the blade, the fuller, the groove
added to lighten and stiffen the blade, and the
ricasso, the thick portion of the blade joining
the blade and the handle. The guard is a barrier
between the blade and the handle which protects
the hand from an opponent, or the blade of the
knife itself. A choil, where the blade is
unsharpened and possibly indented as it meets
the handle, may be used to prevent scratches to
the handle when sharpening or as a
forward-finger grip. The end of the handle, or
butt may have a lanyard used to secure the knife
to the wrist.
Knife blades can be manufactured from a
variety of materials, each of which has
advantages and disadvantages. Carbon steel, an
alloy of iron and carbon, can be very sharp,
hold its edge well, and remain easy to sharpen,
but is vulnerable to rust and stains. Stainless
steel is an alloy of iron, chromium, possibly
nickel, and molybdenum, with only a small amount
of carbon. It is not able to take quite as sharp
an edge as carbon steel, but is highly resistant
to corrosion. High carbon stainless steel is
stainless steel with a higher amount of carbon,
intended to combine the best attributes of
carbon steel and stainless steel. High carbon
stainless steel blades do not discolor or stain,
and maintain a sharp edge. Laminate blades use
multiple metals to create a layered sandwich,
combining the attributes of both. For example, a
harder, more brittle steel may be sandwiched
between an outer layer of softer, tougher,
stainless steel to reduce vulnerability to
corrosion. In this case, however, the part most
affected by corrosion, the edge, is still
vulnerable. Pattern-welding is similar to
laminate construction. Layers of different steel
types are welded together, but then the stock is
manipulated to create patterns in the steel.
Titanium is metal that is lighter, more wear
resistant, and more flexible than steel.
Although less hard and unable to take as sharp
an edge, carbides in the titanium alloy allow
them to be heat-treated to a sufficient
hardness. Ceramic blades are incredibly hard,
lightweight blades; so hard that they will
maintain a sharp edge for months or years with
no maintenance at all. They are immune to
corrosion, but can only be sharpened on silicon
carbide sandpaper and some grinding wheels.
Steel blades are commonly shaped by forging
or stock removal. Forged blades are made by
heating a single piece of steel, then shaping
the metal while hot using a hammer or press.
Stock removal blades are shaped by grinding and
removing metal. With both methods, after
shaping, the steel must be heat treated. This
involves heating the steel above its critical
point, then quenching the blade to harden it.
After hardening, the blade is tempered to remove
stresses and make the blade tougher. Forging
tends to be reserved for manufacturers' more
expensive product lines.
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