Our Man From Japan - Glenn Waters

Japan's Custom Makers Hit The Road

More and more Japanese knifemakers have become dissatisfied with the domestic market and now travel abroad to sell their knives. This ever increasing trend, which has seen major changes evolve in their knife designs (with no end in sight), could cause permanent changes in knives on offer in Japan’s local market as well.

The Japanese economy has been poor for almost 20 years now. The once many affluent Japanese has been reduced significantly and of these people only a handful collect valuable custom made bladeware. You can see where this is going can’t you? Those that do collect top shelf knives tend to favour American and European designs. In the same way that we are drawn to Eastern designs, the Japanese like to collect Western designs. This has created a relatively small art knife collecting society in Japan. However, there are still plenty of people in the country who like collecting modestly-priced so-called tactical knives.
 

...cont. page12

Here is another great way to make your custom knives stand out - hand-craft the handle and the sheath from the same section of hardwood. For your first project start with a small to medium blade length and then work your way up in size and degree of difficulty.

I recommend using a timber like Birds Eye Maple because it is easy to get looks good and is comfortable to work with using standard woodworking tools. Begin by making your blade with a stub (partial) tang or with a stick (through) tang; a butt cap can be fitted extra appeal and added strength. On the first project I would also recommend fitting a very thin guard or bolster so as not to detract from the handle and sheath joint.

Only an hour or so after KA Issue 25 had been delivered by his trusty Aussie postman, Subscriber Errol "Feral' Smith was on the phone. 
It's about that mystery diver's knife, "he confided. "You know, theat Royal Australian Navy knife you wrote about." 
"Ah yes, the customised peice with the NSN number, "I muttered in reply. 
"Well, " he responded. "I customised it!" Now nothing really surprises me when it comes to Errol and knives so I asked for the whyfor's and whatfor's and Errol obliged. 
"It was back a few years ago now. The Randall attack-survival knife has just entered the market and I wanted one really badly, but I couldn't justify the expense," ...and so  the story unfolded.

... cont. page 54

The days are long gone when there was a row of twenty or more beautifully crafted shaving mugs sitting in a row along the shelf over the mirror in the village barber shop. Wayne, our barber now has just three of these kept in a glass case in front of the till, but he talks of the time when he was a young apprentice and the owners of the mugs would appear for one of their twice-weekly shaves ‘against the grain.’ Of course in those days before some modern blood-borne diseases were rife, the barber used a cutthroat razor for shaving his customer's chins, and it is not so long ago that one of these was used for trimming up the edges of the cut around the ears, the neck etc. 

With the shaving mugs in the glass showcase are two other objects that may be of interest to collectors of edged tools, namely a razor strop and a cutthroat razor. Nothing too special about that I hear you mutter, the AKC Australasian Knife Collectors) can set you up with both of these objects by mail order, and a set with directions for those who are beginners at the art of shaving with a real razor. What is interesting about these relics of two barbers from earlier generations here in Yass, is that they are both inscribed with the name of a former owner of a barber shop in the town. .... cont.  page 52

My current knife collection mainly consists of ‘tactical’ folders. Most of them have black grips and 9 to 10-cm aggressive-looking blades for the hard tasks that turn up. From time to time, as the occasions arise, I take them out to use. However, to broaden my collection slightly I decided to purchase a smaller more innocuous-looking folding lock knife as an option to use in the presence of others. There are some ‘politically correct’ people who consider certain knives to be more dangerous-looking than others and ‘tactical-design’ folding knives can attract their attention and unenlightened comments. 

So with a mission in mind I ‘jumped’ on the internet to do a spot of research; soon I came across the Fallkniven TK3 line of folders. By chance my local knife store carries a wide selection of Fallkniven knives and I soon found myself there trying to decide which TK3 model to take home. The choice wasn’t easy as I had four different handle materials to choose from. They were all exotic timbers such as cocobolo, tiger wood, red quince and black quince. Other materials such as jigged bone and mother of pearl were available by special order. After much deliberation I decided on the nice warm tones of the tiger wood.... cont. page 26

It was about ten years ago when I discovered a well-thumbed copy of the counter-cultural classic American book Modern Primitives at a trashy Adelaide bookshop that doesn't even exist anymore. I just had to buy it, it looked unlike any book I had ever seen and the title alone seemed to sum up my perspective on life. I see my own persona as a sort of ‘modern primitive’; I’m an earthy person and also a bit of a technophobe. I don't understand the hordes of masses that seem to be permanently attached to their ipods, and as for bluetooth and blackberries...I don't even know what they are so don't even ask me! I think most of us knifemakers find the virus of modernity very unappealing and are more interested in the simpler times of long ago.
The book Modern Primitives is about some modern-day connoisseurs of ancient body modifications such as tattooing, piercing and scarification. Body markings have been used by many tribes to ward off evil and for spiritual purposes for centuries and I have always been a fan of adorning oneself. It is an essential human trait, especially amongst us more creative types - from Myron's [Victorian knifemaker Myron Husiak – Ed] signature hat to my nose piercing and hennaed hair. However, I am focusing this article on the technique of scarification. Scarification is produced by cutting the skin to form a design by making visible scar tissue. ... cont. page 36

Yes folks, I admit it, I have to say that I am an Australian collector of edged weapons who doesn’t collect Japanese swords or Indonesian Keris’s or Nepalese Ghurka Kukris or any other old, cold Asian weaponry used north of our shores that have become popular amongst collectors of bladeware in this country. Although, I must own up to having done so in the past.
 There must be something wrong with me. Instead, I prefer to collect old European edged artefacts - specifically swords – that my warring ancestors would have carried and used, rather than a sword carried by a Japanese Samurai, for example, in a country (I lived there for a year) bearing no original lineage to Australians. Before continuing I should clarify something here, when I say ‘European’ that also embraces Britain – it just makes more sense that way. 
Okay, I’m not saying that I haven’t been through phases during my many years as a collector. I believe we all do. But one thing that has really got me thinking recently is why so many Australian sword collectors go for Asian styles, mainly Japanese swords. The majority of Australian collectors would have descended from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, so why collect swords and study martial arts (includes swordsmanship) from a culture entirely alien to them and their historic background? It hardly seems possible that they could really feel any innate connection to such an unrelated blade culture.… continued page 16

In 1999 the people of East Timor voted overwhelmingly for independence.  Unfortunately not everyone in East Timor wanted the Indonesians to leave and these people made their objections quite clear by committing atrocities across the whole island.

The first rotation of Australian troops went in to keep the peace in September.  Not long after this, the call went out for volunteers to build up 6RAR’s numbers to a full battalion and for the first time in the Australian Army’s history, volunteers from the Army Reserve would serve overseas with a regular battalion.

We were given two weeks to make our decision to go or not, but with ten years’ experience the chance to apply my training was too good to refuse.  Within a week we were in Brisbane training for deployment and by April of 2000 we stepped off the gangplank into Dili.… continued page 42

In the mining industry, places come and go. We expect that I guess. Some of the areas that have yielded great mineral booms for Australia are in very remote locations, and about 100 kilometres north and a little west of Cloncurry in Queensland is remote by any standard. At one time, a railway joined 'The Curry" with Kajabbi to its north and there was great mineral exploration and much enterprise, but the smelter chimneys that once belched smoke, have been dismantled and the shafts and stopes are collapsing and dangerous. The railway has been taken up and only the mounded formation on which the rails once stood as well as a few bridge piles remain. Yet years ago there was a promising copper mine nearby, but now, too late to save the railway, the attraction is zinc. 

Searching amongst the debris of a derelict blacksmith's forge at an abandoned copper fossicker's camp I caught a flash of bright steel. Clearing away the sections of horse shoe, portions of drill rod and sundry other pieces of steel I uncovered a well-used blade with tang attached. Etched on the blade was the evidence that I had uncovered a Sheffield-made table knife. Knowing the interest in the Sheffield knife makers shown by the founder of the Australasian Knife Collectors (AKC), I asked the owner of the abandoned copper show whether he would mind if I collected the stainless steel blade and sent it to the AKC's collection. He was happy for me to do that.… continued page 13

More than a couple of decades ago at a Sydney custom knife show run by the Knifemakers Association of Australia, Branko Giljevic baled me up trying to bully me into starting a knife magazine. At the time I fobbed him off with legitimate reasons why it wasn’t going to happen. But Branko, in his inimitable up-front and brusque way, persisted and got me thinking about the proposition; so much so that I undertook feasibility studies over the following two years. 

Back then the custom knife industry in this country was vibrant – it was show time! Custom knife shows were being held in Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney; knifemakers were flat out making knives to put on their show tables and collectors were spoilt rotten with knives galore showcased over four states. There was a great sense of (friendly) rivalry amongst knifemakers striving to outdo each other – creativity ran rampant! The knife collectors loved it.
… continued page 48

Wundowie, the birthplace of the iron and steel industry in Western Australia, celebrated the 60th anniversary of the town’s foundation in May this year by staging the inaugural Wundowie Iron Festival. The historic first pour of pig iron took place at the Wundowie Charcoal & Iron plant on January 22 1948.  WCI, the company’s trade mark, moulded into every ingot produced, was the recognised symbol for high quality pig iron that was acknowledged globally by steel manufacturers for more than three decades until 1981, when production at the plant ceased. 

Some knives, as collectors can attest to, ‘grab you’ more than you grab them. You see them for sale, you compulsively buy them and you like looking at them. Occasionally you pick them up and feel them, even use them, but mostly you just like to look...you feel comfortable knowing they’re somewhere around you. Who knows what makes collectors tick? It’s some unfathomable thing that’s buried deep in our psyche, so don’t question it - simply live with the wonder of it all!

When the new Extrema Ratio model arrived in the mail it sparked a flashback and I went to the back room to search through a collection of ‘oldies-but-goodies’ I’ve got stashed away that I can’t bring myself to sell off. Yep, there it was, unused and still in its original packaging – the USA-made Gerber Bolt-Action Parabellum. Listed as the model 07028 in the 1991 Gerber Legendary Knives catalogue under bolt-action folding knives (it was launched 1989-90), the outstanding characteristic of the concept was its ability to serve either as a folding or a fixed-blade.

When other importers were looking to Asia for economically priced bladeware to market in Australia during the 1980’s and 1990’s, I looked further west and discovered an excellent manufacturer in Pakistan to supply affordable knives for distribution nationwide via Matrose Agencies Pty Ltd, in those days better known as Spencer Imports. They are called SICUT, an acronym for ‘Spencer Imports Cutlery’. The name was invented by my eldest son Darren, who was at the time a director of Matrose Agencies Pty Ltd. Darren owns Aussie Outback Supplies Pty Ltd (AOS), a business he started about 14 years ago. Since the Spencer Imports trade name was taken over by my other son Greg in 1998, I’ve altered the interpretation of the acronym slightly to read ‘Spencer Innovative Cutlery’.

Long before Columbia Pictures stirred up spiritual speculation among moviegoers with THE DA VINCI CODE starring Tom Hanks & Co, enlightened students of mysticism had been well aware of that allegorical ‘book in stone’ called Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, just south of Edinburgh. 
During previous journeys to the United Kingdom I’d never managed to fit in a visit to the Chapel and Castle at Rosslyn, so I determined to remedy this on our recent trip as part of researching the English-Scottish border history. Constructed in the 15th century, this uniquely sculpted all-stone chapel is smothered inside and out with hundreds of intricately carved figures of historic or esoteric significance; as Freemasons say, ‘illustrated by symbols and veiled in allegory.’ 

As a kid I read a lot of comics. All of us kids read a lot of comics and swapped them too, or traded them for marbles – they were the main currency of ‘kidland’ in the 1950’s after World War Two (1939-45). Because my parents were born in England (dad emigrated in 1923 and my mum in 1933) I used to receive English comics in the mail. These I never traded, but hung on to, for they were treasure; in fact, I still have a few stored in an old trunk. The centrefolds always had exploded diagrams of machines, such things as ships, cars, trains and planes.

It’s the world’s worst kept secret that byrd brand knives are a product of the house of Spyderco at Golden, Colorado, in the USA. In fact, it was never supposed to be a secret; Spyderco Company is proud to promote their very affordable byrd range, which they refer to as ‘a new species of knives by Spyderco’. Launched onto the market a couple of years ago in a separate catalogue with an independent advertising campaign, the byrd ‘species forms part of the Spyderco 2007 product catalogue. 
Spyderco, whose annual catalogues are always exciting experiences, likes to align its edgeware with nature. Who in the knife industry could forget the outstanding cover of the 1996 catalogue that was artistically presented with animals, birds and fish, all in eye-catching colour under the heading, ‘Spyderco. Think About It... All God’s Critters Have Knives.’

To fully understand the SOG TECH Bowie concept, it is necessary to go back a couple of paces...err...to twenty years ago, in fact, to when ‘SOG Extraordinary Tools & Blades’ was known simply as ‘SOG Specialty Knives’. History is a funny thing, with every decade that passes the amount previously written about something gets less and less. 
To illustrate the point, I have a wonderful set of encyclopedias that was published in 1899. Whenever I want more in-depth information on something old I go to the 1899 encyclopedias. Why? Because modern encyclopedias, say published in 1999, have 100 years of new information to include. Data on old things, of necessity, gets reduced and sometimes gets eradicated altogether, whereas the 1899 encyclopedias better cover the preceding 100 years back to 1799.

Grohmann Knives originated in 1949 at Pictou in Nova Scotia, one of the four Atlantic Provinces of Canada, which is almost an island that juts out from the eastern edge of the country. The Maritime Province embraces Cape Breton Island and if it wasn’t for a 20-km wide neck of land connecting it to mainland Canada, Nova Scotia itself would be an island. 
Cape Breton Island, first settled by a party of Scots in 1629, has the third largest city in the Province – Sydney - as well as a major town called North Sydney. Coincidentally, a few kilometers away, the County Shiretown of Pictou was settled by Philadelphians (America) and Scots in 1788, the same year that the First Fleet arrived in Sydney to establish an Australian colony. On the other side of the world Pictou was settled by private enterprise. Not one cent from government or military sources went into the early development of the town.