CUSTOM KNIVES, COMMENTS, BY A.T. BARR

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To create an effective advocacy and education nonprofit organization to generate positive goodwill and further the knife community's interests in keeping its marketplaces open for business by:

1. Speaking with a unified voice to and for the knife making and knife using community.

2. Educating the general public to create goodwill, expand the marketplace, and correct the common misperception that owning and/or carrying a good knife is something of interest to relatively few people, such as "sportsmen" or, in the worst case, people looking for trouble;

3. Working with people in law enforcement and other fields concerned with public safety to find common ground and avoid misunderstandings on matters of mutual concern;

4. Promoting legislation favorable to the common interests of the knife community, including manufacturers, makers, distributors, merchants, collectors, and the general public who use knives in work, recreation, and daily life, and proactively anticipating and defeating/modifying proposed anti-knife legislation (preferably before such legislation ever gets to a full committee for vote);

5. Promoting and fostering cooperation and education between the member companies, organizations, and individuals and their legislative representatives.;

The knife, along with tools derived from knives, from swords to scissors, is the core technology of our species. It was the key invention that allowed humans to alter nature, with all the possibilities and responsibilities that implies. Some people, from those concerned with protecting their right to bear arms to those who are eager to ban weapons, see knives primarily as weapons. This has resulted in problems for knife makers and knife users, in dealings with the general public and in dealings with the authorities. As we have seen with guns, some people in government are increasingly attempting to criminalize the possession or carrying of knives and outlaw these products from the marketplace.

In short, our mission is to dispel myths and increase knowledge about humanity's oldest tool, and, when problems arise, work together to find solutions.

The California Legislature proposed a "Dirk & Dagger" definition last year which was overly broad and ambiguous; the bill criminalized any sharp, concealed object.

Another California law would have considered one-handed opening knives as an illegal switchblade.

Certain district attorneys' offices have been very aggressive in demanding monies from mail order cutlery companies selling in California.

We cannot afford to be complacent and allow legislatures to outlaw products which we make, sell, collect and use in the ordinary course of daily life.

We have to proactively monitor legislative efforts and take aggressive, prompt and effective action to thwart further efforts to legislate humanity's oldest tool out of existence.

Buck, Benchmade and a handful of other cutlery companies successfully amended California's law to ensure one-handed opening knives would not be considered illegal switchblades.

We wish to form a nonprofit corporation with goal of protecting our marketplace by influencing unfavorable legislation in a dynamic, proactive manner by coupling early warning monitoring activities with effective lobbying strategies.

May 1997: Mr. CJ Buck, Buck Knives Inc., and Mr. Les de Asis, Benchmade Knife Co., Inc. set a meeting up with other cutlery manufacturers at the 1997 Annual meeting of the American Cutlery Manufacturers Association. Les de Asis, reported that those present determined that an association of this type would be instrumental in preserving the continuity of the industry. Mr. Jim Economos of Imperial Schrade suggested that a meeting be held in late summer or fall to work out additional formation details for this organization. We all concluded that the 1998 SHOT show would be a great event to kick off the actual formation of this organization.

Mr. Les de Asis then contacted Mr. David Kowalski, Blade Magazine, to request his help in organizing a meeting to be held at the 1997 Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Kowalski was gracious enough to organize a meeting room where a number of interested parties attended. Following are minutes of the meeting: held on Friday, May 19, 1997:

Several knife industry manufacturers, distributors, knife club representatives, knife collectors and magazine representatives met at the 1997 BLADE Show to explore the formation of a proactive association to promote and protect the entire knife industry in the United States.

In general, the group focused on the growing body of anti-knife legislation developing across the country. Attendees also examined further constraints on knife ownership as evidenced by security procedures at airports regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Mike Crenshaw, Andersen Crenshaw Cutlery, reported on various FAA regulations that are changing the way knives are treated by airport security personnel.

"In the past," he said, "FAA security officers wouldn't let you carry anything with a blade more than 3 inches long through airport security. Now they've been given new guidelines that caution them not to let anything that looks 'menacing' go through the checkpoints." Crenshaw indicated these security people are local contract employees working for contractors licensed by FAA. "They're basically untrained, minimum-wage employees who have the power to declare such things as serrations on a blade 'menacing' and not allow the knife on board." Crenshaw also indicated FAA would be amenable to us providing instructional materials for local airport personnel, thereby making local interpretations of regulatory mandates less of a threat.

Sal Glesser, president of Spyderco, expressed support for TV ad campaigns directed at knife education. At the same time he acknowledged the need for a multi-pronged approach to the PR needs of the knife industry.

Les deAsis, president of Benchmade, indicated that key knife industry manufacturers and their representatives had an informal meeting on the prospect of creating this association when some of them met earlier in May at the American Cutlery Manufacturers Association annual meeting in Florida. Also present at the meeting was David Barrack, executive director of ACMA. Les also indicated that Gun Owner Of America had been gracious enough to provide a copy of its constitution and by-laws as a possible model for the knife group.

David Kowalski, publisher of BLADE Magazine and director of the BLADE Show, stressed the need to think carefully about a name for the group that would both indicate the breadth of its representation in the industry and the sophistication and stature of its message to the non-knife community.

The consensus of the group was that there was sufficient reason for pursuing the formation of the association and sufficient attendance to proceed with a planned second and perhaps third meeting before the S.H.O.T. Show in January 1998. At that show, the first annual meeting would be declared, officers elected and other key strategic issues would be resolved.

The meeting concluded with a request for volunteers for the steering committee. Steering committee members were (and are) invited from every segment of the knife industry.

If you are interested in becoming a steering committee member, contact Les deAsis or David Kowalski at the phone numbers listed above. Better yet, plan to be at the second meeting to be held in conjunction with the 1997 Knifemakers Guild Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Let's move forward to build the knife industry, promote the need for our products, respond to proposed adverse legislation and other potential threats to our existence as an industry. As the anti-gun proponents in this country get stymied or have successes, they will either turn to the knife industry for further conquests or to vent their frustration.