W.R. Case you probably already know — they are an American maker of high-quality knives with a hundred-and-twenty year reputation on the line.

But this knife you may not have seen before.

It’s a peanut knife featuring a just-under-three inch blade that made of Tru-Sharp Surgical Steel. Case tests this knife ‘XX’ which is a long-standing tradition of double-testing each knife blade for quality.

The handle is made of Corelon, a tough-as-nails plastic derivative that provides a firm grip as well as durability. The look of the handle is Brazilian Rainforest, an attractive shimmering style. If you’re going to have plastic that looks like wood, might as well make it Brazilian Rainforest wood, right?

The bolsters are nickel silver and match the Case inlay shield.

More info on this Case Peanut Knife:

• Click here to find Case Peanut Knives on eBay

Moore Maker has been making knives for over twenty years in Matador, Texas. Started by Wayland and Glynard Moore, they’ve prided themselves on their strong reputation for making high-quality knives and for having a strong local presence in the community.

Moore Maker knives are manufactured by third-parties. The most notable of these was Camillus knives, but they went out of business in 2007. Because of this, the Camillus knives are now unavailable from Moore Maker. They are, however, still available on eBay in both new and used condition.

Other Moore Maker knives, not manufactured by Camillus, are available on Moore Maker’s website.

The knife featured at right is one of the knives that is now out of production. It is a four-inch Stockman pocket knife, featuring three blades, including a leather punch, as well as polished blades and a Delrin handle.

More info on this pocket Knife:

• Click here to find Moore Maker knives on eBay

When the US Marines went looking for a standard issue Bushcraft Knife, they anonymously tested out a wide array of knives and then eventually settled on the Bark River Gameskeeper as an ideal starting point. They then approached Bark River with some requested customization work, and the result is the Bravo 1.

First released less than a year ago, this is still a new kid on the block. But ask the experts at KnifeForums.com for an all-purpose wilderness knife and they will strongly recommend this one. How do I know this? Because I asked, and they did! As a result, this is to be the next addition to my personal collection.

The blade is 4.25 inches long, 0.215 inches thick, and is made of A2 steel with a hardness of 59 RC.

The overall knife weight is 7.375 ounces and measures 9.065 inches long.

Check out the forty different styles of blade material offered. — some are truly stunning.

More info on this Bark River Bravo 1

• Click Here to find this knife on eBay
• Find Bark River’s other knives at eBladeStore

Fallkniven has been making knives for a relatively short time — only twenty years or so. How far they’ve come in such a short period of time. They are now known as one of the foremost makers of specialty knives and, as their marketing literature states, supply knives to the King of Sweden himself.

The knife featured here is their U2 model. It strikes an excellent blend of utility and compactness. It’s not easy to find really high-quality knives with shorter blade lengths — this knife certainly satisfies that need.

The blade is made of SGPS laminate powder steel, which allows it retain its edge better than nearly any other type of blade steel available. That blade is hardened to a Rockwell Hardness of 64, extremely high for this type of knife.

This is an ideal go-anywhere knife. The blade length is a relatively compact two and half inches, and the entire knife measures less than four inches overall. It weighs just one and a half ounces.

The lockback mechanism is standard and keeps the blade in the open position securely. The handle is an attractive black Zytel.

We’ve linked to eBladeStore below. They’ve got a top-notch reputation and a very generous return policy.

More Info on this Fallkniven Folding Knife:

• Click here to find this knife at eBladeStore
• See all Fallkniven knives at eBladeStore

Hot off the presses in 2007, this is an entire, 252-page book written on Randall Made Knives.

Sheldon and Edna Wickersham, owners of Blue Star Knives, have done exhaustive research to produce this comprehensive reference guide for Randall collectors.

It includes a guide for estimating the age of any given knife as well as guidelines on purchasing knives. It also includes 270 detailed photographs — you should definitely check out some of the sample images on Amazon before purchasing.

This is the first edition and first printing of an issue that may become a collector’s item its own right. If you purchase this item from Blue Star Knives (via Amazon.com), you will have the option to have the book signed by the authors.

More Info on this Randall Knife reference book:

• Click here to find this book at Amazon.com

Let’s take a detour from talking about specific products to do a brief 2007 year-in-review. I’m going to focus on the blogosphere only, since I’m mostly interested in opinion pieces. And I’ll cover knife forum discussions in a separate post. Without further ado, then, let’s take a look at some interesting knife-related blog posts of 2007.

It’s a great pleasure to see a new knife-related blog come online, and the Knife Haggler was no exception. Especially his series on choosing a survival knife which was well thought-out and comprehensive.

Another new blog took a different approach. The Dark Blade focused on fantastical weaponry. Some really cool stuff to check out there, including a few posts on making your own Wolverine claws!

2007 brought us the dissolution and subsequent asset auction of Camillus Cutlery in September. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out in 2008. I’m concerned that, though the brand may live on, it will be in name only.

October brought us a pretty substantial safety recall from Gerber.

At the 2007 Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia, Kiku Knife and SOG Knives won Best Collaboration Knife of the Year.

And, on the product review front, it seems like the theme is to now include videos. I’m all for that, as it gives you a chance to see exactly what the reviewer is talking about. We saw a good video review of The Kershaw Blue Ti Bump Knife, as well as a good post on Syperco Locking mechanisms.

For more than one hundred years, Marble’s has been producing high-quality axes, knives, and survival gear from their operation in Gladstone, Michigan.

Their Ideal Hunting Knife was produced for many years before being discontinued in the 1950’s. It’s now back and is pictured at right.

The 4.5 inch blade is made of a high-carbon steel and features a 2.5″ groove that Marble’s calls a “blood groove”. The handle is made of an attractive, striped, stacked leather for a firm outdoor grip. Hardware includes a set of brass spacers, a brass finger guard, and an aluminum pommel. Also includes an oiled leather belt sheath for added safety. Entire knife measures 8.75 inches overall.

We’ve linked to eBladeStore below because of their excellent reputation and liberal return policy.

More info on this Marble’s Hunting Knife:

• Click here to find this fixed-blade knife at eBladeStore

In addition to reselling other manufacturer’s knives, Frost Cutlery also provides their own line of knives, swords, and blades. Frost has been in business for over thirty-years and now offers quite a diverse set of products.

Pictured at right is a Frost Cutlery five-piece knife set. Handles are Cocobolo — an attractive, Central American hardwood known for its distinctive coloring. The knives included are a 7.75″ Virginia City Combo, a 4.5″ Apache Ranger, a 4.5″ Apache Raider, a 4.5″ Apache Longbow, and a 4.5″ Apache Warrior.

Also, they come with a lifetime guarantee against manufacturer defects.

Bundling five knives together means they can offer them at a pretty significant discount. These knives typically sell for nine to ten dollars each. This set offers five knives for the price of three.

More Info on these Frost Cutlery Knives:

• Click here to find Frost Cutlery Knife Sets on eBay

Ka-Bar knife company, originally known as Union Cutlery Company, has been making a variant of this knife for over one hundred years.

Originally designed to be a hunting knife, it became popular with US Marines during WWII. It quickly became the edged weapon of choice or the Marines, and is still issued today to new recruits.

This model celebrates the Ka-Bar’s one hundredth anniversary and was first produced in 1998. The blade is seven inches of powder-coated, high-carbon 1095 steel. It is black, save for the commemorative imprint and logo.

The handle is several layers of genuine stacked leather for a sure grip. The entire knife measures 11.875 inches, and comes with a leather sheath.

More info on this Ka-Bar USMC Knife:

• Click here to find this knife on the US Cavalry site
• Find this knife on Amazon.com

Navigating the world of knife-making materials can be daunting. The scale, or handle material, is in some ways the easiest choice. Once you’ve decided on a type of knife, a blade material and manufacturing process, the handle can almost seem like an afterthought.

But materials range widely — common ones include almost any kind of hardwood (walnut, cherry, teak, etc.) as well as several synthetic materials (rubber, micarta — an extremely hard plastic common on many pre-fabricated knives). I’ve even seen knife scales made of mother-of-pearl or ivory. Each has its merits and cons so do your research.

I’ll link below to micarta scales on eBay — for a practical, durable handle with a non-slip grip, you can’t go wrong with a handle made of this material, especially if it’s grooved or textured.

More Info on Knife Scales:

• Click here to view micarta knife scales on eBay
• View all knife scales on eBay