Finding the perfect Father’s Day gift is pretty freakin’ hard. What do you get the dude who has absolutely everything? Just stopping to pick up some last-minute, slightly wilted gas station flowers might cut it for Mom, but we promise Dad isn’t ...
Knives
New Knives From the 2023 SHOT Show
SHOT Show isn't just about guns and ammo, it's also one of the biggest venues for new knives and knife companies every year. Almost every major knifemaker shows up as do a whole lot of small bladesmith shops that always have something exciting and ...
TOPS Knives Has Something New for Everyone in 2023
I love TOPS. Nobody does ridiculously large but still functional blades better, and they also have a bevy of practical-sized knives that are built like absolute tanks. What's more, they’re all made right in Idaho. Here's what they have in store for ...
The Rise and Fall of Hollow-Handled Survival Knives
In 1982, Sylvester Stallone starred in a movie that defined much of his career and introduced a character that would always be associated with a popular and unique style of knife. First Blood is the story of a Vietnam veteran and Green Beret John J. ...
Don’t Screw Up Father’s Day: Get Dad Cool Stuff He’ll Actually Use
Shopping for Father’s Day is hard. It’s tempting to just get dad a gimmicky barbecue tool that will be used once before getting hung in the garage for the next decade. Or maybe a new pair of Crocs. But, this year, you don’t have to be that lame. ...
Tom Brown Tracker: The Knife From ‘The Hunted’
Every so often, a movie will make a gun or a knife astonishingly and surprisingly famous. Dirty Harry did it for the Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum revolver, First Blood did it for sawback knives with hollow handles, Crocodile Dundee caused a ...
$2.5K Knives and Cougar Sausages: Meet Master Bladesmith Josh Smith
Josh Smith held a long blade in his hand. Maybe 18 inches long, it was still black and ragged from the forge, but he had a point he wanted to make. He held it up, so that the group of close to 20 in his shop could get a good look. All were ...
New Pennsylvania Bill Would Decriminalize Automatic Knives
A piece of legislation was recently introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives that would significantly loosen regulations on automatic knives in the state. Rep. Martin Causer introduced HB 1929, which would make the manufacture, ...
Cold Sharp Steel – A Guide To Putting A Razor Edge On Your Knife
The cliché exists because it is true. A dull knife is a dangerous knife. When our trusty blade doesn’t have the edge, it once did, we tend to force the cut a bit more. Or we simply reduce ourselves to sawing whatever it is we are trying to ...
Borka Blades: Grinding Away at the American Dream
Let’s discuss the typical American day. It normally starts out by hitting your local Starbucks and buying that $5 cup of coffee. Drink it all down, and then it’s time to hit 24-Hour Fitness before heading into that cushy office job. At ...
Cold Steel Hudson Bay Camp Axe Updates Centuries-Old Design
The axe continues its unlikely comeback as a staple of modern life. From axe throwing to hipster backyards, the axe suddenly finds itself cool again. But hey, we know it never lost its appeal. ‘Cause sometimes, you just gotta swing a good axe to get ...
10 Knives That Would Make Crocodile Dundee Proud
“That’s not a knife …” In 1986, Paul Hogan (no kin to Hulk Hogan) uttered quite possibly the most famous quote in the entire knife industry. Indeed, Crocodile Dundee was a man’s man (who was manlier than most men). From the Australian ...
Knife Steel: How To Choose the Best Blade for You
Choosing a knife steel is one of those things that if you go down that rabbit hole and get super into it, you're certain to form bizarrely strong opinions and develop weird loyalty for certain alloys. A lot of people fumble around with different ...
Straight Razor 101: Everything You Need to Know About Vintage Razors
Alfred Einstein once said he often got his best ideas while shaving. Whether a Nobel Prize winner or just a regular Joe, using an old-fashioned straight razor offers some extra time to ponder the world or even an excellent idea of your own. Men ...
10 Outdoor Survival Skills That Everyone Should Master
The finest outdoor equipment in the world is of no value if you don’t know how to use it properly. Knowledge of key outdoor survival skills and when to pull them out of the bag trumps the best gear every time. Here are 10 indispensable outdoor ...
Understanding Knives: Blade Shapes
Cutting implements were among the first tools human beings ever created. Throughout history, we’ve created an impressive number of blade shapes fashioned from bone, stone, and steel. A whole lot of blade shapes have been created over the past few ...
Forging Forward: Lucas O’Hara Finds Success in Blacksmithing
Veterans transitioning to civilian life possess many marketable skills, but Lucas O’Hara credits blacksmithing for forging his path to success. On a recent episode of Free Range American with Evan Hafer and Trevor Thompson, the Grizzly Forge ...
Off Script: Free Range Q&A With Dalton Villines, Axe Thrower
Dalton Villines could easily be a fan favorite on The Walking Dead. As a matter of fact, the folks at AMC might want to take note ASAP. He'd be as deadly with axes as Daryl is with his crossbow. The Kingston, Arkansas, native and Marine ...
GEAR TEST: The Ultimate Replaceable Blade Knife Test
Sharpening and honing a knife blade is a necessary outdoor skill, but it’s hard to beat the convenience, weight, and surgical precision of modern scalpel-like replaceable-blade knives. Many of the most knowledgeable hunters and outdoorsmen have found ...
From Battle to Field: 5 Popular Military Knives That Are Also Great Hunting Knives
Every human has the knife-appreciation gene in their blood. We’ve inherited the recessive trait from our earliest and most inventive hunter-gatherer brethren. While the trait is not expressed in everyone, for those who served in the military or spend ...
Process a Moose Solo: Here are the Tools You’ll Need
Trevor Thompson told the Free Range American podcast recently about the time he was able to process a moose by himself on a hunt in British Columbia. He ended up filling his tag with a great bull early in the week, so he had the time and ...
Survival Knife: Understanding Blades
There is no such thing as a survival knife. Knives have been called that and have been marketed that way — as some kind of magical tool that will save your ass in some unlikely situation. But that idea is inherently flawed. Sure, some ...
Bushcraft Knives vs. Survival Knives
The terms “bushcraft knife” and “survival knife” probably go back to the 1980s. The first comes from a seminal book by the Canadian survival expert Mors Kochanski. Bushcraft was published in 1987 and is an instruction manual on how to live in the ...
Review: The Tyto 1.1 is a Knife Every Outdoorsman Should Own
Hunters across the United States head into the wilderness each autumn in search of various game. Aside from their weapon, the most important item that every should hunter carry is a good knife, which allows them to properly care for the meat after ...
Sandrin TCK 416 Makes a Sharp and Slim EDC Addition
Even before the millions of everyday carry (EDC) pocket dump photos started popping up on social media, knives have been a common everyday tool. Young boys receive their first knife as a rite of passage, and more women are becoming acclimated to ...
The Quick Ascent of a World Champion Knife Thrower
The forest of mostly dead trees sits near the highway in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Syringes and broken bottles litter the landscape. On occasion, you might catch a vagrant cooking some food or a junkie getting his fix. You might also see master ...