As is our habit, we are sharing the Knife News column from the July 2025 issue. It isn’t always the most current news, in fact most of the topics get some coverage in the Newsfeed, but it is illustrative of what we feel is important enough to warrant extremely limited space in Print.
Premium Online Members can see the entire July issue in our Member’s Area.
Dr. Larrin Thomas discusses the future of knife steel with Niagara’s Bob Shabala
Throughout this past year, we have been detailing the Crucible Industries bankruptcy and the resulting fallout in the knife industry. Crucible has been broken up, with Penn Yan, New York’s Lauter Metal Technologies LLC purchasing the physical property, while the intellectual property and trademarks have been assumed by European steelmaker Erasteel.
Metallurgist Dr. Larrin Thomas, inventor of MagnaCut steel and proprietor of the Knife Steel Nerds website and YouTube Channel recently sat down to interview Bob Shabala, President and CEO of Niagara Specialty metals, the company which processed the raw steel from Crucible, and sold the resulting product to both makers and knife companies.
According to Shabala, Niagara saw Crucible’s struggles and began to prepare to mitigate any supply disruptions.
“Last January, we started increasing our inventory with Crucible. We started ordering more than we needed to, to kind of boost the inventory. And then, last fall, just in discussions with Crucible, we knew they were for sale…I asked the president of the company in my position, should I start looking for other places to buy steel? And he said, yes…
…We already had relationships with Carpenter Technology. We’ve processed millions of pounds for Carpenter and Erasteel for other industrial customers. So we, we reached out to both mills, explained our situation, and they were happy to help. So they both right away started looking into the ability to make MagnaCut. Because that’s our most popular grade right now. Erasteel already makes a version of CPM 154. So we ordered test heat of those grades from both mills. And they’ve been fantastic…Before we start releasing anything to the public, we want to make sure that it performs like it should. And we really should have everything ready to go here in the next next quarter or so.
Knife makers and consumers will notice some changes however, mostly in the realm of names for steels, rather than composition. Shabala continues…
“Anything we buy exclusively from Erasteel will retain the CPM grade name. We’re not going to enforce (the prefix) CPM. So if people want to buy S30V, I think we’ll just be calling it S30V. And that satisfies everybody. CPM CruWear, because of an existing agreement they have with another company, we’re going to have to rebrand that. You know, that’s still a big moving grade for us. They currently make that same composition. They have been making it for years. So we’re going to buy that, and it would just be rebranded NSMWear, unless somebody can give me a better name”.
Thomas and Shabala also gave mention to something new coming down the pike as well, a second generation of MagnaCut, which they are calling MagnaMax…
“We had a prototype heat or an initial two heats (of MagaMax) made at Crucible, and the feedback’s been great. So, we patented it with you (LT). We also trademarked it. So that gives us the ability to buy from both mills. And they both are getting ready to make it. So by, I think, the fourth quarter this year, we should have heats from both mills ready to go.”
You can watch the whole interview on Larrin’s website, www.KnifeSteelNerds.com or on YouTube. Search for “The Future of Knife Steel with Bob Shabala” and it should be your top result.
Passing of Canadian Knifemaker Jose DeBraga
Well known for his futuristic knife creutions, Jose de Braga died on February 16th as the result of a long-term illness. The Quebec-based maker refused major treatments, stating that he was ready to go ciscwhere.
His beloved wife, Nicole, relates, “He always said he wanted to die with his boots on, and that’s what he did. A few of his knives are still on his workbench, waiting for buyers. All I can say is that we miss him like mad. He was my home, my best friend. He was everything for his family. But more, he enjoyed being part of the knifemaker family.* Jose was profiled in the March, 2019 edition of
KNIFE Magazine.
Knafs brings first in-house release to Blade Show
Ben Petersen continues to make waves since his return to the knife industry. He and his wife Athena started their Knafs brand started with accessories. Ben designed the Banter and its offshoots for WE, before he OEM’ed the first knife under the Knafs label the Lander. In 2023 Knafs released their first USA-made model, the Lulu, made by Michigan’s White River Knives. Now they have taken things a step further, making their first knife “in-house”.
According to Petersen, “The Little Lulu is a knife made for everyday…I designed it on one of my biggest adventures in the Amazon two years ago. I was there with Joe Flowers, field testing the original Lulu and what I found is I kept having to borrow knives from people for drilling and small detail work”.
Crafted with passion in Syracuse, Utah, the Little Lulu’s production is a journey of collaboration. Steel from Niagara, New York, is laser-cut locally, heat-treated in Boise, Idaho, and surface-ground in Springville, Utah. Final milling and grinding occur in the garage of manufacturing engineer Alan Madorin at Mountain Path Design, using a CNC machine dubbed CNC3PO. Keith hand-fits each sheath and sharpens the 1.9” MagnaCut blade at Knafs’ headquarters.
For more information on Knafs, or to purchase a Little Lulu directly, visit Knafs at www.Knafs.com.
CRKT Brings Ken Onion’s Redemption Compact to Blade Show
While import knives make up the majority of Tualatin, Oregon-based CRKT’s catalog, they have made a concerted effort to increase their domestic offerings over the past several years. They have partnered with several American manufacturers to produce their USA models. At this past June’s Blade Show, they released their latest collaboration with Idaho’s Hogue Knives, a smaller version of Ken Onion’s Redemption folder.
Like its older sibling, the Redemption Compact is based on Ken’s “Dead Man’s Hand” custom folder. It is a “gravity knife”, meaning it opens by pulling back on the ambidextrous crossbar lock, unlocking the blade which swings free with gravity or a flip of the wrist. Other areas of overlap include the reversible pocket clip and G10 handles with stainless steel bolster. It keeps the spear point MagnaCut blade, but reduces it to 3.28”. The handles are scaled down from the original’s 5.1inches closed length to a more pocket friendly 4.31”. Weight is reduced from 4.9 to 4.1 ounces.
CRKT offers two finish options for the Redemption Compact. The classic silver/stonewash retails for $225, while the all-black Cerakote is $250. The knife t is available now through the www.CRKT.com website, or from your favorite knife retailer.