Sneak Peek: KNIFE Magazine April 2026 Issue

H. Clay Aalders
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I think I am getting this in under the gun. The issues are in the office, but I haven’t received mine in the mail yet. If you are a subscriber, and yours has arrived, just pretend it says “Preview” instead of “Sneak Peek”.

 

I liked reading about Ted Dowell, a maker with whom I was not familiar.  The April issue is also noteworthy because it contains the yearly SHOT Show Review, where we go through most of the major companies and detail their new offerings for the year.  Matthew Parkinson’s Turning the World to Dust and David Anthony’s treatise on Dynamite Knives round out the feature articles.

 

The monthly columns you have come to expect are back as usual, minus Knife News, as it is redundant with the SHOT Show review. And Artistry in Knives is all Ted Dowell knives, his “Knifemakers of San Francisco” collection.

Really Cool.  Not the first time we have dedicated Artistry to a particular theme.

For those of you who are Premium Online Members, the issue will be in our member area shortly.

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H. Clay Aalders

H. Clay Aalders is a lifelong edged tool user. He spent the past 20 years as a woodworker and fishing guide in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Idaho, and Tennessee. While guiding in Idaho, Clay worked part-time writing for a local newspaper, and upon moving to Tennessee began writing for the blog The Truth About Knives - spending his last 5 years there as Managing Editor. His background is in fixed-blade hunting and bushcraft knives, but has jumped into the world of vintage slipjoint collecting with both feet since coming to work at Knife Magazine. Clay’s primary role is as Digital Editor, curating and creating new content for our website and blog, as well as maintaining the Knife Magazine social media accounts (FB/IG: @theknifemag, Twitter: @knifemagazine). He is also a contributor and Associate Editor of the print magazine.

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8 Responses

  1. April “Events” . . . On Saturday, We (Steve Nuckels; Sid Barnhart with “Hocky” driving**) are heading south on I-81 to Harrisonburg, Virginia (Rockingham County Fairgrounds) for the 35th Annual “Shenandoah Valley Knife Club” show. This is always an excellent show!! Two hundred tables of EDC’s: Vintage slip-joints, custom folders and forged blades; knifemaker’s supplies . . . **This is the first trip to a show in my 2026 “Maverick”. It is an e-hybrid with a 2.0L 4-cylinder getting around 40MPG on average city/hwy. About 100 miles from Hagerstown to Harrisonburg. I miss my F150 that was “totalled” in December-2025 (Teenager ran a red light); however, the “Mav” with AWD and a towing package has gained my appreciation. Still figuring out some of the “AI” stuff . . . Owner’s manual is an app on the on-board computer (Hard copy manual is the size of a memo pad!). “Siri” is a pain-in-the-ass . . . My peddler bag rides in the back seat.

    Reply

      1. Hi Del, the show was a success for me. I bought three “Canal Street Cutlery” (CSC) slip-joints (MIB); and, three “BEAR & SON” slip-joints (MIB). I landed a small “L. T. Wright” for the peddler bag. I sold a few knives, too. I am keeping the “CSC” knives. Steve bought some handle materials from Tim Kipps. Sid bought some too; and, he bought a “Space Force” by Ka-bar for his daughter who recently enlisted in the U.S. Army. The bright blue handle on this USN Mk-2 avatar gives it a peaceful appearance . . . watchout aliens! There were quite a few empty tables which may have been due to the Easter weekend. The “Shenandoah Valley Knife Club” has traditionally held their annual show on the first weekend in April. We stayed until about 1500 hours. Headed back to Maryland. The “Mav” got 35 MPG!!

        Reply

        1. 35 MPG is pretty darn good Hocky, someone has mastered that pedal on the right pretty well.

          Miss chatting on the WOT, appreciate the update from the show, you need your own column! 🙂

          Reply

          1. “Cruise Control” on I-81! I have had an adventure regarding those “CSC” knives. My friend, Eric Albers (“Albers Cutlery Co.”), who was a master cutler with “Schrade” until its bankruptcy in 2004; and, then helped form “Canal Street Cutlery” circa 2005, helped me “identify” the knives. Every “CSC” knife comes with a “little slip of white paper (COA)” containing the “specs”, for example: S/N; Blade Steel; Handle Material; Year of Manufacture. All three of my knives had this “COA”; BUT, the knives did not match the “COA” . . for example, the “Blue Bone Muskrat” (beautiful knife!) “COA” showed the scales as “Dk. Amber Bone” and named it as a “1st Anniversary”. Eric told me that twenty-five (25) of these “Blue Bone” were made for “Sooner State Knives” circa 2007. Hmmm-mmm-mm . . .
            The “3 1/2 in. Whittler” “COA” stated scales of “Cornucopia Mica Pearl” (. . . that’s a fancy name!). Eric told me that the scales are “Giraffe Bone” and that this knife was part of a “5-knife set” and only twenty five sets were made. Hmmm-mmm-mm . . . Okay, I e-mailed this info to the vendor who sold me the knives thinking that he had put the wrong “COA” in the box. I figured he would appreciate that and send me the correct ones. He replied, “I do not have those COAs. It is what it is.” Well, that was unexpected. In my defense, I was excited about finding these three “CSC” knives and should have caught the “Blue Bone” vs. “Dk. Amber Bone”. That being said, Eric told me that the “Giraffe Bone Whittler” and the “Blue Bone Muskrat” are valued at $100 MORE than what I paid for each of them as shown on the “COA”. The third knife, a “Pinch Back” model, was in agreement with the “COA”.
            As for the vendor, he said he will be at Bruce Voyle’s show in Knoxville in late May. I am planning to attend.

  2. Hi Del,
    Thank you for your kind words about the article, and yes I do remember you from that call with Betty that I set up!

    This coverage is a dream come true for me, and specifically for all the work I’ve done, and continue to do on behalf of the “TMD Legacy Initiative”, which still has some exciting things to come.

    Reply

    1. Hey Jeff!
      So great to see this article featured in the April issue, that call with your mom Betty was the best interview I have had yet, she totally amazed me with her recall of some incredible details, hopefully you have a book coming out soon! 🙂

      Your dad would be so proud of what you are doing, I fondly remember seeing all his beautiful Michael Price and San Francisco style knives regularly featured.

      Counting down the days until my printed issue arrives, keep in touch my friend!

      Best Regards,
      Del

      Reply

  3. TMD KNIVES!!!!
    Awesome sneak peek Clay, doesn’t get any better that a story by Jeff Dowell writing about his iconic father. Not sure if many readers know much about Jeff’s iconic mom Betty?
    Won’t steal any thunder from Jeff, but Betty and Ted are knifemaking royalty!

    I do have to mention and thank Jeff for the wonderful interview he did with his mom to help me on a feature I did some time ago, simply incredible!

    Can’t wait for my printed issue, really love that the Artistry In Knives is all TMD’s San Francisco collection, great job everyone!

    Reply

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