News

BRADFORD, Pa. -- W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery says it will lay off 78 workers in the second set of job cuts this year for the north-central Pennsylvania company.

In a statement last night, the company cited soft sales caused by the economic slowdown for the latest cost-cutting move.

Case has reduced its workforce by almost 30 percent since January, when the company laid off 31 workers.

Case is owned by Zippo Manufacturing Co. Both firms are based in Bradford.

Events

• Cutlery News Journal, YouTube's "CutleryLover," and the NKCA, are sponsoring a "My Favorite Knife" video contest on YouTube for the community of knife enthusiasts. This contest will offer CASH PRIZES, NKCA memberships, NKCA memorabilia items, and free Big Show Journal subscriptions to the winners. All you have to do is go to CutleryNewsJournal.com for the official rules and entry form. Everyone's invited to participate, even children, with their parent's consent. Pass this message along to all your cutlery friends, all you need to do is talk about why your favorite knife is actually your FAVORITE KNIFE!

 

• Please take a look at Jeff Smith's (CutleryLover) YouTube post at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEyB2J8blpQ&feature=channel_page. He's done an excellent job in describing exactly what we're looking for in the "My Favorite Knife" contest. I hope each of you will consider "taking a stab" at entering this contest. It's as easy as making a home movie and all you have to do is talk about knives...one of your favorite things to do, right? The more NKCA members that get involved in this contest, the more exposure for our organization and that's exactly what we need to increase our membership. We need to target the younger generation and get them involved in knife collecting and this is the perfect opportunity for us to do just that! SO, show your support by entering the "My Favorite Knife" contest.

 

• YES, the National Knife Collectors Association is now on YouTube! Here's the URL for the NKCA's YouTube Channel, check it out, http://www.youtube.com/user/NationalKnifeCollect

 

• We are now accepting orders for the 2009 NKCA Club Knives. You can view descriptions and pictures at www.NKCAknife.org. Excitedly, for the very first time, we will be offering knives produced by Canal Street Cutlery. One will be a Muskrat pattern and the other will be a Trapper pattern and they will have matching Rams Horn handles. $99.95 each or you can order both for only $190.00. Please note the 2008 NKCA Club Knives have not yet been delivered to us, therefore they have not been shipped to you. We hope to receive these knives in mid-summer.

 

• SERIAL #001 of each of the 2009 Club Knives will once again be raffled off. If you would like to enter the raffle for Serial #001, please add $5 per knife when you place your 2009 Club Knife Order. Knife orders can be placed in several ways: 1) Online at www.NKCAknife.org using ANY credit card through Paypal  2) By calling our office, (423) 228-2656, Mon-Fri 9am-4pm EST and charging to your Visa/Mastercard  3) By mailing in your check, money order, or cashier's check to: NKCA, PO Box 21070, Chattanooga, TN 37424-0070

 

• If you have not yet done so, you are still eligible to order the 64-page, color magazine, the Big Show Journal, at the discounted price of $9.95! This is 77% off the newsstand price and is only being offered to NKCA MEMBERS at this discounted price! The BSJ has pages upon pages of knife shows going on throughout the country, news, information and even an NKCA section in each of the bi-monthly issues. Contact the Big Show Journal at (715) 544-4599 or e-mail them at danj@showjournal.com.

 

• The NKCA website has recently been updated with pictures taken at our NW Georgia Knife Show! Go to www.NKCAknife.org and click on "Events" and then "On the Show Scene." Scott King, CutleryNewsJournal.com attended our show and was kind enough to be our "Show Photograph." Scott also volunteered his time as the NKCA auctioneer at our Saturday night auction, with assistance from Mark Zalesky, Editor of Knife World, and Dave Merrick. Courtney Daniels and Sarah Mullins collected the donated knives from our dealers and did an outstanding job! Many thanks to our generous group of dealers for their contributions, we had almost 100% participation!

 

• Our Greater Ohio Spring Knife Show is almost sold out of tables! The show is scheduled for May 15-17th, 2009 and will be held at the Drawbridge Inn, located at 2477 Royal Drive, Ft Mitchell, KY, 41017.  The deadline for reserving hotel rooms at the discounted price of $79 is April 6th, so please call 1-800-354-9793 as soon as possible! There are events other than the NKCA Knife Show going on at the hotel that weekend and our block of rooms will be released after the deadline.

 

• The 2009 NKCA KNIFE RAFFLE is off to a great start! We've received some awesome knives for our '09 Raffle! They include a gorgeous $1,300 damascus dagger by Di Casteel; a beautiful Great Eastern Cutlery and Mike Prater/Painted Pony combination trapper in a custom display box; a unique $500 straight knife by Dan Piergallini; along with other knives donated by custom knifemakers Jerry Bodner, David Baker, and John Savage. We have a Jim Downs gold lip pearl handled small sheath knife donated by H.S. & Sandra Wardell and a David Thomas custom worked one-arm Case Razor valued at $585. We received an antique pearl handled knife donated by Forrest "Wayne" Weaver and also a 75th Anniversary National Muzzle Loading Rifle Assoc 2-bladed Case Trapper with stag handles. Other donations are expected to be delivered at the Ohio Spring Knife Show. Look for these knives to be featured on our website by May 1st! You can purchase twelve tickets for only $10! You need not be present to win, knives will be shipped to the winners after the drawing at our NW GA Knife Show next year. Tickets can be ordered by calling our office at 423-228-2656. We thank our custom knifemakers and donors for their continued support!

 

• Don't forget the National Knife Museum's Tony Bose Silent Auction being held at the BLADE CUTLERY FAIR, May 29-31, 2009 in Atlanta, GA. For more information contact NKM Curator, Pete Cohan, at pecoan@gmail.com or call Pete at (865)806-4775. For information and/or directions to the BLADE SHOW, visit www.blademag.com.

 

• If you're planning a vacation this summer, be sure and make Sevierville, Tennessee a place to visit! Our National Knife Museum is continually rotating exhibits, so what you saw on your last visit will most likely be different this summer. Bring your family to the Smokie's and enjoy a wonderful trip to our Museum AND Smoky Mtn Knife Works, it's fun for the entire family! If you would like to schedule a personal tour, please contact our curator, Pete Cohan, for details, pecoan@gmail.com or phone Pete at (865) 806-4775.

 

• We are now taking orders for the 2009 NKCA YOUTH KNIVES! We will only be producing 350 of these knives and they will be sold on a first come, first served basis. For the first time, Bear & Son will be producing our youth knife. It will be a 2-bladed, brown jigged bone handled Barlow pattern. These knives, as always, will be sold to YOUTH MEMBERS ONLY. The price is $45 per knife, which includes shipping and handling, and you can order as many as you so choose. Details can be seen at www.NKCAknife.org.

 

• Please note: the 2008 NKCA Club Knives have not been delivered to us, therefore they have not been shipped to you. We hope to receive these knives in mid-summer. We apologize for the delay in shipment and appreciate your patience.

 

• Most importantly, THANK YOU for your continued support and if we can be of any assistance to you, please feel free to contact us either by phone, e-mail, or "snail" mail!

  

American Knife Collectors Club

akcc@americanknifecollectorsclub.com