Knife Rights' appeal of the District Court's decision challenging the constitutionality of the Federal Switchblade Act will have oral arguments on April 1st at 1:00 PM CDT at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Live audio will be available and archived on the 5th Circuit's Oral Argument Recordings Page.
Knife Rights has entered the motions phase of its federal lawsuit challenging Minnesota's switchblade ban. Minnesota filed a Motion for Summary Judgment arguing switchblades fall outside Second Amendment protection, while Knife Rights' attorney John Dillon and Chairman Doug Ritter contend the state's position contradicts the Supreme Court's Bruen framework. Knife Rights' response brief is due March 20th.
Bear & Son Cutlery released the Genuine India Stag Bone 3 ½" Barlow pocketknife, an Alabama-made two-blade knife featuring high carbon stainless steel blades and traditional Genuine India Stag Bone™ handles. The heritage-inspired design honors the iconic Barlow style with polished bolsters and an MSRP of $80.99.
Pola Malandain is a self-proclaimed knife artist and founder of SHE BLADES. Born in Normandy, France and now living in Vienna, Austria, Malandain founded SHE BLADES in November, 2024 with the idea not only to promote female artists, but also with a goal to highlight the feminine principle - the yin - in a highly yang-infused domain.
Embracing the feminine principle doesn’t mean decorating knife handles with flowers or painting blades pink. Far from it. It’s about prioritizing art, beauty, creation, and collaboration over competition and the relentless pursuit of performance.
We had a chance to spend time with Malandain at IWA in Nuremberg last month in the knife pavilion where she was exhibiting knives from many different female artists.
QA Outdoors: What’s the difference between a female-designed knife and a male-designed knife?
Pola Malandain: That’s a very good question, because at the end, it's very difficult to say. If you see this knife or that knife, if it was from a female knife maker or from a man knife maker. The thing is that women have been in this trade for years, and the purpose of SHE BLADES is just to shine a light on these women and their work. If I may, it's a very subjective point of view, but I think women pay much more attention to the finishing of details. For example, from the woman I represent, they observe very closely the nature around them, and use lots of that inspiration into their knives. Like, if you look at my colleagues, like Sylvie Pauliac, for example, her blades, almost look like a river. And she's using stones in her designs. I like this. I think women tend to see beyond the object, to see beyond the knife. Of course, it should cut. It’s a piece of craft. It should work, but it has a very artistic aspect as well, a very symbolic one. And I think my colleagues and myself better express this through their work.
QA: Do you try to use materials that aren't necessarily used in knife design.
PM: I like to play a lot with materials, yeah, and I first, I…think of the materials which are the best suited for this. Then I think is it going to be like a one-piece project or is it going to be a little series? What are the costs involved? And on this basis, yeah, I choose my materials. But usually, if it's like one order, I will try to use, like wood from coming from the region where my client is living. Sometimes they provide me with a piece of wood that they want to be used for the knife. So very much depends on the project.
QA: So, do you forge the raw steel?
PM: I don't do my own steel. I'm not equipped to do Damascus steel, so I buy my steel. But otherwise, I do everything. I shape the blades, I grind them, I fix them, I make the handles, everything.
QA: From the women's standpoint, do other women connect with the fact that women are making the knives?
PM: Actually, that's also the purpose of SHE BLADES, because I see many women looking at what we are doing and I think, they don't dare to do the first step, you know, because it's a cliche, it's a block in their mind that, yeah, men do this job, not women. And so, they don't dare to take the first step. And that's why I show all of these (knives). I show the work of other women, because I would like more women to enter this trade. My workshop, like usually, I work with two people, max, and I have, like, many females coming and finally, trying their luck. I think in the US, you have more ladies into the forging business.
