Blackie Collins - Misplaced Pages

American knife maker

Blackie Collins
Born	Walter Wells Collins 1939 Florence, South Carolina, US
Died	July 20, 2011(2011-07-20) (aged 71) North, South Carolina
Occupation(s)	Knifemaker, magazine editor
Awards	Blade Cutlery Hall of Fame

Walter Wells "Blackie" Collins (1939 – July 20, 2011) was an American knife maker who designed and popularized the assisted opening mechanism and various automatic knife designs within the art of knifemaking. He is cited by other knifemakers and collectors as one of the most innovative knife designers in the world and was an author and the founder of what became Blade Magazine. Collins died July 20, 2011, in a motorcycle accident near North, South Carolina.

Early life

Collins was born in Florence, South Carolina. He made his first knife when he was in the second grade.

Knifemaking

Collins designed the bowie/survival knives series for Smith & Wesson in 1971 and was involved in designing their commemorative knives from 1971 to 1978. In the late 1960s-early 1970's he also made knives under the name of Blackie Sewell and had a shop in the original Underground Atlanta. In 1981, Collins' designed a knife for Gerber Legendary Blades named the LST (light, strong, tough). The LST was the first knife to feature injection molded Zytel handles and featured a total of six parts. His next design was an assisted opening knife called the Strut and Cut; the design for which came from motorcycling. The Strut and Cut's opening mechanism was based on his Ducati's single strut which enables the knife to open and close easily.

Collins was a founding member, with ten other knife designers/makers, of the Knifemakers' Guild. He founded the magazine known as American Blade in 1973, which he sold in 1982 and the renamed title was simply Blade. Collins was later an inductee into the Blade Magazine Hall of Fame.

Collins had other innovations beyond knifemaking and was an avid motorcyclist and a member of the National Rifle Association of America. He designed holsters and concealment clothing for carrying firearms. Collins designed a trigger lock, called the "Cease Fire" for rifles and a shooter's screwdriver.

Written works

Collins authored books on knifemaking, scrimshaw, knife throwing, and personal defense.

Collins, Blackie (1975). How knives are made (The Encyclopedia of American knives). Custom Knifemakers' Supply.
Collins, Blackie; Felix Mirando (1976). The Pocketknife Manual - Building, Repairing and Refinishing Pocketknives. Knife World Publications.
Collins, Blackie; McLoughlin, Chris (1977). Personal Defense. Knife World Publications.
Collins, Blackie (1978). Knife Throwing: Sport Survival Defense. Knife World Publications.
Collins, Blackie; Michael Collins (1978). How to Scrimshaw and Carve Ivory. Knife World Publications.

References

Latham, Sid (1973). "Craftsman's Cutlery". Field & Stream. 78 (3): 51, 141.
"Well-known knifemaker dies in motorcycle crash". The Times and Democrat. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
"Blackie Collins Killed In Motorcycle Accident". Blade. July 21, 2011. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
"Blackie Collins, self-taught knife-making genius". Atlanta.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
Shackleford, Steve (2010). Blade's Guide to Knives & Their Values (7 ed.). Krause Publications. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-4402-0387-9.
Lewis, Jack; Roger Combs (1992). Gun Digest Book of Knives. Iola, WI: DBI Books. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-87349-129-7.
"Mr. SpeedSafe Joins the Club". Blade Magazine. 2008-07-22. Archived from the original on 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
Ayoob, Massad (2008). The Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry. Gun Digest Books. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-89689-611-6.

v t e Knives and daggers
List of daggers List of blade materials
Kitchen and table knives	Boning Boti Bread knife Butcher knife Butter knife Caidao Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Electric knife Fillet knife Grapefruit knife Lame Mezzaluna Parmesan knife Pizza cutter Splayd Steak knife Tomato knife Japanese kitchen knives Deba bōchō Maguro bōchō Nakiri bōchō Santoku Sashimi bōchō Udon kiri Unagisaki hōchō Usuba bōchō Yanagi ba
Other knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boot knife Bowie Cane knife Ceramic knife Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Golok Gravity knife Guna Hacking knife Higonokami Hunting knife Husa knife Ivan's Knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kard Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Marking knife Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pesh-kabz Pirah Pocketknife Phurba Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Sheath knife Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Verlängerungsmesser Warrior knife Wedung X-Acto Yarara Parachute Knife Yatagan
Daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh nakh Balarao Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dha Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Gunong Hunting dagger Jambiya Jile Kabutowari Kaiken Kalis Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Kunai Liaoning dagger Mark I trench knife Microtech Jagdkommando Parrying dagger Poignard Pugio Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō U.S. Marine Raider stiletto V-42 Yoroi-dōshi
Manufacturers	Aitor Knife Company Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Aritsugu Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Chroma Cnife Clauss Cutlery Company Cobray Company Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Dalian Hanwei Metal Dexter-Russell Ek Commando Knife Co. EKA Emerson Knives F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Gerber Legendary Blades Füritechnics Glock Ges.m.b.H. Imperial Schrade Ivan's Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives Marble Arms Medford Knife and Tool Microtech Knives Morseth Muela Murphy Knives OLFA Ontario Knife Company Opinel Randall Made Knives Ranz Cuchillos Rösle Sabatier Shun Cutlery Slice, Inc. SOG Specialty Knives Spyderco STI Knives Strider Knives Thiers Issard TOPS Knives Tramontina Victorinox W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Carl Walther GmbH Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Wüsthof Yoshida Metal Industry Global Zero Tolerance Knives Zwilling J. A. Henckels
Knifemakers	Rex Applegate James Black Tom Brown Jr. Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Jack W. Crain Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Bill Harsey Jr. Phill Hartsfield Gil Hibben Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve A. G. Russell Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler
Associations	American Bladesmith Society Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association Knifemakers' Guild
Category:Knives / Daggers

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