SEPTEMBER 2019 blademag.com 51R
enowned knifemakers Tony
Bose and Mel Pardue, along with
BLADE® editor Steve Shackleford,
offi cially joined the BLADE Maga-
zine Cutlery Hall Of Fame® during the
BLADE Magazine Awards Reception the
Saturday night of BLADE Show 2019.
Held in a new venue—the Garden Court
Area of the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in
Atlanta—the reception also crowned the
BLADE Magazine Knife Of Th e Year®
Awards (page 32) and the winner of the
show’s fi ft h and fi nal Edda and Aldo
Lorenzi Award, Bill Ruple (page 6).
Cutlery Hall-Of-Famers Ken Onion
and Bruce Voyles inducted the new
members. Onion did the honors for
Bose and Pardue and Voyles ushered in
Shackleford.TONY BOSE
As Onion noted, Tony Bose claimed
some people “are born with a knife
gene.” If anyone can make that claim
and then some, it is the new Cutlery
Hall-Of-Fame member.
Th ings didn’t come easy for Bose
from the get go. Born in 1946, he lost his
right eye at 6. “Most of his life has been
aff ected one way or another by that loss,
but perhaps it was the defi ning moment
in steering his career in the direction
of self-employment and self-discovery,”
Onion said. Tony’s father also was
disabled, so Tony sought work to help his
family make ends meet. His disability
made fi nding employment diffi cult,
especially at a time when employers were
reluctant to hire the disabled.
One of the things that helped Bose
persevere was his aff ection for slip joints.
“He’s had a deep love for traditional
pocketknives for as long as he can
remember. He always had one, mostly
something worn out or someone gave
him,” Onion observed. In high school
Bose made money sharpening knives
until he saved up enough to buy a brand
new Case knife.
Eventually he started making fi xed
blades in his spare time. “His focus was
to acquire the necessary equipment to
build folding knives, and that he did,”
Onion continued. In 1989 Bose became
a full-time maker. “His goal was to make
traditional folding knives and improve
upon them using the best materials he
could fi nd, and to perfect the craft ,”Onion said. Bose was self-taught and,
due to the diffi culty he encountered in
fi nding information on making knives,
he vowed to share his knowledge with
other makers to keep the interest alive.
Th e turning point in Bose’s career
came in 1999 when, at the request of
Mark Zalesky, now editor of Knife
Magazine, Ed Jessup of Case called to
see if Bose was interested in working
with Case. As Onion noted, “Tony has
been with Case ever since.”
“I spoke with Rich Brandon, head
engineer at Case, to fi nd out fi rsthand
what it was like working with this old
codger,” Onion grinned in describing
the new inductee. “Rich said Tony
will share information with anyone at
anytime—except dinner time.
“Tony takes the time to be sure
students understand what he’s trying to
teach,” Onion said. “He’s improved the
level of quality in a big way at Case and
has taught them to do the impossible.
He consistently strives for perfection.
He’s very inspirational and has been a
muse to the company. He’s respected
and loved by everyone.”
Aft er Onion concluded his remarks,
Bose and his family, along with Case
representatives, approached the stage,
whereupon Onion gave him a big hug
and handed him his Hall-Of-Fame
plaque. Bose held the plaque high and, to
a delighted reception audience, barkedinto the microphone, “How ‘bout that?”
“A lot of people think of this as a
lifetime of work, but to me it’s a lifetime
of fun and excitement,” he began. “I’ve
always just loved it.”
He related a story most pertinent for
the occasion.
“Back in the mid-1980s when the
BLADE Show was still in Knoxville,”
he recalled, “I showed a little slip jointKenKenOnionOnion(right)(right)diddidthethehonorshonorsinin
inductinginductingTonyTonyBoseBose(left)(left)intointothethe
BLADEBLADEMagazineMagazineCutleryCutleryHallHall Of Of
FameFame®®. (Mark. (Mark Han image)Hanimage)Steve Shackleford seems a bit in shock
during his acceptance speech after
learning of his surprise induction into the
BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame®.
(Mark Han image)