52 BLADE SEPTEMBER 2019
SHRINE TIME^ |^
toJimWeyer.He’sa photographerand
a fellow Hall Of Famer. He looked at
me and said, ‘Th is don’t belong.’ I said,
well, I like to make slip joints. I’ll never
forget what he said to me: ‘Your opinion
don’t mean s___ to these collectors.’ I
guess he was wrong, wasn’t he?
“I guess the moral to that story is
if somebody shows you a knife, say
something nice about it because that
person may end up in the hall of fame.”
MEL PARDUE
Mel Pardue has made knives for almost
seven decades. While the 79-year-old
is probably best known for his many
designs for Benchmade, including the
award-winning Griptilian, it is his
affi nity for sharing his knifemaking
knowledge with others that has endeared
him to so many in the cutlery industry.
One of the fi rst knives Pardue ever
made was a fi xed blade from an old
crosscut saw. “Th is was an event that
sparked the fi re for 66 years, and,
let me tell you folks, that fi re is still
going strong,” Onion said. Along the
way Pardue learned various skills
as a surveyor, engineer, draft sman,
computer operator and a metallurgist’s
assistant, all of which he drew on
to improve his knifemaking skills.
However, it was the mentorship of
fellow Hall-Of-Famer Frank Centofante
that had the greatest impact on him. In
fact, to help complete the evening for
Pardue, Mrs. Sue Centofante and the
Centofantes’ son Tony were on hand to
share in the moment.
“Frank helped Mel hone his craft
even further and never accepted any
payment from him,” Onion said. “It was
at this point that Mel decided he’d pay
it forward by helping other makers by
following Centofante’s example.”
Pardue was a voting member of the
Knifemakers’ Guild for four decades
and served on the Guild’s board of
directors for 14 years, including six as
vice president. He was the fi rst person
without membership in the American
Bladesmith Society to teach at the
Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing,and taught for over two decades at the
Batson Bladesmithing Symposium.
“He continues to teach countless
makers in his own shop as well as his
son, grandson and whoever will hold
still long enough to let him teach them
something,” Onion continued. “Th is
guy has attended every single BLADE
Show. He’s won numerous awards, I
don’t even want to go into them—we’d
be here for a long time—including
the Lorenzi Award. He’s worked at
Benchmade for 24 years. He built the
fi rst folding knife with a fl ipper. How
many fl ipper knives do you think are in
[the BLADE Show]? At 79 he still makesBLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame®
member Bruce Voyles inducted Steve
Shackleford.The BLADE Magazine Awards Reception audience looks on during the awards
presentations. It was the fi rst time for the reception to be held in the Garden Court Area of
the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Atlanta. (Mark Han image)Mel Pardue practically disappears in a bear hug from Ken Onion as Les de Asis (right)
watches. Tony Centofante looks on from the background. (Mark Han image)