-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Should I Get Blade Magazine?
- Thread starter MattyLav
- Start date
Locutus D'Borg
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2012
- Messages
- 5,185
Only if you like knives.
Blade tends to alternate between issues with really good articles and fairly lame ones. What annoys me most is when the pictures published with an article have nothing to do with the knives being discussed in the text. But I do resubscribe once in a while when they send out an offer with the "introductory rate" and the magazine does have the brief profiles about some of the "lesser known" custom makers.
jeffsenpai
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2010
- Messages
- 1,069
Hmm, in the age of the internet with sites like bladeforums around, I would find it hard to justify paying for a paper magazine subscription.
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2006
- Messages
- 1,401
Personnally I get it, it has some interesting articles and really isn't that expensive. Good knife porn too, and highlights makers I've never heard of before. The only time I don't like it is around the Blade Knife Show in Atlanta, they usually spend 3-4 issues talking about the knife show. Since I can't go, all it does it take up space and rub it in that I'm stuck somewhere else. 
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2009
- Messages
- 1,910
I like Blade and Knives Illustrated.
Blade has more custom coverage, and the photography is a bit better.
If you are into older traditional knives and like reading articles on the history of them and the companys that produced them, Knife World is outstanding. A lot of very detailed articles, well researched and written.
Its a newspaper type publication rather than a slick magazine.
Tactical Knives Magazine.
Majority of the articles are about fixed blades.
It's bimonthly, not quite as slick looking as Blade, but still good photography.
james terrio
Sharpest Knife in the Light Socket
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2010
- Messages
- 22,618
Like pretty much every other magazine on the stands, it's essentially a catalog. If you want to pay $$ to read ad copy every month, go for it. All the actual information in it - and much, much more - is available right here on BF and elsewhere on the web for a far better price.
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2011
- Messages
- 710
i have 2 solutions:
1- stay on bladeforums and spend the $$ on a new knife instead of a subscription
2- buy a new knife with the money and read the magazine at a book store over a coffee.
IMO the magazine is a nice read because im interested in knives. and they cover things i dont always search out on this forum. they usually are responsible for peaking my attention towards a knife or type etc that i used to stray from. that being said, it is a good read but honestly in about a coffee's worth of my time the magazine has been enjoyed and any new information has been attained. the few issues i have bought in the past never got a good reading after i left the store from that initial 1st read i had with it. but just my opinion please take it w/ a grain of salt
1- stay on bladeforums and spend the $$ on a new knife instead of a subscription
2- buy a new knife with the money and read the magazine at a book store over a coffee.
IMO the magazine is a nice read because im interested in knives. and they cover things i dont always search out on this forum. they usually are responsible for peaking my attention towards a knife or type etc that i used to stray from. that being said, it is a good read but honestly in about a coffee's worth of my time the magazine has been enjoyed and any new information has been attained. the few issues i have bought in the past never got a good reading after i left the store from that initial 1st read i had with it. but just my opinion please take it w/ a grain of salt
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2001
- Messages
- 32,354
I subscribed to Blade for many years, years I think I supported/subscribed to every knife publication out there at one time or another.
Blade being one of the first I always liked it but like many other knife mags out there they became glossy catalogs where there was more advertising than knife content. I still occasionally buy a copy at my local magazine store when I see something on the cover that interests me but at the price of the magazine and the hit and miss content I haven't had a subscription in the last 5 years.
The internet has plenty to keep me busy and really the only periodical I'm subdued to is Knife World, a news paper style publication, (here's a link to get a free 3 month trial subscription... http://www.knifeworld.com/thremonfretr.html try it you'll really like it.
Blade being one of the first I always liked it but like many other knife mags out there they became glossy catalogs where there was more advertising than knife content. I still occasionally buy a copy at my local magazine store when I see something on the cover that interests me but at the price of the magazine and the hit and miss content I haven't had a subscription in the last 5 years.
The internet has plenty to keep me busy and really the only periodical I'm subdued to is Knife World, a news paper style publication, (here's a link to get a free 3 month trial subscription... http://www.knifeworld.com/thremonfretr.html try it you'll really like it.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2008
- Messages
- 2,538
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2013
- Messages
- 225
I do enjoy Blade Magazine, but as has been discussed already they have way too much advertisement. The biggest thing that always bugs me is that you get issues that are close to 6 months in advance which I think is ridiculous. I would prefer solid and timely information more.
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2008
- Messages
- 25,891
Yup. I used to subscribe. Got fed up with them when they published a glowing review of the WASP Injection Knife.
Let my subscription expire after that and made the mistake of resubscribing when they offered the introductory rate to me again. There's the occasional good article but 90% plus of the magazine is ads, ads disguised as "reviews", and highlights on "new" knives that have been out for almost a year--sometimes even longer.
silenthunterstudios
Slipjoint Addict
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2005
- Messages
- 20,039
Blade is highly entertaining, but is just a big catalog with great pictures. Try out a subscription, if you don't like it, you're only out 20 bucks. Tactical Knives is a little better, but I used to enjoy the bushcraft blades articles, now it's more mall ninja in some aspects. A shame, but, whatever turns the dollars. I never cared for Knives Illustrated, but to each their own. My hands down favorite is Knife World, I will never let my subscription lapse. I've learned more from Knife World than I ever have with the other knife magazines.
Another magazine you might like, that has knife content, is Backwoodsman. Many custom makers are featured, and some writers are also writers for Tactical Knives. Also, American Frontiersman and New Pioneer, which contain some knife articles, published by Harris Publications which publishes Tactical Knives.
Another magazine you might like, that has knife content, is Backwoodsman. Many custom makers are featured, and some writers are also writers for Tactical Knives. Also, American Frontiersman and New Pioneer, which contain some knife articles, published by Harris Publications which publishes Tactical Knives.
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2006
- Messages
- 8,250
Especially since magazines are filled with fluff that have overly generous articles about knives from makers who take out full page ads. Other then pretty pictures of knives it's pretty much worthless IMO.