Case Video Featured on National
	Posted on: 04-02-08 07:56.25
	Posted by: James Nowka

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Fred Feightner, Consumer Marketing and Communications Manager

Phone: 814.363.6105

Email: ffeightner@wrcase.com

Case Video Featured on National Association of Manufacturers’ Website

Bradford, PA (April 2, 2008) – The National Association of Manufacturers, an organization that promotes “the millions of people who make things in America,” is the latest media interest to present W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company to the public through the eye of a video camera. A section of the NAM’s website entitled, “How Cool Things are Made,” is now highlighting a six-minute video piece which combines a brief lesson in Case Company history with factory tour footage. The Case feature is expected to retain the site’s top position throughout the week.

The Case video includes a photo montage depicting the decades of history behind the company and its brand. Factory footage shows how Case blends modern machine operations with traditional hand-crafting in making all of its knives.

The National Association of Manufacturers’s website boasts “the internet’s largest collection of manufacturing videos.” Each week, a new video is added which allows website visitors to see American made products being manufactured first-hand. Videos are cataloged by company name and permanently archived.

The feature Case video can also be viewed at the following website address: http://blog.nam.org/archives/coolstuffbei ngmadecom_weekend_video/.

Another look at Case’ s knife manufacturing process is currently being broadcast on the Discovery Channel and Science Channel as part of a new season of the “How It’s Made” television series. The show is listed as “Series 4, Episode 24: Pocket knives, soapstone products, electric pole transformers and traditional snowshoes.”

	Gerber Legendary Blades Recalls Pocket Knives
	Posted on: 10-16-07 12:21.24
	Posted by: James Nowka

News from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, D.C. 20207

For Immediate Release Firm’s Recall Hotline: (877) 204-5510

August XX, 2007 CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772

Release #07-FOR CLEARANCE CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Gerber Legendary Blades Recalls Pocket Knives

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. (To access color photos of the following recalled products, see CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.)

Name of product: Gerber EAB (Exchange-A-Blade) Pocket Knives

Units: About 154,000

Importer: Gerber Legendary Blades, of Portland, Ore., a division of Fiskars Brands Inc.,

of Madison, Wis.

Hazard:During use, the back of the blade of the knife can slide past the blade support, posing a laceration hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Gerber has received eight reports of individuals cutting themselves while using the knife, including several individuals who required stitches.

Description: The recall involves Gerber EAB Pocket Knives, model numbers 22-41548, 22-41548CDIP, 22-01548W and 22-41548W. The knives are small, folding utility knives that can be clipped to the owner’s pocket. The knives are marked with the “Gerber” trademark.

Sold at: Retail stores nationwide, including Wal-Mart, and through on-line stores from September 2006 through August 2007 for about $11.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled knives immediately and contact Gerber to receive instructions on how to return the knife for a free replacement knife.

Consumer Contact: For more information, contact Gerber Legendary Blades toll-free at

(877) 204-5510 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.gerbergear.com.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals – contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270 or visit CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

	The Maxpedition Merlin
	Posted on: 09-26-07 07:18.18
	Posted by: James Nowka

The Maxpedition Merlin

By Tim Stetzer

“Watch as this belt pouch transforms itself into a backpack right before your very eyes!”

Intro

    Many of us carry a variety of gear in our cars or trucks in case of emergency. It might include first aid kits, tools, flashlights, spare water and food,<> survival kits, extra blankets or jackets, hats or gloves for inclement weather.

    If you’re like me you have this gear tucked away under the seats, in the glove box, or into whatever storage nooks that your vehicle has. I try to keep my emergency gear out of the way so that I can still use my cars main storage space for every day activities like carrying groceries, hauling my kids and their stuff, carrying work related gear or whatever else I need to lug back and forth on a day-to-day basis. The gear is all still there and all on hand in case of an emergency so I should be good to go<> right? Well, maybe. It depends upon the situation.

    If your car breaks down or you end up stranded by the weather, it’s often a good idea to just stay put until help can come to you. If you’re on a main road it’s going to be easier for help to locate you if you stay in one place. Your vehicle provides pretty substantial shelter as well. However, there may be times when you simply have to abandon your vehicle. If you’re off road you may end up in a spot that isn’t safe to stay in or where you’re unlikely to get help soon. Even along a regular roadway there may be scenarios where you simple have to hoof it and take your chances on foot. So, what do you do with all that carefully stashed gear in your vehicle when you have to leave it?

The Pack as Part of Your Vehicle’s Emergency Gear

This is a scenario I’ve given a fair bit of thought to off and on over the years. The obvious solution is to keep a backpack or bag of some sort in the car with you. I know some folks who keep their gear already packed in the bag (my brother does this in fact). That isn’t a bad idea but it does take up more space. Those individual bits of gear that tuck away so nicely under the seats and in various compartments are now sitting in one big lump in the middle of your trunk or in your truck or SUV’s cargo area. If you have the room this may not be much of an issue. If space is tight though the answer might just be to leave your gear tucked away and pack an empty bag as well. An unloaded pack will store flat or folded up and you can always load it up when you need to.

You can see the space savings of the folded Merlin compared to this Maxpedition Condor pack. Unfolded the Merlin is nearly as large as the Condor.

The other advantage of having an empty bag available is that it can be used for other non-emergency purposes as well. If you have kids you know that you often end up carrying around a myriad of stuff from toys, to extra clothes to snacks and drinks that you haven’t always planned on. It also might come in handy for spontaneous day hikes, hauling stuff for picnics or at amusement parks, carrying sports gear, etc. etc. The possibilities are basically endless as long as you have something there when you need it.

I’d looked at and tried numerous bags over the years but hadn’t really found one I was happy with. It seemed like all the ones I found either didn’t carry enough gear, didn’t fold up small enough, or weren’t rugged enough. What I wanted was something that packed small and unobtrusively but which would still haul a load if I needed to deass my vehicle and move out on foot. Enter the Maxpedition Merlin.

 You can see the space savings of the folded Merlin compared to this Maxpedition Condor pack. Unfolded the Merlin is nearly as large as the Condor.

About The Merlin

I’ve been using a Maxpedition Condor pack for a year or two now so I was familiar with the quality and rugged nature of their gear. When I saw that they had a new folding backpack I realized that this might just be what I’d been searching for. The Merlin looks like a smallish belt pouch with a couple of zippered pockets on it. And it is. It can be carried on the belt and the smaller pockets can be used for gear just like many other products in the Maxpedition line. It can also be attached to a tactical vest or body armor with MOLLE webbing as well. In this mode it can accommodate a variety of items. If the need arises though the Merlin transforms into a full sized pack suitable for humping larger loads. By unzipping the center zipper on the Merlin you access the main bag. The Merlin unfolds and reveals a large main pouch, and a set of backpack straps. The smaller zippered pockets are still available and end up as external pockets on the rear center portion of the pack. A clever feature is a rear slip pocket suitable for a 100 oz. hydration bladder. That’s a nice touch on a folding, compact pack like this and one that I wasn’t expecting. I had presumed the Merlin would be a bare bones setup and generally associate hydration pockets with higher end bags. If you don’t have a hydration bladder the pouch is stillhandy for lonUnfolded the Merlin is similar in size to a typical Jansport type book bag. Capacity is 1080 cu. in. The body of the bag is made of 420-denier coated nylon fabric while the outer pockets are of heavier 1000-denier coated nylon fabric. The lower outer pocket has a set of MOLLE compatible straps on the outside and an internal divider and zipper pull limiter that ensures you can organize your gear in that pocket weather the Merlin is folded into its belt pouch mode or opened up into a backpack. The top pouch has an elastic cord for attaching sundry items to the outside of the bag and a set of heavy elastic loops on the inside. The zippers on the pack are very heavy duty and have zipper pulls attached. The main compartments zippers unzip halfway down the bag on either side to allow for easy top loading while still maintaining a solid bottom to the pack. The pack straps are adjustable and unpadded. The top of the pack has a handy grab handle attached.g, thin items like maps, books, a folded poncho or tarp, etc.

How It Works

To test out the Merlin I used it for just the task I envisioned of a pack like this: I tried stuffing all of the emergency gear from my car into it! I was pleasantly surprised at how well all my gear fit into the pack.

My list included:

     Even with all this gear in the pack I still had room left over, I could have easily fit in some basic food supplies, a light jacket or possibly a fleece blanket. The only item that didn’t really fit well was the shovel. I could get the pack zippered over the handle but it was a tight fit. It worked better leaving the handle stick out the top of the bag and snugging the zippers up to the handle. That wouldn’t be the best solution though if you were worried about rain or snow getting into the bag though. I’ll likely experiment a bit more with attaching the shovels carrier to the MOLLE straps on the rear of the pack and threading the handle up under the elastic cord on the upper pocket to keep it in place. Of course if you have a folding shovel like a G.I. or a Glock e-tool then this wouldn’t be an issue at all! Either one of those would fit down inside the pack just fine. Maybe I just need a new shovel…

I was also pleased with how well the pack carried loaded. Despite the unpadded straps and the lack of a hip belt, the Merlin did just fine at distributing the load of my gear. While it isn’t as comfortable as my Condor keep in mind that this is really a pack designed for those times when you didn’t know you were going to need a pack for sure. If you know you need a pack then Maxpedition has plenty of other products that can fill that niche as well. With that said the Merlin does a good job for the size load that its intended to carry.

Conclusion

The Merlin carries a suggested retail price of $82.99. While you can certainly find other packs cheaper few, if any, offer the combined durability of a Maxpedition pack with the ability to fold up into a small, compact package. If you have need of bag that stays out of the way when it isn’t needed but can handle the load when it is, then the Merlin may be just the trick you’re looking for.

Contact Info:

 Maxpedition Hard-Use Gear

P.O. Box 5008

Palos Verdes, CA 90274

Web: http://www.maxpedition.com/

E-mail: info@maxpedition.com

Toll Free Order Line: 1-877-629-5556

	KERSHAW AWARDED BLADE SHOW TOP HONORS
	Posted on: 06-27-07 15:55.03
	Posted by: James Nowka

TUALATIN, OR—Kershaw Knives came away from the prestigious Blade Show with three of the Show’s top honors: The Blade Magazine’s 2007 Overall Knife of the Year, the 2007 Most Innovative American Design, and the 2007 Kitchen Knife of the Year.

These awards represent the very pinnacle of knife industry awards. The winners were selected by an overwhelming vote of trade-industry members, including leading companies such as Benchmade, Buck, and Gerber. The winners are chosen on a range of criteria—from design, innovation, and function to craftsmanship and quality. Here’s a brief rundown of Kershaw’s winning entries:

 The new R.A.M. offers a choice of smooth and easy, one-handed opening systems. The knife user can open the R.A.M. with an ambidextrous “flipper” system or the built-in thumb knobs. The flipper system incorporates resistance to hold the blade securely in the closed position until deployed by pulling on the extended tang at the front of the spine. The award-winning knife also features the patent-pending Hawk Lock that is both secure and easy to operate. The knife offers Sandvik 13C26 stainless steel blades and an anodized aluminum handle with G-10 overlays for a secure grip. The R.A.M. is made in the USA and retails for $89.95

Last, but not least, Kershaw’s Shun Kaji Knife Set (Model 9538885) took 2007 Kitchen Knife of the Year.

All Kershaw and KAI USA knives are built to maintain the company’s worldwide reputation for quality and innovation. The Kershaw/KAI USA prides itself on using the highest quality materials and state-of-the-art techniques to produce knives and other cutting tools that are prized throughout the world. A free, full-color product catalog may be obtained by writing to Kershaw Knives, 18600 SW Teton Avenue, Tualatin, Oregon 97062. Or visit www.kershawknives.com