Knife World

Technically speaking, KNIFE WORLD was founded in 1975. But to find its true origins we have to go back even further than that, to an agricultural products salesman by the name of Houston Price, a fellow who just happened to like a good knife. By the late sixties, Price’s interest had resulted in a drawer full of knives accumulated over the years, mainly knives he’d carried for a while before replacing them with something different. Among the folks he bought knives from in his travels was a fellow who dealt mainly in sharpening stones. His name was A.G. Russell.

As is the case with so many other collectors, it was Russell who really sparked Price’s interest in knife collecting as a hobby. This interest led to more knives and a charter subscription to American Blade magazine, and finally proved contagious as Houston’s brother Doug was also bitten by the knife-collecting bug.

Doug Price was the owner of a printing company based in Knoxville, and it wasn’t long before the entrepreneurial wheels started turning. Why not combine his interest in knives with the printing business? The two brothers talked about the possibilities that a knife publication might offer, and though Houston was not in a position to leave his sales job at that time, they agreed to move forward with the idea of publishing a knife magazine. In August of 1977, the big step was taken, when Doug Price agreed to buy the rights to KNIFE WORLD from publisher James Giganti.

Say what?

It’s true; there was a KNIFE WORLD before the current KNIFE WORLD. Like a half dozen other knife publications that have fallen by the wayside, the initial version of KNIFE WORLD would probably have been a forgotten footnote of knife kingdom had it not been for the Price’s timely interest in a knife publication. Founded by St. Louis dentist James Giganti and intended as the knife equivalent of the then hugely popular Shotgun News, KNIFE WORLD was essentially an advertising paper in a tabloid format, with the focus on knives. The very first issue was published in October of 1975, eight pages’ worth.

The first KNIFE WORLD’s impact on the knife world was not massive and immediate. In fact, a prominent knife scribe of the time commented in 1976: “Something called ‘Knife World’ came along quickly last year, and just as quickly went. It was billed as the knife world’s answer to Shotgun News, but apparently things didn’t work out. The last copy we saw was October 1975, and we haven’t seen anything since.” (William L. Cassidy, from Knife Digest, Second Edition). In fact, Giganti’s run with KNIFE WORLD lasted nine issues, up through October of 1976. (An interesting footnote is that not much has been heard from Mr. Cassidy since those lines were published.)

In the summer of 1977, Doug Price bought the rights to the KNIFE WORLD name, logo, and mailing list, and launched the totally reworked publication with the September, 1977 issue. The new KNIFE WORLD was published in the same form it remains today. More than just a collection of classified and display ads, it also included an events calendar, a Club Corner, and most importantly, articles on antique, modern, and handmade knives, knife shows, and other aspects of the world of knives.

Doug, as KNIFE WORLD’s publisher, went through a series of editors early on: Hank Diggs (1977-78), Charlie Yates (1978), and Nancy Cross (1978-79), until Houston was able to fulfill his promise to come to Knoxville and head up KNIFE WORLD himself. The venture became a partnership between the brothers at that time, and Houston took over the publisher’s duties in February of 1979, before assuming the role of editor in September of that year. He would hold both roles until 1997, and continues as publisher today. Though not active in day-to-day operations, Doug Price still owns half the company, making KNIFE WORLD’s ownership easily the most stable of any knife publication.

Although for many people Houston Price always has been “Mr. Knife World,” he hasn’t done it alone. Aside from the support of our loyal writers and advertisers, KNIFE WORLD has also been blessed with a loyal and reliable staff. Houston’s late wife Betty Price took care of circulation and accounting for nearly as long as Houston served as editor, and Kim Knott continues to design and lay out each issue of KNIFE WORLD just as she has since 1980. More recently, Dot McArthur joined the staff in 1995, and now manages both accounting and circulation. Mark Zalesky replaced Houston Price as editor in 1997, and Shirley Shults joined us in 2000 to help manage the ever-increasing responsibilities of handling our orders.

Through the course of publishing 300 monthly issues, many aspects of the knife world have changed, but many things here have not. From day one, even going back to 1975, KNIFE WORLD has always thrown its full support behind knife collecting, in the form of knife shows and also in the form of knife clubs and related organizations, regardless of whether or not the clubs were national or local in nature. In particular, the NKCA has enjoyed our constant support, from show coverage to the many other ways a publication and its employees can assist an organization, even supplying its members with KNIFE WORLD’s when their financial situation dictated that they could not do it themselves.

While other knife publications have come and gone, most focusing on a particular aspect of knives, KNIFE WORLD has succeeded by addressing the world of knives in all its forms.

While they can’t cover every subject every month, they have always striven to provide the reader with a range of material that can’t be found anywhere else. Though not a custom knife publication, they have devoted a lot of space to up and coming makers over the years, many of who have on to great things. Whether or not manufacturers support our publication, they tried to direct coverage where coverage is due. And though there’s little advertiser support for articles on military knives or defunct old companies, they have managed to publish hundreds of these articles anyway.