Recently, Southern Pines, NC-based Spartan Blades had its Instagram account hacked. In light of this issue, the company has decided to start a new account which you can find here.
Social media is a key communication tool for any knife company, and in the world of cutlery, Instagram is king. As an app structured around pictures, IG makes it easy to see new or rare knives, and show off your own; users can get a stream of cool blades with the flick of a finger. But even more importantly, it’s a direct connection between fans and makers, a forum where they can ask questions and get information on the fly. Losing an established account can be a big deal for a company trying to get the word out about new releases, contests, and show appearances. It causes a major line of communication to collapse.
In Spartan’s case, salt is applied to the wound due to the fact that their IG account isn’t just compromised, but is being held for ransom by the hacker who commandeered it. This is a ransom Spartan has chosen not to pay. Instagram itself seems to have little interest in helping address this problem, so Spartan decided to start a new account rather than wait for them to get into gear (if that ever happens).
The crew at Spartan, while obviously deeply annoyed, seem to be taking the problem in stride. “In the end, we are about quality knives and that is what defines our company not social media. You guys, quality work, and doing what’s right,” company co-founders Mark Cary and Curtis V. Iovito say in a post on their new IG account. But if you haven’t yet, make sure to throw them a follow and help get this second account back to where the first one was.
If you haven’t heard about it yet, Bamba Forge is a knife-making project that you’re going to want to know about. It’s a collaborative project bringing knife makers to Uganda, where they teach citizens the craft and help bring down the unemployment rate.
Bamba Forge was started in 2013 by knife maker and S5E37 Forged in Fire contestant Tim Troyer of Sugarcreek Forge. “I was invited to be a contestant on Forged in Fire. The producer said I could mention Bamba Forge if I accepted,” Troyer explains. “So I signed the contract immediately.” Troyer competed against John Wigger, Ken Hall, and Michael Peterson; the men bonded over their shared love of knives and the potential for knife-making to change lives – both their own, and those of people less fortunate than them. “They were all interested in how our passion for knifemaking could be used to lift people out of poverty,” Troyer explains.
In Uganda, the unemployment rate among people above 30 years of age is a gobsmacking 63%. Working through Bamba Forge, Troyer, and his team recruit Ugandans and show them how to make knives. These fixed blades are then sold to enthusiasts all over the world. “There is no virgin tool steel for sale there, so we hammer truck springs [5160 steel] into thinner stock and forge the knives from that,” Troyer tells us. “The guys gang hammer like champions and are becoming very good knife makers.” Ebony and African mahogany are the typical handle scale materials, and the leather sheaths are hand stitched in-house.
Bamba Forge knife makers showcasing their work
In fact, virtually every element of a Bamba Forge is done by hand, in the old-fashioned custom ways. “We run charcoal forges because we cannot get coal there,” Troyer continues. “For the first four years, we used an angle grinder, files, and sandpaper exclusively.” But things are growing and changing, with the help of other knife makers. “Jake Hoback and Northridge donated a grinder to us and the guys were blown away by it.”
And Troyer wants to grow it in other ways too. Currently, there is a single forge, staffing between 8-10 men at any given time. “We have many people begging us to allow them to come,” Troyer notes. To address this, he has conceived of a new ‘Train the Trainer’ model. “The best guys will become the trainers and then we can handle more people,” explains Troyer. And of course, more people means a need for more space, too. “We are planning a second forge in Uganda and hope to see that starting next year. We will also be looking for more blacksmiths and knife makers who would like to help us teach in Uganda.”
Currently, Bamba Forge has a funding project open, with the goal of obtaining more charcoal for its next year of knife making. Not only does a donation make a huge difference in an up-and-coming, one-of-a-kind knife shop, but it enters you into a drawing to win one of four different custom knives – one made by each of Troyer and his three fellow S5E37 Forged in Fire competitors.
It’s been a difficult year for everyone but if you have some cash to spare you can make a donation here.
