Knife News on Twitter

Cutlery News Journal is micro-blogging knife news on Twitter.

That’s right, we are tweeting. That’s Twitter talk for instant messaging knife news through this fascinating social network. I can hear many of you now, “Scott, you’re just a nerd.” Well, you know what, that is true, but guess what- I found lots of knife folks there already. And of the tens of millions of Twitterers, I couldn’t find anyone tweeting knife collector news.

Now there’s knife “stuff” being tweeted, but a lot of it is folks promoting their knife products, much like they do on facebook. But others are using Tweeter to communicate with their fan base and other interested followers. I found W. R. Case, A. G. Russell, SOG Knives, Spyderco and several other knife companies and makers there. Found iKnifeCollector there too

There are many news organizations using Twitter to send out bite-sized news with links to the full story. I say bite-sized because a message (or tweet) is limited to 140 characters, like the status updates on iKnifeCollector and facebook.

So, if you are already a Twitterer then come follow CutleryNewsJournal http://twitter.com/knifenews, but if you aren’t, then add Twitter to your radar, because you’re going to see and hear a lot about it over the next few years. Twitter is more than just a hip new fad thing; it is a major business tool. I’ll report on my knife industry and collector related findings as I go.

CNJ Top Stories- Staff Picks

Last week we published the CNJ top stories ranked by our readers, well today it’s our time. We did our polling in our office and finally agreed on our favorites for the last year.

We hope you enjoy; we did- as we strolled down memory lane. A lot has developed since some of these ran in terms of web communities and knife collecting. Gotta little history, some humor, little forecasting, economic advice and top secret CNJ sources…just about a mix of everything for your reading pleasure.

Cutlery News Journal’s entire staff production team

Letter to the Editor & a message to the older collectors

The State of Knife Collecting on the Web (precursor to iKnifeCollector)

Where is the next generation of knife collectors? (precursor to iKnifeCollector)

Men’s Fashions Changed Pocket Knife Styles

Wrench & Tool Knives

Steps to economic recovery outlined in a cutlery publication

The year 1900, here I come- Google Time Travel

Vacations and Outdoor Knives

The Dilemma of the Everyday Carry Knife

Hunting ain’t no fun when you can’t find the game

Are you a user, then give a little bit.

New Study proposes knives need to be less pointed

Collecting- A Psychological Perspective

Still own stock- better sell and buy knives now! (published Oct. 08)

Knife History References & Resources

CNJ Sources and Resources

Top Stories of Cutlery News Journal

You guys have voted and the results are in. Listed below are the most popular stories for the last 12 months as reported here on CNJ. Our subscribers know we cover knife company history, current knife company and industry news, audio interviews, interesting knife factoids, trends, surveys and polls, along with a periodic editorial too.

Exclusive interview with Perry Miller, President of the National Knife Collector Association

Pocket Knives and Tool Knives in the early 1900s

Famous Knife Factory Fires

A master whittler

Knife Collector Communities on the Web- SharpFans Yahoo Group

A Thanksgiving Treat- More knives than you can shake a stick at- National Knife Museum Video Tour

All the types of knives and the firms that made them

CNJ Interview with YouTube’s Cutlerylover

Introduction to Great Eastern Cutlery’s Knife Patterns

Smoky Mountain Knife Works Executive Killed in Accident

American Cutlery Company History Trivia

U S Customs attempts to outlaw assisted opening knives

CNJ Audio Interview Series- Custom Knife Maker Mr. Tony Bose

Next up: CNJ Staff Picks for the year

More bad press about knives

Hold on to your hats knife fans. It is only a matter of time before even stricter knife laws come our way.

Here’s the headlines of an article in today’s New York Times: KNIFE KILLINGS IN CITY INCREASED 50% IN 2008.

The bottom line is this quote from Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the New York Police Department-

“We may have made it harder for killers to get their hands on guns,” said Mr. Browne. “Knives are still easily and legally acquired.”

CNJ is a knife news source and online library

24/7

Cutlery News Journal is here whenever you want it. Day or night- 24/7.

Reading habits are interesting. Some of you hit the site early everyday with your first cup of java. Some of you check it during the day. I know others who work nights and check it then. Many of these folks dart in for the lead story and then dart back out.

Others come once or twice a week and spend time checking out the latest stories. Yet, others come once or twice a month reading it more like a monthly magazine- clicking different categories and related articles- following links deep into web.

While many of you have been with CNJ from its beginning, new readers are visiting daily and have yet to establish their reading pattern.

For you who have just joined us, allow me to provide a little introduction.

CNJ is a virtual library of knife collector articles and news- all easily searched by keyword, tag, category and date.

Take a quick second and scroll up and down the homepage. Notice the ride side as you do. CNJ’s functions are located there. For example, at the top of the homepage you will find the search field. The keyword search works just like Google. Enter any word and all articles are displayed with that keyword in it. Try it.

The tags are the odd looking, different sized, words all bunched together. Click on any one and all articles tagged with that word are found. Every article is also filed under one of the categories listed down the right side of the homepage. All articles are filed by month too. Plus, the actual calendar allows you to search by day of the month, if you are so inclined.

No digging in boxes for past editions of CNJ

Right now there are already 182 published articles- over 100,000 words, 517 tags and 59 categories- all archived and easily searchable.

And, we’ve only just begun to make collector news. Imagine 5  years from now!

Interestingly, none of the traditional knife magazines offer an online archive of past editions. Wouldn’t you love to search back through the last twenty years of Knife World, for example? I know I would.

Thanks for taking the time to check out CNJ. If you like what CNJ is all about- tell others. If you don’t and have suggestions- tell me.

Knife Triva- Not all knives are made to cut

If I asked you to name a knife that doesn’t cut, what would you say?

You want a clue? Well,  let’s see…. OK. It is called a knife, but it doesn’t have a blade.

If you think you know it, then go ahead and click through to see the answer, but if you don’t, here are a couple more.

While is doesn’t have a blade, it could kill you if used incorrectly. It isn’t a knife you would buy to add to your collection.

And, you aren’t likely to see one at any knife show.

Last one- It cost $5 million.

What is your guess? The winner gets a free one-year subscription to CNJ.

Cutlery News Journal is not your typical knife website

Geek Rated: Beginner

Websites come in a variety of flavors nowadays. As we look around we see those with little dancing bears, with tons of flashing pictures, and even those with intro movies.

Cutlery News Journal is a media platform of knife news and this is why its looks different than most websites. It was designed to be straightforward. I wanted it to be easy to read, and in the case of the Audio Interview Series- listen to, and easy to find the knife news you are interested in. 

Why does CNJ look different than a typical website?

Actually, CNJ is not a typical website, though technically it is a website. Instead, it is what is called a weblog, or blog, for short. Blogs are, for the most part, mainstream today (77% of active internet users read blogs), but even still there are very few knife blogs. (About the only active knife related blogs you will find are Corporate Blogs- those associated with a knife company, media or knife store).

So, what’s the difference?

One of the primary differences between a blog and a website is how the “information” is presented. Instead of a homepage that stays the same day after day, CNJ’s “homepage” is more like a newspaper in that it changes with each new story, or post. Moreover, as a new post is published, it is located right up at the top of the page- then the other stories are displayed in chronological order.

Speaking of newspapers, did you know 95% of the top 100 US newspapers have reporter blogs? It is true. News sources are going online. Another interesting stat is over 900,000 posts are written to blogs everyday. (The folks who write on blogs are called bloggers, in case you are ever asked).

If the blogging phenomena interest you then here is latest report by Technorati on The State of The Blogosphere.

CNJ’s archiving ability is far superior to that of the Dewey Decimal System

Please don’t ask me to try to explain the Dewey Decimal System, because I can’t, although I do remember it from grade school. But think about it, over a year’s time, the quantity of stories/articles posted here at CNJ will number into the hundreds, therefore, it is critical this information can be easily accessed. Well, that is where the CNJ media platform shows its real muscle.

Next up in the Getting to Know CNJ Series: Finding topics you are interested in.