Major Knife Brands and Custom Makers Step Up to Support the American Knife & Tool Institute
The knife community has tremendously stepped up to support the new venue of the annual “Free to Carry” fundraiser of the American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI). This year the nonprofit’s event will be an online auction from August 1st through August 9th.
Leading knife and tool industry brands including American Outdoor Brands, W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery, Chris Reeve Knives, CRKT, and SOG Knives & Tools, plus sales organizations J. Harding Associates and The Evans Group, and have generously contributed to sponsor this year’s event.
“This will be the fifth annual fundraiser for our organization,” said John Sullivan, Director of Compliance at W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery and President of AKTI. “We’re excited to host the event as an online auction. We believe it will allow a greater audience to participate and expose more people to the artistry of the custom knifemakers and the quality and variety of industry products available from our members.”
Individuals will have the opportunity to purchase unique one-of-a-kind knives from well-known custom knifemakers Tony Bose, Richard Rogers, Brian Tighe, Matthew Lerch, and Ken Steigerwalt.
“We cannot thank these custom knifemakers enough for their contribution which represents huge amounts of their personal time,” said Jan Billeb, AKTI Executive Director. “Several of them have faithfully donated every year because they believe in what we are doing to promote the industry and help individuals feel confident to carry and use knives.”
The auction website is hosted at www.auctria.com/auction/freetocarry and is live now to view the catalog of items available. Items are available from William Henry, Spyderco, Chris Reeve Knives, W.R. Case, Fox Knives, SOG, Spartan, Leatherman, Master Cutlery, Al Mar Knives, Work Sharp, WE Knives, CRKT, Willey Knives, The Evans Group and more. There’s even a luxury vacation home getaway in Manzanillo, Mexico.
“Sponsoring ‘Free to Carry’ is just one more way that the knife industry shows appreciation for AKTI’s legislative successes and the organization’s efforts to promote knives as valuable tools,” said Mark Schreiber, President of CRKT and event co-chair. “We sincerely thank American Outdoor Brands, W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery, Chris Reeve Knives, CRKT, SOG Knives & Tools, J. Harding Associates and The Evans Group, for this additional support of the knife advocacy organization that effectively works to solve our common issues. And we thank all of the companies who have contributed factory and limited edition knives and accessories. We’re looking forward to a very successful auction.”
