Knife Rights director Alan Romania and I attended the NRA annual meeting in St. Louis. Our goal was to do what we could to get the word out about Knife Rights. We relied on the Knife Rights buttons again, this time handing them out to attendees in the aisles. I’d like to thank Knife Rights members Steve Van Dyke and Tim Craft for their able assistance ((L to R: Steve, Alan, Doug and Tim). Between the four of us we handed out a bit over 2,000 buttons that we had on hand in the first two days. By Sunday, it was encouraging that you would be hard pressed not to see a button on at least one person, no matter which direction looked from anywhere in the hall. We’ve already had a rash of new members and hopefully that will continue as NRA members get home to their computers.

I just finished packing up our Knife Rights buttons in preparation for the NRA Annual Meeting in St. Louis. Board members Alan Romania and Tom Gresham will also be attending. We started Knife Rights too late to get a booth this year, so Alan and I will be in the aisles handing out our Knife Rights buttons and spreading the word about Knife Rights.

It is the one month anniversary of the launch of Knife Rights and it seems like a good time to update you on progress to date.

Reaction to the SHOT Show launch was very good, especially considering we had only a couple weeks over the holidays to get ready and couldn't schedule a press conference on such short notice. We gave out about 6,000 KnifeRights.org buttons and it was hard to look anywhere without seeing one or more pinned to an attendee's badge holder or shirt. You can see how well those red, white and blue buttons stand out in this shot of the Knife Rights Board of Directors with Sandy Froman, NRA President and our first Cornerstone Charter Member (L to R: Alan Romania, Doug Ritter, Sandy Froman, Tom Gresham and Ethan Becker).

We are getting a steady flow of visitors to the site and converting about 2%, which sounds miserable, but in fact is not too bad. To date almost 85% of the traffic is generated from some of the online knife related and firearms forums and the Equipped to Survive site. The remaining is coming from various blogs and Google.

What is most gratifying is that 50% of the members are opting to upgrade their membership to a higher level. Over 90% of the members also belong to the NRA, which is about what we expected. 50% of our members own more than 6 knives.

We have discovered more than a few bugs in the online membership and payment software that we are working to rectify. I apologize to those of you who have experienced any difficulty signing up and paying for your membership. All I can say is that some teething pains are to be expected, but we share your frustration. We have purchased a professional non-profit member management software package and Sue is working to get it and the accounting package up and running by the end of this month. This will enable us to better communicate with you and better manage our finances.

Meanwhile, we are starting to work at generating more visibility for Knife Rights. Our first efforts involve more editorial mentions, which we encourage via press releases and personal contact with editors of appropriate magazines. We expect to have some of these mentions in the next few months, but if you have an editorial contact with a gun/tactical/outdoors sports type magazine, please drop me a line so we can take advantage of your contacts. We also have started placing small display ads in some magazines. It's all about get eyeball time and becoming credible in the minds of these readers. The bad news is that it takes a while with a three to four month lead time not unusual.

Now that I have completed my Shot Show Report (my day job) I am planning to spend more time on Knife Rights. Let me first answer the most common questions I am getting from members and prospective members:

1. Where are the caps and membership cards?

Please remember that we're starting from scratch, zip, zero. We are working hard on these. The first run of caps had quality problems with the embroidery, so they are being re-done. As soon as they arrive, in the next week or two, they will go out. You can see a photo of the cap at http://www.kniferights.org/kr_cap.html

The membership cards are being designed and we're trying to decide what sort of media to use for printing and how best to balance the cost versus the benefits to the member. However, these too should start going out about the same time as the caps, along with the decal. The design of the Knife Rights logo has been cleaned up and rendered into a useable format and the decal designed by Christopher Billick, a member and graphic designer who has generously offered his services. Christopher is also helping us with the design of the knifemaker and corporate member seals.

If you have talents that we could make use of, I hope you'll drop me an email at dritter@KnifeRights.org with your interest and experience. In coming months we'll be working to expand our services and volunteers will play a large role in bringing these to fruition. You can help us become a bigger and better organization.

2. When will we see more content on the Knife Rights web site?

This is a priority for us and we are working at rounding up the resources to provide the content at a price we can afford. We have volunteers compiling links and hope to start loading them in the few weeks.

Another priority is the Knife Law section of the site. We see that as one of the most important services we can offer our members. We are currently working on various options for presenting this information in a clear and useful manner. This is not as simple as one might expect since simply presenting state statutes as written, which would be relatively easy, is often of only limited usefulness. How the law is interpreted can be critical. In addition, many towns and cities have their own laws that are stricter than state law.

Legislative and news alerts are another priority. Once again, starting from scratch with a very limited budget, we can only build as quickly as resources allow. We are researching various options that could provide members this service.

A forum covering membership issues and questions and for knife law questions is also in the works. We are investigating forum software offerings and looking for a volunteer to serve as forum administrator.

If you are interested in helping as a volunteer and have experience or talents that could help build the site, please contact me at dritter@KnifeRights.org

3. Will you be at the NRA Annual Meeting in St. Louis?

Yes. We applied for a booth, but being number 79 on the waiting list, we are not holding our breath. However, regardless, we will be there. The simple fact is that we have to reach the NRA members if we are to reach critical mass. Some of our industry supporters have booths and will once again have button boxes out and we will be actively handing out our buttons and working to recruit members and spread the word. If you are planning to attend and would like to assist  in spreading the word, please email me at dritter@KnifeRights.org.

4. What Knife and Gun Shows will you be attending?

We are still developing our travel and promotion plans and looking at what events would provide the best return on investment. Travel costs can be significant, plus in some cases we'd have to be in two or three places at once. In many intances we'll be depending upon volunteers to represent Knife Rights at events we cannot personally attend. For example, the Oregon Knife Collectors Show in Eugene, Oregon, is held the same dates as the NRA Annual Meeting. Member Chuck Gollnick has volunteered to represent Knife Rights in Eugene and we are sending off a large box of KnifeRights.org buttons to Chuck. If you’d like to help promote Knife Rights at your local knife or gun show, please email me at dritter@KnifeRights.org.

In the near term, for sure we will be at Blade Show and the Knifemakers Guild Show. I hope to post a calendar on the Knife Rights site soon; that is one of our priority projects. We are working on the design of a handout and table display for members to use at their booths and tables at events. We have secured a pop-up booth display due to the generosity of a member who prefers to remain anonymous and will be working to add display elements to it over the next few months.

5. Are you going to fight to eliminate anti-switchblade laws?

Our immediate goal is to prevent further erosion of our rights to own and carry the knives we are currently allowed. That is the first priority. Beyond that, down the road when we gain enough traction, I'm inclined to believe a worthwhile and viable goal would be to emulate the NRA's successful campaign to preempt often more restrictive local laws with state law. There's no rational reason that some town or city should add more restrictions on top of existing state law. A citizen of any particular state should at least be able to know that as long as they follow their state laws with regards knife ownership and carry, they are safe to do so anywhere in that state. Moreover, it's much easier to prevent adverse regulation at a state level than at the local level.

Turning back time to change laws on the books, especially at a national level, is infinitely more difficult and I cannot hold out hope that this would be a realistic goal. I believe that a responsible strategy is to spend our limited resources in areas where we can accomplish the most good with the greatest chances of success. First and foremost, we must stop new laws that would make things worse.

England continues to serve as a poster child for how bad it could get. Effective this past week, the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 doubled the prison term for carrying a knife in public to four years, a point of pride for Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker. That's hardly the end. One mother's well-intentioned, if seriously misguided, attempt to somehow respond to her son's tragic death would raise penalties even further: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/TommysLaw and it's already gaining momentum: http://tinyurl.com/2bemcb Meanwhile, police in the UK have started using metal detectors positioned in public thoroughfares to catch citizens who break the law by carrying a knife in public: http://tinyurl.com/ystlwp

Today in our schools our children are being taught that a knife is a weapon, period. This represents an effort to change our culture, to turn it 180 degrees, to turn our tools into evil instruments of death and destruction that no sane person would have anything to do with. If we just stand by and let it happen, in a generation knives as we know them will become virtually extinct. The more laws are put into place that restrict what knives we can own and carry, the more it furthers this agenda.

Time is Running Out to Join Knife Rights and Win a Custom Knife

If you have not yet joined Knife Rights ( http://www,KnifeRights.org ), don't forget that all Charter Members who join by March 9, 2007, are eligible to win one of nine custom knives worth upwards of $1500 from these Knife Rights Knifemaker Cornerstone Charter Members:

• Bob Dozier
• Jerry Fisk
• Larry Harley
• Rick Hinderer
• D'Alton Holder
• Darrel Ralph
• Trace Rinaldi
• Spencer Alan Reiter
• Ken Steigerwalt

We will announce the winners of this membership drive in next month’s newsletter.

The bottom line on what will be accomplished starts with growing our membership. That is our number one priority because without members we don't have the money or the numbers to make a difference. YOU can make a difference and win yourself great awards through our Member-Get-A-Member program http://www.kniferights.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=45

Just encourage 10 of your friends to join Knife Rights and we'll reward you with an annual membership renewal or equivalent credit towards a higher level of membership. The Knife Rights member who brings in the most new members in the first year will win a custom knife worth over $300! All the remaining Knife Rights members who gained a Member-Get-A-Member award will be eligible to win another custom knife worth over $300! Please forward this email to anyone you know who might be interested in Knife Rights.

To a sharper future...

Knife Rights made a pretty big splash at SHOT Show, especially considering we had only a couple weeks over the holidays to get ready and couldn't schedule a press conference on such short notice. We gave out about 6,000 KnifeRights.org buttons and it was hard to look anywhere without seeing one or more pinned to an attendee's badge holder or shirt. You can see how well those red, white and blue buttons stand out in this shot of the Knife Rights Board of Directors with Sandy Froman, NRA President and our first Cornerstone Charter Member (L to R: Alan Romania, Doug Ritter, Sandy Froman, Tom Gresham and Ethan Becker).

Happy New Year! The New Year brings new beginnings and very exciting news.

One important piece of news is that we have changed the name of the organization to Knife Rights (and this newsletter thus becomes your "Knife Rights News Slice").

Same organization, new name. The U.S. Knife & Tool Association name was a quick response to a developing situation when we first came up with the insane idea for this organization. It's what you get when you throw together a concept and web site to gauge interest in a mere 24 hours, with a bit of sleep deprivation thrown in for good measure. I don't think any of us were all that thrilled by USKTA. As I covered in my last update, we needed a better name; one that was more marketable, one that had a memorable domain name (that was also available), and one that wouldn't be confused with AKTI, the industry's organization.

Knife Rights more clearly identifies what we are all about and won't be confused with AKTI. We have secured the KnifeRights.org, .com, .net, etc. domains and the new www.KnifeRights.org Web site is now live. More to the point, we are now ready for you to join as a Charter member! That's the most important and exciting news and more details about that further along in this update.

This represents the official launch of Knife Rights, which very conveniently also coincides with SHOT Show, the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade's huge annual trade show. You'd be hard pressed to find many attendees who do not carry a knife and most own more than one. If you are attending SHOT Show, be sure to pick up one of our red, white and blue KnifeRights.org buttons available at many of the booths. Wear it at the show and help us spread the word. I'm pleased to say that it's not just knife companies who are hosting our button boxes, this issue is bigger than that.

Launching Knife Rights, even pinching pennies, did not come cheap. I promised we'd do it right before we'd ask you to join, but that still takes money and that has to come from somewhere. I'd like to acknowledge the individuals and companies who shared my vision and commitment and who stepped up to the plate and contributed the significant sums needed to make this happen, our Cornerstone Founding Members:

Al Mar Knives – Gary Fadden
Essential Gear – Robert Walker & Susan Martin
Ethan Becker
KA-BAR Knives – John Stitt
Lone Wolf Knives – Jim Wehrs
Ontario Knife Company – Nick Turbrvic, Jr.
Tops Knives – Mike Fuller
Wenger Swiss Army Knives

This is a grass roots organization; by knife owners, for knife owners. For all the considerable generosity of these Cornerstone Founding Members, all they got is the same single membership and vote you do (except for Ethan, who for his generosity got roped into serving on the Board of Directors). All the more reason to recognize them for their efforts to launch an organization of knife owners because they understand how important this is and ponied up the bucks with no guarantees whatsoever. If you're attending SHOT Show, please take a moment and thank them for their generosity.

Speaking of the Board of Directors, Knife Rights was purposely started with a small Board of Directors so that additional directors can be added from the general membership as the organization grows. Knife Rights: by knife owners, for knife owners. You can meet the members of your Board at www.KnifeRights.org.

Political power to defend our rights will only come from big numbers. As we start up, every penny you give us for membership dues will be reinvested to grow the organization. While knife enthusiasts will form the core member group, we must reach out beyond the knife enthusiast if we are to succeed. We must also entice some of the millions of knife owners to whom their knives are simply essential tools. We need them to join us in our fight. That is the only way we will become a large enough organization that we cannot be ignored.

Until membership in an organization reaches six-figures, it doesn't count. Once you exceed 100,000 members, they start to pay attention. That's the threshold. From there, the more members you have, the more votes you represent, the more clout you gain. Politicians don't necessarily understand reason, but they do understand votes.

Perhaps the largest group of potential Knife Rights members are gun owners, and in particular, members of the NRA. These are citizens who have been fighting for their rights for a long time against the same radicals that want to take away your knives. Every gun owner I have spoken with immediately "gets it." They understand that in many respects this is just another front in their own battle and they will join us. The NRA has nearly 4 million members. If we can attract just 2.5% of those NRA members we have a six-figure membership. I am very pleased to note that one of our very first Cornerstone Charter Members is NRA President, Sandra Froman, so we're definitely off to a good start. (Read Sandy's letter at www.KnifeRights.org )

However, that's only a beginning, the easiest pickings as it were. Think of all the hobbies, avocations and jobs that require a knife: Fishermen, hunters, archers, backpackers, construction workers, carpenters, chefs and the list goes on and on because knives are indispensable tools, even today. Every one of them is a potential member; we just have to reach them and let them know the threat exists. That leads me to our tag lines or marketing slogans that focus on the most critical aspects of what this organization is all about, boiling it down to fundamentals.

We have adopted two tag lines for Knife Rights. The first emphasizes our primary objective to defend our freedom to own, carry and use the knives we choose, fighting efforts to restrict our right to do so, providing for "A Sharper Future," not one dulled by ridiculous restrictions. The second emphasizes our belief that these are TOOLS that have been essential to civilized society for practical and lawful purposes for millennia. Knives and other edged tools are a cornerstone of civilization and remain useful tools to millions of citizens even in the modern world. Our right to own, use and carry these tools should not be abridged; these are "Essential Tools - Essential Rights."

Here are the mission statements of Knife Rights, Inc., the 501(c)(4) membership advocacy organization, and Knife Rights Foundation, Inc., the 501(c)(3) charitable educational foundation:

Knife Rights is dedicated to:

1. Providing knife and edged tool owners an effective voice to influence public policy and to oppose efforts to restrict the right to own, use and carry knives and edged tools;

2. Encouraging safe, responsible and lawful use of knives and edged tools through education and outreach, enhancing positive perceptions of knives and edged tools and their owners and users;

3. Encouraging the marketing of knives and edged tools in a responsible manner conducive to the organization's goals;

4. Cooperating with advocacy organizations having complimentary interests and goals;

5. Providing knife and edged tool owners with services that they will find valuable in order to build membership to enable success in our primary objectives.

Knife Rights Foundation is dedicated to:

1. Encouraging safe and responsible use of knives and edged tools through education and outreach;

2. Educating knife owners, public officials and the general public about the history of knives and edged tools;

3. Educating knife owners, public officials and the general public about knife and edged tool related laws and regulations.

In the past few weeks the non-profit organizations have been incorporated. Knife Rights Inc.'s 501(c)(4) tax exempt application (Form 1024) has been submitted to the IRS. All these public documents are available on KnifeRights.org along with the Knife Rights bylaws for anyone inclined to know more about how the organization will be run. The Foundation's more complicated 501(c)(3) application (Form 1023) will follow shortly. We need your membership dues to help pay for the legal expertise this form requires. Your dues to Knife Rights are not tax deductible as charitable contributions. Contributions to the Knife Rights Foundation will be.

Most of you receiving this Update originally signed up on the USKTA site. That was the first step and helped convince us that the concept had merit and was worth pursuing. Now is when it really counts. Please join Knife Rights today! Every member is critical; we need your support to make Knife Rights a force to be reckoned with. Become a Charter Member today!

Knife Rights offers a range of Charter Memberships and there's one that will suit you perfectly. Regular annual membership starts at only $28. Reduced price non-voting memberships are available to students and to non-U.S. citizens. For only $50 you can become a Knife Rights Benefactor and in appreciation we'll give you FREE a superior quality KnifeRights.org cap to help spread the word, an $18 value.

For those who are truly passionate about protecting our rights, and are in a position to do it, we offer an individual Cornerstone Charter Membership for $250. For your exceptional generosity, you get the cap, a unique Cornerstone Charter Member lapel pin and listing on the Knife Rights Cornerstone Honor Roll page (the latter optional at your choice).

We also offer special memberships to knifemakers, knife and tool retailers, manufacturers and supporting corporations and organizations. Visit www.KnifeRights.org/membership and JOIN TODAY.

As an extra special incentive to become a Charter Knife Rights Member TODAY, a number of custom knifemakers have generously donated extraordinary examples of their craft to Knife Rights. The value of these knives starts at nearly $300 and goes up from there. Some of these knifemakers have waiting lists running into years, so their support of the Knife Rights launch in this manner is all the more incredible and appreciated. Every new Charter Member who signs up in the first 60 days gets a chance to win one of these incredible knives. You'll find a link to these beautiful knives with photos and descriptions on the KnifeRights.org home page and the membership page as well.

Visit www.KnifeRights.org/membership and JOIN TODAY to get your chance to win one of these extraordinary custom knives.

The list is short only because this was a last minute idea we came up with just days before the launch. I anticipate we'll be adding more makers to this list before SHOT Show is over.

Charles May - www.charlesmayknives.blademakers.com
Darrel Ralph - www.darrelralph.com
Ken Steigerwalt
Larry Harley - www.lonesomepineknives.com
Rick Hinderer - www.rickhindererknives.com
Trace Rinaldi - www.thrblades.com

Finally, we have instituted a Member-Get-A-Member program. You can earn a free annual membership renewal;or more than one. Just encourage 10 of your friends (who have not already signed up at USKTA.org) to join Knife Rights and we'll reward you with an annual membership renewal. Be sure they include your name in the referral field when they sign up. Full details can be found at www.KnifeRights.org/ Member-Get-A-Member. If everyone who has signed up at USKTA.org would do this, we'd have over 10,000 members almost instantly. The Knife Rights member who brings in the most new members in the first year will win a custom knife worth over $300!

The new KnifeRights.org web site is really just the most basic of beginnings and there are plenty of rough edges we need to get smoothed out, but all things considered, we've come a long way in a very short time. You can see on the Main Menu all the grayed-out menu items that represent content and services we plan to provide as membership growth and resources allow. Much of the most useful areas and all services will be available only to members. As we gain more members, we will have the resources needed to bring this site to life.

Knife Rights is your organization. While advocacy is out main purpose, service to members is one of the pillars that will support this effort, as noted in item 5 of our mission statement. Please let us know what services we can offer you that will make your membership in Knife Rights more valuable. We have lots of ideas, but we want to hear from you as well.

Let me extend a special thanks to all who have helped these past few weeks as we labored to get Knife Rights launched at the worst possible time, right over the holidays. You all know who you are and you know I sincerely appreciate all you've done. An even more special thank you to my lovely wife Sue, who has put up with my insanity for nearly 33 years and who has exhibited the patience of a saint and been even more supportive over the past month as we worked nearly 24/7 pulling this all together.

Now I am off to SHOT Show to spread the word about Knife Rights. Please join Knife Rights TODAY and please help us spread the word. Email your friends and associates, post on online forums and blogs, add a Knife Rights sig line to your signature and our link buttons and banners to you site and blog (all available at www.kniferights.org under the Membership menu), become a Benefactor Charter Member and wear your Knife Rights cap with pride. Help us build our membership, because ultimately, that's what this is all about. Only through a large membership can we accomplish our goal to protect our right to own, use and carry the knives we choose.

Visit www.KnifeRights.org/membership and JOIN TODAY.

Best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous new year.

Doug Ritter