Auction Has Begun

About — J. Bruce Voyles

Bruce Voyles has spent 53 years in knives — as a collector, author, and appraiser — and has run J. Bruce Voyles, Auctioneers, the world's only knife-only auction house, since 1994.

Bruce began collecting knives in the 1970s, running a small retail cutlery shop and mail-order business in Murphy, North Carolina. An early member of the National Knife Collectors and Dealers Association, he worked in weekly newspapers while producing his first knife book and magazine articles in 1975. The first edition of the Official Price Guide to Pocketknives, by James F. Parker and J. Bruce Voyles, was published in 1976 — the first of eight price guides and three pocket price guides done with Parker. In 1977 he became founding editor of National Knife Collector Magazine, and by 1981 had joined Jim Parker in buying Blade Magazine and forming the American Blade Collectors Association.

There, he and Parker created and launched The Blade Show and International Cutlery Fair — today the largest knife event in the world. Voyles became full owner of Blade Magazine and President of the ABCA in 1986, launching "Edges," a magazine for collectors, and "Blade Trade," a cutlery industry trade magazine. He wrote the ABCA Price Guide to Antique Knives, Today's Knifemakers, and The Joseph Rodgers Exhibition Knife Collection, and edited the "Knife" entry in the World Book Encyclopedia, which he still updates.

In 1994 he sold Blade Magazine, Edges, Blade Trade, and The Blade Show to Krause Publications, and formed J. Bruce Voyles, Auctioneers — the only auction house in the world that specializes in just knives, handling both live auctions and regularly published catalog auctions. In 1999 he co-authored Knives Digest 1 with Ken Warner; in 2000 he was named editor of Knives Illustrated, a role he still holds; and since 1999 he has produced the Spirit of Steel Knife Show.

His research has taken him to Seki City, Japan; Solingen, Germany; and London and Sheffield, England, as well as on-site visits to Case, Buck, Gerber, Kershaw, Kabar, Al Mar, Parker-Edwards, and Benchmade, and the sites of closed factories such as New York Knife, Walden, and Cattaraugus. All of it assures every bidder and consignor that their knives are described with a depth of experience unequaled in the industry.

His daughter, Heather Voyles, is now a licensed auctioneer and works alongside him in the business.

Among his career highlights, Bruce holds the world auction record for a factory-made knife — a Case Tested 6488 green bone congress that sold for $14,300 — and has been profiled in the press, including a feature in Japan's leading knife magazine (read the article).

Credentials

• Inducted into the Cutlery Hall of Fame of both Blade Magazine and the American Bladesmith Society
• NKCA Life Member No. 0004  ·  Case Collector Club Member No. 0005
• Editor-At-Large, Knife Magazine
• Recipient of the Don Hastings Award (ABS) and the Nate Posner Award (Knifemakers Guild)
• 53 years of hands-on knife experience
• Licensed: TN Auctioneer #4860 · TN Firm #4016

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Bidder Terms & Conditions

Registering

If you have not bid with us before, register with your email address and choose a password (it is case-sensitive). If you have bid before, your email is already in the system — go to Login and use "Forgot Password" to set a new one, and check your spam folder for the reset email. We do not keep passwords on file. Please register early rather than waiting until the last day, so we have time to help with any issues.

Placing your bids

Bid from the headline and photo, or click a lot to see larger images and full descriptions. Enter an "up to" bid or a standard bid and confirm — be sure the amount is right before you confirm. Increments are pre-set (if the bid is $50, the next is $60; no odd numbers). Your maximum bid is secret, and your identity is never shown to other bidders.

Buyer's premium & returns

There is a 13% buyer's premium, reduced to 10% if you pay by check or PayPal within 7 days of invoice. You have a 3-day return only if an item is not as described; a flaw visible in the catalog counts as part of the description. If you can't tell from the photos and description whether a knife meets your standards, please don't bid on it.

First-time bidders

If we don't know you, you've never bid with us, and your total bids will exceed $2,000, you must call us to arrange payment and verify your ability to pay: 423-238-6753. (Long-time bidders — bid as you always have.)

Soft close & canceling bids

The auction has soft closing times: a bid confirmed in the last minute extends that lot by three minutes. Bids cannot be canceled once submitted, because other bidders may have acted on them — the time to reconsider is before you confirm. The act of bidding is your acceptance of all terms.

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