Page 42 - Blade (February 2020)

KEEN BENEFACTORS |

following. His well-known CQC-6 is one. To help fi ght Parkinson’s disease, Spyderco donates
portions of the proceeds from sales of the Mantra
He is careful to vet each charity to see
2 (shown here) and Mantra 3 to the National
how much of the company’s funds go to Parkinson Foundation.
the causes the nonprofit claims to help. He

warns that not all national organizations
steward funds wisely. Over the years,
Emerson Knives has lent its support to the
CIA Memorial Offi cer Foundation. It also
has raised funds for Fallen Navy SEALs
and Chris Kyle.
One charity Emerson Knives has
returned to again and again over the years
is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,

a charity championed by Emerson’s wife, horrific wounds that would have lled proceeds, he s id, went toward toys he’d buy
Mary, who handles a good deal of the soldiers of earlier years if it were not for and donate to s for Tots.
company’s charitable eff orts. advances in emergency medicine. hat I love a ut Toys for Tots is that
“She champions that particular type its mission n to deli er hope. I think a
fact that even with
of charity because her mom and her CYPOPS for TOTS lot of people miss t the fa
i s
grandfather all donated large parts of their Lucas Burnley leveraged his social media something as simple as , y ou’re actually
income to St. Jude’s,” Emerson observed. following to raise funds for Toys for Tots. supporting a whole family,” Burnley said,
“It’s one of those organizations that spends Burnley, who lives on Cape Cod and has adding that play helps kids learn and takes
almost all the money it receives on research designed knives for companies such as stress off the parents.

and care for children [with] cancer.” Boker, won the BLADE Magazine 2019 When he was looking for something

Because he’s been blessed with so much, Industry Achievement Award (September to display at shows after his knives sold
Emerson feels duty bound to give back. He BLADE®, page 36) for his work with the out, he hit on the Cypop, which is part
naturally supports many military causes. Toys for Tots charity. bottle opener and part “pocket sculpture.”
When citizens sign up, they know they It began in 2013, when he put up one of According to Burnley, over time the fan
might return with debilitating PTSD or his Cypop models for a raffle. All the raffl e base for the Cypops seemingly eclipsed

his knives.
Th e raffle he held in November 2019

netted $118,000 for Toys for Tots. He raffl ed
off 33 Cypops, with the fi rst-place winner

netting one made of Mokuti and sporting
Masecraft Supply Co. offers the world’s largest line-up of three inlaid diamonds. The enthusiasts in

natural and synthetic materials for knife handles, gun grips,
pens, musical instrument inlays, pool cue inlays and endless the Burnley Knives group on Facebook
other creative applications. Several of these materials are egged each other on, encouraging one
exclusive to us.
another to donate to the cause and buy into
Our customers include some of the largest and well known the $10-a-ticket raffl e.
major manufacturers and artisans in the world.
In 2019, Burnley partnered with toy
Our line-up of natural materials includes white Mother of Pearl,
Black Lip Pearl, Gold Lip Pearl, Paua, Green Abalone and company Mattel. Not only was he able to
many types of Laminated Shell Veneers (LVS) plus custom purchase toys at a reduced price, he also
shell inlays, India Stag, Bone, Horn and Exotic Woods.
was able to buy and donate some hard-to-
Our decorative synthetic materials include Alternative Ivory access gifts. For instance, as anyone close to

and many other decorative Polyester and Acrylic materials in
sheet, rod and bar form. We also offer a full line of Reconsti- a young girl knows, American Girl® dolls
tuted Stone slabs and blocks. We are adding new products
every year. We also offer a wide variety of Rigid Composite are pricy and popular. Mattel donated 500
Laminates in Canvas, Linen and Paper Micarta, G-10’s and of them!
Carbon Fiber.
By buying the toys himself, Burnley is
Masecraft supply co. specializes in large manufacture orders able to purchase toys beyond the $29.95
and the individual needs of artisans and hobbyist alike.
spending limit that Toys for Tots sets for
each toy per child. “So, we can do things
like buy bicycles,” he explained.
Toys for Tots, which was started in 1991
at the request of the U.S. Marines, ran a
Visit our new low-level “military” operation for Burnley’s
E-commerce store, Cypops for Tots charity: When he rolled up
www.masecraft supply.com
full product selection with pictures Meriden, CT USA to Mattel in California, he could no longer
use his personal vehicle to cart all the toys
Call us today for a free catalog 1-800-682-5489 away. Instead, Toys for Tots volunteers—all

42 BLADE FEBRUARY 2020