Hughes’ unbound energy touched outdoor writing, knifemaking, sports and higher education.
Billy Ray “B. R.” Hughes, one of four founders of the American Bladesmith Society, pioneering knife and also a gun and outdoor writer, bladesmithing teacher, member of the BLADE Magazine Cutlery and ABS halls of fame and dear friend of the knife community, passed away September 17. He was 92.
B. R. began his writing career in 1951 as a reporter for the El Dorado Daily News in El Dorado, Arkansas, and later wrote for the Arkansas Gazette and Monroe Morning World. He attended Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where his flair for writing blossomed. He was editor of the college newspaper, assistant editor of the school yearbook and was active in school drama productions. He lettered in baseball and went on to play professionally for a short time in the minor leagues, topping out in the Class “C” league. He graduated from Henderson State in 1954 with majors in history and literature and a minor in speech and drama.
He began his teaching career in Huttig, Arkansas, where he met and later married Carolyn, current editor of The ABS Journal. Over the next decade, B. R. taught and coached at several Arkansas high schools. He covered the undefeated/untied University of Arkansas football team when the Razorbacks were recognized by several organizations as the 1964 NCAA national champions, a team coached by Frank Broyles and that included future Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. In 1965, B. R. joined the Texarkana College staff as director of public relations.
In 1961, he began his outdoor writing career with material published in Guns, Gun World, The American Rifleman and other magazines. His first knife-related stories were printed in Gunsport in 1966 and later in Gun World. His first knife book, American Handmade Knives of Today, was published in 1972. Along with Jack Lewis, B. R. co-authored The Gun Digest Book of Knives in 1973. It was the first knife publication of its kind in book form and foreshadowed the KNIVES annual introduced by Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Ken Warner in 1981, the latter of which continues to this day under the Caribou Media umbrella.
Other of B. R.’s books include the iconic Master of the Forge on the life and knives of his good friend, Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Bill Moran; Modern Handmade Knives; The Gun Digest Book of Folding Knives (co-authored again with Lewis); and others. In all, B. R. authored over 500 magazine articles on knives, including many in BLADE®, Knife World/KNIFE and others, in the process serving as a BLADE field editor for many years.
In 1976, along with Moran, Don Hastings and Bill Bagwell, B. R. was one of the four founding members of the ABS. Since 1984 he had served as the society’s secretary. Among his knife honors are the Knifemakers’ Guild Nate Posner Award and the Don Hastings Award, the latter the top honor of the ABS.
B. R. retired from Texarkana College in 1995 after having served over 25 years as dean of students. During that time he also served as commissioner of the Northeast Texas Junior College Baseball Conference, president of the Texas Junior College Dean’s Association, on the National Health Council, and on the Advisory Council of the American Red Cross.
For at least the past decade the B. R. Hughes Award named in his honor has been presented to the best knife of a successful applicant for ABS master smith at the BLADE Show. B. R. and Carolyn attended ABS hammer-ins for decades right up to the last year or two, helping coordinate the events and covering them over that time. B. R. also taught assorted subjects at the hammer-ins, at BLADE University and the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing, first in Washington, Arkansas, and later when the school moved to the campus of Texarkana College in 2019. He also served as a judge for the testing of applicants for bladesmith ratings at the hammer-ins, the BLADE Show and elsewhere.
B. R. and Carolyn’s children include Barry and Lee Ann, and two grandchildren, Cody and Cale.
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