Craftsmanship Crowned: Winners of the 2026 Custom Knife Awards at BLADE Show.

The 2026 Custom Knife Of The Year® Awards once again took center stage at BLADE Show, held June 5–7 at the Cobb Convention Center in Atlanta. As always, the event drew some of the finest custom makers in the world, and this year’s field was especially fierce. Keeping pace with the massive momentum of last summer, the number of custom entries remained roughly the same as last year, ensuring a brutally competitive arena for the makers.

A panel of expert judges had the unenviable task of selecting standouts across a range of categories, recognizing the blades that best embodied design, innovation and craftsmanship. From elegant folders to bold fighters, here are this year’s winners—including the coveted Hugh Bartrug Best in Show.

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Best Of Show And Best Custom Art Knife

Jean-Louis Regel

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Best Custom Bowie

Matias Funes

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Best Custom Collaboration

Honore Vilain/Camille Sennegon

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Best Custom Damascus Contender

Gabe Fletcher

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Best Custom Damascus

Julian Antunes

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Best Custom Fighter Contender

Jordan LaMothe

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Best Custom Fighter

Matias Funes

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Best Custom Fixed Blade

Julian Antunes

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Best Custom Folder

Moro Knives

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Best Custom Handle Design

Don Nguyen

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Best Custom Hunter

Camille Sennegon

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Best Custom Kitchen Knife

Will Stelter

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Best M.A.C.K.

Richard Rogers

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Best Custom Miniature

Rhidian Knives

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Best New Maker

Brent Mathison

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Best Custom Single-Blade Slip Joint

Honore Vilain

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Best Custom Multi-Blade Slip Joint

David Kramp

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Best Custom Sword

David Goldberg

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Best Custom Tactical Folder

Sergey Shirogorov

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Custom Best Of The Rest

Fabio Barros

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• Photo Gallery: BLADE Show 2025 in Pictures
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