BLADE Staff

On election eve, BLADE Show West fetes its cutlery constituents.

With a presidential election looming and parts of the USA still in a state of shock after the natural disasters of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it was a BLADE Show West unlike any other. However, knife people are a hearty lot and many turned out to enjoy the knives and cutlery camaraderie this past October at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“The environment was good as usual, with lots of excitement,” wrote Jonathan McNees of McNees Knives.

Eddie Johnson of CobraTec echoed Jonathan’s assessment. “As always, the environment was enthusiastic and filled with excitement to see and hold new merchandise,” he commented. “There is nothing like holding that knife you have seen pictures and videos of.”

There were custom and factory knife awards galore, the show’s popular “Let The Pros Critique Your Knife” seminar, the West Coast Flipping Championships conducted by Squid Industries, and much more.

As for those all-important knife and knife accessory sales, it was like most shows: some exhibitors did well, some didn’t and some did OK.

“It was a great show,” Pro-Tech headman Dave Wattenberg exclaimed. “We did sell most everything that we brought, strong sales to both retail customers and dealers who attended. It’s very important to have both and this show did work well for retail and dealer dynamics.”

The Pro-Tech models that sold well were a mix.

“New models always do well—the Chaves collaboration did very well,” Dave noted. “Some oldie but goodie models—Godfathers, etc.—also did very well. Our TR-3 Integrity manual folder was a hot ticket for sure.

“We built an amazing group of show specials; they also did very well. It’s important to make some special pieces for the show, not just offer the same thing customers can buy anytime.”

John Cammenga of another factory cutlery company, White River Knife & Tool, also was pleased with sales.

“We had a very good show,” he remarked. “We had great sales and a dealer took everything we didn’t sell. It’s nice to go home sold out!”

Ernest Emerson of Emerson Knives, Inc., was another who said it was a great show.

“We sold out, with the first day rivaling the BLADE Show in Atlanta,” he opined. Jonathan McNees said his company had a “really good show. We didn’t quite sell out but we brought a lot of knives, so I didn’t expect to. Our folders sold best, but again, that’s to be expected with our customer base.”

While CobraTec sold well, sales were off about 30 percent from their show average over the previous two years.

“Everyone was concerned over the current economy and its uncertainty with the election approaching,” Eddie Johnson wrote. Nonetheless, he said several CobraTec knives were “good movers, from the Enforcer OTF to the Raptor to the OTF Utility Knife to our Koonsman fixed blade.”

Custom maker Tobin Hill agreed with Johnson’s economy/election observation.

“Talking with other exhibitors, the general consensus was tighter pocketbooks due to economy worries and pre-election jitters,” he wrote. Tobin brought eight knives and sold three—two of his Hill Locks with the rear bolster release and a lockback whittler.

Who Attended BLADE Show West

Like show sales, attendees ran the gamut, from young and old, novice to sophisticated buyers and more.

“The crowd seemed like a bigger percentage of experienced buyers versus the BLADE Show in Atlanta and BLADE Show Texas,” McNees observed. “We really enjoyed the local crowd. They were extremely friendly and receptive. We got lots of appreciation for coming out.”

The fact that it was the third straight year at the Salt Palace Convention Center seemed to help, too.

“It was good to see repeat customers, so I’m glad we’ve been at the same venue for a few years,” Cammenga wrote.

“There was a nice mix in demographics,” Johnson pointed out. “As always, it is great to see the entire family out enjoying the show. I had several sales to the younger generation with the supervision and guidance of their parents.” 

“There was a very healthy mix of already established Pro-Tech enthusiasts as well as first time buyers,” Pro-Tech’s Wattenberg wrote. “It did feel like a smaller crowd than last year, but we did have customers to work with the entire time, so no complaints. I especially love the family atmosphere; there were so many nice people.”

“The crowd seemed an even mix of young and old, several families with kids,” Hill reported. “There were not many ‘sophisticated’ buyers or dealers.”

According to one industry professional, the fewer buyers and dealers than usual from the Eastern USA may have been due to the poor economy and also the aforementioned Hurricanes Helene and Milton that hit shortly before the show.

BLADE Show West Exhibitors

Shows are about contacts, not only among show attendees and exhibitors but among the exhibitors themselves, including factory knife companies and custom makers to broach possible collaborations and other knife deals.

“We made good contacts with other makers, including some prominent ones we had not previously met,” McNees wrote. “The size of the show was good for that.” Added Johnson, “The BLADE Show always gives us an opportunity to meet various designers and talk about collaborations.” Wattenberg agreed. “We had a few excellent conversations with makers,” he noted.

West Coast Flipping Championship

The 5th Annual West Coast Flipping Championships conducted by Squid Industries was another rousing packed-house event, with Squid providing cash prizes of $1,000 for first place, $500 for second and $250 for third.

Banks Tracy, aka banksqro, took home the title using a Squid Silver Krake Raken Tanto V3 balisong. Runnerup was Max Wenham, aka balisongnerd, who also used a Squid Silver Krake Raken Tanto V3 balisong. Madi Thomas, aka oximityy, took third with her Squid DT Red Krake Raken Tanto V3 balisong. The top three finishers also won prizes from the events’ gold sponsors.

BLADE SHOW WEST ’25

If you were there, you know; if you weren’t, you need to be. Make it so and plan now to attend next year’s BLADE Show West, Oct. 10-11, once again at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.

More On The BLADE Shows:

• 2024 BLADE Show West Custom Knife Award Winners
• 2024 BLADE Show West Factory Knife Award Winners
• BLADE Show 2024 Recap
• 2024 BLADE Show Texas Recap

Betty Dowell was the juggernaut that made Ted Dowell’s knifemaking business move.

Elizabeth “Betty” Ann Dowell, the driving force behind BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Ted Dowell, teacher, mother, grandmother and friend of the knife community for over half a century, passed away July 2. She was 93.

Most fittingly, she lived long enough to watch on Zoom as Ted was inducted into the Cutlery Hall of Fame June 5 at BLADE Show 2024.

Betty and Ted were married in 1953 and moved to Madras, Oregon, in 1954, where Betty was a part-time substitute teacher and homemaker raising three children: Scott, Lynn and Jeff. The family moved to Bend, Oregon, in 1964, where Betty became an accomplished substitute teacher in the Bend Public School System.

Ted, meanwhile, accepted a professorship at Central Oregon Community College, where he was dean of the mathematics department. He sold his first knife in 1967 and helped found the Knifemakers’ Guild in 1970, along with Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Bob Loveless writing the organization’s bylaws in the process. Ted also later served as Guild president.

Ted went full time making knives in 1974 and started TMD Knives in 1975. That same year the Dowells suffered the tragic loss of their son Scott, 19, in a car accident. Betty took the lead role in getting her family through such a trying time, as well as maintaining the knifemaking business.

As Jeff noted when he inducted his father at the Hall-of-Fame ceremony this past June, “My mom was galvanized and determined to have a family to take care of and a household to run, and she ran every bit of the business. [Dad made the knives] but everything else she did. She attended to every detail of the business. She had two kids to take care of and she had a grieving husband and a knifemaker and a business to support, and she did so for another 40 years.”

In fact, until the Dowells closed their knifemaking operation in 2010, Betty was the rock of TMD Knives, handling all of the purchasing, inventory management, accounting, correspondence, promotions, and travel logistics for the company. Her attention to detail and level of documentation of the business was as comprehensive and complete as possible.

Betty’s work accomplishments at TMD Knives and the Dowells’ ground-breaking efforts in getting the Guild established early on earned her the Guild’s coveted Nate Posner Award in 2015 for support “above and beyond” of the Guild and the custom knifemaking industry.

More About Custom Knives:

• Custom Knife Royalty: Russell, Moran And Loveless
• Spectacular Custom EDC Knives Unveiled
• Stag Handle: Custom Knives That Are Bad To The Bone
• Dagger: Custom And Production Buyer’s Guide

Hinderer’s XM-18 out the side autos each pack a punch.

Rick Hinderer Knives offers two of its latest iterations of what industry observers say will continue to be a hot knife style for the foreseeable future—the automatic—in the XM-18 3.5 Bowie Auto and XM-18 3.5 Spearpoint Auto.

The knives come in different handle colors and inlays and are basically the same design with the same dependable out-the-side automatic opening mechanism, but each offers its own different blade pattern and material.

The 3.5 Bowie has a clip-point bowie blade of CPM S45VN stainless steel, while the 3.5 Spearpoint sports a spear-point blade of CPM 20CV stainless. In addition to each knife being a style to continue to watch in 2025, the steels bear serious eyeballing in the coming year as well as each makes the list of steels that will thrive in 2025 (see page 74).

Each knife features traction ridges on the base of the blade spine and handles with single, traction-ridged finger grooves, ridges on the bottom of the handle toward the butt, an integral guard and a hole for a lanyard. Each also has Hinderer’s patent-pending titanium half liners reinforcing the aluminum handles.

XM-18 3.5 Bowie Auto Specs
Knife Type: Automatic
Blade Length: 3.5”
Blade Steel: CPM S45VN stainless
Blade @Thickest: .165”
Blade Pattern: Bowie
Blade Finish: Stonewash
Liners: Patent-pending titanium half liners
Handle @Thickest: .54”
Handle Materials: Aluminum Razzberry w/White Storm FCF inlay
Pocket Clip: Yes
Weight: 5.12 ozs.
Closed Length: 4.75”
Country of Origin: USA
MSRP: $450

XM-18 3.5 Spearpoint Auto Specs
Knife Type: Automatic
Blade Length: 3.5”
Blade Steel: CPM 20CV stainless
Blade @Thickest: .165”
Blade Pattern: Spear point
Blade Finish: Stonewash
Liners: Patent-pending titanium half liners
Handle @Thickest: .54”
Handle Material Options: Aluminum copper w/Arctic Storm FCF or White Storm FCF inlay or red w/Arctic Storm FCF inlay
Pocket Clip: Yes
Weight: 5.12 ozs.
Closed Length: 4.75”
Country of Origin: USA
MSRP: $450