Atlanta, Georgia (June 6, 2015) – Awards recognizing the highest achievement in the custom and factory knife industries were bestowed the evening of Saturday, June 6, 2015, at the BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) in the Cobb Galleria.

Representatives from BLADE Magazine (www.blademag.com) distributed Knife of the Year® awards in 15 categories. Two of the awards—Industry Achievement and Publisher’s—went to a retail knife store and a knife-related organization, respectively, for their contributions to the world of knives.

• Overall Knife Of The Year®: LionSteel T.R.E. (Three Rapid Exchange)
• American-Made Knife Of The Year®: Zero Tolerance 0999
• Imported Knife Of The Year®: Spyderco Nirvana
• Most Innovative American Design: Koenig Zenaida
• Most Innovative Imported Design: Fox Knives Desert Fox
• Best Buy Of The Year: Spyderco Byrd Knife Cara Cara 2
• Kitchen Knife Of The Year®: KAI USA Shun Limited Edition Chef’s Knife
• Investor/Collector Knife Of The Year®: Pro-Tech Warenski Ultimate Godfather
• Knife Collaboration Of The Year®: RMJ Tactical/Bawidamann Blades Tomahawk
• Manufacturing Quality Award: Chris Reeve Knives
• Accessory Of The Year: Wicked Edge Generation 3 Pro
• People’s Choice Knife Of The Year®: Taylor Brands Schrade SCHF36 Frontier Knife
• Industry Achievement Award: Shepherd Hills Cutlery
• Publisher’s Award: Elephant Protection Association
• BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© Inductee: Chris Reeve
• Click here to see custom knife award winners

All entrants in the Knife of the Year® competition were judged on a number of factors, including utility, design, creativity, materials, aesthetics, feel and other traits.

About BLADE Show

The BLADE Show is the world’s largest, most important knife show, and has taken place every year since 1981 and in Atlanta since 1992. Upwards of 1,000 exhibitors from more than 20 countries display their knives and knife-related items over a three-day cutlery celebration that also features BLADE University knife seminars, knife auctions, custom knife awards, celebrity appearances and much more.

About BLADE

BLADE® Magazine (www.blademag.com) is the world’s No.1 knife publication. It is also the world’s oldest knife magazine, publishing its first issue in 1973. In conjunction with the BLADE Show, it has sponsored the Knife of the Year® Awards annually since 1982. The awards are the most coveted honors in the factory knife industry and are voted on by the booth exhibitors at the BLADE Show, who this year number close to 200. Only BLADE Show booth exhibitors are eligible to enter. The People’s Choice Award is open for voting to all visitors of blademag.com.

The BLADE Show and BLADE Magazine are the properties of F+W of Cincinnati, Ohio.