2021 BLADE Show West Factory And Custom Knife Award Winners

See who took top honors in Long Beach for the 2021 Blade Show West Awards.

BLADE Show West took place Oct. 8-9, 2021, at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calf. It was the show’s inaugural year in California and drew custom makers, manufacturers and collectors from around the county.

It also drew an impressive cadre of entrants for the BLADE Show West Factory and Custom Knife Awards. For Factory Knives, awards were given in five categories, while the Custom Knives awarded six categories.

The Factory section was evaluated by a panel of undisclosed industry experts who judged the blades on a number of factors, including utility, design, creativity, materials and other traits. The Custom section was judged by a number of expert knifemakers along similar lines.

Factory Knife Award Winners

Best Tactical and Best In Show

Civivi Tamashii designed by Bob Terzuola, SharpByCoop Image

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Best Hunter

Bradford Knives M390 Guardian 4, SharpByCoop Image

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Best Big Knife

Bradford Knives REX 45 Fillet, SharpByCoop Image

Best Folder

Pro-Tech Malibu Custom Limited Edition w/textured bronze aluminum handle, SharpByCoop Image

Best EDC

Monterey Bay Knives wharncliffe flipper folder, SharpByCoop Image

Custom Knife Award Winners

Best Folder and Best In Show

Mike Tyre mosaic damascus folder, SharpByCoop Image

Best Damascus

Mike Shindel Merovingian Sword in a 4-bar Turkish twist, and a random-pattern wrap-around edge of 1084 and 15N20 carbon and nickel-alloy steels, SharpByCoop Image

Best Slip Joint

Luke Swenson split-backspring whittler, SharpByCoop Image

Best EDC

Tobin Hill one-blade trapper, SharpByCoop Image

Best Chef’s Knife

Nicholas Berkofsky/Fell Knives 7.5-inch Protein Petty, SharpByCoop Image

Best Hunter

Mike Shindel integral bolster hunter, SharpByCoop Image

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