Ready to rock in the Rocky Mountains!
A larger show hall, more exhibitors, some of the world’s best makers and knives, entertaining seminars, awards and other sharp stuff beckon you to attend BLADE Show West Oct. 4-5 in the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A move to the Salt Palace’s exhibit hall No. 4 adds 15,000 square feet to this year’s show, and along with the added space come 30 more exhibitors to join the hundreds of knifemakers, bladesmiths, knife companies, knife suppliers and other knife professionals at the third annual rendition of the BLADE Show West held in Utah.
Among the top custom makers set to exhibit is an unbridled posse of South Texas Slipjoint Cartel members that includes BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bill Ruple, award-winning makers Luke Swenson, Enrique Pena and Tim Robertson and others. An all-star list of ABS bladesmiths features Bill Burke, Shane Taylor, Steven Koster, Seth Lopez, Shayne Carter and Trevor Morgan, to name a few. Other top award-winning makers include Johnny Stout, Princeton Wong, Mick Strider, Duane Dwyer, Evan Nicolaides, Mike Tyre, Jared Oeser and Brian Nadeau. There are many more.
2024 BLADE Show West Classes And Demos
Let The Pro Critique Your Knife
While the full seminar slate had not been set at press time, the popular Let the Pros Critique Your Knife session was set to return, with some of the leading custom maker show exhibitors expected to examine and critique knives made by assorted show attendees. As usual, it will be a limited-seating event and attendees can bring one knife only.
Basecamp Essentials
Basecamp Essentials by Survival University will be a 30-to-45 minute demonstration designed to introduce essentials of wilderness living. “We will demo how to create various camp comforts such as benches, chairs, and other useful camp tools, using materials found in the natural environment,” a company spokesperson wrote. “This demo goes beyond the basics of survival, focusing on enhancing comfort and fostering a sense of community in the wilderness.”
West Coast Flipping Championships
Also set to return is the West Coast Flipping Championships hosted by Squid Industries. It will be the fifth annual version of the championships, with head-to-head/live balisong flipping matchups in an elimination/bracket-style competition. Awards and prizes will go to the top finishers. For the complete seminar schedule, see the free BLADE Show Program distributed at the show.
2024 BLADE Show West Awards
The show’s best custom and factory knives will be determined by a panel of judges assembled by the BLADE Show West staff. This year’s custom knife categories: Best in Show; Best Hunter; Best Kitchen Knife; Best Damascus; Best Slip Joint; Best Fixed Blade; Best Folder; Best M.A.C.K. (Machine Assisted Custom Knife); and Best of the Rest.
On the factory side, the award categories are Best American Made, Best Imported, Best EDC, Best Fixed Blade, Best Folder and Best in Show.
For the times and locations for the judging, signs and schedules will be prominently placed in and around the show hall. Also, see the free BLADE Show West Program distributed at the show for updates.
The winners will be announced and presented their awards in a special ceremony the Friday night of the show. See the free BLADE Show West Program for the time and venue.
2024 BLADE Show West Hidden Gems
The factory knife section is always a beehive of activity at BLADE Show West, and this year’s rendition promises more of the same. Leading exhibiting knife companies include CRKT; Emerson Knives, Inc.; Fox Knives; GiantMouse; Heretic; Hogue; Lionsteel; Pro-Tech; SOG; Spyderco; Squid Industries; McNees Knives; Suprlativ Knives; Tactile Knife Co.; TOPS Knives; WE Knife; White River Knife & Tool; and others. For the complete exhibitor list, visit bladeshowwest.com.
One of the hidden gems of the factory section is you never know who might show up, including custom makers who engage in collaborations with select companies. For example, the CRKT booth will feature award-winning custom knifemaker Richard Rogers, along with his wife Sally, to answer questions about Richard’s latest CRKT designs. Other CRKT maker/designers exhibiting at the show will be Eric Ochs, TJ Schwarz and Princeton Wong. Ochs will exhibit under Ochs Worx, Wong under Prince Customs and Schwarz under Schwarz Knives.
Danish knifemaker Jens Anso, along with fellow Danish maker Jesper Voxnaes the design team behind most if not all of GiantMouse knives, will be stationed at the GiantMouse booth. Knife designer Tony Sentmanat will be based at the WE Knives booth. WE maker/collaborators Ben Petersen and Zac Whitmore also will attend the show and may appear at the company’s booth at times.
While TOPS Knives won’t have any custom knifemaker designers on hand, it will have headman/head knife designer Leo Espinoza in attendance, as always. Case will continue showcasing its first Bill Ruple collaboration, and Bill will have a table at the show, too, so chances are he will make an appearance at the Case booth as well. There no doubt will be other company booths serving as the destination of custom makers/designers, custom makers in general, and more.
More On BLADE Show West:
- 2023 BLADE Show West Factory Knife Award Winners
- 2023 BLADE Show West Custom Knife Award Winners
- BLADE Show West 2023: Ready To Rock SLC… Again!
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