The first big knife show of 2025 also is the Longhorn State’s biggest—BLADE Show Texas.

What: BLADE Show Texas 2025
Where: Fort Worth Convention Center
When: March 7-8
Days and Times:
Friday, March 7, 10-10:30 a.m.
Early Bird Pass Holders Only
Friday, March 7, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
General Admission
Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
General Admission

The first big knife show of 2025 also happens to be the biggest knife show in Texas—BLADE Show Texas, to be exact—where the world’s best knives and knifemakers await you March 7-8 in the Fort Worth Convention Center.

The show will host 420 exhibitors from around the world, including Australia, Brazil, China, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Sweden and elsewhere, not to mention top American custom knifemakers and ABS master smiths; all returning winners of the BLADE Show Texas ’24 custom and factory knife judging awards; and other of the world’s leading factory knife companies, including current and past winners of BLADE Magazine Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards.

Over 70 makers and companies that did not exhibit last year will do so this year, including though not limited to South Africa’s Bertie Rietveld; Winkler Knives; Sweden’s Anders Hogstrom; ESEE; ABS master smith David Lisch; GiantMouse; ABS master smith Steve Randall; Demko; Darrin Thomas; Dozier Knives; Liam Hoffman/Hoffman Blacksmithing; and Peter Kohler/Dark Timber Custom Knives.

The Fort Worth Convention Center will be a hotbed of blades, with thousands of custom and factory knives—from low end to high end, stock removal to forged, fixed blade to folder—tomahawks, swords, sharpeners and more. And if the exhibiting makers don’t have what you’re looking for, the exhibiting custom knife purveyors and factory retailers probably will; and if they don’t, they can put you in touch with someone who does.

For knife hobbyists and novice and veteran makers alike, the show’s diverse selection of knifemaking supplies and suppliers will have the materials, tools and equipment you need to make the knife of your dreams. From the latest steels, handle materials, hardware, sheath materials to most every knife part extant, the show’s suppliers should have it.

Knife Awards

The knife judging competitions will recognize the best of the show’s custom and factory knives. The custom award categories, with last year’s winners in parentheses:

• Best of Show: Mike Quesenberry
• Best Bowie: Mike Quesenberry
• Best Fighter: Franco de Souza
• Best Damascus: Franco de Souza
• Best Hunting Knife: James Rodebaugh
• Best Folding Knife: Jared Oeser
• Best Kitchen Knife: Harvey Dean
• Best M.A.C.K.: Princeton Wong
• Best EDC: Karis Fisher
• Best Art Knife: Mike Quesenberry
• Best of the Rest: Jason Knight and Mark Winburn
• Best Slipjoint: Tim Robertson

There were also three Best Contender winners:

• Franco de Souza (Bowie)
• Peyton Ramm (hunting knife)
• P.H. Jacob (slipjoint)

The factory award categories, with last year’s winners in parentheses:

• Best Of Show: ESNYX/Reate
• Best EDC: ESNYX/Reate
• Best American Made: Heretic Knives
• Best Imported: Les George and Allen Elishewitz design for Ketuo
• Best Fixed Blade: Vero Engineering
• Best Folder: Vero Engineering
• Best of the Rest: Reate

As noted, all of last year’s winners are returning for this year’s show.

The custom and factory knife judging is reserved exclusively for show exhibitors, all of whom received packets with complete details on category descriptions, judging rules and more prior to checking into the show.

Leading Factory Exhibitors

Included among the leading factory knife exhibitors will be:

Knifemaking Suppliers/Equipment

Included among the leading knifemaking/equipment suppliers will be:

Top Custom Makers

Among the top custom makers exhibiting at BLADE Show Texas will be:

For the complete list of exhibitors, visit bladeshowtexas.com.

Show Trifecta!

BLADE Show Texas will be the first of three BLADE-Show-sponsored events for 2025, the other two being the grandaddy of them all, the 44th Annual BLADE Show June 6-8 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, and BLADE Show West 2025 at the Salt Palace Convention Center Oct. 10-11 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Attend all three for the BLADE Show trifecta!

More On BLADE Show Texas

• 2024 BLADE Show Texas Factory Award Winners
• 2024 BLADE Show Texas Custom Award Winners
• 2024 BLADE Show Texas Recap
• 2023 BLADE Show Texas Factory And Custom Award Winners