BLADE Show

It’s that time of year again, time when Internet, telephone and other scammers misrepresent themselves as so-called “official” agents of the BLADE Show in booking hotel rooms for the world’s biggest and most important knife event. Beware BLADE Show hotel scammers! To find out how to both identify such unauthorized charlatans and protect yourself from them, read on.

Slated for June 2-4 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, the 2017 BLADE Show will attract knife enthusiasts from all over the world, knife enthusiasts unscrupulous scammers will try to exploit. However, if you follow a few easy guidelines, you can foil the scammers and get the best lodging for the show your hard-earned dollars can buy.

The BLADE Show has designated EventSphere as the ONLY housing provider for the 2017 BLADE Show. If it’s anyone but EventSphere, delete. There are fraudulent companies and organizations that will try and present themselves as official partners of the BLADE Show and offer you a potential room that might not be guaranteed or available. When booking with Eventsphere use the online reservation link or call 855-547-8429 and expect to receive an immediate confirmation e-mail.

PLEASE NOTE: EventSphere will NEVER call you directly to book a reservation!!!!!!!

The only reasons EventSphere would call you are:

•You phoned and left a message requesting a returned call;

•There is a problem with an existing reservation;

•Someone from BLADE Show management told EventSphere to contact you.

Should you be contacted by someone other than EventSphere or have any question concerning what you may suspect is a fraudulent booking attempt, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

For more information on the 2017 BLADE Show, the 4th Annual BLADE University and more, stay tuned to this space or visit BLADE Show.

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A veteran knifemaker exemplary in terms of teaching and mentoring his fellow makers in the fine art of building knives, Mel Pardue is the 2016 BLADE Show winner of the Edda and Aldo Lorenzi Award.

Edda and Aldo Lorenzi, owners of the old G. Lorenzi retail knife store in Milan, Italy, continue to support the custom knife industry through the Aldo and Edda Lorenzi Award, an honor bestowed annually at both the BLADE Show and the International Custom Cutlery Exhibition (this year Sept. 23-25 in Kansas City). Each carries a $1,000 prize graciously provided by the Lorenzis to the honoree.

Pardue made his first knife in 1952. He participated as a voting member of the Knifemakers’ Guild for 39 years, and served on the Guild’s board of directors in various capacities for 14 of those years. He is the first person without membership in the American Bladesmith Society to teach at the Bill Moran School of Bladesmithing, where for five years he conducted classes on how to make folders. He has taught the same subject at the Batson Bladesmithing Symposium for the past half-decade or so, and has held seminars and classes in his shop for almost 40 years. He received the Ron Little Award in 1992 and is a past winner of the Guild’s Red Watson Award.

Pardue has over 15 design and utility patents with Benchmade Knife Co. He has served on Benchmade’s board of directors several years. He taught the Benchmade staff how to refine three production models in the company’s Gold line of knives.

He organized and helped set up the website for the Gulf Coast Custom Knifemakers Association in Florida. His tireless commitment to the knife industry has inspired such makers as ABS master smith Steve Schwarzer, BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Ken Onion and many others. He joins last year’s winner, ABS master smith Joe Keeslar, as the epitome of what it means to be a mentor to knifemakers everywhere.

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To understand why the Delavan Family and Plaza Cutlery won the BLADE Magazine 2016 Industry Achievement Award at this year’s BLADE Show, join us in a trip down memory lane.

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It was over 42 years ago that Del and Lois Delavan, along with their son Dan, fresh out of the Army, opened Plaza Cutlery, a brick-and-mortar retail knife store in what is today the South Coast Plaza Shopping Resort in Costa Mesa, California.

A few years later Dan married Pam, and Pam took to knives as only a Delavan can. One of the keys to Plaza Cutlery’s remarkable longevity is that Dan and Pam have a passion for knives that is genuine—and the people who buy their knives and the vendors who work with Plaza Cutlery know it. It is a passion Dan and Pam come by honestly, a passion shared by Dan’s dad, Del, who became a Case salesman in 1959, and Dan’s mom, Lois. After Del passed away, it was Lois who took up the torch and became one of if not the first female traveling sales reps for Case. She helped run Plaza Cutlery until she, too, passed away just a few years ago.

Dan and Pam watched several generations of custom makers and a number of factory knife companies come and go. They started one of the oldest knife shows, the California Custom Knife Show, the venue where, in the early 1980s, BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame© member Jimmy Lile hooked up with Sylvester Stallone to start the Rambo revolution. Dan and Pam ran the California show for many years before selling it, reacquired the name and have it going again, with this year’s event set for Oct. 22-23 in Garden Grove, California. They also are planning a new knife show in Hawaii. In addition, they have held one-day special meet-and-greet shows inside Plaza Cutlery in which customers interact one-on-one with some of the world’s best makers, an encore rendition of which is scheduled for July 23.

It is retail knife stores such as Plaza Cutlery supporting both custom makers and knife companies over the decades that have helped make the knife industry the dynamic entity it is today. Whether selling knives to customers face to face or via their well-stocked and constantly changing website, the Delavans—in addition to Dan and Pam, their son Andrew, their son Bryan’s wife, Yuko, and Dan’s brother Russ—are known throughout the cutlery industry not just for their vast knowledge of knives, but also their reputation as straight shooters when it comes to providing the best in knives and customer service. It’s hard enough to maintain such a knowledge and reputation for just one year—it’s a monumental achievement to do it for 42.

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Joe Keeslar

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Joe Keeslar (at table) has the full attention of his students during his BLADE U. class on leather sheath and pattern making.

Record crowds, unbelievable knives, the world’s best makers, the BLADE Magazine 2016 Knife-Of-The-Year Awards and so much more highlighted the 35th BLADE Show June 3-5 at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta.

Featuring almost 1,000 exhibitors covering all segments of the cutlery industry from over 20 countries in the world’s largest knife show, the event kicked off Thursday with the 3rd Annual BLADE University. The comprehensive school of knifemaking began by featuring Knives The American Bladesmith Society (ABS) Way, including how to forge and heat treat knives, how to make a cut ‘n shoot knife, pattern making and making a leather sheath, and how to make the dogbone bowie handle, all taught by some of the world’s top bladesmiths.

The show proper kicked off noon Friday with VIP ticket holders pouring into the show hall after waiting for hours—some as long as from the day previous—in long lines that snaked all though the show lobby and beyond. And once the patrons flooded the show hall, the race was on to get to their favorite exhibitor’s/exhibitors’ tables and booths. All told, more people attended the show the first two days of the event than for the entire show last year—and last year’s show enjoyed the highest attendance ever until this year’s rendition. A number of exhibitors commented on the large crowds, with many selling out of knives the first day.

The custom knife competition was conducted Friday, with Mike Quesenberry and Saign Charleston winning for both Best Collaboration and Best In Show to highlight the 16 awards in total. BLADE University also continued Friday with such classes as how to grind a knife, building and tuning a flipper folder, bushcraft knives survival school, how to build a knife from a kit and how to make a spike tomahawk. Friday night the ABS announced the new inductees to its Hall Of Fame, including ABS master smiths Harvey Dean, Jim Crowell and Greg Neely. They will be formerly inducted along with others in Little Rock, Arkansas, Aug. 6.

With enormous crowds continuing to swarm through the show hall, Saturday saw knives bought and sold by the score. BLADE demos included knife and tomahawk throwing, Japanese sword-cutting and others. Nicole Warden won the first-ever BLADE Show Women’s World Championship Cutting Competition and Dan Keffeler took the 14th Annual Men’s World Championship Cutting Competition—winning an unprecedented fourth title and fourth in a row. BLADE University presented classes on how to make knives on a budget, how to make a combat dagger, how to get your knife design put into production, how to be a contestant on Forged In Fire and more.

Saturday evening witnessed the BLADE Magazine Awards Reception highlighted by the Knife-Of-The-Year Awards, CJ Buck’s induction into the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame©, Mel Pardue winning the Edda and Aldo Lorenzi Award, and BLADE Magazine/F+W Media being presented the inaugural American Knife & Tool Institute Industry Integrity Award for aiding in the battle to fight counterfeit knives.

Sunday saw more activity—even by Sunday standards it was a busy day—and show patrons left with their knife bags full and wanting more. They will have to wait another year for the next show, though, which will be held June 2-4, 2017, once again at the Cobb Galleria Centre. Make plans now to attend. If you love knives, you’ve got to go!