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.
South African Bertie Rietveld will help headline the international contingent at BLADE Show Texas in the Fort Worth Convention Center. His curvaceous integral features a blade of his Dragonskin damascus and black jade inlays. Overall length: 11.8 inches. (SharpByCoop image)
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
ABS master smith Mike Quesenberry returns to defend his titles in three categories—Best of Show, Best Bowie and Best Art Knife—of the show’s custom knife judging competition.
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
The factory section looks to entertain knife enthusiasts of all interests and ages.
Included among the leading factory knife exhibitors will be:
Artisan Cutlery Bastinelli Knives Big Idea Design Boker USA Bradford USA Brighten Blades W.R. Case and Sons Chaves Knives CobraTec Knives Condor Tool & Knife CRKT Demko Knives Dozier Knives; Emerson Knives, Inc. ESEE; ESNYX Knives Fox Knives GiantMouse Glow Rhino Hawk Knife Designs Heretic Knives Hogue Knives Jack Wolf Knives Kansept Knives Ketuo KeyBar Knafs LATAMA Cutlery
Liong Mah Designs McNees Knives Medford Knife & Tool MKM/Maniago Knife Makers OCASO Knives; Olamic Cutlery Poikiloblade Pro-Tech QSP Knife Reate Knives Rike Knife RMJ Tactical Rosecraft Blades Santa Fe Stoneworks Smoky Mountain Knife Works Spyderco Squid Industries Stroup Knives Tactile Knife Co. Three Rivers Mfg. (TRM) TOPS Knives ULTICLIP Vero Engineering WE Knife Co. White River Knife & Tool Winkler Knives
Knifemaking Suppliers/Equipment
Scott Gallagher will be among a strong contingent of ABS master smith exhibitors. His Vest Bowie boasts a 4.5-inch mosaic damascus blade.
Included among the leading knifemaking/equipment suppliers will be:
Abrasives, Inc./Hog Brand Alabama Damascus Steel Alpha Knife Supply American Metal Xchange Inc. CamoCarbon Current Composites Damasteel AB Evenheat Kiln Fine Turnage Productions Imperial Leather Works Jantz Supply Knife & Gun Finishing Supplies Knifesupplies.com Knight’s Stabilized Woods Maker Material Supply
Jack Wolf Knives will exhibit its distinctive brand of slipjoints with such models as the Benny, here in the Fat Carbon Mars Valley edition. MSRP: $349.99.
Among the top custom makers exhibiting at BLADE Show Texas will be:
Allen Elishewitz Allen Newberry Ben Seward Bobby House Bruce Barnett Bertie Rietveld BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Bill Ruple Bob Merz Brad Zinker Lucas Burnley Peter Carey; Chuck Gedraitis Corey Dunlap Tanner Couch Bubba Crouch Peter Kohler/Dark Timber Custom Knives Darrin Thomas D. R. Davis Eric Fritz Dennis Friedly Duane Dwyer Evan Nicolaides Brian Fellhoelter Burt Flanagan Gary Langley Les George GTC Knives/Gustavo Cecchini Herucus Blomerus Liam Hoffman/Hoffman Blacksmithing Anders Hogstrom Jeremy Yelle
Johnny Stout Keanison Knives Kelly Vermeer Tom Krein Andrea Lisch Mardi Meshejian Erik McCright Messori Knives Mick Strider Customs Jared Oeser Nick Orr P.H. Jacob Enrique Pena Tom Ploppert Princeton Wong Jerry Moen Ricardo Vilar Peyton Ramm Scorpion 6 Stanley Buzek Suprlativ Knives Luke Swenson Tim Robertson Tobin Hill Tony Baker W.D. Pease Will Stelter Tom Overeynder Will Zermeno
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.
Cutlery Hall Of Fame ushers in a Hall Of Fame class at the 2023 BLADE Show.
There was much joy tempered by a tear or three as Devin Thomas, Bob Terzuola and Steve Schwarzer took monumental steps in their monumental knife careers with their formal inductions into the BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame® during BLADE Show ’23.
Celebrated with a combination breakfast/induction ceremony, the new inductees were saluted by an appreciative crowd of just over 100 that included family, friends, sitting Hall-Of-Famers, world-renowned knifemakers, knife collectors and various combinations thereof in the Kennesaw Room of the show’s host hotel, the Renaissance Waverly.
Providing induction speeches were those handpicked by the new inductees: Cutlery Hall-Of-Famers Bill Ruple and Ken Onion for Thomas and Terzuola, respectively, and award-winning bladesmith Neil Kamimura for Schwarzer. All, including the acceptance speeches, were genuine, entertaining and memorable.
Devin Thomas
While best known for his damascus steel, Devin’s first love was making knives. “The best kept secret about Devin is how good a knifemaker he is,” Bill Ruple said. “He’s known for his wonderful damascus steel, some of the best in the world, but he’s a heckuva knifemaker.”
A Devin Thomas blade of Devin’s stainless damascus. (image courtesy of Devin Thomas)
Using a set of instructions his uncle gave him, Devin made his first knife at 13. At 16 he worked the whole summer making knives with long-time maker Bob Lofgren in Arizona. Devin did so without pay but didn’t care because of his affinity for knives. At 18 he won most impressive knife by a new maker at the California Custom Knife Show. At 21 he married Jackie. “She knew me in high school and knew I made knives, so when we got married she knew about the knife thing, so I didn’t surprise her or anything,” he recalled. “And I told her at the time I’m going to be a world famous knifemaker one day.” Devin and Jackie recently celebrated their 37th anniversary.
One of Devin’s inspirations was Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Wayne Goddard. Devin read Wayne’s story on cable damascus in KNIVES ’86 and a career was born. “I thought I could forge-weld cable damascus, so I bought me some cable. I didn’t have any idea what I was doing, and I heated up the forge and got [the cable] to stick together,” Devin said. “That started my damascus career.”
His next great inspiration was Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Buster Warenski. “I kept trying to get him to try some of my steel,” Devin related. “Buster said, ‘I’m not trying any of your steel unless you try to make stainless damascus.’ I started making stainless damascus and Buster used a piece in one of his art pieces and I thought, ‘I can quit today!’”
On the contrary, Devin was on his way.
“At one time I think I was making more steel than the entire ABS put together, not certain, but I could really pump it out,” he said. “I was doing 50 bars of steel a day on a regular basis. That hammer was wide open all the time.”
Family, friends and customers—that’s what it’s all about for Devin. “My oldest son [Larrin] is developing new steel so fast the industry can’t keep up,” he noted. “He developed MagnaCut— which some like but a few don’t—but the industry can’t absorb his new developments fast enough.”
Better designs, better manufacturing, an upcoming generation of makers that has him very optimistic—Devin sees a rosy future for the industry.
“We have more talent than we’ve ever had before, and younger talent, and more excitement,” he opined. “We’ve got a lot of bad designs and bad knifemaking too, but we’ve got to tolerate the good and the bad. We need more domestic manufacturing and we need better abrasives—they’re not keeping up with the steel we’re producing. My only regret? I don’t know, maybe I shoulda bought a truckload of stag scales when they were only two or three dollars a pair.”
Devin Thomas at the helm. (image courtesy of Devin Thomas)
Ruple said he and Devin have a mutual respect based both on friendship and a shared desire to make the best the knife industry has to offer.
“Devin was always my go-to guy when it came to knowing anything about steel,” Bill said. “Anything I needed to know I’d call Devin. I learned a lot from the guy.”
Devin is nicknamed “Hoss” for his resemblance to the most endearing member of the Cartwright family on the long-running 1960s-’70s TV show, Bonanza. And, not unlike the TV Hoss, the new Hall-Of-Famer Hoss has never been beyond pulling a rabbit out of his 10-gallon hat. Bill recalled such a time at a long past BLADE Show.
“We were sitting at my table and this guy from Japan comes up and he’s trying to buy a knife from me and communication is not going well, and all of a sudden Devin’s talking Japanese to this guy and I’m thinking, ‘Hoss Cartwright speaks Japanese?’” Bill laughed at the memory.
Of course, the fact Devin is multilingual simply adds to his Hall-Of-Fame pedigree.
“Devin’s the guy who brought damascus steel to the masses,” Bill observed. “There were guys who made damascus steel but Devin aimed his steel at folder makers. He got it out there in dimensions that guys like me could use. There’s probably more of his steel in high-end collections around the world than anybody else’s. He’s been doing this a long time and he’s one of the best ever.”
Bob Terzuola
Bob Terzuola made his first knife in 1979, joined the Knifemakers’ Guild in 1981 and along the way served on the Guild’s board of directors for nine years. His relentless search for ways to improve his knives in terms of design, materials, mechanisms and more helped establish his place as one of the greatest knifemakers of his or any era, with his tactical folding knives at the summit.
BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® members Michael Walker and Bob Terzuola enjoy the 2019 Art Knife Invitational. (image courtesy of Bob Terzuola)
“In 1984 Bob moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and started making folding knives,” Ken Onion said. “Searching for a hard-use folder that could be used discreetly, Bob developed a model featuring Micarta® scales and bead-blasted titanium bolsters for which he coined the term tactical folding knife, which later evolved into his most popular model, the ATCF … which opened the market for the new category of folding knife, which arguably remains the largest and most popular category of knives in the industry.”
As Ken noted, Bob wanted to design a “robust knife as tough as he could,” so he set out to use G-10, carbon fiber, titanium and other advanced materials at a time when few if any were using them. He was a pioneer of the circular thumb disc for ambidextrous one-hand blade opening, multiple double grinds on folder blades, knives with laser-cut CNC parts and fine-tuned other areas that have molded the modern folding knife.
“Bob also focused a lot on the linerlock and did a lot of engineering advancements through a lot of trial and error, and then what does he do? He writes a book about it—The Tactical Folding Knife: A Study of the Anatomy and Construction of the Liner-Locked Folder—to teach the rest of us how to compete with him. How many of us have a copy of that book in their shop?” Ken asked the attentive audience. “How many have a dog-eared, highlighted copy, how many of us reference it regularly, and how many of us have read it more than once? It’s kind of like an important thing for all of us to have. All these contributions and advancements have earned him the affection of us all and title of the Godfather of the Tactical Knife.”
The Tactical Folding Knife is Bob Terzuola’s landmark book of which Ken Onion said to an audience of over 100, “How many have a dog-eared, highlighted copy, how many of us reference it regularly, and how many of us have read it more than once?”
Bob reiterated Devin Thomas’s comment about the importance of the human element. “I’ve seen a lot of changes and met a lot of people and made a lot of really good friends, and had to say goodbye to some of them,” he said. “There were friends who meant a lot to me over the years, people like Bob Loveless, Carolyn Tinker, Howard Viele, Frank Centofante, Wayne Goddard, Bob Lum, Alex Collins. A lot of these names don’t mean anything to a lot of younger makers, but they all helped build the structure that we all rely on to take care of our families.”
He also addressed some in the audience in particular, including Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Michael Walker. “He introduced me to the alchemy of the linerlock and working with titanium, which back in the mid-1980s was virtually unknown to knifemakers and now is so important not only to tactical folders but all sorts of pocketknives,” Bob noted of Michael. “And Ken Onion, who’s been a long-time friend and a guiding light … and I want to thank my children … but most of all I want to thank my wife, Susan, who has taken care of me over many years and … has been a powerhouse of the artistic critiquing of my knives, additions to design and so forth. And thanks to all of you for this honor and gathering here at the greatest knife show there is. Keep up the good work and let’s see where this winding, crazy, twisting road of surprises takes us in the craft of knifemaking.”
Steve Schwarzer
An ABS master smith, Steve Schwarzer and the ABS were meant for each other. The ABS is all about teaching and promoting the art of the forged blade, and so is Steve. “I want to say thank you to Billy Ray Hughes and the ABS that really helped me build a foundation,” he said. “They have a set of standards to follow and it really helped drive my business,” a business that includes a pioneering career in canister damascus, award-winning knives and teaching as many bladesmiths as he can how to forge blades
Steve Schwarzer speaks of “knife-shaped objects,” his teachers, students and other sharp things.
Like Devin Thomas, Steve got a taste of what would become his life’s work in junior high school when he forged his first hot steel. Not long after high school in the late 1960s, he went to work in the aircraft industry and started making “knife-shaped objects.” He called them knife-shaped objects “because we took a piece of stainless steel we found on the job somewhere with no idea how to heat treat it or what kind of steel it was, and we’d grind it to what looked like a knife and put a handle on it.”
In 1972, he moved to Florida and bought a book by Alex Bealer that had a page-and-a-half on forging knives. “When I turned that page and read it, it lit a fire that never went out,” Steve said. He made knives as a hobby and sold them to his fellow shop workers for $15 and $20 apiece. “They told me I was wonderful and I believed them,” Steve said to a chuckling audience. It was then he learned of Bobby Tyson. “He was my original teacher,” Steve said. “I loved the guy. He could make two beautiful pocketknives in a day that walked and talked. Tony Bose would’ve been proud of them.”
Tyson actually had books on making knives, a novel concept at the time. Steve visited Tyson and learned all he could. “He put me ahead five years in one weekend and that’s what I try to do with Neil Kamimura and these guys here,” Steve said, pointing to some of his students in the audience. “I surround myself with people doing great things.” It is an approach that inspires Neil.
“Steve says surround your yourself with people that know your value,” he observed. “He has helped a tremendous amount of people and everybody wants to know his tricks because he’s the wizard of steel. But for me it wasn’t his tricks of welding steel but it was the lessons I wanted to learn, such as how does he keep his passion for that many years? How did he keep his willingness to want to keep on wanting to learn?” To absorb those things from Steve, Neil noted, “is to listen to his struggles, his hardships and the balance he took to maintain such longevity in this industry.”
Meanwhile, Steve the teacher remains, and always has remained, Steve the student.
A Steve Schwarzer folding dagger sports a chevron damascus blade, canister damascus furniture and mother-of-pearl scales. (PointSeven image)
“At 75 I’m hurrying, I promise you,” he stressed. “I wake up in the morning and it’s, ‘Man, I’ve got another day. Let’s go do something!’ And that’s what I do and then [my students] explore and come back with information. So everyone you teach in this business doubles your life in the business is the way I look at it. And that’s why I love what I do.”
Neil brought it all into full focus.
“How many careers were started because of him and how many lives he’s touched, many in this room,” he mused.
“Steve Schwarzer has truly changed bladesmithing forever and I believe that … A lot of these young makers and a lot of these Instagram people, we’re nothing without people like Steve and people that have been inducted [today]. So if you don’t know Steve, you should get to know him, and if you do know Steve, you should treasure him like I do.”
See Who Took Top Honors In Salt Lake City For The 2023 BLADE Show West Factory Knife Awards.
BLADE Show West took place Oct.13-14, 2023, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the show’s second year in Utah and drew custom makers, manufacturers and collectors from around the county and world.
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 six categories, while the Custom Knives awarded nine 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.
BLADE Show West Factory Award Winners
Best In Show &Best Factory Import: WE Equivik
Best Factory Folder: QSP Rhino
Best Factory EDC: Mr. Mr. Designs D-Cipher Folder
Best American Made: Microtech Knives MS1
Best Factory Fixed Blade: Giant Mouse GMF4
See Past 2023 Factory Knife Of The Year® Awards Winners:
We captured in film the knives, knife people and lots of fun that marked another great show.
Nothing beats the BLADE Show.
Nearly 1,000 vendors, countless knives and throngs of attendees crowded the Cobb Galleria from June 6–8 for the world’s largest knife shindig. That’s a lot of action—and plenty to take in over the course of three days. But armed with our trusty candid cameras, we at BLADE Magazine gave it our best shot.
Roving the main hall, “baller” room and convention center corridors, we captured glimpses of the knife event no words can fully describe. Take a moment to relive—or get your first look at—BLADE Show 2025 through the lens of those who were there.
Editor’s Note: Click on any photo to launch an enlarged gallery.
Show Saturday was bumper to bumper.CRKT fans get their fill of new knives.A Rosecraft BLADE Show ad greeted guests of the show’s host hotel, the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly, each time they took the elevator.Knife fans converge on the Rick Hinderer Knives booth.Mardi Meshejian has a firm hold on one of his custom sickles.Blade HQ held Balicomp 25 with Brycen Nelson winning the title, Steve Ash placing second and Landon Morrison third. (Blade HQ image) Tim Reeve (center with arms raised) directs traffic at the Chris Reeve Knives booth as Anne Reeve and Dean Felides (directly to Tim’s right) look on.Jens Anso conducts his BLADE University class.HEPK master smith/BLADE® field editor Ed Fowler (left) enjoys a customer visit.Knife deals were there to be had.Patrons wait in line patiently for the BLADE Show to begin.Who says BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® members can’t have fun? Michael Walker gives Bob Terzuola the rabbit-ear treatment. (Larry Hirsch image)Walter Brend (left) and Les Robertson enjoy another BLADE Show.A contestant flips a giant butterfly knife during Balicomp 25.The smiling face dead center is custom knifemaker Koji Hara.Aaron Frederick is back making knives and had a few on hand to show.Knife fans try their hand at foosball at the Big Idea Design booth.
Companies from every corner of the globe will unveil their new knives at the BLADE Show.
Knife companies know how their bread is buttered—by blue-collar and other like-minded knife enthusiasts who buy factory knives by the wagonload. And there’s no better place to tap that wealth of grassroots knife enthusiasts than the BLADE Show.
More companies from more countries than ever before will introduce their latest cutters in Atlanta’s Cobb Galleria Centre June 7-9. Scrutinize this and the following pages for just one knife each applicable company will debut. There will be many more, including those of exhibiting companies that were unable to participate in the story for one reason or another.
All the featured knives are either available for sale now or will be in June.
W.R. Case & Sons Ruple Axe Handle
Designer: BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® member Bill Ruple Knife type: Folder Blade length: 3.5” Blade steel: 154CM stainless Blade grind: Flat taper Handle material: Natural birdseye maple Lock: Lockback Special features: Axe-handle-shaped handle Weight: 4.2 ozs. Closed length: 4.4” Carry: Taco-shaped suede leather pouch a la the ones that came with past Case/Tony Bose collaborations Knife to know: The knife marks the first of what promises to a series of collaborations between Case and Ruple as Bill officially succeeds the late Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer Tony Bose as Case’s go-to custom knifemaker designer Country of origin: USA MSRP: To be determined
Halfbreed Blades CQC-02S
Designers: Halfbreed in collaboration w/Jared Wihongi Description: Karambit Knife type: Fixed blade Blade length: 3.54” Blade material: K340 carbon steel Rockwell hardness: 59-60 HRC Edge: Polished, partially serrated Blade finish: PVD coated black Blade pattern: Talon point Blade @ thickest: .23” Handle material: G-10 Knife weight: 7.65 ozs. Overall length: 7.48” Sheath: Molded Kydex Mounting: IWB and belt (DOTS design) Color options: Black, dark earth, Ranger green Country of origin: Comprises Australian and Taiwanese make MSRP: $220
Bear OPS 4.5” Double Clutch IV
Knife type: EDC Blade length: 2.5” Blade material: D2 tool steel Blade grind: Taper Handle material: Aircraft aluminum w/grip ridges, hole for a lanyard Opening mechanism: Automatic Pocket clip: Robust steel model Weight: 3.3 ozs. Closed length: 4.5” Country of origin: USA MSRP: $289.99
Kansept Link
Knife type: EDC Blade length: 3.55” Blade steel: CPM 20CV stainless Blade grind: Flat Handle material: Titanium+Gecko camo carbon fiber Lock: Framelock Pocket clip: Milled titanium Weight: 3.85 ozs. Closed length: 3.61” Country of origin: China MSRP: $284
CobraTec Surgeon
Knife type: Necker Blade length: 1.75” Blade steel: M390 stainless Blade grind: Flat Handle material: M390 stainless Construction: Full tang Weight: 1.2 ozs. Sheath: Kydex w/necklace bead chain Country of origin: China MSRP: $99.99
A.G. Russell Knives
Knife type: EDC Designer: BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member A.G. Russell Blade length: 3.25” Blade Material: D2 tool steel Rockwell Hardness: 60-61 HRC Blade grind: Flat saber Handle material: Green G-10 (also available in blue) Blade opener: Thumb stud Blade finish: Hand rubbed Lock: Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Blackie Collins-inspired design Pocket clip: Deep pocket, ambidextrous, blade tip up Weight: 3.7 ozs. Closed length: 4.25” Country of origin: China MSRP: $135
Fox Cutlery Anzu
Designer: Les George Knife type: EDC Blade length: 3.15” Blade steel: CPM MagnaCut stainless Blade finish: Black PVD Blade grind: Flat Handle material: 3K carbon fiber Lock: Verso Lock Pocket clip: Black PVD-coated 420 stainless steel, reversible Weight: 3.7 ozs. Closed length: 4.13” Country of origin: Italy MSRP: $225 at press-time exchange rate
Ocaso Duo Desk Knife
Model type: Desk knife Blade length: 2.75” Blade steel: 420J2 stainless Blade grind: Chisel Handle material: 420J2 Special features: Dual knives w/neodymium magnets Weight: 3 ozs. Overall length: 5.5” Knife to know: Includes walnut and stainless steel stand Country of origin: Taiwan MSRP: $149.99
Condor Tool & Knife Narrowsaur
Knife type: Survival Blade length: 4.2” Blade material: 1095 carbon steel Blade grind: Scandi Handle: Walnut Weight: 4.9 ozs. Overall length: 8.66” Sheath: Handcrafted leather Country of origin: El Salvador MSRP: $89.98
Bradford USA Gatsby Steak Knife
Knife type: Culinary Blade length: 4.5” Blade steel: N690 stainless Blade grind: Full-height flat Handle options: Maroon, wheat or ivory canvas Micarta®, and carbon fiber MAKER’S REMARK: As Nicole Bradford noted, “It makes your steak taste better!” Weight: 2.7 ozs. Overall length: 8.5” Sheath: 4-pack leather roll and/or individual Kydex Country of origin: USA Proud MSRP: $199 each
QSP Knife Turtle Punk
Designer: Keanu Alfaro Model type: Pocketknife Blade length: 3.5” Blade steel: Sandvik 14C28N stainless Blade grind: Flat Handle material: Black-and-white-pattern G-10 Lock: Linerlock Pivot: Ceramic ball bearings Pocket clip: Blade tip up, stainless steel, deep carry, ambidextrous Weight: 4.6 ozs. Closed length: 4.5” Overall length: 8” Country of origin: China MSRP: To be determined
Reate GTR
Knife type: EDC Blade length: 3.6” Blade steel: M390 stainless Blade finish: Hand satin Blade openers: Flipper tab, blade hole and thumb stud Blade pattern: Harpoon Handle: Titanium in a selection of finishes, color anodizations, Zircuti inlays and more Weight: 5.5 ozs. Closed length: 5” Country of origin: China MSRPs: $687 (w/Zircuti inlays) and $450 (titanium version)
Smoky Mountain Knife Works Rough Ryder Reserve Hawkeye
Knife pattern: Gentleman’s hawkbill Designer: Brian Wilhoite Blade length: 25/8” Blade material: D2 tool steel Handle material: Brown jigged bone Action: Slipjoint w/half stop Weight: 3.2 ozs. Closed length: 3.5” Special features: Brass liners and lanyard tube, nickel silver bomb shield and pins Country of origin: China MSRP: $44.95
Designer: Andrew Demko Knife type: EDC Blade length: 3.5” Blade material: CPM 3V carbon steel Blade pattern: Drop point Handle material: Titanium Lock: Tri-Ad Pocket clip: Blade tip up Special features: Full titanium; limited run of 1,000; presentation box Weight: 9 ozs. Closed length: 5.25” Country of origin: Taiwan MSRP: $279.99
Spartan Blades Spartan-Harsey Clandestina
Designer: William W. “Bill” Harsey Jr. Knife type: Fixed blade, combat/utility Blade length: 5.5” Blade steel: CPM MagnaCut stainless Rockwell hardness: 61-63 HRC Blade grind: Flat/saber Blade @ thickest: 3/16” Handle material: CE canvas Micarta®, black or camo (shown) Weight: 7.6 ozs. Overall length: 10 3/16” Knife to know: Flat ground main bevel with tapered top edge Sheath: MOLLE and Kydex options Country of origin: USA MSRP: $360
Benchmade 99 Necron
Knife type: Balisong Blade length: 4.59” Blade steel: CPM S30V stainless Blade grind: Scimitar Handle material: G-10 Lock: Latchless balisong Special features: Interchangeable backspacers and an interchangeable tungsten weight system beneath the G-10 scales tune the flipping dynamics; comes in ivory and ruby red (99BK-1) versions Weight: 4.21 ozs. Closed length: 5.08”; 5.92” w/extensions Carry: Nylon sleeve Country of origin: USA MSRPs: $500 ivory version, $550 ruby red version
BLADE Show’s home sharpens up for the event’s 45th Anniversary.
Longtime BLADE Show patrons, get ready for a brand-new venue. Calm your heart palpitations. The world’s largest knife show isn’t picking up stakes from Atlanta when it unsheathes its 45th iteration June 5-7. Simply put, the longtime home of our favorite edgy shindig is undergoing a massive $190 million facelift.
The Cobb Galleria Centre—now officially the Cobb Convention Center—is in the midst of a multi-year renovation to upgrade its facilities and amenities. While the project stretches into early 2027, it will be at its midway point when the BLADE Show doors open this June.
Diehard knifeaholics needn’t worry, the upgrade project won’t derail the aspects of the show you love. Factory knife debuts, the educational instruction of BLADE University (see sidebar) and action-packed demos still await show patrons. The BLADE Magazine 2025 Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards and the custom knife judging competition remain center stage. Furthermore, the American Bladesmith Society (ABS) will still name its latest master and journeyman smiths, and some of the best knives from the ABS, The Knifemakers’ Guild and unaffiliated makers will be on display in all their sharpest glory.
John Horrigan’s majestic fixed blade turned more than a few heads during the 2025 show. (Jocelyn Frasier image)
Additionally, the show floor welcomes more than 900 exhibitors from 35 countries, offering a global masterclass in modern cutlery. From the latest production folders and custom fixed blades to rare handle materials and high-tech shop equipment, the sheer volume of gear is staggering. All of this comes in the brand-new wrapper of the convention center, honing the BLADE Show to a razor’s edge.
The main exhibit hall and the ballroom—better known to the faithful as the Baller Room—are already complete. These renovations will immediately improve the show with new LED lighting, fixed concession outlets, renovated restrooms and an improved PA system. The Baller Room and lobby area also sport new wall coverings, chandeliers and carpet, while the rotunda has an entirely new look. While the show floor is unaffected, attendees will feel some impact. The renovation of the specialty shops and meeting rooms below and across from the main hall will run congruent to the show. This means BLADE University has a new campus. Look for classes in the newly constructed ballrooms just off the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly.
And for those who love the food, libation (lots of that), knife boasting and lie swapping of “The Pit”, that is slated to proceed unchecked. The sunken bar of the Waverly is untouched by hammers, saws or fresh sheetrock. Get your sleep so you can haunt it until cock’s crow.
Jordan Berthelot discusses next-level damascus etching while Greyson Weltyk shows a student a result of the process during one of many BLADE University classes.
When the dust finally settles, the Cobb Convention Center will be a major boon. By 2027, showgoers can look forward to more than 50,000 square feet of new meeting rooms, event courtyards and indoor space. As the BLADE Show grows in global reach, its longtime home has the room to grow along with its marquee event.
Edge Of The World
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the BLADE Show in recent years is the global reach of the brothers and sisters of sharps. No one knife-specific event gathers more makers and companies from around the world—including the good ol’ U.S. of A—into one venue.
The outstanding international makers include: the CAS Brothers, Mauricio Daletzky and Javier Vogt (Argentina); Bertie Rietveld, Theuns Prinsloo, Henning Wilkinson and Neels van den Berg (South Africa); Franco de Souza, Rodrigo Sfreddo, Fabio Barros and Gus Cecchini (Brazil); Bruce Barnett (Australia); Kizer Cutlery, Reate and Ketuo (China); Koji Hara (Japan); Lionsteel, Alfredo Faccipieri, Fox Cutlery, Maniago Knife Makers (MKM) and Maserin (Italy); Damasteel (Sweden); Jens Anso (Denmark); Helle Knives (Norway); Jean-Louis Regel and Veronique Laurent (Belgium); Carlos Queiros (Portugal); Sergey Shirogorov (Russia); and Grace Horne (United Kingdom).
The Baller Room buzzed all three days of the show. The room comes with some notable improvements this year, including new carpet and wall coverings.
Some of the leading American exhibiting makers will be BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame® members Bill Ruple, Steve Schwarzer and Harvey Dean; ABS master smiths Mike Quesenberry, Shane Taylor, David Lisch, Jordan LaMothe, Josh and Karis Fisher, and Andrew Meers; slipjoint makers Stanley Buzek, Tom Ploppert, Luke Swenson and Tim Robertson; Allen Elishewitz; Les George; Walter Brend; Strider Knives; Hawk Knives; Vince Evans; factory companies Spyderco, Case, TOPS Knives, Chris Reeve Knives, Spartan Blades, Pro-Tech, Microtech, Kershaw, Squid Industries, KA-BAR and Heretic Knives; and many more.
Knives Of The Year
BLADE Magazine Knife-Of-The-Year® Awards is the factory knife industry’s highest honors, pitting the companies’ sharpest designs again each other. In an effort to keep the awards’ distinguished position and recognize the changing landscape of the industry, BLADE Show added a new category for this year.
New for the 2026 competition is the Best Slip Joint category, breaking off the traditional design from the Best Imported Folder and Best American Made Folder categories. This is the third new category added in as many years, with Best Of The Rest created in 2025 and the Automatic Knife Of The Year sponsored by PVK.com that debuted in 2024.
New knives aren’t the only draw in Atlanta. Antique Randall knives and their collectors were in abundance at the show.
As in the past, the entries are limited to BLADE Show factory booth exhibitors, all of whom received the rules well before the show outlining the new changes. Like last year, the winners will be announced and presented during the BLADE Magazine Awards Reception on Saturday at 8 p.m. in the room on the floor above The Pit. The winners will be listed on BLADE’s blademag.com website after the awards reception, and a list will be posted outside the show entrance Sunday morning.
BLADE University
Get current on the latest knifemaking techniques and other trending sharp subjects during the 13th Annual BLADE University on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. See the sidebar for a complete rundown of classes, days, times and instructors.
Sponsored by Work Sharp, BLADE University has the most extensive schedule of knife, knifemaking and other instruction held at any knife show. For enrollment and other information, visit https://bladeshow.com/show-info/classes.
Custom Knife Awards
Among the most testing custom knife competitions in the nation, the BLADE Show Custom Knife Awards is one of the most coveted honors in knifemaking. In a continuing effort to keep it the premier award in the handmade knives, the competition’s categories have been expanded. Best Slip Joint has been split into Best Single-Blade Slip Joint and Best Multi-Blade Slip Joint categories, allowing more subtlety in judging the nuanced class of knives.
From left, Karen Shook and Daniel Winkler accept their Hall of Fame plaque after Kevin Holland (right) delivered their induction speech.
Leading industry authorities will pick the best custom knives by BLADE Show exhibitors in the annual knife judging competition, with the winners announced during the BLADE Magazine Awards Reception Saturday at 8 p.m.
The categories are: Best of Show; Best Art Knife; Best Bowie; Best Collaboration; Best Collaboration; Best Damascus; Best Fighter; Best Fixed Blade; Best Folder; Best Handle Design; Most Innovative Design; Best Kitchen Knife; Best M.A.C.K.; Best Miniature; Best New Maker; Best Single-Blade Slip Joint; Best Multi-Blade Slip Joint; Best Sword; Best Tactical Folder; Best Utility Hunter; Best of the Rest.
The competition is open to the show’s custom knife exhibitors only. The winners will be announced on BLADE’s blademag.com website after the awards ceremony, and a list will be posted outside the show entrance Sunday morning.
World Championship
The BLADE Show World Championship Cutting Competition will be conducted by BladeSports International (BSI) and held in The Courtyard, the parking lot of the host hotel, the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly, Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Attendance is free to BLADE Show ticketholders.
Paul DiStefano always produces stunning work, which certainly goes for his 14-inch spiderweb mosaic damascus-bladed dagger, which he brought to the BLADE Show. That’s a carved buffalo horn handle, by the way. (SharpByCoop image)
For a second year in a row the men’s and women’s divisions were won by a husband and wife: Mr. and Mrs. Ben and Sue Ann Propst. The championship results were as follows: Men’s Division: Ben Propst (Niagara Specialty Metals), world champion; 2nd: Donavon Phillips (Spyderco); 3rd: David Moore (Pops Knife Supplies); and 4th: James Clifton (Spyderco). Women’s Division: Sue Ann Propst (Niagara Specialty Metals), world champion; 2nd: Lauren Kalns; 3rd: Sara Maly (Pops Knife Supplies); and 4th: Jo Carothers (Carothers Performance Knives).
Bali Grand Master
Top balisong flippers will vie for the title of “Grand Master” in the 10th Annual Battle for Bali Champion sponsored and conducted by Blade HQ.
BLADE Show ticketholders are invited to watch the competition on the second floor above The Pit of the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel on show Saturday from 12:45 p.m. to 2 p.m. Competitors will start flipping knives at 1 p.m.
When it comes to slip joints, Bubba Crouch is a must-stop at BLADE Show. His skinner, with a 3 1/2-inch copper san mai blade, came complete with a sheath by Will Anderson, with beadwork done by Kelly Faulcorer. (SharpByCoop image)
The top three finishers will receive prizes and all participants will get swag bags. Brycen Nelson flipped his way to the top of the podium in the competition, Steve Ash placed second and Landon Morrison third.
Cutlery Hall Of Fame
The BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall Of Fame® will formally induct its new members at 8 a.m. show Saturday in the Kennesaw Room of the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel. (At press time, the new members had not been determined. For updates, visit blademag.com.) Tickets are required ahead of time for the ceremony, which includes breakfast. Seating is limited. For ticket information, email [email protected].
What’s Next
The final BLADE Show-sponsored event for 2026 will be BLADE Show West, Oct. 9-10 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. For details, visit bladeshowwest.com. BLADE Show Texas 2027 will be March 12-13 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Visit bladeshowtexas.com for more on it. And, of course, it’s never too late to start thinking about BLADE Show 2027 June 4-6 at the Cobb Convention Center in Atlanta. For details, visit bladeshow.com.
It’s easy to get mesmerized by knives at the BLADE Show, here at the table of Alex Hossom (left).
Editor’s note: Kizer Cutlery is The Pit sponsor. Work Sharp sponsors BLADE University. Nottingham Tactical is the lanyard sponsor. Hogue Knives is the housing sponsor. EKnives is the concessions sponsor. Vosteed is the Wi-Fi sponsor. The other sponsors are Heretic Knives, Reate Knives, Poikilo Blade, McNees Knives, Ketuo/Rike Knife, Artisan Cutlery/CJRB, Reate Knives and HORL Corporation.
