I got some good-natured ribbing at the 2014 BLADE Show because of my EDC folder. Being part of the show staff, I’m constantly taking my knife out to open boxes of magazines or books, or to cut tape for the book booth, etc.
When one guy saw me unclip the Gerber Bear Grylls lockback folder and extract it from my front pocket, he said, “Geez, Joe. Here you are, managing editor of BLADE Magazine, at the largest knife show in the world, surrounded by high-end, superbly crafted knives, and you’ve got an inexpensive Gerber in your pocket?!”
Well, yeah, I like the way the rubber handle feels in my hand, it’s slim, I like the black and orange color combination, it’s got a modified drop-point blade, it’s utilitarian, easy to sharpen, I like the wide paddle-style pocket clip, it doesn’t weigh much, and I don’t mind using it to open boxes and cut tape. So what if it’s only $33?
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With over 100 knife designs to choose from—101 to be exact—there’s plenty to mull over in coming up with an ultimate favorite blade design or pattern. Renowned knifemaker and heckuva nice guy, Murray Carter, known to stand behind his table at knife shows, including the BLADE Show, honing knife blades and demonstrating to attendees how to sharpen their own edges, reveals his favorite 101 Knife Designs.
In his book, 101 Knife Designs, Carter displays not only gorgeous knife photography by none other than famed photographer Hiro Soga, but drawings, patterns, scaled designs and supportive text, allow aspiring bladesmiths to create their own knives using Carter’s popular, time-honored designs. Dazzling, full-color images of the completed knives provide inspiration and direction. 101 Knife Designs will show the reader why certain distinct blade designs have stood the test of time and remain popular even to this day. Practical blade patterns follow several rules of thumb. When these rules are applied to new knife designs, there is a greater chance the design will stand the test of time and use.
About the Author: Murray Carter (cartercutlery.com), one of the most popular custom knifemakers at the annual BLADE Show, regularly conducts wildly popular seminars on shaving with a machete, and is known for standing at his booth sharpening knives while teaching the techniques to interested attendees.
Do you have what it takes to appear on Forged In Fire? Learn if you do from ABS master smith J. Neilson, one of the judges on History™ channel’s hit TV show, in his BLADE University class on what the program’s officials look for in bladesmithing contestants.
Held in conjunction with the 35th annual BLADE Show at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, the third annual BLADE University begins the day before the BLADE Show, June 2, and runs through show Saturday, June 4. The BLADE Show will be June 3-5.
ABS master smith J. Neilson—here testing a blade on History™ channel’s Forged In Fire—will give tips on how to be chosen to appear on the hit TV show in his special class at BLADE University. (Miller Mobley/HISTORY)
Having begun its second season Feb. 9, Forged In Fire (page 84, December BLADE) pits bladesmiths against each other to see who can make the best knife in a limitedamount of time, with the winner of each episode earning a $10,000 first prize. Last year’s FIF included such well-known forgers as ABS master smiths Murray Carter, Ray Kirk and J.D. Smith, David Goldberg, Peter Martin, ABS journeyman smith Mace Vitale and others, as well as many relatively unknown bladesmiths.
See page 10 of the May 2016 issue of BLADE to find out more.
Ernest Emerson, one of the leading names in both custom and factory knives, will conduct another of his always popular seminars at the 2013 BLADE Show and Living Ready Expo at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta May 31-June 2.
Entitled “Fight Like A Madman,” the seminar will give you the tools to train “your most effective weapon” against violence: your mind. “Train the mind and the body will follow,” Mr. Emerson noted. “Confront evil with the tools to stop it dead in its tracks.”
A pioneer of tactical folders with such pieces as his world-famous CQC-6, Mr. Emerson has been conducting seminars at the BLADE Show (www.bladeshow.com) for many years now. He always delivers in terms of information any and all can use in their daily lives. An accomplished martial artist in addition to being a world-class knifemaker, Mr. Emerson has developed a self-defense regimen called Emerson Combat Systems that has been taught to police officers, military units and civilians. His knives and systems have been celebrated in magazines, books, television, on the Internet and just about every media form known.
Mr. Emerson’s BLADE Show seminars focus more on the mental approach to dealing with outside threats to you, your family, your friends and those around you. As the saying goes, before you do anything well you’ve got to get your mind right, and Mr. Emerson stresses the importance of that in his BLADE Show seminars.
Mr. Emerson will conduct his BLADE Show seminar in the usual place and time: Saturday, June 1, at 1 p.m. in Room 104 of the Cobb Galleria Centre. All BLADE Show ticket holders are admitted free of charge. However, seating is limited, so first come, first served.
With folks already arriving at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta for the BLADE Show & Living Ready Expo (www.bladeshow.com), here are some tips to enhance your overall show experience:
•Get there early. The show opens to the public at 2 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The best knives always go first–which means early. Get there then to get the best;
•Stay hydrated. There are water fountains at the show entrances and concession stands in the back of the show hall. Also, apples are a great source of both nourishment and water. Eat one mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon, whichever works best for you.
•Wear comfy shoes. There are almost 1,000 exhibitors to see, and walking and standing can take a toll on your feet. Wear the most comfortable shoes you’ve got. It doesn’t matter what they look like, just be sure they’re comfy. In fact, if you’ve got two such pairs of shoes, bring both. Wear one pair in the morning and the other pair in the afternoon. Also, whenever you get the chance, sit down and rest.
•Wear a small backpack. Carrying stuff gets old in a hurry. A small backpack is a great way to carry knives, knife literature, that extra pair of shoes, etc.
•Dress for warm temperatures. With scores of people jamming the hall in late spring in Atlanta, chances are it will be warm inside, too. Shorts, T-shirts and sandals or tennis shoes are the uniform of the day.
•Study the seminar schedule and attend the ones that interest you most. Not only are there some most entertaining and educational seminars to enjoy, but you can find a seat at all of them (if you get there early enough) and rest for a spell, killing two birds with one stone.
•Follow the pack. The BLADE Show is one of those happenings that has many surprise/spontaneous events within the event. If you hear/see a commotion going on, go to it. You never can tell what kind of cool knives/accessories are being sold or, in some cases, even given away.
Get the most from your BLADE Show experience with a few insider tips. (Point Seven photo)
the expansion to the new John A. Williams Ballroom
the reduction in additional exhibitor badges sold to exhibitors
Let’s examine both.
Expansion
A record number of exhibitors—950+—required an expansion of the show to the adjoining John A. Williams Ballroom, which was abuzz with activity much of show weekend.
With the number of exhibitors growing to a record 950+ this year, the show hall simply ran out of space. Expansion was the most viable option, thus the move to add exhibitors in the adjoining John A. Williams Ballroom. While a number of exhibitors complained about the move due to it separating them from the show hall and how it required more walking for patrons to get to the exhibitors’ tables and booths, the ballroom was extremely busy most of the weekend. Whether it was a real success or not will have to wait between now and next year’s show to see if the ballroom fills up with exhibitors again. The bet here is it will.
Exhibitor Badges
Exhibitors buy additional exhibitor badges to get their helpers that assist them in assembling their booth and table displays, etc., into the exhibitor areas early on Thursday and early Friday morning and early afternoon before the show opens to the general public. Such helpers are crucial to the exhibitors to get their displays ready for the show.
Of course, the exhibitors setting up in the exhibitor areas have their display knives with them. Meanwhile, there is a large number of knife enthusiasts that are not helpers who, one way or another, obtain some of the additional exhibitor badges, get into the exhibitor areas early, and try and buy the best knives before the show opens to the public.
Combined with historically long patron lines, an excess of exhibitor badge holders almost resulted in a delayed opening of BLADE Show 2017.
When the BLADE Show first started selling additional exhibitor badges to exhibitors years ago, not that many exhibitors and others tried to obtain so many of them—particularly not in the numbers in recent years. It was only a matter of time before the buying of the additional exhibitor badges became a problem, and that threshold was reached at BLADE Show 2017.
It was then that so many holders of additional exhibitor badges were in the show hall immediately prior to the show opening to the public that we—by “we” I mean BLADE Show officials—were notified we would have to delay the show opening. Why? Because the hall was so full of people already that the Cobb Galleria Centre fire marshal said to admit the historically long lines of patrons that were waiting to get in would create a fire hazard. In other words, if there were to be some kind of emergency requiring the show hall to be emptied promptly, too many people in the aisles trying to get out could result in injury to them—or worse.
To delay the show opening would cost exhibitors many thousands of dollars in sales and cause a major inconvenience to show patrons that had traveled from all over the world to attend. Luckily, show officials were able to alleviate the situation to where the fire marshal granted permission to open the show on time.
As a result of the near fiasco, show officials had no choice but to reduce the number of people in the show hall—many of whom were holders of the additional exhibitor badges—before the show opens. And the best way to do that was to reduce the number of additional exhibitor badges available for sale for BLADE Show 2018, which we did. The result was the number of people in the show hall was reduced enough so that opening the show on time this year was not an issue.
Does the reduction impair some exhibitors’ ability to set up their displays? Undoubtedly. However, the alternative of having the show opening delayed or the show possibly cancelled altogether would be much worse.
Looking Ahead
Though the changes may seem questionable initially, we believe they will be best for the future growth of the BLADE Show. With the continued growth of the show come new challenges. However, we will continue to strive to make this the best show ever for exhibitors, patrons and knife enthusiasts everywhere.
Both will be formally inducted into the Cutlery Hall Of Fame the Saturday night, June 3, of the BLADE Show at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta during the BLADE Magazine Awards Reception (tickets required). The BLADE Show will be June 2-4.
According to a fellow Cutlery Hall Of Famer, de Asis has been a major pillar in the knife industry for more than 35 years. He founded Bali-Song, Inc., which later became Benchmade Knife Co. From a fledgling business in a garage to a major force in the cutlery industry, Benchmade is among the top knife manufacturers in the world. Les was a major influence in the renaissance of the butterfly genre of knives, which continues to enjoy a large following of knife fans. He was a founder of the American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI), one of the earliest and most successful of the organizations protecting the rights of knife enthusiasts and the knife industry, and remains a driving force in the organization. He raised the bar significantly on the quality and function of automatic knives for military, law enforcement, first responders and general use, and Benchmade remains a leading manufacturer of autos today. The AXIS™ Lock designed by William McHenry and Jason Williams and introduced into production by Les helped maintain the revolution in locks for folding knives that persists today.
James L. “Jim” Batson is one of the world’s most noted bladesmiths and authorities on both bladesmithing and Cutlery Hall-Of-Famer James Bowie and bowie knives. The Batson Bladesmithing Symposium near Bessemer, Alabama, is one of the world’s most respected and best attended annual hammer-ins, attracting bladesmiths, knifemakers and knife enthusiasts from around the world, and has been doing so for almost 30 years now. Through his symposium and his many nationwide seminars teaching the art of bladesmithing, Batson is a standard bearer of the American Bladesmith Society’s stated goal of educating any and all on how to best make knives of forged steel. He has scoured the countryside in Texas, Arkansas and the Southeast, and combed through the archives of dozens of libraries and city and town halls in search of information on bowie knives and the life and times of James Bowie. He also has written extensively on both subjects.
Batson is an award-winning master smith in the American Bladesmith Society (ABS) and two-time ABS chairman. He led the ABS through some of its most successful times in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down. In the February 2014 BLADE®, he was ranked No. 9 among the top 13 knifemakers from 1989-2000. “Jim is a great bladesmith, a great leader, a great historian, a great bowie authority, a great writer and a retired rocket scientist,” wrote one Cutlery Hall Of Famer. “I challenge anyone to match that record!”
I got some good-natured ribbing at the 2014 BLADE Show because of my EDC folder. Being part of the show staff, I’m constantly taking my knife out to open boxes of magazines or books, or to cut tape for the book booth, etc.
