On election eve, BLADE Show West fetes its cutlery constituents.

With a presidential election looming and parts of the USA still in a state of shock after the natural disasters of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it was a BLADE Show West unlike any other. However, knife people are a hearty lot and many turned out to enjoy the knives and cutlery camaraderie this past October at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“The environment was good as usual, with lots of excitement,” wrote Jonathan McNees of McNees Knives.

Eddie Johnson of CobraTec echoed Jonathan’s assessment. “As always, the environment was enthusiastic and filled with excitement to see and hold new merchandise,” he commented. “There is nothing like holding that knife you have seen pictures and videos of.”

There were custom and factory knife awards galore, the show’s popular “Let The Pros Critique Your Knife” seminar, the West Coast Flipping Championships conducted by Squid Industries, and much more.

As for those all-important knife and knife accessory sales, it was like most shows: some exhibitors did well, some didn’t and some did OK.

“It was a great show,” Pro-Tech headman Dave Wattenberg exclaimed. “We did sell most everything that we brought, strong sales to both retail customers and dealers who attended. It’s very important to have both and this show did work well for retail and dealer dynamics.”

The Pro-Tech models that sold well were a mix.

“New models always do well—the Chaves collaboration did very well,” Dave noted. “Some oldie but goodie models—Godfathers, etc.—also did very well. Our TR-3 Integrity manual folder was a hot ticket for sure.

“We built an amazing group of show specials; they also did very well. It’s important to make some special pieces for the show, not just offer the same thing customers can buy anytime.”

John Cammenga of another factory cutlery company, White River Knife & Tool, also was pleased with sales.

“We had a very good show,” he remarked. “We had great sales and a dealer took everything we didn’t sell. It’s nice to go home sold out!”

Ernest Emerson of Emerson Knives, Inc., was another who said it was a great show.

“We sold out, with the first day rivaling the BLADE Show in Atlanta,” he opined. Jonathan McNees said his company had a “really good show. We didn’t quite sell out but we brought a lot of knives, so I didn’t expect to. Our folders sold best, but again, that’s to be expected with our customer base.”

While CobraTec sold well, sales were off about 30 percent from their show average over the previous two years.

“Everyone was concerned over the current economy and its uncertainty with the election approaching,” Eddie Johnson wrote. Nonetheless, he said several CobraTec knives were “good movers, from the Enforcer OTF to the Raptor to the OTF Utility Knife to our Koonsman fixed blade.”

Custom maker Tobin Hill agreed with Johnson’s economy/election observation.

“Talking with other exhibitors, the general consensus was tighter pocketbooks due to economy worries and pre-election jitters,” he wrote. Tobin brought eight knives and sold three—two of his Hill Locks with the rear bolster release and a lockback whittler.

Who Attended BLADE Show West

Like show sales, attendees ran the gamut, from young and old, novice to sophisticated buyers and more.

“The crowd seemed like a bigger percentage of experienced buyers versus the BLADE Show in Atlanta and BLADE Show Texas,” McNees observed. “We really enjoyed the local crowd. They were extremely friendly and receptive. We got lots of appreciation for coming out.”

The fact that it was the third straight year at the Salt Palace Convention Center seemed to help, too.

“It was good to see repeat customers, so I’m glad we’ve been at the same venue for a few years,” Cammenga wrote.

“There was a nice mix in demographics,” Johnson pointed out. “As always, it is great to see the entire family out enjoying the show. I had several sales to the younger generation with the supervision and guidance of their parents.” 

“There was a very healthy mix of already established Pro-Tech enthusiasts as well as first time buyers,” Pro-Tech’s Wattenberg wrote. “It did feel like a smaller crowd than last year, but we did have customers to work with the entire time, so no complaints. I especially love the family atmosphere; there were so many nice people.”

“The crowd seemed an even mix of young and old, several families with kids,” Hill reported. “There were not many ‘sophisticated’ buyers or dealers.”

According to one industry professional, the fewer buyers and dealers than usual from the Eastern USA may have been due to the poor economy and also the aforementioned Hurricanes Helene and Milton that hit shortly before the show.

BLADE Show West Exhibitors

Shows are about contacts, not only among show attendees and exhibitors but among the exhibitors themselves, including factory knife companies and custom makers to broach possible collaborations and other knife deals.

“We made good contacts with other makers, including some prominent ones we had not previously met,” McNees wrote. “The size of the show was good for that.” Added Johnson, “The BLADE Show always gives us an opportunity to meet various designers and talk about collaborations.” Wattenberg agreed. “We had a few excellent conversations with makers,” he noted.

West Coast Flipping Championship

The 5th Annual West Coast Flipping Championships conducted by Squid Industries was another rousing packed-house event, with Squid providing cash prizes of $1,000 for first place, $500 for second and $250 for third.

Banks Tracy, aka banksqro, took home the title using a Squid Silver Krake Raken Tanto V3 balisong. Runnerup was Max Wenham, aka balisongnerd, who also used a Squid Silver Krake Raken Tanto V3 balisong. Madi Thomas, aka oximityy, took third with her Squid DT Red Krake Raken Tanto V3 balisong. The top three finishers also won prizes from the events’ gold sponsors.

BLADE SHOW WEST ’25

If you were there, you know; if you weren’t, you need to be. Make it so and plan now to attend next year’s BLADE Show West, Oct. 10-11, once again at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.

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