I know, I am late getting this out. I got home in the evening Sunday, wrote my pieces for the Hogue giveaway, ran a drawing for our second Condor Kephart giveaway, unpacked, and spent time with the kids and puppy. Today there was the CAS Iberia piece to write and a pile of work in the office that had been neglected for a few days. Needless to say, I am a touch behind.
Sunday is always a strange day at BLADE Show. For exhibitors and insiders, it is the end of a long slog. Some makers have finished selling their wares and either pack up or walk the show. People are saying their first goodbyes, even as attendees are arriving on the floor, many for the first time. They experience a very different show than the one that opens Friday afternoon to such great promise. There are certainly deals to be had, as people try to clear out inventory. We were successful in acquiring several more knives for our 100 Knives in 100 Days Giveaway, including WE, Byrd, VZ Grips, Attleboro Knives, Wilmont Knives, and many more.
For me it was a mix of visiting existing friends and contacts, and still seeking out new makers and companies.
I returned to the SOG Booth Sunday Morning, because I left rapidly Saturday afternoon after realizing I had misplaced my notebook with almost 2 whole days of notes. Thanks again to Jason Gingrich (Gingrich Tactical Innovations) for finding it and sending me a text.
SOG had 2 new products to show me. First is a fixed blade version of their SEAL XR folder. The other is the Kiku XR, and will join the already successful line of collaborations with Kiku Matsuda.
I stopped by to introduce myself to Steve and Lori Schwarzer, the husband and wife bladesmithing team who were featured in our May 2019 cover article.
Here is Steve showing off a skeletonized fighter like the one he donated to our 100 Knives in 100 Days Giveaway.
I have been stopping by to speak with Knifemaker Michael “Pappy” O’Machearley at each of my BLADE Shows. I am particularly fond of his large Chef’s knives.
I spent a lot of time at the WE Knives booth, both because I am fond of fellow Dutchman Henk Hackvoort and because I am writing a print article about Jim O’Young and the original SpeedTech Synergy and new WE Synergy 2. They are obviously fond of their new BLADE Award for Innovative Import for the 037 takedown knife.
Jot Singh Khalsa is known for his Kirpans, but this dagger is pretty sweet too.
Jared Wihongi is a man of many hats, but a big one is Designer and public face of Browning Knives. They sent us a whole bunch of knives and a Wihongi Tomahawk for our 100 Knives in 100 Days Giveaway.
Just a random shot of Ethan Becker visiting with Hogue VP Jim Bruhns.
I posted a shot of my “haul” from the Show the other night on our Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bygyt7QHLun/
In my sleep-deprived state I forgot to mention 2 items. The first is a special Tormek branded Mora Eldris. I love that little knife. I have one, and it was the first real knife I bought for my kids. This one has the Tormek logo on the reverse side, and matches the Tormek branded Mora Clipper that was given to me by my buddy Stig at the Tormek booth.
For those not familiar with the Tormek, you can read my review of it here.
I dig it.
The other item I bought – a DoubleStar Noogie bottle opener. What did you think it was ? 🙂
Finally, a few personal notes.
This was my 6th BLADE Show, and my first with Knife Magazine and not TTAK. It was a different experience being on the exhibitor side of things, though truthfully, Kim Knott, semi-retired former Layout Editor of the print magazine and her husband Brooks did the lions share of the booth manning Friday and Saturday. This allowed me the freedom to move about the show and cover it for these pages. I thank them for it.
I hope that my coverage of the show helped paint a picture for those who have never attended. BLADE Show is a tremendous thing to experience, 3 days is hardly enough. Though by the end everyone is pretty well whooped. But then there is teardown…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BygiHHAn95j/
A 3 hour drive home, and back to reality.
Until next year…