This year, BLADE Show was back and so were we. BLADE is the largest knife show on the planet, but it was a little smaller than usual this time around — with international travel restrictions still in place many of our favorite knifemakers from Italy, Japan, and elsewhere couldn’t make it. Still, the greatest knifemakers from around the country were there with their latest and greatest creations. As you can imagine, we saw a lot of amazing knives over the weekend, and brought back as many as we could carry.
You can browse all our BLADE Show knives here — we’re still adding them to the site so there’s still time to take home something special. It’s worth pointing out that many of these are unique pieces that won’t be available after they sell, so if you can’t find it in stock, it’s likely already gone.
Pro-Tech Ultimate Custom Malibu
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this is one of the most special knives we’ve ever had in stock. Dripping in 18k gold, mother of pearl, and breathtaking hand engraving by Bruce Shaw, this exact knife took home the Investor/Collector award at the show this year.
T.M. Hunt M18
What do you get when you take the craftsmanship of an expert custom knifemaker, the unconventional utility of a Tom Brown Tracker design, and the overbuilt toughness of a Becker-style survival knife? Well, you get one heck of a knife: the Todd Hunt M18. Hand-ground from O-1 tool steel, these monsters are a true “one-tool” survival option and a brilliant design for getting just about any cutting or chopping work done. We don’t expect these to stay in stock for very long but you can check out all of Todd’s work here!
Chris Reeve Knives Sebenza 31 with CPM-MagnaCut Steel
If there was one thing on everyone’s lips this year at BLADE Show, it was CPM-MagnaCut. This new steel, developed by Larrin Thomas, is something of a minor metallurgical miracle: it promises the toughness and edge retention of 4V steel, but stainlessness greater than that of 20CV.
MagnaCut breaks the rules. Ever heard “toughness, edge retention, stainlessness; pick 2?” Well, MagnaCut gives you all three.
As of now, MagnaCut is not readily available on production knives. The first melt of the steel sold almost exclusively to small batch and custom makers, including the absolutely jaw-dropping Chris Reeve Knives Sebenza 31 pictured here. Luckily, we did manage to score a few knives in this promising new steel, and we look forward to seeing more MagnaCut on the shelves in the future!
Ken Onion Custom Stylus
It doesn’t get much better than this Ken Onion custom Stylus. A slim, stylish executive knife handmade by THE biggest knife designer in the industry? Ken’s work is inventive, utilitarian, and playful all at the same time, and we’re privileged to have a number of these sleek flippers in stock now.
More BLADE Show Coverage on our YouTube Channel
If you’re looking for more in-depth coverage including interviews and up-close looks at upcoming production knives, click through the playlist of videos below! We made sure to stop by all the major brands that were there, including Spyderco, CRKT, Pro-Tech, Boker, Demko, and more.
It sure was great to get out there and shake some hands again. Thank you, sincerely, to everyone we met: the makers, the fans, the buyers, the suppliers, and all the people who make this crazy little knife industry such an amazing place!