Anyone who thinks they can cover the entire Blade Show in
one day is delusional.
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| Just a taste.... |
I can’t tell you
how many furlongs of aisles there are.
There are more knives than you can imagine. By Sunday, I’ll be jaded and telling you
there are so many similar knives, but today, all I am seeing are different and
innovated designs combined with exciting handles.
I walked for hours and I should stick my feet in a bucket of
ice. I can’t wait to go back tomorrow!
First, a little social commentary. There are three classes of people at
Blade. You have the early birds who pay
more to get earlier access on Friday (noon).
These are people who have a specific destination in mind and have a shopping
list. Many designers have a limited
number of specific knives and they sell out fast. They start lining up at 5 o’clock the previous
night. You need stamina to be an early
bird.
Then there’s the CAPs.
That Customer Appreciation Patron.
That’s us. We used to be called
VIPs. We line up three hours early and
get in at 1 pm. We often have specific destinations,
but are a little laid back about getting there.
Finally we have the great unwashed (general public), who are
let in at 2 pm.
You can draw your own conclusions.
Being in the CAP group, I have a chance to make conversation
with people around. One interesting
fellow was part time knife maker Dale, from Bloom Custom Knife. He’s from Michigan and is scientifically
working towards being a full time knife maker.
We talked about quenching, cooling and grinding as well as testing. He had one of his knives on hand. The handle is a carbon fiber/copper that was
amazing. I will not lie to you, money is
a part of any knife maker, but my conversations with makers strongly suggest
that the creative urge drives them. I think
we’ll see more of Dale in the future.
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| Dale's personal carry knife |
Dan at Battle Horse is a case in example. The company is run by his daughter and son-in-law
and they are doing an amazing job. This
frees Dan to pursue his creative desires without worrying about the bottom
line. He had a variety of primitive art
pieces, including a jeweled coyote head, leather-wrapped tomahawks and leather-wrapped,
recycled cans (!). The impact of his
creative drive can’t be seen or experienced from a web page. You need to stand there and handle them. I expect Dan will do some exciting things.
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| Dan's art tomahawk. I like it very much! |
I bought a knife from Banzelcroft Customs. They utilize an industrial razor as a blade. That’s very clever in my mind. Mykel Piper worked for years at a phone store
and found he was always sharpening his knives as they would hit metal staples
and get chewed up from cutting through heat sealed plastic blister
packages. Knowing there must be a better
way led him to formulate a holder for heavy duty replaceable blades.
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| Thats a Kirinite handle, an acrylic polymer |
One knife did get away from me. Raegan Lee Knives had a fixed blade with a
black handle contain silver wire hexagons (think exotic beehive). Raegan started collecting knives and decided
to start making them. I’m always
impressed with people who start small business and see them as engines of
wealth.
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| Raegan and her cool knife |
I wanted that blade for the WRCA knife raffle the club does
yearly, but by the time I made it back to her table it was sold. It’s a bitter lesson to learn: the time to buy
is when you first see it.
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| a better look at the one that got away. |
I did get a nice Russian knife with a birch bark
handle. The bark is stacked like poker
chips on the tang of the knife. The
handle has a cool, comfortable grip and very much resembles a puuko style. I have been admiring these knives for years
and decided it was time.
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| Bask knives - Konstantin Vasenko |
Then there’s Microtech.
You know their knives: sharp, well-made, aggressive, but let’s change
things up. A year ago Microtech Defense
Industries decided to make the quietest 9 mm suppressor on the planet callled the 2K9 K-Configuration. They have succeeded. The can be run dry or wet. The 6.47 inch suppressor shows an average DB
reduction of 31.57 dry and if you add a cap of water, you get a reduction of
40.72. WOW!
An unnamed military unit is running them now. But come December 2019, we civilians may be
able to by a tax stamp and own one. It
will not be cheap, but what’s your hearing worth?
Here are a few more images.
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| A relative new company, but interesting knives |
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| Engraving by Jonathon Quill |
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| Part of the CAP waiting for entrance. |
