2015 Blade Show Knife of the Year Awards Winners

[Sikael]

Fast and Furious 26 isn't exactly a cinema masterpiece, but it's still the highest grossing movie this year. Knives are the same way, I don't like the Schrade, but I absolutely promise you that 1000 times more people give a damn about it than care at all about the 0999, TRE and Nirvana combined. Most people think we're a bunch of idiots for spending more than $50 on a knife. Ballot stuffing or not, if you really want a people's choice award it would realistically go to something like the Schrade every year.

I have no doubt that Schrade and Gerber and the like sell in exponentially greater quantities than LionSteel; they're the knives that people who don't dive a damn about knives pick up when they decide they should have one around. They're also the impulse buys of teens who want something that looks dangerous and costs next to nothing. I guess I thought that the people who cared enough to buy Blade magazine, follow Blade Show Award results, and fill out a ballot, would have had a bit better judgement.

Again -- I haven't used the knife, mainly because I dislike Schrade; but while it might be the best knife in the bargain bin, I thought the average Blade fan might look at knives beyond the 50$ and less range. That doesn't mean there's necessarily anything wrong with knives in that category, and I wouldn't expect to see something like the 0999. But if the numbers Scurvy gave are right, the Schrade's closest competitor received less than 5% the votes it did. WTF?

Alright, maybe bad taste (IMO) is to be expected. But there's plenty of other crappy knives to celebrate... it seems strange. Maybe it has more to do with the way the ballots or the voting was structured... I don't know. But last year's winner was interesting, at least. This year's winner ensures that I don't give a sh*t who takes it next year. Give it to Dark Ops or Bear Grylls.

 

[Accelerator]

Where are the pics???

 

[Boris74]

I have no doubt that Schrade and Gerber and the like sell in exponentially greater quantities than LionSteel; they're the knives that people who don't dive a damn about knives pick up when they decide they should have one around. They're also the impulse buys of teens who want something that looks dangerous and costs next to nothing. I guess I thought that the people who cared enough to buy Blade magazine, follow Blade Show Award results, and fill out a ballot, would have had a bit better judgement.

Again -- I haven't used the knife, mainly because I dislike Schrade; but while it might be the best knife in the bargain bin, I thought the average Blade fan might look at knives beyond the 50$ and less range. That doesn't mean there's necessarily anything wrong with knives in that category, and I wouldn't expect to see something like the 0999. But if the numbers Scurvy gave are right, the Schrade's closest competitor received less than 5% the votes it did. WTF?

Alright, maybe bad taste (IMO) is to be expected. But there's plenty of other crappy knives to celebrate... it seems strange. Maybe it has more to do with the way the ballots or the voting was structured... I don't know. But last year's winner was interesting, at least. This year's winner ensures that I don't give a shit who takes it next year. Give it to Dark Ops or Bear Grylls.

Maybe you should give one a try. They are not best of the bargain bin. Late last year when the new 1095 knives they started putting out started showing up in friends hands I was impressed. Then my brother got a SCHF9 and we put it through hell. The edge held, the blade was unharmed. Put next to more expensive knives in that class, it was beating them in several fields like design, quality of steel, edge retention and ease of extended use. At that time I opted to pass and get an American made one man shop knife that is spectacular. Then more buddies and family got more of these knives and I used all of them. Very tough, consistent quality and best of all it was bettering most in that class at a lower price.

Your opinion is honored, and I believe your mind is already made up. No matter how good they are you will not like them. That's not the case for those who do own and use them. So I bought a SCHF37 and SCHF26. By far the best large fixed blade knives I have ever purchased. So when I see the land slide victory I at least understand why. A BK may be status promoting to brag about or post pictures of online but it's pretty obvious the majority of knife owners don't do that, or care to. The online crowd tends to have a hard time grasping what goes on outside the Internet. If both cost the same and I was given a choice to purchase a BK7 or SCHF37 after using both, and I have, the choice would easily be the SCHF37. The knife itself is so much better. The heat treat is better, edge retention is better, the grind is better, for what I use a knife that size for. Schrade hit a grand slam with the SCHF36, 37, and 38. You can buy two and have money left over for a mora and a coke compared to the next best in line. Better knife for less money, easy to see on my side how it had a land slide victory.

Maybe the other guys with bigger names need to wake up and crank out at least a minimum of a knife with the same quality at a more realistic price point.

 

[austonh]

I believe you could vote online for the people's choice award. In that case a simple plea on Facebook or other social media was enough to secure the Schrade vote without ever buying or touching a Blade Magazine. :-\

 

[Sikael]

American Made Knife of the Year: Zero Tolerance ZT 0999

Import Knife of the Year: Spyderco Nirvana

 

[Sikael]

I believe you could vote online for the people's choice award. In that case a simple plea on Facebook or other social media was enough to secure the Schrade vote without ever buying or touching a Blade Magazine. :-\

Yeah, that might explain it; it also makes it too easy for people who know/care nothing about it to vote.

 

[flarp]

Most people think we're a bunch of idiots for spending more than $50 on a knife. Ballot stuffing or not, if you really want a people's choice award it would realistically go to something like the Schrade every year.

The people who would never spend more than $50 on a knife are probably not on the forums, have not heard of Blade magazine, are not attending Blade Show, and are not likely aware there is a Knife of the Year award, let alone vote on it. If the award were based on sales numbers, I'd figure the Victorinox Classic SD would win every year.

 

[Sikael]

Maybe you should give one a try. They are not best of the bargain bin. Late last year when the new 1095 knives they started putting out started showing up in friends hands I was impressed. Then my brother got a SCHF9 and we put it through hell. The edge held, the blade was unharmed. Put next to more expensive knives in that class, it was beating them in several fields like design, quality of steel, edge retention and ease of extended use. At that time I opted to pass and get an American made one man shop knife that is spectacular. Then more buddies and family got more of these knives and I used all of them. Very tough, consistent quality and best of all it was bettering most in that class at a lower price.

Your opinion is honored, and I believe your mind is already made up. No matter how good they are you will not like them. That's not the case for those who do own and use them. So I bought a SCHF37 and SCHF26. By far the best large fixed blade knives I have ever purchased. So when I see the land slide victory I at least understand why. A BK may be status promoting to brag about or post pictures of online but it's pretty obvious the majority of knife owners don't do that, or care to. The online crowd tends to have a hard time grasping what goes on outside the Internet. If both cost the same and I was given a choice to purchase a BK7 or SCHF37 after using both, and I have, the choice would easily be the SCHF37. The knife itself is so much better. The heat treat is better, edge retention is better, the grind is better, for what I use a knife that size for. Schrade hit a grand slam with the SCHF36, 37, and 38. You can buy two and have money left over for a mora and a coke compared to the next best in line. Better knife for less money, easy to see on my side how it had a land slide victory.

Maybe the other guys with bigger names need to wake up and crank out at least a minimum of a knife with the same quality at a more realistic price point.

Fair enough. Maybe there is a lot of excitement about this knife, and it's just not registering where I'd notice it. I didn't think a BK7 qualified as a 'status' knife; they seem pretty reasonably priced, and well made. I do know they have a lot of devoted fans, so if Schrade's made a knife that people think is just as good, for half the cost, made overseas... alright. Congrats to Schrade. And whatever/whoever wins next year. But you're right, I'm not able to get too excited about it, and I'm not real interested in the PCA. I don't know of anyone who ignores the Oscars in favor of the People's Choice Awards, and there's a good reason for that. Most people are... Yeah.

 

[RamZar]

LionSteel T.R.E.

 

[Sikael]

LionSteel T.R.E.

Damn... That's a beautiful knife. I still think the points made about the problems with picking the Overall Knife are spot on, but I'm just seeing the Lionsteel TRE now ) thanks Ramzar), and I've gotta say, the right knife may have won, this time.

I'm all about ZT and Spyderco, but I'm really liking what I'm seeing of that knife. That's up there with the 0606 and Nirvana, to me. Not many companies can work Ti like Lionsteel, and it will almost certainly be far less money than the 0999 and the 0606. More importantly, it'll be easier to get.

Congrats to LionSteel again. I wasn't too interested in the Hi-Jinx (looks nice though), but I'll be buying the TRE, no question. The things that kept me away from Lionsteel are gone -- Sleipner's out, M390's in:thumbup:; no Roto-lock; no super-wide cutout between lock-bar and handle. As far as the positives -- there's a lot of them. Nice.

 

[Wolverine666]

LionSteel T.R.E.

Absolutely beautiful. Any info as far as price and release date ?

 

[NorthernSouthpaw]

The Peter Martin got 7 freaking votes?!?!
Ok yeah, it's a full on custom that costs over a grand, but seriously.. If I was a random guy just looking at pics and choosing which I liked best. I would just hit the next button on the very bland Schrade and really check out knives like the QSB, Burning Horizon, Dauntless, and well over half the other fixed blades. Don't you think even the mall ninjas would just skip over it?

 

[RamZar]

Absolutely beautiful. Any info as far as price and release date ?

Preorders placed directly with LionSteel started being delivered today and I got mine. They should be at U.S. dealers this month.

Great little flippers! Fit and finish is excellent. Milling on both the full titanium and G-10 assure a good grip. Nice light, narrow, trim and slim package. The flipper action needs a full light switch motion since the detent is not that strong (the blade will not fall out without the flipper) and the flipper tab is fairly low profile (less leverage). It's very smooth and the M390 blade is centered, nice grind and very sharp.

Since I have both the G-10 and full titanium I definitely prefer the blade of the G-10 since it doesn't have the hole nor swedge. My ideal one would be the G-10 blade on the full titanium handle. I may try that...

G-10 weighs 2.37 ounces and the full tutanium 2.87 ounces. Blade length is 2.9 inches.

Pictures later...

The G-10 models should sell well since I think the price at U.S. dealers should be around $200-$225.

Actually, they have all of them listed for preorder with an expected ship date of June 2015.

G-10 flipper only models for $215.

The adaptable flipper/thumb disc/none in full titanium or presentation-side CF for $310.

Those G-10 models will fly off shelves! For $215 you get a sub 3 inch M390 blade, caged bearings flipper, titanium frame lock with stainless steel lock bar insert and nice milling on both the titanium and G-10!

http://www2.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_store.html?usrsearch=LionSteel+TRE