Bladeshow 2026

I heard about Lynn Thompson Tactical Knives from his friend on YouTube a few months ago (Buffalo Bore Ammo). I hope it is true and I hope to be able to buy some of his new knives. I love Lynn. I think he's the most misunderstood guy in the knife community.

 
I was at BLADE yesterday and spent the least amount of money since I've been going since '95. Everything I had planned on getting was sold out, or not available at the show. All I picked up is a CJRB Pyrite-lite in a weird green temperature reactive FRN (Mood knife?), and a Tactile Turn aluminum bolt action pen - total cost $100. I bought a Pyrite-lite for my youngest son as a beater knife while he was working his engineering internship in college. I was impressed with it, and he's still carrying it at his current job. I like the seax like blade and it's kinda fidgety, so I got one. I've always thought custom pens were neat but never got one for various reasons. Tactical pens are too heavy and too expensive - I wear scrubs at work, and pens grow legs in hospitals if you're not careful. My other big reason has been the refills. It always seemed like they used Parker refills, or Fisher space pen stuff. I predominately use gel ink pens. The Tactile Turn pen I bought takes Pilot G2 gel ink refills, it's not much heavier than my other pens, and it cost me $70 at the show - sold.

I wanted a Microtech L-UDT, but I couldn't find the color/blade combination I wanted. I saw a few custom knives by various makers that I liked, but the knives were similar to stuff I already have. I'm a user, more than a collector and at my age I'm not using them as much as I did in my 20s & 30s. Now if the wife & I weren't saving up for a 30th wedding anniversary trip to Ireland/Hadrian's Wall/Scotland, I'd have splurged and bought the Anso titanium Aros. Still, it's a blast walking through the show and seeing all the cool stuff & talking with my friends in the industry. Honestly, seeing my friends is the best part.
 
Another Bladeshow in the books for me. I was trying to remember I think I went to my first on in maybe 2000 or 2001. I know that there was a couple of years I missed but I've probably been to 25 or so. My takes for whatever they are worth.

The Good:
1) The thing just keeps growing and so do the crowds. There was a good part of Saturday where it was hard to get through the aisles in many places.
2)The side room which I assume is cheaper to rent a table in is still overrun with the Baliboys but they mostly keep to the end furthest from the door around the Squid industries tables. Good for them and good for everyone else. There are starting to be some interesting makers and interesting vendors in that room.
3) Met some really interesting up and coming smiths including a guy from Brazil who just earned his journeyman smith rating. His English was pretty darned good, my Portuguese... not so much but we were able to chat and I wish him the best. Also met my long lost relative David Ellis (not really his Dad changed the family name). A really interesting guy and a lot of fun to talk to.
4) I really like the look of the new Spartan Blades Fairbairnish dagger. I wish they would have picked the earlier Type 1 for their model but it's still a neat knife.
5) Vince Evans still makes some of the nicest work at the show (really shooting myself in the foot here by letting that secret out). More on that later.
6) Despite the crowds everyone that I ran across was nice and polite.
7) You can't possibly see it all.
8) Got invited to go down and see the Alabama Damascus guys in their shop.

The Bad:
1) The thing just keeps growing and so do the crowds. There was a good part of Saturday where it was hard to get through the aisles in many places.
2) Inflation of prices has hit knives like everything else, it's absurd what is being asked for a production folder these days... or a production fixed blade for that matter.
3) A lot of young makers that think they are in a position to ask premium prices. I guess technically they can ask them... but that doesn't mean they are going to get them.
4) You can't possibly see it all.
5) I found another Marzitelli folder, probably the one that they patterned the CRKT prowler after, but I just couldn't make myself pay what the dealer was asking. Not when I could easily get a new firearm for the same money.
6) The food options still seem somewhat limited. If I was the organizers of the event I'd rent out space for a food truck corral and make the food trucks and myself a pile of money. Hmm now that I think about it nevermind, there might be a business opportunity for me there... ;)
7) There are no longer any leather dealers showing up. I did see a few stingray hides but the guy in the corner that used to have ostrich, buffalo, elephant, hippo and genuine nauga hasn't been there in a few years now. Weaver wasn't there. Tandy wasn't there. Slickbald wasn't there. Or at least if they were I missed them.


The Ugly:
1) Sure enough there was at least one idiot that thought he was at a Renn Faire. I'm pretty sure he was dressed like a character from The Legend of Zelda video game franchise. Alternately I guess, that's just how that guy dresses. Maybe he was there to save a princess and I'm the ugly.
2) Tactical Timmy was in full effect.
3) He brought his girlfriend Tactical Tammy.

The interesting:
1) One of the wood dealers had tables in both rooms, I had never seen that before.
2) As mentioned Lynn Thompson seems to be back with his own name branded knives.
3) The outfit that bough SOG and Coldsteel and others had their own combined booth.
4) Mantis knives is still a thing?
5) Doug Mercaida of Forged in Fire fame, had his own knife booth, maybe that's not new but I hadn't noticed it before. He was there very patiently taking a picture with everyone that asked. They all asked.
6) Not sure if this is good or bad. I saw a LOT of people that were "creating content." I.e. they had some sort of tripod setup, a phone or video camera and a microphone and were either jabbering about what they were seeing or were interviewing people.

Random musings:

I've discovered I don't really go to the show to buy knives anymore. Don't get me wrong, I will buy a knife if the right one comes along but it's selective. See my fussing about the Marzitelli folder above. This year I ended up buying one can of pelican paste (made from genuine pelicans I've heard) a pen, (because who doesn't need a retardidly expensive pen) and one tiny little cold steel lockback to give to my son for his keychain since he couldn't make it. Bluntly put (see what I did there) there's about 13 bazillion folders there (conservative count) and after a while they all start looking the same. Ditto for fixed blades. It takes something really special to get me to even stop wandering anymore. That means for the most part I don't spend a lot of time at manufacturer's tables. (Exception above being looking at something Spartan who had something new I wanted to see. ) What I do go for is to wander around and look at the latest trends in manufacturing and I look at some really special antique or custom pieces... not because I can typically afford them (because I'm not dropping 6000+ on most knives) but because they are a testament to talent and patience and hard work.

Case in point was this italian dagger that Vince Evans had on his table. It was a smallish unassumingesh thing. Unless you took the time to actually look at it. The cross sectional geometry of that piece was something out of a custom maker's nightmare. It had I think 4 fullers at varying depths, a pronounced midrib and the two main fullers had piercework which I think he told me he did with a .7mm drill bit. There was also the crazy engraving of cross and pommel terminal and ferrule. Then there was the ribbed buffalo horn handle. The heck?! Just while I was standing there yapping there were two well known custom makers who came up and ogled it. Both of them were just sitting there shaking their heads. As they should! If that thing doesn't win something at the show it's a travesty. Plus I probably spent an hour and a half or so talking to Vince and Grace which as always was amazing and as always I learned a few things.

Mostly that's why I go to the show. It's the place where other people that have the same oddball interest that I do (yeah even you Legend of Zelda guy) gather once a year. It's fun to people watch, it's fun to meet up with old friends and make new ones. It's a great hobby.

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Halfneck said:
I was at BLADE yesterday and spent the least amount of money since I've been going since '95. Everything I had planned on getting was sold out, or not available at the show. All I picked up is a CJRB Pyrite-lite in a weird green temperature reactive FRN (Mood knife?), and a Tactile Turn aluminum bolt action pen - total cost $100. I bought a Pyrite-lite for my youngest son as a beater knife while he was working his engineering internship in college. I was impressed with it, and he's still carrying it at his current job. I like the seax like blade and it's kinda fidgety, so I got one. I've always thought custom pens were neat but never got one for various reasons. Tactical pens are too heavy and too expensive - I wear scrubs at work, and pens grow legs in hospitals if you're not careful. My other big reason has been the refills. It always seemed like they used Parker refills, or Fisher space pen stuff. I predominately use gel ink pens. The Tactile Turn pen I bought takes Pilot G2 gel ink refills, it's not much heavier than my other pens, and it cost me $70 at the show - sold.

I wanted a Microtech L-UDT, but I couldn't find the color/blade combination I wanted. I saw a few custom knives by various makers that I liked, but the knives were similar to stuff I already have. I'm a user, more than a collector and at my age I'm not using them as much as I did in my 20s & 30s. Now if the wife & I weren't saving up for a 30th wedding anniversary trip to Ireland/Hadrian's Wall/Scotland, I'd have splurged and bought the Anso titanium Aros. Still, it's a blast walking through the show and seeing all the cool stuff & talking with my friends in the industry. Honestly, seeing my friends is the best part.
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I swear I didn't read your post before posting mine. Agree on the buying and oddly on the trip too, although we are doing most of England and Wales along with a hike on Hadrian's wall.
 
I came home with the obligatory Microtech Show Special & a Spyderco 2nd and not nearly as many stickers as past years. I hope all the construction to the Cobb Galleria is done by next year. It was a fun show overall. Always enjoy meeting and talking to people while waiting in line more than anything.
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Medieval Peasant said:
Uhh, that’s either A) a fake story or B) misinterpreted. I also was at that table and asked the same questions and was told by the entire team that the designs are all Lynn Thompson designs and yes, were also designs in production with Cold Steel (and originally designed by LT).
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What do you mean? It's literally what I asked and what the guy responded with. It may also be true that these are his designs and that there's nothing CS can do about it, but it's obviously visually matching existing CS products
 
Was my first Blade Show and I took the time to handle things that otherwise cannot because we’re online all the time.
For example I learned/confirmed my suspicion that Shirogorov is not for me… to thin and dainty.
The coffee is so bad there and also 5.30$. By comparison I paid $3.50 inside Disney world in April.
 
I had a great time at Blade Show like I normally do. This year had Dad, my brother John, Uncle Darrin, and my cousin Hayden also to hang out with. Somehow I left the show without a single knife, a first for me. That wasn’t a reflection of the quality of knives this year but it was nice not to have to check my bag. Blade Show is mostly an event to talk to all my Knifemaker friends, plus to make new ones. And I taught two classes this year, which was new for me since in years past I have only done one class per show. I think both went pretty well with a good turnout, and many good questions. The hardest part about Blade Show is it always falls on my anniversary, so I got a reservation for a fancy dinner in a couple days to try to make up for missing it.
 
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