How is Blade West going?

[RipD]

Went back on Sunday. Some noteworthy additions:

• Stucky Knives: How have I never heard of this guy before? Very nice customs made about 2 hours out of Portland, OR. Dan Stucky was great to talk to. Mostly titanium knives with liner locks. Some other handle materials as well including some great looking Damascus bolsters and blades. He has some anodized liners and uses micarta backspacers. I didn't get good pics, but blue/purple liner with a micarta back spacer looks fantastic! (I'm ordering a custom.) He showed me his 18 year old knife: it's as smooth as any CRK knife you've ever tried. Surprisingly good knives. Only pics I got are terrible.

• Visited spyderco again: they were slower today so went over to chat. They admitted to getting a lot of flac for Sal/Eric not being there with prototypes. Both guys at the booth were awesome. My wife does not like any Spydero I've ever had her hold. Instant love for the Spydie Chef. And how do I not own a Shaman? Large for me to EDC, but just a great knife.

• Talked to Bradford knives. They've had one folding knife for a while (flipper) and are have stopped production. Very nice knife and he was offering them at great prices. I don't need another Ti frame lock or I would have jumped in it. Their fixed blade knives are fantastic. I need to get one.

• Went by the Murray Carter booth with my wife. No need for me to stop by - his shop is about a mile from my work. They wife was talking to his apprentice who makes knives under the Muteki brand. She bought this one.

 

[Makael]

Went back on Sunday. Some noteworthy additions:

• Stucky Knives: How have I never heard of this guy before? Very nice customs made about 2 hours out of Portland, OR. Dan Stucky was great to talk to. Mostly titanium knives with liner locks. Some other handle materials as well including some great looking Damascus bolsters and blades. He has some anodized liners and uses micarta backspacers. I didn't get good pics, but blue/purple liner with a micarta back spacer looks fantastic! (I'm ordering a custom.) He showed me his 18 year old knife: it's as smooth as any CRK knife you've ever tried. Surprisingly good knives. Only pics I got are terrible.

• Visited spyderco again: they were slower today so went over to chat. They admitted to getting a lot of flac for Sal/Eric not being there with prototypes. Both guys at the booth were awesome. My wife does not like any Spydero I've ever had her hold. Instant love for the Spydie Chef. And how do I not own a Shaman? Large for me to EDC, but just a great knife.

• Talked to Bradford knives. They've had one folding knife for a while (flipper) and are have stopped production. Very nice knife and he was offering them at great prices. I don't need another Ti frame lock or I would have jumped in it. Their fixed blade knives are fantastic. I need to get one.

• Went by the Murray Carter booth with my wife. No need for me to stop by - his shop is about a mile from my work. They wife was talking to his apprentice who makes knives under the Muteki brand. She bought this one.

the Stucky Knives guy. I agree. he does pretty good work.

 

[myowngod]

Your post inspired me to order a 247.. which I had been on the fence about doing. Similar style with a bit more color. Hope I love it as much as you love yours.

Walking through the ‘custom’ side, where most tables were subtly marked, we saw this:

So, naturally, I insisted on stopping to take a closer look. Having never handled their stuff in person, I politely worked around other people stopping by and checked it all out.

The Busker was smaller than I expected, even having read others saying the same thing repeatedly. It’s tiny. Very impressive quality. Beautiful design. Great F&F. Gorgeous aesthetic touches. Even with my big hands, I could get a decent grip on it by using the choil-thing.

The Swish was big, and felt great in hand. The reasoning for the attitude of the blade in relation to the handle was evident and appreciated. Fantastic ergonomics, great action. They laughed when I flipped it, sharing how giddy I felt. It’s magic.

But, when this happened...

...it was because I fell in love with this beauty.

I have a thing for simple blade finishes, and plain Ti handles with a little subtle splash for fun. This thing is matte on the outside, with this finish on the floating backspacer and the *insides* of the handle scales:

It’s also in M390, and hits my hand like it was moulded to fit me.

Say what you want about pocket jewelry. This mother****er is going to work with me. It’s going to live as Mike Vagnino and Olamic intended.

Also, my new-to-this-stuff buddy got a couple Steel Will pieces, including their Cutjack in OD green scales/black back spacer, M390 Blade.

My fiancée was very happy, as well. She didn’t blink at me dropping money on the Wayfarer. I think she was happy that we got so much in and were still out at a reasonable hour.

Definitely enjoyed it, highly recommend, and will be back next year.

 

[RBid]

Your post inspired me to order a 247.. which I had been on the fence about doing. Similar style with a bit more color. Hope I love it as much as you love yours.

Some folks may not love the closing action, since the detent ramps. It isn’t “drop-shutty” or “shake-shutty”. Personally, I enjoy a shake-shut close when it’s there, but I don’t seek out that stuff.

If you’re more into ergonomics, working blades, a sense of personal touch, extremely high end fit & finish, etc, then this is a damn good choice for you. I love that Olamic is producing *users* while still living up to that “never the same” motto.

 

[DeadboxHero]

Did you guys check out the action on those Stucky knives? Amazing

the Stucky Knives guy. I agree. he does pretty good work.

Went back on Sunday. Some noteworthy additions:

• Stucky Knives: How have I never heard of this guy before? Very nice customs made about 2 hours out of Portland, OR. Dan Stucky was great to talk to. Mostly titanium knives with liner locks. Some other handle materials as well including some great looking Damascus bolsters and blades. He has some anodized liners and uses micarta backspacers. I didn't get good pics, but blue/purple liner with a micarta back spacer looks fantastic! (I'm ordering a custom.) He showed me his 18 year old knife: it's as smooth as any CRK knife you've ever tried. Surprisingly good knives. Only pics I got are terrible.

• Visited spyderco again: they were slower today so went over to chat. They admitted to getting a lot of flac for Sal/Eric not being there with prototypes. Both guys at the booth were awesome. My wife does not like any Spydero I've ever had her hold. Instant love for the Spydie Chef. And how do I not own a Shaman? Large for me to EDC, but just a great knife.

• Talked to Bradford knives. They've had one folding knife for a while (flipper) and are have stopped production. Very nice knife and he was offering them at great prices. I don't need another Ti frame lock or I would have jumped in it. Their fixed blade knives are fantastic. I need to get one.

• Went by the Murray Carter booth with my wife. No need for me to stop by - his shop is about a mile from my work. They wife was talking to his apprentice who makes knives under the Muteki brand. She bought this one.

 

[RipD]

I did - action is incredibly smooth. Agree on not dropping closed. I love my knifes that drop shut. This isn't one but it's a great knife I'll use rather than play with.

My favorite comment from him was when he pulled out his 2nd knife (Large Folder?) and said "My son and I fully dressed an 8 point buck with 2 of these." May have been the Hunter.

When I asked about no sharpening choil he shurugged and again handed me his 18 year old Larger Folder with no hint of a recurve. As soon as a saw the Large and Medium folders I thought "fishing knife." Medium would be better for actual fishing. Small is better for me to EDC.

Only downside is no deep carry clip on these. It's a small issue. Sure I could get a deep clip made if I needed one.

 

[myowngod]

Some folks may not love the closing action, since the detent ramps. It isn’t “drop-shutty” or “shake-shutty”. Personally, I enjoy a shake-shut close when it’s there, but I don’t seek out that stuff.

If you’re more into ergonomics, working blades, a sense of personal touch, extremely high end fit & finish, etc, then this is a damn good choice for you. I love that Olamic is producing *users* while still living up to that “never the same” motto.

Well fingers crossed. I'm more about a good fit and finish and enjoyable flipping action than how the blade drops closed. They seem to hold value pretty good so even if it's not my cup o' tea I can always sell it. I just needed an extra nudge to pull the trigger and your comments felt genuine and I am hoping I can agree once it gets here. I plan to use it, assuming I like it, it will not be a show piece only.

 

[RipD]

Great... now if you don't like it I'm the idiot who got you to drop $500 on a knife you don't like.

I had a similar thought. Worst case I can get my money back. FYI, I'm asking for micarta handles with a Ti bolster on a Medium Folder. That may push the price up to high, but we'll see.

 

[RBid]

Well fingers crossed. I'm more about a good fit and finish and enjoyable flipping action than how the blade drops closed. They seem to hold value pretty good so even if it's not my cup o' tea I can always sell it. I just needed an extra nudge to pull the trigger and your comments felt genuine and I am hoping I can agree once it gets here. I plan to use it, assuming I like it, it will not be a show piece only.

I think you’re going to love it. I landed on it as a result of an opportunity to objectively compare a bunch of things back to back to back. Begg, Koenig, Liong Mah, Reate, WE, CKF, CRK, etc. All in my budget. Money, brand, etc, were all non-factors. It was just about finding the right knife.

Having used it at work and fidgeted with it a lot already, I’ve also found that I’m enjoying the hell out of the way it walks shut. I shut my flippers two ways. Some, I lightly shake-shut. Others, I press over with my index finger until I catch the flipper tab with my middle finger and bring my thumb to the spine to rock the blade into the detent. The detent ball ramp on the blade tang and the detent strength make this thing extremely satisfying to do that with. It’s a seamless walk, ending in a light *click* when the detent brings it home.

I’m sure some guys might roll their eyes at that and rant about fidget spinners, but it’s a user first, which happens to be fun as hell to fidget with.

I meant to keep this one short. Whoops.

Let me know what you think when you get yours!

 

[randucci]

I went on Friday with a friend and had a good time. It was nothing like the old Blade West Show that failed years ago, many more tables and a much nicer venue. There was a good variety of custom and production makers along with some material suppliers. I think if they can have it grow by 10 - 15% each year, it will do well.

 

[22-rimfire]

....Talked to Mr Ethan Becker and he showed the new Kephart type of blade to be released soon.

Figured that was going to happen. I'll be getting one of those when they are released. I don't visit the Becker forum as much as I used to, so this was news. Great news actually! Looks like either a 5 or 6 inch blade based on the hand.