rlauferblog

SET-UP DAY

After a year hiatus, TACCOM is back!

I have a lot to cover over the next few days so I will jump right into Set-Up Day! This is by no means a full show review, rather it should give you a flavour of what you can expect to see during the show days (Saturday and Sunday) and a hint of the many many new product introductions (both firearms and gear!).

Great to see the booths being built from the ground up

Great new layout for North Sylva  starting to take shape

Vs a bit later in the day (wait till you see the finished booth at the show!)

I headed straight for AmChar as I knew they would be introducing some new products and lineups to our market. First, the Schmeiser PSR-9, their new non-restricted pump action 9 mm carbine that takes Glock mags! It has an ambi safety and pump/slide release (I believe the mag release is not ambi).

Glock mags also fit in my Viktos Operator jeans lol. Speaking of Glock, YES, I confirmed with AmChar that there will be Glocks on display during the show!

Awesome muzzle break on the Gray Birch MFG- rifle chassis gun

Better look at the chassis

AmChar is now also the Canadian distributor for Guard Dog armor. These are INCREDIBLY light!

Die Free co. Rifle accessories…love their product names!

Another gun I was super excited to see, the Sulun Arms SG-12 “SPAS” brought to you by Tactical Imports!

The arm hook in action

The guys at Telson Optics loved it as well

Over at FOC’s booth, this Chiappa caught my eye. It comes in several calibers all the way up to 45-70!

Speaking of FOC, it was great to run into owner and TACCOM organizer Fred and chat about their new range

I was just at O’Dell Range Day a couple of weeks ago and got to try several of the products distributed by O’Dell and Magnus & Sons. I’ll have a lot more coverage of their booths during the show but in the meantime, some quick pics

The Evolve Pro is so new that they weren’t even at the range day two weeks ago!

Now was the new SBI bolt action chassis

The semi looks so good with that drum mag! I am kicking myself for having missed shooting it at range day

I did shoot the TacSol though. Definitely my favourite rimfire

A few from Canuck’s expansive lineup

That folding Flex is so cool

Last but certainly not least for today’s coverage, Uniturc with a HUGE lineup of awesome guns and gear! Their firearm lineup includes several Italian brands such as Sabatti, Pedersoli, Fair, Fossari, and Victrix!!!

The Fossari shotguns are totally customizable and have unique features such as a removable trigger group!

As well as parts (forget the name of that baseplate behind the chambers) that you can swap in the field

Fair manufactures parts for many other Italian brands and also makes their own combination rifles, such as this one in 12 gauge and .308

Again, I forgot the technical terms but there are metal bars that join with these slots to make an incredibly strong receiver that can handle the recoil from big rounds

Uniturc’s lineup of gear is also amazing, such as Halfbreed Blades!

I love the CCK-03 Gen-2 Compact Clearance Knife – Tuhon Raptor

Which presents multiple cutting edges regardless of whether you hold it in reverse or forward grip

The IRT-01 Incident Response Tool fits right in your Molle

Uniturc is introducing Pro-Mission, their new line of tactical clothing, designed and made in Canada!

Lots of great features on this jacket

built in pen holder (shown with Halfbreed tactical pen)

fishtail

hood design

interior pockets

I have been looking for a short sleeve combat shirt with patches, especially in my size! These will be available up to 6XL!

Butt-stock ammo holder in real leather

I will definitely be back to their booth during the show!

I wanted to see the G6 but it hadn’t arrived yet so I guess I will have to be patient and wait till tomorrow lol

Now for some sights and sounds of TACCOM, Amanda Lynn Mayhew, Fred, the crew from Canadian Caliber and Mr. Bullet

Can’t wait to see Baden K-9’s dog demo again

The CCFR stage for the seminars

Hopefully that gives you an idea of the show!

TACCOM 2026 – PART 1

Guns, lots of guns! That’s how I would describe Part 1 of the review.  In fact, there were so many guns that I cant fit them all in Part 1!

“Small is the new big” is also an apt descriptor when it comes to the guns at the show! I guess with the freeze on handgun sales, manufacturers have responded by making “long guns” actually shorter and shorter to the point that we have the literally “smallest non-restricted rifle ever” at the show!

Guns, lots of guns is also how I would describe North Sylva’s booth! WOW, they went all out with over 200 firearms on display and flew in reps from all over the world to answer questions about their products!

Let’s get things started with the IWI Carmel

Thanks to Adam from Gagnon sports for walking me through the specs

My first impression is that it is quite blocky and reminds me of the CZ Bren II (lots of height over bore on that red dot)

Next up the Brigade Firearms Makasi, which had an INCREDIBLE ATN Thor 6 thermal scope on it

Seriously you could see heat signatures through the barrier! Definitely one of the coolest things at the show!

Next, Smith & Wesson. I really liked the Stealth Hunter lever action

CZ

Remington (more hunters than “tactical” this year)

Huge selection from Chiappa

I really liked the lever action in Nebula finish (which would be a great match if you had their Rhino in Nebula)

The 1886 Ridge Runner with its octagonal barrel was also super cool!

Ultimately the T-series is my favourite Chiappa

More Chiappas!

I loved the lesslethal on display (I will need to research more about these)

Adler

The RF224 TACTICL was my absolute favourite! Reminds me of the Druganov

More Adler

Derya

Loved the Milwaukee gun

More Derya

Hatsan

EGE Arms

Charles Daly

Maple Ridge Armoury

Morisson

Perfect example of that “small is the new big” I was talking about

Northernaer

ATI stocks

Phew that covers North Sylva! So keep in mind all the pics you have seen so far have been from ONE exhibitor!

Next I went back to take a closer look at that incredible Victrix Gladio! I have covered these exceptional Italian military/police rifles with their “laser mapping” before and each time I discover more features and become even more impressed. Thank you Donald for the walk-through!

Detachable muzzle brake featuring 3 chambers suppressor ready

Removable carry handle (with some hidden tool holders)

MCJ custom made a scope for this particular gun! (more on them in a minute)

Fully adjustable buttstock, again with some hidden compartments

Handy DOPE to keep track of you ballistic performance

By this time I met up with Richard, an old friend I haven’t seen in years and his lovely wife Andrea, both new shooters who came to TACCOM looking for their first gun! Both really liked the Pedersoli 86/71 Lever Action Boarbuster “Apocalypse”

And they liked Boarbuster in “HV-1” (High Vision One) Camo” even more!

The Jackal44 pump action .44 magnum was also super cool! This is an evolution of an older design and each one is personally tested by Pedersoli!

The new Black Widow! Pedersoli’s new easily transportable .22 caliber rifle with removable fore-end and locking system that allows you to fold the barrel over the stock, making the gun easily stored in a medium size backpack. The stock is made of “technopolymer”, the barrel is threaded for a muzzle brake (or suppressor, sigh) and the action is drilled and tapped for mounting a Picatinny rail.

I mentioned that the scope for the Victrix was custom made by MCJ, which is actually a Canadian company!

Their offerings in thermal and conventional scopes are expanding rapidly

Several modes on this mini thermal

Next I went to see my good friends at S&J Hardware to check out their legendary modified shotguns. I love their take on the MCS!

S&J also makes body armour through their sister company Aratech Research. Here is Simon showing their new RF2 compliant plates

I also liked the backpack inserts that are so super light and thin yet still offer LEVEL IIIA protection!

Super thin!

Fits neatly in the rear compartment (of Andrea’s new backpack, more on that in Part 2)

No added weight, size, or bulk at all

I just had to get some

No handguns at TACCOM eh? How about Glock!!!!

And the first two shown here were Gen 6!

Testing my Rothco CCW hoodie (if only)

The blade on the Glock knife now has a textured finish

While at AmChar’s booth I took a closeup of the Guard Dog helmet I wore on setup day

And this Gray Birch setup with an incredible old-school Streamlight

I will close off Part 1 with a visit to Tactical Imports to take a closer look at the incredible Sulun Arms SG-12 “SPAS”. Not surprisingly, these sold out in the first three hours of the shows! Not to worry, there are more on order.

To switch from manual to semi auto, press the button in the middle of the slide and then move it to align with the “A” or “M”

Nick demonstrating the one-handed grip the Terminator used in his “I’ll be back” scene

More shotguns from Tactical Imports (again, note the small sizes)

I was just as interested in the Extrema Ratio knives as the SPAS 12

folders

Some of my favourites included the KH Khukuri and K-Talon karambit as I love these styles of knives

K-Talon in retracted grip

K-Talon in extended grip

That covers Part 1! Stay tuned for another 200 pics coming in Part 2 in the next day or so.

RL

O’Dell Engineering’s 12^th Annual Range Day is a great showcase of the latest offerings from Canuck and Bergara and thanks to co-sponsor Magnus and Sons, TacSol and SBI as well!

For those who haven’t seen my past reviews, to recap, this “invitation only” (2 reps per retailer) industry range day is intended to give retailers first-hand familiarity with the latest offerings so they can better respond to customer inquiries and match the right firearms with their shooting needs.

Opening words from Ian and a round of Happy Birthday for Phil O’Dell’s milestone 65^th!

A few words from Phil to the audience of retailers, gun organizations and even some politicians!

Phil said it better than me “Its a great industry when you work with your friends.”

Wilson!

And Kelly!

The CCFR with Conservative MP Connie Cody and Doug Treleaven, Conservative candidate for the Kitchener Conestoga riding

Mike, aka “El Presidente”! Congrats on the promotion to President of the CSSA!

Jerrika in the Wild filming for season 3 of her show! Congrats for the new season!

Great to see Dean from Select Shooting Supplies, thanks for the custom patch!

Speaking of Select, I recently visited the store and picked up the Walker Razor in Dessert Camo you see me wearing today. This was my first time wearing them at the range and I LOVE them! Seriously, they exceeded my expectations. I have several pairs of Peltors (and Axil) electronic earpro and these feel “different.” You can tell they have the “Walkers Game Ear” lineage as you can hear conversations all around you, even quite far away  (as well as your “external” voice which is a bit freaky).

 While on the topic of gear, I have to say I was a bit disappointed by my ESS Crossbow. These are considered one of the best eyepro on the market. Indeed, they have been on the APEL (Authorized Protective Eyewear List) for the US Military for years and, as all my ESS, have the clearest lenses I have ever seen on protective eyewear. However, they COMPLETELY fogged up all day! Yes, I can use some anti-fog treatment next time but I expected that out of the box. I think this was my second time wearing them at the range.

Ok back to guns! The Recon 3 with its “Tommy” mag

The super cool Canuck Flex folding SEMI-AUTO shotgun. I have seen folding pumps but not too many semis. The final production version will have a heatshield as the barrel can get quite hot and you don’t want to grab that when you  are folding it. Also, note that this has a conventional gas system as opposed to the ARGO-like design on the Operator.

Yup, you can use it for Trap lol

Scott from Bullseye North!

With the Canuck Pioneer Pump Magnum

or if you prefer a semi, the Canuck H2 Magnum

The crew from FOC putting the Canuck Over Under Trap Combo through its paces

I think Fred likes it!

Now on to the rifle range where everyone was super excited to try the new O’Dell C22! To answer everyone’s first question, it uses proprietary mags BUT will accept 10/22 mags! Conversely, the proprietary mags will NOT work in a 10/22. It’s shoots fine but I couldn’t really do an accuracy test with my eyepro fogging issue lol.

I have shot TACSOL before and I love them! This is the Tacsol X-Ring VR Gen 2

Another awesome .22, the SBI Superlite 12 black, with Tom my co-photographer running it

Moving up in caliber from .22s, the Evolve in .38/.357. Quite a long, heavy trigger pull in double-action. Next time I would try single action (which is my preferred way to shoot revolvers but I thought of this more as a rifle than a handgun)

And now for a real flamethrower, the Recon 3 pump action shotgun!

Check out the flames in these vids

I don’t blame the guy behind it covering his ears, it was LOUD!

The Canuck Tacop Elite

Morgan and Fred from FOC showing us how it is done with a Match Saver reload

I shot the Canuck Wrangler at a previous range day and it is my favourite gun of the Canuck lineup

Moving on to precision rifles from Bergara, various BMRx

The .22LR

Not sure if this was .308 or 6.5

Dave Tree with his personal competition gun

Thanks for letting us try it

Bergara’s off the shelf Competition gun

Great to have some PRS shooters for some pro tips

Big crowd

We close off with prize draws

The last prize, a Bergara Canyon in 6.5CM will be featured on Jerrika in the Wild Season 3!

All done with the business of shooting, time for food and celebration! Lunch was catered by  the best ever, Lancaster Smokehouse!

with cupcakes for dessert

Continuing the celebration at Symposium

Phil opening his pile of gifts…starting with BBQ tongs

In multiple sizes

Now for something bigger

A salad mixer! I am sensing a theme here

Bourbon chocolates

And now for the main gift…

A stunning Damascus blade hunting knife by Loney Blades!

Now for a birthday toast to Phil

I chose Hennessey for this one

Cant have a birthday without cake! (I hope he wished for a Conservative government lol)

I’ll end by coming back to Phil’s quote ““Its a great industry when you work with your friends.” That’s so true. Sure it is fun to shoot guns at the range but I dare say I enjoyed sharing stories with Phil and my industry friends even more. The personal element really makes this event special. Thanks for having me be part of it.

RL

Had a great time today visiting the KC Forge shop and hanging out with knifemakers! Pictured here Scott Miller of Fire Drawn Forge, Nicolas Bayley of Black Coffin Knives, Casey Belli of Belli Custom Metal, Kevin Charbonneau of KC Forge, myself and collector extraordinaire, Micaeli!

I will have examples of all knifemakers’ work at the end of this post but first some shop pics! I should point out that this was a quick, unplanned visit so these are just quick pics to give you an idea. I would like to come back to do a more detailed review where we can watch a knife being made through the various stages.

These were the first knives that Kevin ever made, shown in order

Micaeli with the first one

The third one, a Khukuri is more my style

Current patterns

Casey at the bandsaw cutting some wood for handle scales

Using the belt sander to shape the handle scales

And throw some sparks!

The forge retains heat for quite a while even after the gas line is turned off

Let’s fire it up!

It can reach a good 3000 degrees

Anvils for hammering out the steel

As you may have seen in my coverage of the Toronto Knife Show, Kevin  has been doing a lot of knives with copper lately, such as this work in progress

A handy press

Stickers from fellow knifemakers

Kevin’s apprentice

His latest tattoo honouring his father

And now for some samples of their work. See my reviews of the Toronto Knife Show, CKG Shoot ‘n Show, and Milton Gun Show for more! KC Forge

Fire Drawn Forge featuring both knives as well as pyrography

Belli Custom Metal

And of course Black Coffin Knives who you know well from Project Redrum

Double wrist check with Micaeli for her IWC and the custom bracelet she just picked up from the maker in South Africa!

Thanks to KC Forge for sharing your shop with us!
RL

Pikal knives are designed for use in a Reverse Grip Edge-In (RGEI) orientation. The modern variants were made popular by retired narcotics/SWAT law enforcement officer and tactical instructor Craig Douglas (a/k/a “SouthNarc”), the founder of ShivWorks, specifically with his Disciple design.

Custom knifemaker Trace Rinaldi made the original Disciples and I was actually on the waiting list but due to a computer crash that wiped out his order list and his eventual passing away, I never ended up receiving it. Years later, I did manage to get a ShivWorks Disciple trainer as well as a Spyderco folding Pikal.  Still, my thirst for a fixed blade Pikal was not quenched and it was always in the back of my mind to get one.

Fast forward to 2026. During my research and preparation for the Toronto Knife Show, I came across Emily’s Casting Crafts and her incredible resin knife scales. I was immediately drawn to her take on the carpet from the movie The Shining!

This got my creative juices flowing! In particular, I thought of the famous “Redrum” that Danny drew on the hotel door, and that is “Murder” spelled backwards! Just like a Pikal is a “backwards” knife in the sense that the blade and handle are reversed to each other to facilitate the edge-in orientation. As you will see in the work in progress pics, everything about this knife is backwards including the sheath!

And don’t forget that I picked up a pin of the Twins at Taste of Little Italy, another sign!

Yes, my vision was coming together! I made a rough sketch using my ShivWorks trainer as a starting point.

And here I am presenting my idea to Emily at the Toronto Knife Show’s pre-show dinner!

We had a great discussion about potential ways to incorporate the Twins into my knife and with input from Nicolas (more on him in a second) the knifemaker on this project, we decided to use them as a bead on a lanyard so Emily cast my pin in resin!

BTW, notice my Dixxon Torrance shirt matching Jack’s

I chose Nicolas Bayley of Black Coffin Knives for this project for two main reasons: 1) he does a lot of movie and video game themed knives and 2) he knows how to SHARPEN! I can attest to those from personal experience as I have the knife he did based on the Metro 2033 videogame and it is incredibly light, fast, and SHARP! I presented my idea for Redrum to him at the Toronto Knife Show 2026!

And here is the first drawing of what Nicolas designed!

I liked his idea to add jimping and after some discussion we moved that to the butt end. We also made the blade a bit pointier, in keeping with the “ripping” type of cuts made with this design.

Compared to the Disciple, the handle on the Redrum is flatter, wider, and longer to accommodate my large hands. It also has more metal between the blade edge and handle (as the Disciple dug in the heel of my palm a bit) and features a blade choil, again to move the edge away from the handle.

Once aligned on the drawing, it was time to cut the blank!

You can see the jimping here. We decided to cut back on the scales a bit to leave the jimping exposed (a la “skull crusher” style).

Looks great in the Pikal grip!

Next, Nicolas lined up the scales so that the pins would go through the “dots” on the carpet pattern.

Next, the edge grind!

Oooo you can really see it starting to take shape now!

Comparing the original blank to the ground version

Next the scales were ground into shape but they will only be fitted and pinned after the Cerakote® is applied.

For the Cerakote®, we wanted to match the colour of the hotel door and Benelli® Sand seemed to be the closest. This colour was actually developed for Crye Precision’s Multi-Cam so in addition to the movie connection, it is also tied to two brands that I love!

Quick sand-blast before applying the Cerakote®

By now the Redrum stencil arrived. Note that not only is the word backwards, so are some of the letters and the print itself is upside down as well as on the opposite side of where you would normally place it. The reason for this placement is that I wanted to be able to see Redrum when holding the knife in the Pikal grip.

Here we go!

And the Cerakote®’d result!

With the handle scales installed

Now on to the sheath, which is again backwards and upside down! Normally I would carry a knife horizontally with handle forward for deployment into reverse grip. However, since the Pikal blade would end up against the TOP edge of the sheath in that orientation, I would for sure slice my, ahem “love handles” on the way out! As such, the safest orientation was upside down with the blade forward so that I could un-sheath into Pikal grip in one motion (i.e. without having to switch grips). BTW, I am so happy Nicolas used a low-profile Ulti-Clip!

Here is Nicolas demonstrating the draw

Next, we had to decide where to place the Twins on the sheath. While the top (errr bottom) of the sheath would have looked cool, it risked slowing down my draw or re-sheathing and of course potentially cutting the lanyard/bead on the way out.

So we went with the opposite end (again, keeping in mind I will wear this upside down)

They are lashed in tight with double knots!

Now for my favourite part, the sharpening! Quick paper cut test

The manly way to shave leg hair

Now the very last step, laser engraving the Black Coffin Knives logo on the sheath

And ready for me to meet Nicolas and pick it up! Check out this awesome video from Nicolas!

We decided to meet at Benny’s Barbeque, a place we have both been meaning to try.

Here we go! Nicolas with a nice gift box

Wow, it looks even better in person!

See my reactions here

Fits great in the hand

A few closeups

As I mentioned in the video, Nicolas did a great job bringing this to life and it is exactly what I had envisioned! Thanks so much Nicolas!

And now for some smokehouse! Brisket, ribs fully covered in peppercorns, sausage, and potato salad with dill seasoning. It was all fantastic!

RL

The old adage “often imitated, never duplicated” could very well apply to 5.11 Day at Urban Tactical. Indeed, I have noticed that several retailers have started offering promotions/events around May 11^th to celebrate the 5.11 Tactical brand but no one does it better than Urban Tactical! I have been covering their event for years!

We didn’t make it in time to be one of the first 25 to get a free 5.11 hat this year (I have in the past) but we did get some opportunities at the prize table as we did some shopping 😊

Play Plinko to decide your prize!

The 5.11 promotion applied across the board to the brand’s huge and expansive lineup, from clothing to footwear to gear like bags and packs.

There were also promotions on many other brands that Urban Tactical carries like UF Pro

And Oakley, where I saw some new eyewear that I haven’t seen before, such as their Vanguard Electronic Sunglasses! These feature an ultra-wide 12MP camera that captures hands free video from your point of view, has open-ear speakers and can connect with Garmin devices and fitness apps through Meta AI to track progress and analyze performance. The apps can give you historical data to track your progress over time, real-time metrics, “Action Auto Capture” to trigger highlights automatically, action LED signals for instant feedback, and shareable action media with activity data overlays to relive and share your moments.

The Standard Issue Ballistic HALO were more my speed though. These are part of the ALPHA modular and scalable “ecosystem” that “offers multiple configurations based on the mission and methods of infiltration.” Haha I love that description!

But seriously, ALPHA is a three-part system composed of a frame, gasket and goggle. It meets ANSI and MIL PRF standards, is compatible with multiple helmet platforms (e.g. Team Wendy, Ops-Core, PASGT etc. ) and is fully compatibility with PHANTOM Mask and Regulator Assembly for Military Free Fall (MFF) & Operations. I should have bought these!

Also super cool, this display of a Hero lens withstanding a shotgun blast.

More cool eyewear from Warbird. I liked the red frame Deep State with 4SHADOW™ polarized lens, Kaiwall™ Plant-based TR90 Frame Material and ANSI Z87.1 protection.

Gear to cover you from head to toe…you know I love balaclavas! Note the Ice Warrior Tac Gear Mammoth-X Winter Mitt/Glove to the right of the balaclavas as well. These were designed for extreme temperatures by a police officer with tactical team experience. They are tested and used by law enforcement, military professionals, and tactical teams across Canada. Some of the key features are 3M™ Thinsulate™ 240g insulation, a removable glove, wind resistance, two inside pockets for hot pouches, and a durable leather palm.

Urban Tactical actually carries about 15 brands of gloves including Mechanixwear

MoG Masters of Gloves

Hakson

5.11, HexArmor, Oakley, Turtleskin, Outdoor Research etc. etc.

Huge selection of boots from 5.11, Salomon, Lowa, Haix, Danner, etc.

Funny, ceriksson and I were talking about Streamlight on the drive up. He has the Wedge and I have the new Wedge SL. Never seen these in blue

Huge selection of Yeti!

Ultimately, ceriksson and I both bought Viktos jeans, at huge discounts I might add! He got the Operatus CCW while I got the Operatus XP Tactical Jean

The Operatus XP Tactical Jeans have an “Attackposture™ fit” that uses a stretch 12oz denim chassis with slightly oversized thighs designed to “move with the operator through the myriad of combat postures.”

It has two front slash pockets for AR15 mags.

And two leg slash pockets for pistol mags. I would use my NEOMag magazine holders but was too lazy to get them out of the safe for pics lol.

Other interesting features include a dual-pull fly zipper to give you “access” without having to remove your gunbelt.

And a gusseted crotch so you can kick like Chuck Norris

I didn’t get pics of the guns in the store but they had something for everyone…

I did however get a pic of some of the guns on the line for the shooting portion of the event.

Love the Marlin 1895 lever action in .45-70! Someone shot that in the stall next to me and you sure notice it going off!

I was super excited that they had a SIG Flux on the line! I have seen these at past events

And now I get to shoot one!

The results downrange were quite interesting. My first mag was a perfect vertical line (don’t think I have done that before). I tried to make adjustments with the second mag but I think that just widened the spread lol. Either way I really liked it! It felt similar to the B&T USW I shot at SHOT Show.

Another guest shooting it as well. BTW, as I have said repeatedly, I hate posting pics of other people lol. Don’t let my cropping them out of pics fool you, there were at least a couple of hundred shooters throughout the day.

A precision rifle on the line

We grabbed a hot dog on the way out as an appetizer for our upcoming wings of doom lol.

Thank you once again to Urban Tactical for putting on another benchmark 5.11 Day and your awesome hospitality, you guys are the best!

We stopped at Triggers and Bows on our way to Wingmaster. I haven’t been here in a while and ceriksson was looking for a specific type of gun oil but no luck.

Ok now for Wingmaster and some 10 MILLION SHU Blackenstein wings! A quick pocket check as we wait for Tre to whip up our cocktail of pain.

And here with go with Blackenstein!

This was my 4^th or 5^th time having them and I am a very experienced heatseeker so not quite dramatic

ceriksson was new to such extreme heat though so his vid is a bit more entertaining lol. He actually did well considering though I believe he had a rough night lol

these screenshots capture the essence of the experience quite well

A-OK…or so he thought lol

I usually have Wingmaster’s Hulk wings but I wanted to try another one of his crazy near 300 flavours! I went to the opposite side of the heat scale with Peanut Butter Only!

ceriksson had the Bundy hot sauce + honey garlic

Always great to see Wingmaster! He is such a character and really adds to the experience.

Thanks again to Urban Tactical, Wingmaster, and my co-photographer buddy ceriksson for a great day!

RL

Based on the phenomenal success of last year’s show, the Toronto Knife Show has expanded in size for 2026! The show now spans two rooms to improve traffic flow and accommodate additional knifemakers. Oh, and an additional bank machine was added since we emptied out two of them last year!

Knifemakers also really stepped it up this year! I saw lots of unique scales, Cerakote, laser engraving, Damascus, and copper, lots of copper!

My first stops were to check in with the show organizers Murray St. Amour and Mike Mossington.

It was great to see Murray’s big camp knife again

But what really caught my eye was this archer’s sleeve, custom made by Phil Clot to carry one of Murray’s knives!

Yes, I bought one! That didn’t take long eh? Purchase at the first table lol

Mike and his lovely family. I remember Elizabeth helping out at Mike’s table back in the day and now she is here with her daughter!

Mike’s fine outdoor knives and knife supplies (of course I still have my gold handle filet knife!)

Both Murray and Mike, along with several other makers donated knives for the hourly prize draws.

Gaetan Beauchamp

Murray St. Amour

Mike Mossington

Casey Belli (I won one of his knives at another event!)

Brad Millman of Black Maple Blades

A couple of the winners…Brad’s knife

And Gaetan’s

I was so happy to see Gaetan Beauchamp back at a show! He is incredibly talented, particularly in Scrimshaw.

The “twin” pieces with artwork that span across two knives are amazing

The Geisha girls were my favourites

Gaetan had a cool microscope to take a close look at his incredible work

Again, great to see you Gaetan!

Actually now that I think about it, my purchase at Murray’s table was technically my second of the show lol. I pre-ordered some scales from Emily’s Casting Crafts for a custom knife project and picked them up at the pre-show dinner last night. We had a great discussion about options for the custom knife that Nicolas Bayley of Black Coffin Knives will be making for me. In any case, I wanted to see Emily’s incredible work.

If you have seen the Dessert Warrior camo shirt that I have worn in recent reviews, you wouldn’t be surprised that I noticed these right away.

Emily’s famous skull scales come in many colours including glow in the dark

Thanks for the mini saw!

Emily cast the fish scales for this filet knife by Casey Belli

Full shot of Casey’s amazing lineup

I like the Ulticlip pocket carry, along with the cleaver in shoulder holster as shown on his tactical mannequin!

I won a Coffin Spike like the one shown with translucent scales (mine is all black)

Some real beauties here

Wakizashi with 13” blade

A variety of tantos

Casey’s Khukuris are my favourite though

My next stop was Black Coffin Knives to brief Nicolas on the custom knife he will be making for me. I will reveal the details on that in a review upon its completion. In the meantime, let’s look at his awesome knives! I really like some of the new styles he has introduced lately.

I especially liked the shipwreck knives

And the Reaper, particularly in red, as I love ring knives

ceriksson, my co-photographer (and Moderator of the knife forum on Canadiangunnutz) recently purchased a Bare Beaver from Cam Lymburner and we wanted to see the latest collaboration versions with Buffalo Bones.

I liked the one with blue stingray insert and flame colouring

ceriksson went with the green stingray

Buffalo Bones does a lot of sheaths for Cam and I really liked this one

ceriksson with his new knife

I picked up a couple of Cam’s 3D printed “fidget knives” for gifts.

Buffalo Bones actually does sheath work for many of the makers at the show. There is no better in leather!

Ok now for one of my favourite pieces at the show, a Klingon Bat’leth at Northern Edge Custom Blades!

Hmmm I wonder if Seamus can make a sheath for this…

ceriksson liked it too!

Perhaps not as dangerous as the Bat’leth (unless you step on them!) Northern Edge’s Lego knives were pretty cool too!

Great to see William Nease back at a knife show! I was his first customer at his first show back in 2004!

I have one of his paper blades but have never seen one in the form of a chopper

I picked up one his trowels at another event. Super sharp!

The Chickenhawk is such an interesting design

The rescue version

Classic Nease style axe

The more things change the more they stay the same

 I have purchased a few knives from Todd Bolce so let’s see if I get lucky this time.

Oooo this DH Russell in Damascus would be a great match for the one I got in all black…Seamus snagged it though (lucky guy!)

Beautiful Damscus piece. I have visited Todd’s shop and he does everything, Damascus, Cerakote, laser engraving…you name it.

I like the textured scales on the bottom one

For stock removal, John Wilson sets the standard as he trained under Bob Loveless and continues to make his patterns.

This one was featured in a magazine

My favourites were this boot knife

And Chute knife

Now for some folders. Grimsmo brought 20 knives covering their three styles, Norseman, Fjell, and Rask as well as 10 Saga pens.

I was most anxious to see the Fjell in Damasteel that they shared on social media…yup, it’s a stunner

I really like the mechanism, sort of like an airlock, on the Saga pen (shown next to a mini variant)

Rod Olson renowned for his button-lock folders

Steve Vanderkolff with a great assortment of classy folders

My two favourites, both with stag scales and Dellana Dots (named after the knife maker who invented them) for opening

Adam Smith has been making knives since 1975! It was quite surreal to see a balisong on the cover of one of his old catalogues before they became prohibited!

You know I gravitate to the unique and SAK Modder fits that description!

ceriksson picked up the one at the bottom

The Champ was my favourite. I met the collector who bought it later at the show and Parminder got one last year too

Speaking of Parminder, guess who we ran into at Paul Savage’s table! Parminder just bought this beauty from Journeyman Smith Paul Savage.

Another beauty on Paul’s table

More great forging at Fire Drawn Forge

Scott’s “window” knife was awesome!

The sheath has a window to expose the Damascus

And the handle scale is partially clear for the same reason

His chopper was fun too

As I mentioned in the intro, there were A LOT of copper infused blades at the show, for example at KC Forge

Muskoka Forge

Cool Buddha cap

 I liked the paring knives with glow in the dark scales

I like the way Trails Edge is incorporating copper into his outdoor knives. Dylan spends a lot of his time outdoors in Northern BC where he can field test his designs. As he says on his website “Just because it is designed to be used doesn’t mean it can’t be stunning”

Of course, he does make them in field grade as well.

More copper at 47 Kitchen Knives

And Sujo Blades

Even collectors I ran into had copper infused blades, such as this Pickle Kutterz

If I were to buy a kitchen knife, it would be from my friend Steve Cornelsen at Bad Llama forge (who I believe is now available at Knifewear).

Bunny Blade also has some nice ones across three product lines, Heritage, Signature, and Performance.

I liked the Damascus one the best

More great forged kitchen knives and tools like spatulas at Crane Culinary Custom Knife & Tool

Divide knives focuses primarily on kitchen knives and they had some partially finished sets ready for customization to customer specs

Of course, they had completed knives as well

Turning now to outdoor style knives, great to see Justin Dale from Matethi Custom and check out his karambit that I missed at another event. I love karambits and it was the only one at the show!

In addition to his stock removal knives, Wynn Stitt was showing his first two forged blades

The big natural handles on Wynn’s knives fit my hand very well and they are a lot lighter than you would think.

Brad Millman of Black Maple Blades had a lot of knives with Griptex handles. I really like the rubbery, sticky feel of them. No way they will fall out of your hands, even when wet.

On Bancroft Cutlery’s table, I liked the orange cord-wrap

Nice filet and outdoor knives from Jeff Maluske, Mad Trapper Knives. Again, outdoor knives made by someone with a lot of outdoor usage experience.

Hunting and outdoor knives by Matt Bedlington

Chris Green of Black Cat Metal is a Calgary based bladesmith who, according to his website,  was inspired to start forging knives after watching “Conan the Barbarian”.

And now more my speed, leaning a bit tactical, Iron Stinger

Love the glowing Griptex

Very interesting approach on this one. First it was Cerakoted in FDE then another layer of black. A laser engraver was then used to remove some of the black layer to expose the FDE underneath in a hex pattern. Cool!

More tactical knives from Steve Stuart, many of which were made from files

I liked the “gentleman folder”

Tim O’Brien had a Khukuri with convex grind that I really liked at another event and was wondering if he would bring another one. No luck there but I did like the daggers set up in small-of-back (SOB) carry.

This dagger was really nice too

Malcolm Stewart does such a broad array of styles. I like his medieval pieces, like his gen 2 mace, now with studs on the handle.

When I think of Aaron Byard I usually picture his smaller knives like kiridashis and prybars

Of course he makes full size knives as well

Cole Thompson is a Toronto based blacksmith, specializing in chef knives, EDC blades, and forged metalwork. I like his take-down tantos in small and extra-large lol

I really liked the “forged EDC” on Principle Forge’s table

Nice forged chef’s knives too

I actually preferred this one to the full Damascus

Justin Lamoureux of Rainy Day Forge is based in Manitoba and tests his products in the wild.

This one looks stunning

Again, Griptex, I am really starting to like it!

This friction folder sold quickly! A couple of people also mentioned to me that they wanted it but it was already sold.

Sacco had kitchen knives

But of course I gravitated to their Khukuri!

Hailing from Muskoka, Craig Henshaw combines Japanese and Western Bladesmithing styles, using the san mai method of wrapping Damascus steel around a core of high carbon steel. I liked the ones with Hudson’s Bay pattern scales

Christian Roy with both Damascus and single steel hunting and kitchen knives

Veinot Knives

Pretty sure I know who got this one

Colourful handles

If you want really colourful handles, Muskoka Turner is an amazing source

Ok let’s end with art knives, Jacco Van de Bruinhorst aka JVB

Wolfgang “Wolfe” Loerchner and his hand filed works of art

A technique he passed down to his daughter Elizabeth…enjoy your new knife Parminder

And now for some people of the show! Great to see waterfowler again.

Sharp & Fiery, one of the moderators on Bladeforums

with ceriksson, knife forum moderator on CGN

Bigjay, Usual Suspect on Usualsuspectnetwork! So we have all major knife forums represented!

Super Grimsmo collector, Bob from Chicago

Micaeli!

Sincere apologies to Vachon Knives, Ulysse Robert Knives, and Ikigai Knives I think I missed your tables and I do try to get them all.

There you have it, another incredible show! Thanks to the organizers, exhibitors, and my co-photographer, ceriksson!

Let’s see if we can make it three rooms and four bank machines next year!

RL