For those of you who have been following my CanadIan Knifemaker Guild Show reviews over the years, i think you are in for a bit of a treat this year. Simply put, the 2014 show was like no other CKG show! First of all, the show was open to international makers, attracting some of the best from Europe, the USA, South Africa, South America, and Asia. The big name makers who came to the show moved the selection upscale. Along with international makers came international customers. Indeed, i ran into lots of people who flew in from afar just for the show. For their convenience, the show was moved downtown, literally walking distance from my home!
As is customary, i took the day off work and arrived early at the venue. I immediately spotted Kirby Lambert, Peter Rassenti and forumite OZ.
The Friends of the Guild Pre-Show was a bit different than previous years as the focus here was on the social aspect as opposed to the knives. Typically makers would bring 2 knives to the pre-show but this time there was no such requirement. Of course, being a knife show you would expect to see a few pieces floating around. Here is the room being set up.
Wally Hayes welcomes us
Steve Vanderkolpf, Paul Savage, and James Emmons, makers of this year`s collaboration knife.
Here i a am checking out a nice big folder by Paul Savage
Some knife discussions
A decent size crowd for the pre-show
You can see Kirby Lambert in the foreground here…
And here is one of his stunning knives for the show
Peter Hammer, a very established maker in Brazil, is planning to move to Toronto and set up a
knifemaking school.
On to the show! Registration
Set up
On the way back from the pre-show last night i ran into purveyor extraordinaire Dave Eliis of Exquisite Knives. I was excited to learn he brought an Emerson Rhino, Loveless knives, a Walker etc. so i knew he would have to be my first stop.
Tada, the Rhino! One of the rarest Emerson knives and a true grail. I think i was the first person to touch it..thanks Dave! And thanks again for the kind words Dave..i was very humbled!
A double nude logo Loveless with RWL marking!
My first time handling a Michael Walker as well!
I learned a lot about James A. Schmidt, hailed as one of the founders of the ABS and one of the best knifemakers of all time. Thanks to Christophe Derringer and Steve Vanderkolpf for showing me all the details of this knife…easy to see why he considered the best.
Also cool to see a book about him at the show.
I was also super anxious to meet Anthony Marfione and potentially score one of his classic designs that are on my grail list. I have always been a huge fan of both his custom work as well as Microtech knives.
Sadly he did not have the Socom i wanted but he did some incredible new designs, such as this Anax. Very cool how you can unscrew the cable lanyard. I also loved the Damascus variants.
The Matrix was also incredibly cool with its complex shapes and grinds.
Anthony showed me prototypes of new flasks that he will be unveiling soon. Note the spike on top with tritium vials!
These were not for sale but i did manage to get some shot glasses (out of machined titanium) and a numbered book on Microtech.
Great to meet you Anthony!
As you all know, i prefer tacticals so i did try to hunt those out first. I was not disappointed at Tri-City Knifeworks table where dealer Bill Hall had a huge selection of Todd Begg knives as well as an incredible Tashi designed collaboration knife with Marsh and Fellhoelter
Knife Legends, another great dealer was right next to Bill`s table.
Ok now to check in with my friends…Wally Hayes…loved your big folder Wally! As usual, Wally`s folders fit my hand really well. The engraving work was also super cool!
The last time i met Robert Douglas was at the 2002 New York Custom Knife Show when he was part Battle Blades with Wally Hayes, David Dempsey and Michael Janich! Great to see you again.
Kirby Lambert, wow that marbled carbon fiber was STUNNING! Not surprised it sold in minutes…a good reminder never to put something down at a knifeshow because it will probably be gone by the time you get back.
Still in the realm of tactical, albeit dressed up, Brian Tighe
And some solid tacticals from Rod olson
Of course most of the makers at the show were more into art knives so time to look outside my usual preferences. I must say i was quite smitten with a little lock-back from Mark Daley
Although i don’t have any knives with scrimshaw, i have always been a fan. I was very tempted by a few of Gaetan Beauchamp`s knives
Speaking of scrimshaw, here`s something you don’t see everyday…scrimshaw on pearl by Suchat knives
In all the way from South Africa, Des Horn! Loved your prototype tactical for G6.
CKG President, show organizer, and knifemaker extraordinaire, Wolfgang Loerchner
And knives by his daughter and son-inlaw
Shaun and Sharla Hansen
Jim Emmons
Owen Wood
Award winner Stephanie Lemelin
One of my favourite non-tacticals of the show, an oosic handled fixed blade by Steve Vanderkolpf
Another international maker who made a long journey for the show, Koji Hara
Eugene Shadley
Paolo Brignone
Matthew Lerch
Ken Steigerwalt
Peter Hammer
Couteaux Bennica
Back to Canadian makers..William Nease
Christophe Derringer
Paul Savage
Alain “Deso“ Desaulniers…good to see you again
Nathan Knowles
Mike Mossington
Ha last year i found a gold handled knife to match my gold shoes…looks like i got lucky again!
Thanks to these guys
Steady crowds
All in all a fantastic job by Wolfe and the CKG! I am very curious how the `numbers` looked for this new format of show. As a show-goer it definitely felt like a bigger show and it was great to see such high end offerings. Can`t wait for the next one.
RL
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