Friends of the Guild Pre-Show
In keeping with the higher end nature of the August show, the food was a lot fancier than the spring show lol
And I took advantage of the drink tickets too with a little Jim Beam Bourbon lol
But of course we are here for knives, so let’s get to it! First up, James Emmons, including his ABS test knife.
Which I can confirm was VERY sharp! My first time ever cutting myself at a knife show!
An earlier test knife, partially bent for the bending test
A beautiful forged bladed folder from James
A shot of his knives for the pre-show
Two heavy hitters, Wolfgang Loerchner and Steve D’lack
Wolfe’s knife…table price of $18,000
Awesome dressed up tacticals from Brian Tighe
This one was my favourite
Love the carbon fiber scales and clip on this one
A happy new owner…nice timascus!
Always stylin, I like Brian’s Corum bubble watch
And Rod liked his jacket lol
Ok back to knives..i like the direction Rod Olson is taking
Last but not least, Mike Mossington
And now for some candid shots..
Cant wait for the show to start tomorrow!
21st Annual Canadian Knifemaker Guild Show
I really liked what I saw from Brian Tighe at the pre-show so I thought I would check in with him first…wow, 15 knives each one better than the next! I liked the zirconium scales as well, ultra resistant, and the acid wash finish on some of the blades looked great.
Thanks again for the Damasteel bandages Brian, I could have used them last night!
Once again the show was open to international knifemakers and I was super impressed with Koji Hara’s knives. As luck would have it, a fellow collector picked up a Microtech version of his Closer from Tri-City (more on them in a second) so we could do some comparison shots.
Speaking of Tri-City, Bill brought an incredible selection including some makers whose knives I have never had the chance to handle before.
Some of the outstanding pieces..Allen Elishewitz
Todd Rexford Epicenter
RJ Martin, including my absolute favourite knife of the show the Uberstator
Jeremy Marsh custom Wench
A tactical from Ron Lake! The Taliwhacker
Incredible opening and locking mechanism on this Stan Wilson Non-Flipper Flipper
Another of my show favourites was William Nease’s titanium Dao sword! It was SUPER sharp, not an easy thing to do with titanium
Tig, just back from filming in New Zealand (though no Milla Jovovich this time ) liked it too.
As I mentioned, I liked Rod Olson’s new knives at the pre-show…I especially liked the ones with Damasteel and pearl inserts
But for great handle materials, no one beat Denis Mura! In all the way form Italy, Denis brought some very unique knives…
Including this one with aluminum flakes
Petrified onion and garlic
Gold flakes
And a very well thought out piece with a bear motif that carried through to the claw marks on the back of the knife and the sheath…another of my show favourites!
More from Denis, including skulls with his logo and goatee
Time to check back in with James Emmons,
My thumb still stings from the cut of his test knife, but I imagine the rope and wood shown here will be in worse shape tomorrow.
As an ABS Mastersmith, Christophe Derringer will oversee James’ test
Also from Quebec, Stephanie Lemelin, more great art knives..love the handle material (drat, forgot what it is)
Of course you cant mention art knives without mentioning Wolfgang Loerchener
Or his daughter, Elizabeth
Mark Daley had one of my favourite knives at last year’s show, a little lockback…more great ones this year
Note how the two sides are different on this one
Steve Vanderkoff
My favourites were the loveless NY Boot style..playing around with bokeh here
Wide selection at Hacher & Krain, including this huge, possibly circumcision knives?
To kitchen knives
To these miniatures..complete with opening blade!
Iilja Zugaj
Jason Duclos
In from China, Hongbo Wang
Mike Mossington with working knives
And supplies
Collector Murray White
And Russ Coultrop
Culpepper
Steady crowd
Never know what you might see from fellow collectors…Stellite strider
UBR Commander
It’s been a great run.
RL
Thanks for taking the time to document the show. Almost as good as being there in person.