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.