rlauferblog

Now THAT’S how you open an inaugural show! Flashbangs and red and white smoke grenades to our National Anthem!

The unique opening was very much inline with the unique concept of the show, namely to showcase all things “projectile shooting related.” As such, the show, co-organized by CRAFM, Uni-Turc, and The Evans Group, features demonstrations and interactive experiences with firearms, airsoft, paintball, black powder, less lethal, archery, axe/knife throwing and even slingshots! There are also 75+ vendors on hand to satisfy the needs of new and experiences shooters alike.

I guess I will cover the show in that order, starting with firearms and my absolute favourite gun of the show, the P320 with FLUX DEFENSE LEGION Conversion Kit. I was happy to find out this kit will also work with my M17 Commemorative edition.

A cool feature of the FLUX kit is that pressing the mag release on the spare mag will also release the live mag as well, as demonstrated in this video.

My next planned firearms purchase is a lever action although not quite as fancy as this stunning S&W 1854 LIMITED EDITION with its heirloom quality stocks.

Another super impressive gun of the day, the FRF2!

The new Pedersoli 86/71 Lever Action Boarbuster “Apocalypse” looks incredible with its blending of modern features like M-LOK with traditional accents in leather.

Sabatti with their Multi Radial Rifling

Including the ST12

And the new Rover Varmint Syn

New from Springfield Armory, the 2020 Boundary, featuring a lightweight aluminum hinged floor plate attached to a patent-pending one-piece bottom metal that conceals an internal magazine.

More fine shotguns from FAIR

And Tamgha

I especially liked this semi-auto

With its unique Desert Eagle like triangular barrel

Tamgha is also bringing to civilians the ANAFARTA line of gear and clothing originally designed for the military.

More guns on display at CRAFM

In addition to the static displays, there were plenty of options for shooters to experience. On the pistol side, they had Glock 17, Glock 19, S&W XS, GP100, Desert Eagle, and Ruger Super Redhawk. Options for long-guns included Springfield Armory, Maple Ridge Armory, FAIR, Keltec, Sabatti, and Pedersoli in calibers like .22, 12 gauge, .308, and 45-70.

New shooters were given a brief lesson using a Blue Gun before transitioning to live firearms.

Such as this gentleman shooting for the very first time (pics posted with his permission)

he was sending flames downrange in no-time!

though perhaps not quite as much as the Desert Eagle

And now for a demo by IPSC shooters including champion Alex Berdat!

I like the magnet for his mag

and of course his Alien

now THAT’S a magwell

Alex preps for the stage

Shooter ready…stand by…BEEP!

And it’s over in a flash

time for scoring

next shooter

That was really cool to watch! Nice explanation of the sport to the crowd by the IPSC rep.

If sub-second splits aren’t your thing, not to worry, how about a cool blackpowder demo?

Thanks for changing into Regimental uniform and the demo of the full routine

Also super popular with the crowd.

In addition to the shooting demonstrations, there were also seminars on gun cleaning

Note all supplies used were by Kleenbore

And we learned about a great comprehensive maintenance kit from Borka Tools

Reloading tips from Mr. Olivier M. Lefebvre, aka “Wiki-Oli”, a reloading expert with over 25 years of experience in sport shooting, a certified firearms verifier for the RCMP, a member of both the Quebec and Canadian IPSC teams, and a Law 9 instructor.

Moving on to less lethal, Vesta from South Africa.

You can use a variety of ammo like rubber balls

or “quick silver” though sadly we don’t get the pepper balls here.

it is fun to shoot as well

Though we didn’t change targets so I don’t quite know which hits were mine (let’s just assume they were all the ones in the middle haha)

this is an example of the damage from one round at about 10 feet

There were lots of options for airsoft at the event including a huge array at TactGearz

The Magpul FMG-9 was my absolute favourite airsoft of the day

My second favourite airsoft gun was at the Taktik booth

Specifically the GBLS C8A2 Carbine. This is a SERIOUS piece of kit that is actually used by military and LEO for training. Manufactured in Korea, the electric powered recoil gun is adjustable in terms of FPS and has a reinforced high torque motor. Cost is, ahem, not cheap (north of $3k).

SIG airguns

I always gravitate to the 365

Raven Elite just introduced a few new electric airsoft rifles with a sophisticated Electronic Trigger Control System (E.T.C.S.) that has shooting mode programming capabilities and trigger sensitivity adjustment.

Love the breaching muzzle on this one

Raven was also showcasing the Thermal Master P2 pro, the World’s Smallest Thermal Camera. We got a detailed demo of the features and it is quite useful for hunting applications (especially when mounted to your firearm or bow).

Yup I was hot

More cool airsoft gear at Aventure Airsoft Lanaudiere

I love the airsoft grenades

And flashbangs

EG Canada for even more pyrotechnics (as seen in the event kick-off)

and the “world’s best firestarter” from Quick Wick

Shooting airsoft is fun, especially when you load it with paintball type ammo and are shooting at a proprietary built flashing target system. Just hit the blue and ignore the red and green flashing targets.

Now on to archery. Uni-Turc is the distributor for EK Archery.

My favourites were the VLAD  

And the REVO7. It was great that we had the option to shoot it! It took more effort to cock it than I expected (also the red dot was out of battery so I couldn’t test for accuracy) but still lots of fun to shoot.

Uni-Turc also carry Ballista and had some on the line but I didn’t try them

I didn’t take any pics of slingshots or slinging so knife/axe throwing will be the last projectile I cover before getting to gear.

Cold Steel, Condor, and CRKT on the line

Uni-Turc also had some nice knives for sale from VKnives

My favourite of which was this custom collaboration with knifemaker Jerry Hossom!

Last but certainly not least, gear! I mean it when I say that. Although I started my review with a focus on firearms and other projectiles, I actually started my day at the Premier Body Armor booth, one of my favourite brands! I seriously love everything they make!

This “binder” was my favourite piece of the day

The flap on the left hides a strap

That allows you to throw the binder on like a bulletproof apron!

I picked up a bulletproof laptop case and a Gen II bulletproof can koozie (an updated version of the one I got at TACCOM a few years ago)

Another brand I love (also distributed by Evans Group), Wiley X! I was hoping to see their APEL goggles/glasses, namely the Spear, Vapor, Valour, and Gravity.

They only had the Spear

Though I did find a Vapor at Aventure Airsoft Lanaudiere

Yep both added to the list. In the meantime, I bought a pair of Bolle X100 goggles at CRAFM (you can see them in the FLUX pics).

Still more great brands from Evans Group, Surefire!

Guardian, Stiletto, and Backup

Training fauxpressors

Hudson showcasing Tasmanian Tiger with lots of new pieces

such as the Escape Pack 20L that can be stowed small and flat in its own front pocket, combining low weight with packing volume

Stuffbag 25 WPV

Water resistant W-pouch A5 made out of 420D Nylon TPU Eco

Redesigned FastMag with tabs that are easier to slot in your webbing

CAMELBAK

Vanguard

Hi-Lux optics

Vortex!

Beautiful Razor scope

A couple of pieces from their eyewear line

INFIRAY JERRY-31 night vision monocular

ProXpedition

Real Avid

CCFR

And there you have it. Expo Impact was a phenomenal show that certainly lived up to its promise with its interactive and static displays and vendors for all things projectile related! Everything went very smoothly and all the new shooters I spoke with were super thrilled with their experience and ultimately that is what this is about.

Thanks to Frank, Donald, Phil, Lizie, and everyone else involved in making this show happen. Thanks also to James for helping out with the pics. I look forward to next year’s show!

RL

Just a couple of months after announcing their retirement, S&R Knives has re-opened at a new location much to the relief of the knife community!

Sean is indeed retired but Rodney will carry on with his son (perhaps they should rebrand to R&S for Rodney and Son? Lol)

The new store is smaller but very clean and neat. The knives are laid out in such a way that they are very easy to see, even withuot taking them out of the case (perhaps the new cabinets help with that as well).

So without further ado, some store pics.

And now for some closeups. I looked at the Microtech Amphbian but found it a bit too front heavy

The Stitch, however, felt amazing in the hand. Probably my favourite knife of the day.

Lots of great “easy to carry” options from Bastinelli

Another favourite of the day, Sig edition of the Hogue K320 Able Lock. Man I should have bought this lol

Spyderco, my favourite of which was the MicroJimbo

A lot of fire from Boker including this Hel Curver karambit with wave-like opener

And two balisong trainers!

Cool Boker Quill Commando pen with built in Cobra cuff cutter

Ok now this one surprised me! I really liked this Kizer Cutlery Cormorant Plunge Lock Black Button G-10! Even though it was a tinge small, I just found the design so appealing.

For FRAG fans, a Kansept Goblin XL

A couple of wicked daggers, Spartan Les George V-14 and Begg Filoso. I found the Spartan a bit heavy while the Begg was super light and fast.

I ended up buying a custom made karambit trainer. Shown in retracted

And extended grip

Happy to see S&R back, here’s to another 30 years!

My day with knives was not done yet though, now on to custom knifemaker Todd Bolce’s shop!

The “hammer”

Nice setup outdoors (I forgot to get a pic of his laser engraver inside)

Todd cutting Micarta with a special guest, Seamus from Buffalo Bones leather!

And the finished product

All done work, time to feast! Another one of Todd’s many talents, smoking meat

Amazing mac&cheese along with honey and maple cornbread!

My first plate lol

I forgot to take a pic of our dessert, Lil Wayne’s Bumbu Rum! Here is a recent pic of a bottle next to my Lil Wayne Dirt Label shorts lol

Finally some show and tell! Expect to see more of these Buffalo Bones at the Great Lakes Custom Knife Show next month

And fine knives like these from Todd

He may even bring some more coins made with his laser etcher (this one has an uncanny resemblance to Seamus)

Thanks again to Todd for the invite and being such a gracious host.

All in all a great day.

RL

Well I couldn’t make it to Blade Show 2025 so Blade Show came to me! Lol

I am a big fan of Revenant Corps and saw their table in some show coverage vids.

I reached out to them to see what was left after the show and coincidentally a few hours later they posted exactly that!

I was so happy to see some of the unique “made for Bladeshow” Grosbeaks available. This is Revenant’s take on the Shivworks Clinch Pick and I have wanted one of those for a long time!

I chose #9 because it is unique in two ways. First, it is single edge. Revenant usually makes the Grosbeak double-edged (note the rest of the ones shown are double-edge) and while Shivworks Clinch Picks are now available this way, the original design was single-edge and I wanted to be true to that configuration. Secondly, it is a 1 of 1 colorway in .25” green/black/brown layered G10 with a green real rayskin underlay and a dyed green Tsukomaki wrap over it.

And here it is!

Closeups of the blade highlight the awesome green/black/brown layered G10

Closeups of the equally beautiful dyed green Tsukomaki wrap over real green rayskin

The blade came with a matching premium green carbon fiber texture Boltaron Static Line sheath. In case you are not familiar, SIMONA Boltaron is “aircraft rated material” that meets Federal Aviation Administration requirements for flammability, smoke, and heat release!

In addition to matching the colour, the sheath also matches the knife’s non-metallic signature as it doesn’t have any metal parts (I tested this with my Garrett Super Scanner V…everyone has one of these at home right?). 

As you may know, Southnarc originally designed the Clinch Pick as a “get off me” tool after a perp tried to disarm him and they had a fight while he was seated in his car! Revenant modified the profile a bit with a tip alignment that is slightly forward for a more aggressive tip angle. Revenant also added a little thumb ramp for safety. If you are used to a thumb forward grip, you will cut yourself if you try that with a standard Clinch Pick as the blade goes right up to the handle.

It is intended to be carried forward of the hips for quick deployment with minimal movement in a close quarter situation. One trick is to grab the handle and rotate your hip to pull the sheath off the knife (for example if you are pinned down and can’t move your arm enough). The original intent was cross-draw carry (shirt tucked in for pic)

But you can also carry strong side for draw into reverse Pikal (Southnarc prefers edge in to edge out).

The Revenant Static Line sheath can easily transition between these carry positions. In fact, the sheath can be carried in the pocket, static line in the waist, neck carried, or lashed horizontally on the belt.

So how does a G10 edge compare? Well, it certainly feels sharp and pointy enough for its intended purpose. Also, apart from posterity, another reason I wanted single edge is that this type of blade has a wider bevel and a thicker spine or at least one that is located at the rear-most edge of the blade (If that makes sense lol). This should make it a better slicer.

As with my other Revenant, a G10 Sharpie Awl, they certainly live up to their reputation for being the best in G10 EDC gear. The Grosbeak is a worthy homage to the Clinch Pick and a great non-metallic option in general if you are looking for something with that benefit.  

Thanks again to Revenant Corps for making Blade Show available to those who couldn’t attend.

RL

Had a great time at my favourite gun show, St. Catherines, held in the Merritton Community Centre.

This time I was accompanied by Alissia and Yousef who are relatively new to the Canadian gun scene although they do have some previous experience with firearms.

I thought a visit to the Freedom Firearms Canada display would be a great way to introduce my guests to the show. Yousef picked the Glock 17 with probably the longest barrel I have ever seen while Alissia is holding a semiauto shotgun with shockwave grip from Tamgha Arms.

Yousef liked the folding Wolverine pump-action shotgun in crazy snakeskin

Both liked the Ruger 10/22 Tactical Talo. This was my first time seeing this chassis in person as well.

Benelli M4 clones are super popular, such as this Revolution Armory Impact R4 Cerakote

Not quite as common but equally impressive, the Standard Manufacturing DP-12 with Door Buster and Stilletto chokes

At the end of the day, all three of us picked the same firearm as our show favourite, the AKDAS UBS AK-12 Under Barrel Shotgun, more affectionately known as the “Masterkey”

Moving on to gear, it was great to see my friends from MAB Impex and their vast selection of Damascus knives

Ok now this is more my speed! I love the Surefire E2D Defender with 1000 Lumens! (I have an older version with about half that)

I was also super excited to finally see some Gatorz eyewear in person! As you may know, I am obsessed with protective eyewear and have wanted to try on a pair of Gatorz for the longest time. I liked them but ultimately I would order ones to my specs as they are available in a huge array of lens/frame options.

Yousef and Alissia liked all the ammo displays

Some cool pewter pins

I liked all the beadwork here

CCFR briefing my guests about our crazy rules and regulations

Yousef field stripping the model AK-47 (he did the same with a Type 81 at TACCOM lol)

Sam the Cannon man!

St. Catherines never disappoints and based on this experience, my new shooters are sure to be back. And that’s what it is all about, getting more people into the sport.

RL

The first knife show in Toronto in ten years was a huge success with over 600 people through the door! To put things in perspective, the one day Toronto Knife Show 2025 drew as much traffic as the past shows got over the whole weekend! And people weren’t just visiting, they were buying knives. In fact, by 2pm we emptied out the bank machine in the hotel lobby!!!

While there wasn’t a formal Friends of the Guild pre-show this year, as is customary, many knifemakers met in the hotel lobby Friday night.

It didn’t take long for the show and tell to start. I really liked Paul Savage’s folder with armadillo scales!

Hmmm 2015 at the last show vs. 2025, can you tell the difference?

Russ liked Paul’s Damascus bowie

Thanks to fellow collector Danny Tadxx for bringing your awesome Fellhoelter pens

And Rod Olson knives

Steve Vanderkolff’s daughter (so sorry, I didn’t catch your name) liked it as well. She isn’t planning to get into knifemaking yet but maybe we can convince her!

This one has a floating backspacer

Danny got to meet Rod Olson for the first time, who was nice enough to autograph his knife cases! That’s the beauty of knife shows.

We also got a preview of Rod’s latest creations.

Ok on to the show! In early morning for the setup

As I mentioned, huge crowds during the day! This was in the first hour or so and I think there were already 250 people by noon.

Prizes for the hourly giveaways. There was also a buyer’s draw (you get one ticket for every knife you buy).

This gentleman won a beautiful chef’s knife by Divide Knives

On to the knives! My first stops were to check in with the show organizers Murray St-Amour and Mike Mossington. In addition to his usual  assortment of outdoor knives…

Murray surprised us by bringing back his awesome camp knife! I don’t remember seeing one of these before although I understand they were hugely popular back in the day. I can see why!

Love the sealskin tie Murray!

Not only is Mike Mossington an accomplished knifemaker

he is also an authorized dealer for knife supplies, such as Admiral Steel

Who generously donated steel to all knifemaker vendors at the show

Mike also represents Klingspor grinder belts

John Wilson was born in Ontario but trained directly under Bob Loveless while living in California. John continues with Bob’s designs adding a modern twist of unique handle scales. These are true works of art!

I met the Grimsmo brothers just as they were starting to get into knifemaking. It is amazing how far they have come! Indeed, I was lucky to be part of a small group to do a shop tour in 2023. We were given a detailed breakdown of each step in how a Grimsmo knife is made. All I can say is that the sophistication of the machinery and technical know-how to make knives with such tight tolerances is astonishing!

Grimsmo’s are in very high demand and usually sell out instantly so it was pretty amazing to see so many at the same time.

The one that put them on the map, the Norseman

Rask

Their latest, the Fjell integral folder

and Saga pen with its unique mechanism

Compared to my Fellhoelter Mud Flap Girl with Dunce Cap

Another high end folder machinist I was looking forward to seeing, SAK Modder. He doesn’t just simply replace the scales on SAKs, he actually reworks them, adding custom tools and his famous “drawer” for holding things like the tweezers and tootpicks you normally see in the handle scales.

This upscale one in TiMascus, the only one with a magnifier, sold immediately

I preferred the one with poutine insert and titanium fork!

Closeup of the drawer I mentioned

Rod Olson is most well known for his button lock folders and their legendary smoothness.

The Mega Burst with Fat Carbon inlays and Zirc Bolster was my favourite

Keeping with high end folders, here is another look at Journeyman Smith Paul Savage’s beautiful folder with armadillo scales

This one with pearl inlays was a beauty too

Though ultimately this fixed blade was my favourite knife on Paul’s table, and actually one of my favourites of the show!

Fellow Journeyman Smith James Emmons also had a table full of beautiful forged knives

Originally from France and now in Quebec, Cyril Doche applies his background in cabinetmaking, artistic woodturning, and gunsmithing to knifemaking. The tolerances on his folders are so tight that the line between the blade and lockback is almost invisible. You could swear the knife was a fixed blade looking at the spine.

This one was my favourite. I love the simple black scales mixed with Damascus blade. Also, this one didn’t have any liners making it even thinner and lighter.

Also hailing from Quebec, Amélien Lorquin Couteaux with a fine selection of kitchen and outdoor knives. Thanks for the “business card!”

Steve Vanderkolff

His latest design (sold immediately)

Butterflies seemed to be a theme

This half-stop slipjoint with Kevlar scales was my favourite

And now for some unique knives! Ward Wright is a former world champion knife thrower and he does indeed make throwers although more recently he has been focusing on more primitive designs using a lot of bone and natural materials and forged salvage steel from 100 year old horse drawn farm equipment & machinery.

I liked the neck knives

the Mountain Man with its unique sheath

For some reason I kept coming back to this one (actually visited the table a few times to look at it)

Although ultimately I went with a deer foot dagger!!!

Thanks Ward, I love it and will definitely be getting a thrower from you.

More unique knives from Steve Stuart

I especially liked his Gentlemen’s Folder with leather “handle”. I’ve never seen anything like that before.

Speaking of unique knives and handles, as I have written in past reviews, I really like Farmboy Customs use of unconventional scales and kydex patterns, often as tributes to movies or video games.

Case in point, Sugar Bombs from Fallout

And The Joker

Nice acid etch

The Joker’s sheath was made by none other than Buffalo Bones! Indeed, several knifemakers at the show had sheaths made by Seamus.

The machete with his skull sheath was one of my show favourites.

The custom leather wrapped mace was also pretty awesome

I picked up a sharkskin dogtag with custom printed dogtag to match. Thanks Seamus!

Another great provider to knifemakers, Muskoka Turner! They provide blocks for handle scales using natural materials and resins. I especially like the ones with captured objects like the wasp nest that I got at GLCKS or the pea that I had custom ordered (pics in past reviews).

You can see an example of what I am talking about in action with this bread knife from K.C. Forge. Muskoka Turner provided the resin full of coffee beans for its scales!

The full lineup of forged knives from K.C. Forge

Including this beautiful cleaver

I really liked the scales on this one. I believe they were camel bone

Cool forged flowers!

Sharing a table with K.C. Forge, his protégé Fire Drawn Forge. In addition to forging knives, he also does “pyrography” wood burning artwork

As you may know from my past reviews, I really like Todd Bolce’s work and have a couple of his knives.

My favourites at this show were this one in all black

And at the opposite end of the spectrum, bright green Cerakote

Cam Lymburner is best known for making big blades with a very light feel. His knives really remind me of the legendary Jerry Hossom.

This Kukri was so light and fast

As was this fighter. If I was looking for a martial arts blade, I would say this one was the best at the show.

You cant have a proper knife show without handmade knives from the legendary art knife maker Wolfgang Loerchner!

Chris Hammelin trained under Wolfe and has resurrected his Bayfield, now Great Lakes Custom Knife Show.

I liked the concept of this knife where the buyer chooses the inlay material

Jacco Van de Bruinhorst (JVB) couldn’t be at the show but he did have some knives on display

Some great forged kitchen knives from Steve at Bad Llama forge

Huge selection of stock removal knives from Wynn Stitt

Speaking of huge…

The green stag handle was my favourite. Looked great and felt equally great in the hand

Shah Bladeworks

I liked this one with glow in the dark scales

But the most interesting knife on his table was the kitchen knife with “S” shaped grind. Nice of him to bring a cutting board and some carrots so you could try it out.

Cole Thompson

The take down “mini katana” was my favourite. You don’t need any tools to take it down in a few seconds.

I have been into Khukuris lately and liked his interpretation too

Dressed up outdoor/hunting knives from Justin Dale Matethi Knives

At just 16 years of age, this is already Malcom Stewart’s second knife show! Many of us were impressed by his work at GLCKS 2024 and felt he was matching the work of more established makers. I was looking forward to seeing what he brought this time.  

Nice selection of daggers

I really liked the Almarada daggers! The frog on the side acts as a guard and keeps the boot knife in place.

More fine work from Malcolm

I didn’t get to chat with Matt Bedlington this time so just a quick pic of his table

Aaron Byard

These were my favourites

It was tough to get a full pic of Adam Smith’s table as it was always busy when I passed by

Bancroft Cutlery

Very interesting scales on this one

I am not too familiar with Bluefish Knife & Tool but I can see he makes some fine outdoor knives. I liked the nesting knife/fork as well

Crane Cutlery with some nice Damascus pieces

The slipoint folder with brass scales was my favourite

Adam Gilbey was inspired by Forged in Fire to teach himself how to make knives back in 2017 and formed Divide Knives.

Craig Henshaw draws on both Japanese and Western Bladesmithing styles with san mai blades made by wrapping Damascus around a core of high carbon steel. He currently has an ABS Apprentice rating.

I liked the one with the Hudson’s Bay handle

In all the way from Nova Scotia, Jeff Maluske Mad Trapper making custom crafted knives for woods, water and kitchen. Jeff, a former competitive shooter, makes both hand forged and  stock removal.

Bunny Blades by Peter Tal who transitioned from chef to a knife maker

And now for the big finish

What a fantastic show! Hard to pick an absolute favourite as I saw at least 30 knives I would buy lol. It was great to see many makers I have known over the years as well as discover new ones like Ward Wright. Similarly, it was great to reconnect with collectors I have known over the years as well as meet new ones. Thank you for your generosity to those who said hi, shared their collections, and even gave me some swag!

As I mentioned in my opening, turnout was fantastic, even better than I expected! This is great for our community and ensures we will have more shows in the future, possibly even going back to 2 day shows! Either way, I will be there!

RL