2017 Blade Show • Passion + Talent = Growth!

The LEGEND was there in person! Lloyd Hale and his partner Gigi Orgera brought us a tableful of his immediately-recognizable fixed blades to the Blade Show, and I set out to work. (These are almost as hard to capture as they are to make.)
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I know what you're thinking: "Holy Moly!" Yes. Me too. :)

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Speaking of Legends, here's a couple of knives which have heirloom status built into them. Jerry Fisk, MS had a great show and gave me the privilege of showing why.
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Don Hanson III, MS never ceases to surprise us with his variants of the 'Scary Tac'. This one has a BIG ASS® pattern in the steel and his legendary handles. On Instagram, he's called 'The Pope of Ivory'.
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Hello!
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Take a hillbilly rockstar (Jason Knight, MS) and a hillbilly Alaskan (David Mirabile, JS) and what do you get: the largest, most deadly blade at the Show. It's 24" blade had razor sharp edges.

That's 48" of "BE CAREFUL while you handle this!", says Joe Paranee!
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Props to Steven65 for owning and bringing this to us!

Elegance has rarely been so colorful. No surprise coming from Bertie Rietveld, who brought not one, but TWO of his special daggers to the Show.
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These flowing, sculpted guards are now a signature of his. SO cool!
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And then there was ONE. My final display for you.

'Best of Show' - 'Best Collaboration'

Samuel Lurquin collaborated with the dazzling Sobral Brothers (CAS Knives) from Argentina. What a knife. I have no idea who acquired this beauty, but it WOWED every judge.
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It was a whirlwind weekend: From Thursday until Sunday afternoon we stayed busy. I managed to visit the CKCA show for it's closing bell, and went out to dinner late on some evenings, but aside from that it was work, Work, WORK.

I did manage to glad-hand a handful of makers and friends, but if I missed you, it was because of a need for a solid work ethic. I did NOT rush any project, and this requires time and focus.

I built in a seminar to meet & greet and to show the process of shooting in my method. For those who came, I am MOST appreciative. Maybe next year again, in the evening. Not sure.

There were three legitimate photographers at the Blade Show doing this work. It costs a fortune to set up and run: Travel, studio room fees, hotel fees, salaries for all, mailers and postage, and many other costs. I am grateful for the SUPPORTERS of our studio, and in return, I offer as much value as I can.

This thread, my daily Instagram posts, the submissions to publications, the inclusion on my searchable website, and on and on.

On behalf of Susan, Trevor, Maggie, and Buddy: We ALL thank you for viewing! You can count on us for next year. :thumbsup::D

Jim 'Coop' Cooper
 
Awesome job Coop - some really beautiful stuff:thumbsup:

I think the word you may be looking for is "Cinquedea"....

Bill
 
To me this thread with all the great images of these fantastic knives is the most positive and informative part of the forum.
Your encouraging descriptions of the makers work regardless of their status adds to the show.
Thanks Jim

Dan
 
Coop,
I was just looking through your photos again, and I realized that the flower-like objects embedded in the handle of the Michael Zieba/Jason Knight folder (below) appear to be expanded hollow-point bullets. Are they, in fact, actual bullets? Pretty interesting.

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billf said:
Awesome job Coop - some really beautiful stuff:thumbsup:

I think the word you may be looking for is "Cinquedea"....

Bill
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Noted! Thank you. That was exactly the term.

Dawkind said:
Another fabulous showing of your stellar talent on display....thank you. :)
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Dudley, YOU are the best!

drf1 said:
To me this thread with all the great images of these fantastic knives is the most positive and informative part of the forum.
Your encouraging descriptions of the makers work regardless of their status adds to the show.
Thanks Jim

Dan
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Dan, thanks for noting the captions. It's an important part of what I do, and it takes creativity and time to give them a bit of personality. The images DO speak for themselves, but without a small voice, it's empty. Specs are just specs. Thanks for acknowledging this.

Chris Meyer said:
Coop,
I was just looking through your photos again, and I realized that the flower-like objects embedded in the handle of the Michael Zieba/Jason Knight folder (below) appear to be expanded hollow-point bullets. Are they, in fact, actual bullets? Pretty interesting.
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Good eye. Mike is a master at casting, and used real hollow point bullets to cast the replicas. Cool!
 
my plan is to stick Coop's Blade photo threads from each year for the month of June and then unstick. You should be able to find each year's photos within Coop's permanently stuck photo thread.
 
Terrific. Thanks Lorien, for giving this such prominence! :thumbsup:

Like you said, they (ALL my Blade Show threads) can be found easily!
 
Thousand thank you for these extraordinary pics .I look for 7 hours this morning in Paris it is now 10 hours and I have not seen the time spent ...
 
The beauty, artistry and precision of the work and Coop's photographs defy the descriptive power of language.

Thank you for always sharing the knives and showcasing truly gifted artists.
 
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