I was very fortunate to get a chance to enjoy a one-day fly-in to Portland to attend Blade West. I had a terrific time and met a bunch of great people. I was bummed to miss WhichDawg and Stansbrew especially since I remembered to bring my challenge coin <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I'll be posting more pics of BF but thought I'd give the Dawgs a taste of the show first. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

First...the knives!! Here's the few SYKCOs that were left after I arrived. Rumor is that Stansbrew bought all the rest <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> Note knife on the bottom: an original S6LE and yes, I bought that bad boy instead of buying a tan S6. The tan knives look very cool in person and would look really nice in one of the desert Spec-Ops sheaths.



Here's a pic of the Rats. The new skele knife doesn't have an official name. I was calling it a Shaker but Troy (360 Joules) corrected me and pulled his EDC Shaker out of his pocket for comparison. The new knife is much bigger, more game warden sized. I really wanted a sage but they were long gone. I went with a muddy but the dark green (which looks almost black) is neat because the coating is so smooth. I should have bought two. Oh well. There were also a bunch of Ratmandus. There was a sage and black G10 that I just couldn't resist. The power of Mandu remains strong!!



There was a ton (literally) of INFI at the Busse table. My bank account was shaken (not stirred) by the last Ganza so I managed to resist buying anything but a black and tan, satin meaner with a recurve and false edge. The grip has finger cutouts and it is a sweet little cutter, the nicest meaner I have seen or held. There was a beautiful SFNO custom variant that I DO REGRET not getting. The one down on the left end, cutoff in the picture.



The star of show was the new prototype, in the center. Very nice in the hand I must say. Busse is taking orders for that bad boy.



There were a ton of Meaner, AD, and Game Wardens. The satin and pumpkin handled GW fatty was the bargain of the century but of course I didn't buy one <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />



This knife really spoke to me. It was such a sweet little knife. The Busse folks told me it was called Stan. Not sure why <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />



So bottom line is that you have to go to a Blade Show. Next time I will make reservations and stay overnight so I can do some partying with the fellas and gals. It is really an event to look forward to.