SEPTEMBER 2019 blademag.com 33T
he international phenomenon that is the knife industry is
a veritable bottomless pit of talent and creativity, and the
BLADE Magazine 2019 Knife-Of-Th e-Year® awards salute
this year’s leaders of a business that just keeps on booming.
Th irteen awards—Overall; American Made; Imported; Most
Innovative American Design; Most Innovative Imported Design;
Best Buy; Manufacturing Quality; Knife Collaboration; Investor/
Collector; Kitchen; Accessory; Industry Achievement; and
Publisher’s—recognize the year’s best factory knives, as well as
the people that kept things edgy. All were announced during the
BLADE Magazine Awards Reception in the Renaissance Waverly
Hotel during BLADE Show 2019 in Atlanta.For the fi rst time ever, this year the reception was held in
the hotel’s Garden Court Area—the open room on the second
fl oor at the top of the hotel’s escalators. While there was reserved
seating for ticket holders, the public could view the proceedings
for free from behind a roped-off area.
In another change for this year, a “super panel” of veteran
knife industry observers voted on all the knife awards. BLADE
Show booth exhibitors had done the voting previously. As has
been done in the past, the BLADE® Magazine staff voted on the
Industry Achievement and Publisher’s awards. Th e latter two
honors recognize accomplishments by individuals.2019
AMERICAN-MADE
KNIFEOFTHEYE2019
MOST INNOVATIVE
AMERICAN DESIGNS
fromMICROTECH
BLADELENGTH:3.98”
BLADESTEEL:CarpenterCTS204Pstainless
BLADEGRIND:Flat
BL A DEF I N I S H :Tw o -t oneTy p eI I a n o d i z ed
HANDLEMATERIAL: 6061 T6aluminumw/
holefora lanyard
LOCK:ButtonLock
KNIFETOKNOW:Automaticfolderwith2019
SOCOMELITEAUTO
romMICROTECHBLADEGRIND:Full-flat
BLADEFINISH:Satin
HANDLE MATERIAL: Fiberglass Reinforced
Nylon (FRN) w/high-traction Bi-Directional
Texture™
Lock: Compression Lock™
Knife to know: Almost 30 percent lighter
than its G-10-handle counterparts, the Para
3 Lightweight boasts linerless, open-backed
construction. A stainless steel lockbar inset
into the handle’s interior forms the foundation
of its sturdy lock mechanism, while keeping
overall weight to an absolute minimum.
WEIGHT: 2.4 ozs.
Closed length: 4.29”
MSRP: $140
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA Earth
AVAILABLE: NOWEAR®PARA 3 LIGHTWEIGHT
fromSPYDERCO
DESIGNERS:SalandEricGlesser
KNIFETYPE:Folder
BLADELENGTH: 2 .92”
BLADESTEEL:CTS BD1N stainlessKNIFETYPE:Folder
BLADELENGTH:3.61”
BLADESTEEL:CPMS35VNstainless
HANDLE MATERIAL: 6Al4V titanium w/box elder burl inlay
SHEATH: Leather slip model
LOCK: Reeve Integral Lock Ceramic Ball
KNIFE TO KNOW: Features a ceramic ball interface, angled
pocket clip and one-piece inlays
WEIGHT: 4.7 ozs.
CLOSED LENGTH: 4.79”
MSRP: $600
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
AVAILABLE: NOW for order
Image courtesy of Chris Reeve Knivescarbonfiberinlays;integraldoubleguard
WEIGHT: 5 .4 ozs.
CLOSEDLENGTH: 5 .19”
MSRP:$ 386
COUNTRYOFORIGIN:USA
AVAILABLE:NOWCHRISREEVEKNIVES
foritsentirelineofknives
MODELNAME:Large Sebenza 31 BoxElderBurl
KNIFE TYPE:Folder
2019MANUFACTURING
QUALITY AWARD