Blade Show Postponed until August

Blade Show, the biggest knife event of the spring, has been officially rescheduled for August in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement went live on the Blade Show site, revealing the new show dates as August 7th – 9th. The dates have changed, but the venue has been retained: Blade Show will be taking place as usual at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta, Georgia.

It remains to be seen how both the public’s feelings towards pandemic in general and the altered dates will affect turnout and exhibitor attendance, but the showrunners have stated that the calendar shift will not affect the structure of Blade itself. In addition to the main show, Blade annually plays host to all sorts of knife-based events and occurrences; and all of the usual highlights still being planned for August.

Blade Show is the highlight of the mid-year for most knife enthusiasts. It provides an opportunity to meet with and buy from makers established and new, custom and production. Collectors can go to the legendary Pit and hang out or make deals with their fellow hobbyists as well. And while it’s not as new release-centric as the trade shows, there is usually a handful of impactful debuts at Blade.

At the beginning of March, just after the first knife show cancellations started rolling in, Blade Show stated they had no plans to cancel or postpone at that time. However, as the days went by and the pandemic grew in scope and intensity, it seemed likelier that a change might need to occur. Thus the shift to a later date is not completely surprising.

Many knife shows have been forced to cancel or reschedule in light of the ongoing pandemic. The first big one was IWA OutdoorClassics, which rescheduled from March to September. Spyderco‘s Amsterdam Meet was canceled entirely. The Hawaii Custom Knife & Tactical Show, originally slated for this weekend, has nixed those dates and appears to be looking to reschedule, although no dates have been announced at this time.