The idea for Bladestock came up during our monthly living room meetings talking about knife shows/events. The idea developped during time and I started talking with some friends about organising our own weekend outdoor show for knife addicts in The Netherlands. Immediately my buddies Henk and Mark were enthusiast about this idea and joined the “organisation”. And so it started. First we had to find an area where we could organise the event. Somewhere central in The Netherlands, affordable and with opportunities for people from far to camp.

Then we had to come up with a name for the event. Still active on Youtube, I started a name giving contest and one of my German friends, André (a talented leather craftsman) came up with Bladestock. This name was picked from a lot of submissions. Bladestock was born.

The first edition we organised within a couple of months. So not a lot of exhibitors, not a lot of visitors. And during the weekend it was aning cats & dogs. Really bad weather in mid summer!

Organising a weekend show takes a lot of time and to-do lists. Without the huge support of the Bladestockbrothers and our enthusiast, hard working volunteers we could not have made it happen.

We have to thank our exibitors from the very first edition to have confidence and put an effort to make our dream come through.

And we have to thank our sponsor from the beginning: WE Knife Company. WE Knife decided to use Bladestock as one of the main events to do new product announcements and the introductions. During the 2018 edition WE Knife announced the Gudy van Poppel Ferox and the Rafal Brzeski Wasabi. Both were exclusive for visitors available with Certificate of Authentication. Only after the event dealers were supplied.

But the feedback from exhibitors and visitors was overwhelming. People were enthusiast about the idea, the area, the concept. So last year 2018 the second edition was there. More visitors, more exhibitors, awesome weather and great people. Visitors from Germany, Belgium, France and even Swiss were attending. Exhibtors from Bulgaria, Belgium, France, Germany and other countries. Bladestock is here to stay. Sure, some details can be organised better. We want more exhibitors and more visitors. But Bladestock will be a main event in the knife community next to Dutch Knife Exhibition, Gembloux, and other shows/events.

Next year we hope to welcome a lot more knifemakers/exhibitors visitors from other countries like England, Danmark, Poland, Spain, Italy other countries. Bladestock is the midsummer knife event in Europe for the family! Enjoy some random pics sent by visitors!