First Blade West Show in Portland, OR, Oct 5-7, 2018

[BladesNBarrels]

Just got back from the Portland Blade West Show.
We rented a condo from the online rentals on the Willamette River right across from the Oregon Convention Center.
The condos were in a "U" Shaped building facing a courtyard with a fire pit and grill with the river walk and view alongside. The condos all had glass doors and windows, so the privacy was limited.
The trains run all night across the river and they do use their whistles. I am now sympathetic with the folks living near the Light Rail and their horns all night.
The show was small compared to Blade Show in Atlanta or Tulsa Arms Show, but it was interesting.
I learned why the city of Portland is considered the "Knife Capital of the US". A lot of the well known manufacturers are headquartered somewhere near Portland - Gerber, Benchmade, CRKT, Kershaw, Leatherman. They had booths at the shows and were showing their latest knives that would be premiered at SHOT Show.
I collect, trade, buy and sell custom knives and there were just a few of us with tables. Mostly it was knifemakers and their products - handle materials, grinders, forges, blades, steels, and exotic materials.
The nice thing about Blade Shows is there are no non-knife type displays such as jewelry, crafts, etc.
I bought more than I sold, which is not unusual for me.
There was no firm commitment for a date next year. It is looking like the only available dates will be in conflict with the Tulsa Arms Show, which would keep me from going back. Tulsa Arms Show is still the show to satisfy my other collecting passions.
All in all, it was a nice opportunity to see Portland (when it wasn't raining too much), drive the Columbia River Gorge, and meet up with old friends. The weather wasn't too cooperative - we had two days for sight seeing and were planning to go to the coast for a whale-watching tour. The week before, the tour was fantastic. Our available days, the tour was not operating due to winds and weather, so we went to the Pittock Mansion and it was fogged in. As you can see from the picture below.