The Ellaville Knife Show was held November 16 at the Harrison Woods Event Center. The chief organizer, Kevin Bentley, is also known as the knife doctor. He told how he got the moniker. “I was doing repairs for knives with my buddy Wade.” He told how his friend inspired him to make a video. “It just took off. Started the channel in August of ’23, and as of right now, I got over 23,000 subs. People really relate to knives and Zippos.” He told how the latter were metal lighters.

Bentley told how he inherited his love of knives from his father. “He actually had a 1965 to ’69 Slimline Trapper, Case.” He told how it had a bone handle. “I absolutely loved that knife.”

Bentley told how his father also got him started collecting. “He’s the one also that gave me my first pocket knife when I was seven years old.” He recounted the make. “That was a Case Sodbuster, 1977, brand new. I still have that knife today.”

Bentley told how he came to organize the event. “A friend of mine, a subscriber, said, Kevin, you ought to do a meet and greet.” He told how he went to the Atlanta blade show, which further inspired him to bring the experience to Ellaville.

Bentley also received an award for his service and dedication to First Responders. Patrick Robinson, with Cheesymoon Workshop, gave details. “He does so much for first responders, Tunnels to Towers auctions, donating proceeds from this raffle to Toys for Tots. He’s just a fantastic guy. He’s a heck of a mentor to everybody in this knife community, and I just thought he needed a little bit of recognition for that.”

Michael Lathrop, who has the Youtube channel Rasputin’s Castle, was on the scene. “I’m just displaying knives today for fans, and I am selling a few too.” He shared his favorites. “I like the old traditional knives, and I’ve got a lot, you know, that date back into the 1800s.” He told how he had 168 different brands.

When asked what was most popular with his audience, he replied that knife collectors were very individual. “Some like bigger knives, some smaller, some with bone handles, some with wood handles. It’s just very eclectic.”

Billy Ray Bond also shared details about his collection. “Well, we have a large collection of Case knives, we have a large collection of vintage Case, Buck, GECs, just about any kind of knife you want to look at we’ve got.” He also listed Cobra-Tech among his collection.

Bond told how he had been in the knife business for about five years. He’s collected them for 25. He gave his specialty. “We carry mostly all American Made Knives. We carry some custom knives. I got a lot of vintage stuff. . . anywhere from 1910 up to 1980s.”

Bond’s business extends beyond shows. “We have a storefront in Wiggins, Mississippi called Deep South Cutlery.” He told how people could find them on Youtube and Facebook. He also gave the blade most popular with his customers. “The most popular is always the Trapper, the Case Trapper.”

Josh Brown is full-time blacksmith and owner of First Degree Forge in Lagrange Georgia. He told how he got into forge work. “I fell off the top of a semi-truck and broke my leg. I got stuck in a wheelchair and started pounding on steel as therapy, and here I am doing it full time.”

Brown talked about making Damascus steel blades. “It is difficult, but once you get used to it, it gets pretty simplistic. It’s just stacking alternating steel, heating it up, pressing it together, forging it in shape.”

He shared one of his biggest challenges in learning how to make knives. “Finding the correct information.” He told how having the right information was crucial. “When you learn the correct way to do it, you get the right skills, the proper forging techniques, it makes all the difference in the world.”