Blade Show West 2025 Factory Knife Award Winners: A Deeper Look

With Blade Show West 2025 in the books, it’s time to break down the knives that won it all. There were six awards given, and one knife won two of them! Let’s waste no time and jump right in!

Best EDC Knife – Kershaw Launch 22

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Kershaw Launch 22 7205

4.75

$174.95 From Blade HQ

• Blade Length: 3.45"
• Blade Material: CPM MagnaCut
• Blade Style: Spear Point
• Handle Material: Aluminum, Micarta

The Kershaw Launch series turned ten years old this year, and it’s become better and better with every iteration. This year’s new model, the Launch 22, is still an automatic powerhouse, but isn’t overtly "tactical" in its appearance. Its neutral handle design with micarta inlays and bayonet-style blade make it a familiar EDC pick. I was especially impressed with its authoritative smack on opening, and its rock-solid lockup. Kershaw has been on a roll for the last few years, and they show no signs of slowing down!

Best USA-Made – Tactile Knife Co. Skeletonized Rockwall

Skeletonizing a knife is risky business. If you remove too much material, you can compromise the strength, weight distribution, ergonomics, and even safety of the knife. But Tactile Knife Co. knows how to do it right. The Skeletonized Rockwall shaves a ton of material and keeps the weight down to 2.45oz., all while keeping the tactile texture on the handle. The holes are small enough to keep your fingers away from the edge, and there’s enough material at the pommel to keep the knife nicely balanced!

Best Factory Fixed Blade – Zero Tolerance 0004

When the ZT 0004 came out earlier this year, I immediately fell in love with it. Its handle is super comfy, and CRU-WEAR is one of the best fixed blade steels out there. I’d bet the judges were also impressed by its sheath. Instead of a simple belt sheath, the 0004 has a unique sheath that gives you the durability and comfort of leather with the modularity of Kydex. I own one of these, and I have mine set up for scout carry, but you could do anything you want with it!

Best Import – Mr. Mr. Designs Zero

If there is one word to describe the Zero, it’s clean. Its design is simple, its action is dialed, its materials are premium, and somehow there is no visible hardware on the show side. It’s just clean. Yet even though it’s so neat on the exterior, it’s got a lot going on under the hood. There is a downright extreme amount of internal milling on this knife, making it far lighter than you’d expect of a full titanium handle.

Best Folder and Best Overall – Mr. Mr. Designs Titan

Mr. Mr. Designs was really the bell of the Blade Show ball this time around. That’s especially impressive because of how big they are. Or aren’t. Mr. Mr. Designs is a father-and-son combo of knife enthusiasts who really know their stuff, and they brought the heat with the Titan. It shows off their new INTERLOCK mechanism, which uses a coil spring and either spine or side plate actuation. It’s strong, fidgety, and dependable. Other than that, the knife is still absolutely incredible. Hollow-ground MagnaCut blade steel, milled titanium handle scales, and one of the best pocket clips I’ve ever seen. This knife is incredible and is now one of my grail knives.

What’s Next?

While the show may be over for now, if I know the knife industry, the music will still go on. Right now, in garages and workshops all over the world, knife nerds are hard at work making cool stuff. I can’t wait to see what they come up with! So stay tuned, because SHOT Show and Blade Show Texas are only a few short months away!