Blade Show Texas 2025 Gear Haul: The Best Pens, Folders, and Fixed Blades We Found

Introduction

Blade Show Texas 2025 was a busy one. Fewer vendors and fewer visitors than the Atlanta show, but the tables were packed with new designs, fresh collaborations, and prototypes that have not shipped yet. This roundup covers the standouts: a redesigned pen tool, a titanium scribe, three folders with very different personalities, two fixed blades from beloved makers, and one of our favorite new fixed blade designs that is just about to launch. Everything here was seen in person, which is worth a lot when the photos and the real thing do not always match.

Pens and Small Tools

Big Idea Design TPT Slide Easy Swap

The TPT Slide has long been one of our favorite pen tools, and the most common complaint was always about swapping blades. The Easy Swap fixes exactly that. A small gate or door opens on the body so you can slide a new blade in without the usual disassembly routine, then close it up and get back to work. That is the only change from the standard version, but it addresses the single biggest friction point for daily carry users.

If you never liked wrestling with blade changes in the original, this is the version to get.

Big Idea Design Ti Scribe Lucas Burnley

The Ti Scribe collaboration with Lucas Burnley carries his little flower logo, and it is one of the more fidget-friendly writing tools around. The whole thing is magnetic, so there are endless ways to tinker with the cap and body while it sits in your hand. One clever detail: the tip does not extend all the way down to the end of the refill, so when you draw against a ruler you can get right up close for accurate lines without scratching the pen body. Just be careful where you leave the magnetic cap, or it will vanish under your car seat for a week.

Folders Worth Chasing

Tactile Turn Archer Pinstripe

We visited Tactile Turn the day before the show and saw this one in the QC room, and it converted someone who was never particularly interested in the Archer before. The new vertical texture reads more like a pinstripe suit than a traditional grippy pattern, paired with vintage Micarta inlays front and back and bronze accents. The standout is the blade finish, which is genuinely glass-smooth. The facility tour showed how much the machining process has stepped up, and this knife benefits from all of it.

Dead Reckoning Ridgeback

The Dead Reckoning Ridgeback is one of only a handful of integral button lock knives made in America, which means the handle is machined from a single solid piece of titanium with the blade set into the pivot. The action is exceptional. One quirk worth knowing: if you hold the pivot and press the button, the whole pivot system rotates together, which tells you a lot about how cleverly this thing is built. The handle shape splits opinion, but the slicey blade profile feels like a modernized take on a classic. Our main critique is that the button is not inset, so left-handed opening can catch it accidentally. Even so, it is a knife worth serious consideration.

DBK Nightblade

The Nightblade from Dutch Bushcraft Knives is a deliberately simple drop point with a crossbar lock, designed by Ben to be unobtrusive and appeal to everybody. It has drawn criticism for lacking thumb studs, but the intended opening method is a flick, similar to knives like the CRKT Redemption. It has also been called a knock-off of more expensive crossbar lock knives, which does not hold up in hand: the bent clip, the proportions, and the feel are all its own. The black and gold accents look excellent, and the simplicity is the point.

If you want a straightforward knife without design debt, this is an easy one to like.

Fixed Blades That Stood Out

LT Wright Genesis

The Genesis is the flagship bushcraft knife from LT Wright, and it is hard to beat as a pure outdoor tool. The OD green handle has scalloped thumb and finger grooves for a confident grip, the Scandi grind A2 blade steel will patina beautifully over time, and it comes in a drop sheath. We paired ours with a ferro rod to match. It is not an EDC knife, but for bushcraft and camp use, this is about as proven as it gets.

Jack Wolf Knives x LT Wright Vampire Hunter

The Vampire Hunter is a Jack Wolf collaboration made by LT Wright, styled like a compact boot knife. It comes with MagnaCut steel, copper pins, and a blue Maple Valley RichLite handle, plus a pocket sheath tailored by Cortez that makes the whole package feel complete. Runs of this knife were small and the desert ironwood and dyed bone variants were gorgeous, so availability is a matter of luck. If you see one in a handle material you like, move fast.

Tactile Knife Co Red Hawk

The Red Hawk is a new fixed blade design due out soon, and it carries the same overall curve as a certain popular folder, translated into a slicey fixed blade with a belly, a reverse tanto tip, and subtle contouring along the grip. Finger scallops at the end of the handle allow a pinch grip, and the jimping on the spine starts wide and fades subtly into the blade, which is exactly how it should be done. Configurations will include black G10 with FDE coating, black Micarta variants, and a stonewashed version with natural Micarta. Expected pricing is under $250, with launch within the next two months and an in-house taco sheath included. This is the one we would watch most closely.

Buying Advice

The theme of this haul is that small details decide a purchase. The Easy Swap pen fixes one specific annoyance, the Archer’s finish justifies its premium, the Ridgeback’s integral construction comes with one design trade-off in the non-inset button, and the Red Hawk is worth waiting for if the design language appeals to you. Match each to how you actually carry and use gear: fidgeters should prioritize the magnetic Ti Scribe, bushcraft users the Genesis, and fans of slick integral builds the Ridgeback.

Conclusion

Blade Show Texas 2025 delivered plenty to be excited about, from accessible upgrades like the TPT Slide Easy Swap to the award-caliber fixed blade work coming out of small shops. If you are buying, the strongest picks are the TPT Slide Easy Swap for pen users and the Tactile Knife Co Red Hawk for anyone who wants a thoughtfully contoured slicey fixed blade without spending a fortune.