There was a minor dust-up at SHOT Show this year where some manufacturers were catching flack from on-site event staff over the display of automatic knives.
From AKTI.org:
Several AKTI members received conflicting messages in January from SHOT Show officials about displaying automatic knives at the annual trade show in Las Vegas. After the show, AKTI’s Board of Regents explained their concerns to leaders of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the hosts of SHOT. The upshot: Knife manufacturers can display and market automatic knives in their SHOT Show booths. We applaud the NSSF for a quick response to AKTI’s concerns and look forward to working with them in the future.
Here is a portion of NSSF’s response to AKTI…
Dear Mr. Buck,
I would first like to take this opportunity to thank you on behalf of NSSF® for the kind words
about the 2025 SHOT Show®. It was by far the smoothest show to date, and
exhibitor/buyer engagement was by all accounts the best ever. We sincerely appreciate
the regular attendance by AKTI members who choose to exhibit their products at the SHOT
Show, and we are proud to know how highly your members value the atmosphere and
connections we strive to provide every year.
I would also like to address and allay the concerns you related on behalf of the AKTI Board
of Regents surrounding the exhibition of switchblade/automatic knife products. I believe
these concerns were largely predicated on an unfortunate misunderstanding of the Show
exhibitor rules by certain contract personnel, who believed switchblade products were not
allowed for exhibition. This misunderstanding was remedied on-site during the Show, and
affected exhibitors were allowed to place any removed items back on display.
You can read the whole thing here
The situation was largely resolved during the show. This is AKTI’s wheelhouse, and kudos to them for getting this straightened out for future shows.
Read the full article here
