LITTLE VALLEY, N.Y. — The Village of Knives celebration at the Cattaraugus County Fairgrounds will feature knife dealers and collectors from across North America later this week.

Cutlery dealers and experts will gather to educate, appraise and buy and sell, in some cases, some of the rarest knives in the world — most of them made in Western New York and Pennsylvania. Attendance for the general public is free, with live knife-making demonstrations by a “Forged in Fire” champion and tours of Little Valley’s many famous cutlery factory locations.

History channel’s “Forged in Fire” champion Walter Baranowski, who lives in Springville, will work with Case descendant John Burrell to make the first knives in Little Valley in 61 years — onsite and in real time — with these unique blades being auctioned off for charity. Proceeds from the event will go directly to benefit Little Valley, including its library and beautification efforts.

“This small town in western New York holds a significant place in American history, with many of the knives made in Little Valley highly collectible today,” Burrell, a Case family descendant and former owner of Burrell Cutlery, said. “Check your attics and closets because you might have a valuable piece of history.”

In addition to dozens of knife dealers and collectors, local vendors of services, handmade products and food and beverages will be available. W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery, Ellicottville Brewing Company, Hughes Hotel, Knife Magazine, the American Museum of Cutlery and Holiday Valley are all sponsors.

Case made 100 commemorative knives for the event, and Ellicottville Brewing bottled a special batch of “Village of Knives” beer, available for sale as six-packs.

“The town of Little Valley, New York, is important to us, because it’s where the Case name first took root and gave rise to the Case brand that continues to grow today,” said Brent Tyler, associate vice president of marketing for Case and Zippo Outdoor Products. “We hope to see a large turnout of fans in support of the many storied brands that sprang forth from the Case family.”

He also invited all those attending to join the Zippo/Case Made in Bradford 2024 event the following weekend, July 19-20, in Bradford, Pa.

The Little Valley event was 150 years in the making, dating back to when the cutlery industry first appeared in the village, culminating in more than 60 companies within a 50-mile radius, known as the “Magic Circle.”

Case & Sons in Bradford and Ka-Bar and Cutco in Olean are just three of the companies that are part of the legacy that was started in Little Valley.

Brad Lockwood, a Case descendant and author of “Tested XX: The Case Cutlery Dynasty,” documented his family’s history for the process required for a historical marker for the Case Brothers Cutlery Company (circa 1898) in Little Valley through the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.

“Anyone familiar with the enigmatic history of the Case family is aware of their deep, sometimes baffling, entanglements in the industry,” Lockwood said in April 2021. “Though they first started officially manufacturing knives and straight-razors in their factory in Little Valley around 1898, the four Case brothers — W.R., Jean, John D. and Andrew — had served as company salesmen and bulk wholesalers for decades.

“Sometimes the sole proof of the Cases being in business with whomever are the actual knives that sometimes turn up,” Lockwood explained.

More than 30 different cutlery companies would be started by Case kin alone. Champlin, Brown, Burrell, Crandall, Platts and Case are all legendary surnames in the industry, and all related by blood. From these interrelated families, brands like Ka-Bar, W.R. Case & Sons, Cutco, Kinfolks, Case Brothers, Platts and Western would make their mark on American knife-making.

W.R. Case & Sons in Bradford was founded when Russ Case, a nephew of the famous Case brothers, left Case Brothers Cutlery to form his own jobber, then used his father’s name and birthdate (“since 1847”), later moving to manufacture in the McKean County town in 1904.

Yet Little Valley was the focus, claiming more than 20 different manufacturers, wholesalers and industry suppliers for more than 100 years.