SOG Knives sponsored cutter Reggie Barker won the Sharpest Man in Missouri for the second year, winning the gold medal. Silver Medal went to W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery sponsored cutter John Fitch, with Shawn Ellis taking the Bronze.
In the single events, Reggie wont the board cut at 6.11 seconds, followed by Crowell at 7.3, and Fitch at 8.06, Shawn Ellis at 10.2. The timers for the event were collector Shelby Lowery and Shepard Hills owner and event sponsor Ron Reid.
All cutters cut 1 rope and then two for their maximum points.
The pong run was when Reggie surged to the lead, cutting three balls for six points. John Fitch cut one, and Ellis and Crowell did not succeed in cutting one of the elusive rolling balls. The balls were dropped down the chute by W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery President Tom Arrowsmith.
In the dowell cut John Fitch gained 10 points but cutting within the 1" space, with Crowell and Barker both gaining 5 points but cutting in the 2" area.
Barker and Fitch went into the bottle cut with tied scores for the lead, so the winner would be determined by the bottle cut. But before they could determine the winner, Crowell and Ellis were cut to determine who would take home the bronze. Crowell called for 7 bottles, and Ellis tried 13. Ellis, who has trained under Crowell in cutting, the student surpassed the teacher, as Ellis cut 9 bottles, and Crowell cut none. The ending total for Crowell was 22 points, with Ellis taking the Bronze with 26 points.
Fitch and Barker both called for 10 bottles, and Barker cut 9 of his ten, giving him a total of 37 points as John Fitch walked up to the table with 10 bottles before him, requiring him to cut 10 to win, and 9 to tie for a 2X4 cut off. Despite being cheered on by a largely Case crowd when the pieces of bottles were tallied Fitch had cut five for a total of 33.
Reggie Barker was the Sharpest Man in Missouri for the second consecutive year.
