2017 Art Knife Invitational on Saturday

Kohai999

Kohai999

Second Degree Cutter
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
12,554
I'll be there.

My wife and friend Adam Jacobs convinced me that I should go out of respect and affection for Phil's family and the many makers that are friends of mine there.

Took a load of stuff from Phil's house to the Sheraton Hotel and Marina Bay Towers today and when offloading saw first year maker Tom Overeynder...he's pretty excited to be here.

Also got a chance to visit with C. Gray Taylor and his truly lovely wife Evelyn. Gray was telling me that the bid-up knife he has this year took him about 1800 hours to create, over a 7 month period. It's an exhibition knife, and that's all I'm gonna say about that at this point, I haven't seen it.

Got choked up on the way back home from the hotel. Pretty much think about Phil every day in some capacity, and the AKI brings all the good feelings and memories back to the fore, but it also brings back the horror of losing my great friend to a heart attack on December 14th, 2016.

I miss him so much, and it has a physically debilitating affect on me. Trying to deal with the loss in a constructive and rational manner, but it's really hard.

Will take photos this year, and do a show report in this thread after. People seem to enjoy that.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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Kohai999 said:
I'll be there.

My wife and friend Adam Jacobs convinced me that I should go out of respect and affection for Phil's family and the many makers that are friends of mine there.

Took a load of stuff from Phil's house to the Sheraton Hotel and Marina Bay Towers today and when offloading saw first year maker Tom Overeynder...he's pretty excited to be here.

Also got a chance to visit with C. Gray Taylor and his truly lovely wife Evelyn. Gray was telling me that the bid-up knife he has this year took him about 1500 hours to create, over a 7 month period. It's an exhibition knife, and that's all I'm gonna say about that at this point, I haven't seen it.

Got choked up on the way back home from the hotel. Pretty much think about Phil every day in some capacity, and the AKI brings all the good feelings and memories back to the fore, but it also brings back the horror of losing my great friend to a heart attack on December 14th, 2016.

I miss him so much, and it has a physically debilitating affect on me. Trying to deal with the loss in a constructive and rational manner, but it's really hard.

Will take photos this year, and do a show report in this thread after. People seem to enjoy that.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear about your friend Steven.
I'd love to see pictures of this show. I'm really curious about what a 1500 hour knife looks like.
 
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The day really started at 8:30 am when Roger Bergh sat down at the bar next to me and ordered an egg white fritatta. He's impossibly youthful and speaks much better English than my horribly bad, 50 year-old Swedish. Had never spoken with him before. My meal was an overpriced($22.00) breakfast buffet, choosing hardened(barely) scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes with onions and peppers and a bagel with lox, cream cheese, onions and capers. Got one plate and picked at it for over an hour while we spoke.

Judy Lobred came into the bar and wanted some coffee, she gave me an AKI pin. In 12 years of knowing Phil Lobred, an AKI pin was never an option. I asked him if I could purchase one, and he told me that I was neither a maker nor the show promoter, and therefore was not eligible for a pin. Judy's gift brought back so many memories that I just sat there for five minutes in a reflective fog before attaching it to my necktie. I'll wear it at the appropriate times, as it promotes the show, and demonstrates the love that the Lobred family has extended towards me....you can't buy that.

After breakfast, and wishing Roger a great show, I came across collector Hardiman from Indonesia, Dan Delavan from Plaza Cutlery, and Tommy Clark from Blue Ridge Knives.
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Here's the deal, and I have written it before, but it bears repeating.....Tommy buys knife collections. This is of use to collectors who leave an accumulation of knives after they pass. Tommy pays probably the fairest price for the whole shebang, the money comes from Phil, who owns Blue Ridge. Tommy SELLS the knives at arguably the best price in the world...often substantially under "market" value, so if you are looking for a great deal on a knife, reach out to Tommy and ask him if he has what you are looking for. He's been working for Phil for 37 years, and been a friend of mine since 1992....25 flippin' years, jeez I feel old!

Judy and Sandee Lobred did a fantastic job with the show, with help from many people, including Evelyn Taylor, C. Gray Taylor's lovely and kind wife. The room looked exceptional and the makers seemed to relish the coming task of selling their best knives under the aegis of the Art Knife Invitational marquee.

There was a table marked "Reserved"....Judy had a beverage on it, along with a beautiful flower vase, and asked me if I wanted to dump my shit there....which I did, and it remained undisturbed for the duration of the show. There was probably $30,000 worth of knives in my bag. This is, and has always been, a testament to the good behavior that people demonstrate at the Art Knife Invitational.....knives don't go missing, courtesy is extended, fine manners are on display...it's almost Utopian. This is the atmosphere that Phil Lobred created and has endured with his passing.

Spent my first hour at the show chatting with Harvey Dean, his lovely wife Deborah, his younger son who I met before, Dillon, who's tall and rugged, and his older son Dex, who I met for the first time, and is built like me, short and stout, as well as lovely wife Kendra, and toddler Caroline, whose bright blue eyes indicate an interesting life ahead.

Harvey's been a friend of mine for a long time, like over 20 years. We have shared many a meal, told many tall tales and smoked quite a few cigars together. He was one of the first people that I called from Phil Lobred's house when he died, to let him know. I'd give Harvey a kidney if he needed it. Own two of his knives, an amber stag handled Texas Wind pattern El Diablo and a two blade Wharncliffe Trapper in white pearl, with a black lip bollocks shield. Harvey had three knives at the AKI. A masterfully rendered damascus folding dagger, a damascus Woodhead Bowie and a damascus Classic razor, handled in amber stag.
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Checked out Ron Appleton's table. He had three folders, all with different IQ type locking mechanisms. These are (I think) edm'd lock mechanisms that hold the blade locked at a variety of angles. I LOVE the lock, but wish that Ron would make them more "knifey" or at the least that he would do a fairly conservative dagger grind. They are art knives in the truest sense of the word as they sit now. Ron has mad skillz, and learned well from his father, frankly surpassing with this latest outing.

To be continued.....
 
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Thank you Steven for writing this kind of report. It's a part of the knifeworld that I doubt I'll ever see with my own eyes. So I truly enjoy living it vicariously through yours.
 
Thanks for the view and update bubba.
 
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