A big thank you for a small show in Dallas

[DallasSTB]

This past weekend the Dallas Arms Collectors Association hosted the Lone Star Knife Expo in conjunction with their regular, periodic gun show. Jerry Moen pulled this all together I believe, so a special thank you to you sir. Although the show was about 75%/25% guns to knives, I had the most rewarding experience meeting some of our knife-making legends in person. Personally I'd like to thank Darrell Ralph, WD Pease, Bill Ruple, Tom Overeynder, Warren Osbourne, and the guy's who's time I monopolized for over two hours - Gayle Bradley, for their time and conversation. Not to be dismissive to the newer crop of makers that I got to meet there either- Jason Fry, Tim "Chops" Lambkin, Ram Maramba, and the many others that spent time with me. You guys are awesome. I sincerely hope that there was enough purchasing interest to keep this small regional show alive. For someone who doesn't get to fly out to the big shows in Vegas or Atlanta, this was a real treat for me. I've always read how friendly and open most of these makers are, but it was touching and exciting the amount of warmth and enthusiasm these guys have. What a day!

And, of course, I didn't get away unscathed. After keeping other customers away from Gayle for so long I just had to participate. This one is with me right now. What an incredible piece of craftsmanship! Thank you again sir.

 

[Jason Fry]

Thanks for stopping by and talking. It is great to have a show in this region that draws the top talent. There were maybe a dozen guild members, and I met three mastersmiths. Sales weren't super for most, but the chance we got to spend time with other makers and the few good "knife guys" who stopped by was just about worth the trip.

 

[Kevin Jones]

Thanks for sharing the experience with us. It doesn't have to be a BIG Show to enjoyable.
You picked up a nice piece, congrats. :thumbup:

 

[FearAgent]

How did I miss this?!?! Our knife and gun expos are about 90% guns at this point in Austin. Thanks for sharing brother!

 

[Joe Watson]

How did I miss this?!?!

Because they didn't bother to do any real promoting for the knife show. A simple website was up, with an incomplete/inaccurate list of makers. It was a gunshow & gunshow crowd. Because of this, sales were poor for everyone I personally talked to.

Most of the makers were in the section together, but I did see some stuffed in-between gun stuff who were even harder to find.

I'd love to attend if next year it is a knife show, won't if it is a gun show.

I was pleased to meet a lot of great makers and view some fantastic pieces. :thumbup:

Wish I had some pictures of the amazing knives on display, but cameras were banned in the venue. :thumbdn:

 

[jdm61]

The camera ban was a bit strange. I was out visiting my kids and I dropped by on Sunday morning to talk to my fellow knife knuts. Got to meet some new folks and get reacquainted with some old ones. Harvey Dean was there and had a couple of pieces on his table.
One problem was that the people up at the ticket counter on the north side of the hall had no clue where the knifemakers were. Of course, the other problem is that many of the folks there and tere were a LOT even on Sunday) were doing the mad scramble for ammo and certain guns. They had peope selling .223 ammo for 80 cent a round out in the parking lot. My bet was that it was probably cheap South Korea military stuff. I think that with better promotion and without the panic buying we are see in at all gun shows these days, this could work.
The one piece of good news that I did get out of the show (which may belong over in shop talk rather than here) was that apparently Carpenter got has gotten the fairly significant early batch QC issues with their newer PM blade steels like CTS-XHP dealt with and the now have good clean material in stock. That news came from a maker who uses the stuff, not from the company.

Because they didn't bother to do any real promoting for the knife show. A simple website was up, with an incomplete/inaccurate list of makers. It was a gunshow & gunshow crowd. Because of this, sales were poor for everyone I personally talked to.

Most of the makers were in the section together, but I did see some stuffed in-between gun stuff who were even harder to find.

I'd love to attend if next year it is a knife show, won't if it is a gun show.

I was pleased to meet a lot of great makers and view some fantastic pieces. :thumbup:

Wish I had some pictures of the amazing knives on display, but cameras were banned in the venue. :thumbdn: