ABS Expo 2014 Report

Venue and alliances: I have observed that both the Guild and the ABS Shows are consistently needing more attendees. I read this year after year. It would be a boost to combine forces.

That said, the strongest force in new faces and collecting is Tactical Knives (here we go again, Coop! :rolleyes:), yet the shows which dominate this market have been on the coasts and Vegas.

Yogi Berra said: "Hit it where they ain't!" Who would be daring enough to combine all three? Who might come? Deserves consideration.

Pricing: Long ago I learned the six magic words of non-confrontational bargaining in any venue: What's the best you can do?

It takes out value appraisals, places the power of the pricing back into the hands of the seller, and strongly suggests a deal is ready to happen. I'm rarely displeased and often surprised with results of this honest question.

Thanks for the images and the thread. Very good.

Coop
 
Bill Burke said:
Kim, Thanks for doing this and it was great to meet and talk to you at this show. thanks for stopping by. I personally would appreciate hearing you thoughts on the show and any comments you have on how to make it better/get more collectors there.
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Bill, It was great getting to talk to you. Thanks for taking the time. I love that the conversation has continued about the show and what it would take to make the show bigger and better. The audience should be larger.

One of the greatest draws for me is the educational opportunities. I have really enjoyed the seminars I have attended.
I included a picture of the gauge Bill Ruple brought that he uses to determine what load is put on the spring at opening, half-stop, and closing. Only after Bill's talk did I realize how difficult it is to make a slip joint. I now understand that the slip joint is often more difficult to build than a locking knife. It was great to move the blade, feel the tension, and read the load on the gauge. After Joe Kessler's Silver Wire Inlay seminar I thought, "I might try that." Joe even brought kits and shared his vendors' names. The seminars helped me understand what place that slip-joints and wire inlay have in custom knives and more importantly made them personal.

Visiting with the knife makers at the show, and last year at the bar and banquet has also made this hobby more personal. It was a thrill for me to look at this knife with Tim Hancock and have him talk about the design choices he made.

It was the first time I saw a Spanish notch as part of the complete design and not just an arbitary choice. I have an inner voice that says "Wait a minute!" at a certain price point. The next time I pull the trigger for something above that amount I am pretty sure it will be with a maker I know.

Bill, you said, "I personally feel that as an ABS Master smith it is my responsibility to support the ABS show." As a collector I feel much the same way. Many of the knives are out of my reach at this time. I did not buy a knife at this show. However, if I invite a friend, post a report, or spread the word to my friends and family I am helping to expand the art.
 
SharpByCoop said:
. the strongest force in new faces and collecting is Tactical Knives . . . the shows which dominate this market have been on the coasts and Vegas.
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I would hate for the ABS Knife Expo to chase the tactical market. I am at the show for the natural materials, traditional (and "art") designs, fine finishes, and laminated and damascus steels. I think "gentleman hunter" customer base has the numbers and funds to grow the market, especially in Central Texas. We just need to explore more ways to attract them to the show.

That said, I was thrilled to see the knives that were donated by several of the makers to the armed forces. ( I lied about not having more pictures, sorry. These just were not as good. ). I think this is a perfect way to introduce collectors to additional styles done by the knifemakers without changing the feel of the show as well as benefit the soldiers.



 
Virginian
The Knife Makers Guild would love to have the ABS Master Smiths to come to Guild Show. Having both together would be great, it's all about selling knives and not what we think about each other. We can work together.
Gene Baskett President of The Knife Makers Guild
 
Coop

great post - as usual you cut right to the chase:thumbup:

As a baseball fan, I think the Yogi quote might actually be "Wee" Willie Keeler - I think it was something like "keep a clear eye and hit em where they ain't" :p

Yogi has SO many "quotable moments" that I think he gets credit for everyone else too - LOL

Bill Flynn
 
kimsalls said:
I would hate for the ABS Knife Expo to chase the tactical market. I am at the show for the natural materials, traditional (and "art") designs, fine finishes, and laminated and damascus steels. I think "gentleman hunter" customer base has the numbers and funds to grow the market, especially in Central Texas. We just need to explore more ways to attract them to the show.
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Well said and I totally agree with you. There's many knife enthusiasts who are drawn to forged knives for the same reasons. In addition there's the rich heritage that the forged knife enjoys.
 
The ABS was not "Chasing" the tactical market. What the knives on display were for are a donation to a group of recon Marines. My mentor in the firearms training world is a retired Marine who me and Shane Taylor trained under. We got talking about knives about a year and a half ago and came up with the "Elite Knifemakers for Elite Warriors" program. Pat my Marine buddy set up for these knives to go to a active combat unit. The idea was for some of the top makers to donate to this unit. It was not limited to just ABS makers for example John Young made a knife as well as several other stock removal makers. We just had the knives on display at the show because we thought it would be nice for some of the collectors in attendance to see the blades the makers came up with.
 
Erik Fritz said:
The ABS was not "Chasing" the tactical market. What the knives on display were for are a donation to a group of recon Marines. My mentor in the firearms training world is a retired Marine who me and Shane Taylor trained under. We got talking about knives about a year and a half ago and came up with the "Elite Knifemakers for Elite Warriors" program. Pat my Marine buddy set up for these knives to go to a active combat unit. The idea was for some of the top makers to donate to this unit. It was not limited to just ABS makers for example John Young made a knife as well as several other stock removal makers. We just had the knives on display at the show because we thought it would be nice for some of the collectors in attendance to see the blades the makers came up with.
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Hello Erik, I might be wrong, but I don't believe anyone suggested that the ABS was chasing the tactical market, but perhaps suggesting they should.
 
Erik, Thank you for sharing the background on the "Elite Knifemakers for Elite Warriors" program. I was very touched by the display, and enjoyed seeing examples of the makers' work in a different style.
 
I sent some emails and searched online, but I cannot find who the winners were at the show. Unfortunately I did not write any of the names down.

Here is a list of the awards:
Red St. Cyr "Best of Show"
Best Bowie
Best Hunter
Best Folder
Best Damascus

Can anyone help to fill in the blanks?
 
Awards at the 11th American Bladesmith Society Exposition


Congratulations to the following ABS members who earned awards for their outstanding work at the 11th American Bladesmith Society Exposition in San Antonio on January 25-26, 2014.




Red St. Cyr "Best of Show" - Rick Dunkerley, MS


Best Bowie - Dave Lisch, JS

Best Hunter - Josh Fisher, JS


Best Folder - Rick Eaton, AP


Best Damascus - Adam Desrosiers, MS
 
Being at more than 5000 miles away, make this kind of report something VERY important for me!!!
Thanks a lot!
 
Guys I'll flat out say it

The ABS unless they figure it out quick like the guild is going the way of the dodo

I have watched year after year as the ABS section @ the Blade show has less and less activity

The guild section is Tumble weeds

I take no pleasure in this statement because I am a forged knife collector predominately

Coop is one hundred percent correct both the ABS and the Guild need to hang on to what ever is going to give them a jump start

The reason attendance is down is because their main audience is getting to old to travel :)

They need to bring a new group of collectors into the market and if this new group wants to buy boomerangs the makers need to start making boomerangs

I do not presume to know the answer but the powers to be need to see the change in the market and do something different

Someone mentioned the Safari Club Show

There would be a good venue to try and piggy back off of

Lotsa rich older guys that will spend money

Coop nailed it

The hottest new market is and I hate the word :) The Tactical market

If you boys are not chasing this market with forged fighting blade you are missing the boat

This is your up and coming market and buyers ....... Don't let your own tastes take money out of your own pockets

To be honest If I were the ABS I would stay away from the guild

If I were drowning I would not grab the guy next to me that is about to go under water

I'd be looking for the strongest swimmer in the pool

Harsh words I know and I'm sorry to put things this way but I have been a lover of the forged Blade for almost 40 years and a lot of my friends wear MS labels and I care about them
 
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^ Joe, for someone who takes no pleasure in the above statement, you miss no opportunity to post it. ;) :)

The ABS Reno Show ran along side the Safari Club Show for years. Personally, I don't understand why they
moved their show from Reno as it was always successful there. Didn't make any sense to me then and certainly doesn't now.

As I stated above, both the ABS and Guild could benefit from working productively together. They both share common goals
such as promoting traditional custom knives and bringing in new collectors of such, however they seem to work against one another at times.

My friend, you may have interest in forged blades but sure seems you are avidly promoting the tactical market and your tactical blade interest these days.
 
Kevin Jones said:
^ Joe, for someone who takes no pleasure in the above statement, you miss no opportunity to post it. ;) :)

The ABS Reno Show ran along side the Safari Club Show for years. Personally, I don't understand why they
moved their show from Reno as it was always successful there. Didn't make any sense to me then and certainly doesn't now.

As I stated above, both the ABS and Guild could benefit from working productively together. They both share common goals
such as promoting traditional custom knives and bringing in new collectors of such, however they seem to work against one another at times.

My friend, you may have interest in forged blades but sure seems you are avidly promoting the tactical market and your tactical blade interest these days.
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No Kevin

I am promoting my friends and that is plain and simple

I take no joy in seeing anything that is not positive happening to the world of forged blades

But my phone was ringing after this show and what I am saying is flat out the truth. Poor attendance..... slow sales this was the word on this show. It's the truth

I'm a realist and I don't sit back and say no there is nothing wrong .....everything is great when there is obviously a problem

This is reality

I do not care if pink toe nail clippers were all the rage I would tell my friends in that business to cash in and feed their families

You must cater to an up and coming market

It does not matter what you do you must yield to the times

It bums me out because you think I derive pleasure in this because I speak it. If you see something and you talk about it hoping to see something change for the better you are wishing bad in some way ?

Talk to anybody in this industry and see where it is going

You can be like water and flow or you can be ridged and break

Just because I like ABS style blades and this is what I put my money into does not mean my taste is the be all end all

Someone as smart as you knows you can not fix a problem without realizing what the problem is

When is the last ABS dinner you attended ?

Your seeing the same thing I am

There are shows that are experiencing growth and that are seeing new faces and money

If the ABS does not do something to change things it will get no better. Till they figure out how to attract new buyers and new money the problem will only get worse

I'm sorry if I have upset you with my comments but I stand by them.

Having an MS stamp on your knife does not mean what it used to and that's a shame
 
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Joe, you're a bold man. A man with vision. Ya know, I kept checking this thread to see who else was going to push away the idea of 'Tacticals' alongside traditionals.

It's almost like religion: No one wants any part of the other's brand. Or like music; the ABS and the Guild are the Classic Rock stations. Wonderful songs heard over and over. Trouble is, who's making new classic rock?

There are SUCH great people in all camps. ABS, Guild AND the new Tactical market.

Someone *cough* Dudley *cough* sent me a PM. Why isn't an ABS forged fighter a 'Tactical knife'?? Exactly.

I'd be willing to bet Haley DesRosiers 'tactical' DH3 tribute fixed blade was the first knife that sold. If it even made it that far. That was exciting.

Those who love ANY style of knife ought not to be threatened by another genre. A rising tide floats all ships, IF they are in the same ocean.

I could be wrong. So could Joe. But we might also be onto something.

Coop
 
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