Kohai999
Second Degree Cutter
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2003
- Messages
- 12,554
Ok, so NOW after slogging through 3 years of layovers in Las Vegas....on the last year of the show being in Reno...there is a non-stop on Southwest from my home town to Reno, taken on Thursday evening. Very nice.:thumbup:
It was cold and snowy this year.....met up with Matt Diskin at the airport, we shared a taxi to the hotel, got an ample assortment of snacking material from Walgreen's, our faithful driver, Apu, keeping the cab safe and warm for our onward voyage.
Got to watch Matt haggle unsuccessfully with the check-in clerk over $10.00 per night for my rollaway bed: www.circuscircusreno.com...personally, I don't care, it is better than sleeping on the floor, we hung out in the room for a bit, getting unpacked and settled, and then went down to the hotel bar (Silver Baron, I think) where the meets and greets take place. Hung out with Matt, David Mirabile(my other roommate this trip), Barry Gallagher and Wade Colter for a while....then saw Kevin, Harvey Dean, Steve Dunn and Dicky Robinson, so we sat for a bit, and I drank Maker's Mark.....stayed awake until 4:30 am.
Friday, slept in for a bit, decided in my hung-over mindset to coif my hair like the guy from Flock of Seagulls(way to use that bald spot!) and rolled out for breakfast with Matt and David...whilst waiting for my waffles, sausage links, scrambled egg whites and Bloody Mary, I thought I spied Gerald McRaney, of Simon & Simon, and Major Dad fame, so went over to ask, introduced myself, and shook his hand....he was done eating, and I chatted with him for about a minute...minimal disruption is the key to encounters with famous people, I have discovered over the years....he was quite cordial & pleasant.
At 1:00, Kevin Jones gave a talk on collecting, and he had asked me to attend, and be available for questions outside his expertise range...it was a good talk, and with some minor refinement, could very well be included in any of the major shows requesting a knowledgeable and enthusiastic collector's perspective. Afterwards, I got to hang out, and talk shop with Chuck and Brenda Bybee, of Alpha Knifemaking Supplies: www.alphaknifesupply.com, and some of the other seminar attendees, which was quite fun.
The "preview viewing" was from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and I thought it was a big tease....there has to be something better to do with the time than just LOOK at knives, we are collectors, dangit, we BUY knives...so that is what I did...because...AH HA....had my annual piece on order from Burt Foster....fundage transfer he had gotten approval on from the board....so I got a knife on Friday..yeah! And honestly, although it IS a big tease to not be able to buy, being able to chat without mouth breathers down my neck with Burt Foster, Bailey Bradshaw, Bill Burke, Larry Fuegen, and many others, is pretty nice, and took full advantage of that time.
My business partner, P.A. flew down from Seattle, with his friend Larry, so we walked around the preview for a while, and then decided to go for out for dinner, eschewing the ABS banquet, which numerous sources informed me, had quite good food. Raj, our intrepid driver for the evening, suggested Washoe Steak House,www.washoesteakhouse.com, about 3 miles from downtown Reno, and it was a WINNER....we sat in the bar, where 3 HOT , lithe and young, ladies took care of our every food and drink need. I had the lamb chops, boys had the steak....really good meal, and reasonably priced.
After dinner, we returned to the hotel, it was a bit late for P.A. and Larry, so they vamoosed up to their room, and I played blackjack for a while, winning a small sum.
The deal is supposed to open to the public at 10:00 am for preview. Harvey Dean would NOT pre-sell the amber stag handled, West Texas Wind damascus bladed El Diablo that I coveted, so I had to get devious. A helpful maker gave me an exhibitor's badge, and I was in at 9:10 am, only to be asked to leave at 9:40 am by Rick Dunkerly, Show coordinator....let NO ONE say that the ABS Show Committee does not enforce the rules...so I had to wait until 10:00 am to get in the room, and got into an argument with Daniel O'Malley about the padding in Bill's Custom Cases, of all things. If Joss had been 7 minutes quicker, the knife would have been his. At 10:40, Chuck and Brenda Bybee came to keep me company at Harvey's table, and Chuck graciously held the knife in his meaty paw, aloft, so I could count out $100, $50.00 and $20.00 dollar bills for Harvey, without having to rough anyone up....
Business with Harvey completed, I walked over to Dan Farr's table to see if any of the stag handled, mystery steel(Crucible Metals Top Secret) knives that Dan had were still available...1 was left, and I scored it AND a photograph print of the knife by Point Seven. Dan's work in the beginning was fairly crude, and NOW it is elegant, sleek and fantastically well executed. Dan thinks he needs to package it with a plastic box that costs him a bunch of money, and won't listen when I tell him it is not necessary, but what are you going to do?
The point is that maybe the box makes a nice storage area for business cards, Pokemon cards..., but to repeat, costs Dan a BUNCH of money, and is not really knife related, or small and easy to store, but I'll get to that in a minute.
Overwhelmingly, people have said that the format of show review by maker is unique, and desired....that is the part could not get to last night...it takes too much time, and is too draining....many makers and collectors have commented that fairness is crucial to them, and they appreciate direct statments, without me name calling or being crude.....I'm trying:
Barnes, Aubrey-The workmanship is "like" Moran's, but fits were much better, assembly cleaner...but many of the designs were somewhat blase'...and still on the table after 2 hours into the opening of the show...the best piece on the table was a D-guard ST type, and it was not for sale. Mr. Barnes could have filled the table with ST variants and he would have sold out in 2 minutes....this is a show to bring your "A" game, and your hottest designs...this will be repeated.
Bradshaw, Bailey-The D-guard bowie that Bailey brought was extremely well executed, but not my cup of tea. The engraving on the "Dragon Folder" was inspired, and Bailey is "getting it" with that form. I picked up a Bushi folder from him, fit and finish are really, really good, lock manipulation smooth and strong....but I think the handle is too bulky, for the slim blade it holds...
Bump, Bruce-The bowie that Bruce had was stunning....but I thought the blade pattern was a little boring for the handle, which was one of the top 3 in the room, IMO. At any other "normal" show, this would have been THE Best Bowie....but it is the ABS Expo, and when you have the best steel makers in the world in the same room as you, pattern development is sort of crucial. The push dagger was one of the best that I have ever seen anywhere, but it is not a pattern that I have any interest in.
Burke, Bill-I already mentioned much of Bill's work, but I have to say, that in addition to being a fine knifemaker, Bill is a heck of a designer, and can work in many different styles, quite capeably....shoehorning him into the style he originally worked in(Fowler style knives) would be a mistake.
Caffrey, Ed-Ed's work was very, very nice, much of it has been posted in another thread, but his handles are a bit on the long side for me. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=519767
Carter, Murray-had so many knives on his table, he is like a one man factory. I liked this knife- http://cartercutleryproducts.com/product.sc?categoryId=7&productId=78...but I think that $440.00 is a lot of money for this style, regardless of how good the steel is.
Murray is on super business-promotion mode and is sucking up suggestions like a vacuum cleaner. I will say that his kitchen knives remain one of the best deals out there, from anyone, and most of the smiths in the room probably have one or more of these, because they cost too much for them to make their own...it is that good! Part of the Carter schpiel, is something along these lines " I have personally made over 15,000 knives and hand sharpened more than 40,000 blades of all shapes and sizes, in over 20 years of knifemaking. I am confident that you will experience the meaning of sharp like never before!"(this was actually boosted from his website, but the schpiel is pretty much the same) Pretty impressive numbers, regardless.
Christensen, Jon-is a very, very cool guy. He had a number of fine knives on the table, maybe six, in particular a leaf pattern drop point hunter. Jon, if you make a small fighter out of this pattern, I would sure like a PM or something. He is one to watch, IMO.
Dean, Harvey-had two knives on the table, a damascus, vaguely spear point hunter that he engraved himself...and a damascus El Diablo. Not just any El Diablo....but the El Diablo that I would have ordered for myself given the opportunity...amber stag, damascus guard, lightly engraved stainless steel bolts, and the sublime beauty of a clean, non-upset choil with a West Texas Wind pattern OVER "W" pattern, I believe, sharpened top clip, 9 1/2" blade, exactly 14" overall.
It was like Harvey took almost every quirk and request I have made in print to other makers, and distilled it into this knife...and I pretty much knew this a few weeks ago, but did not know if it would be lottery box or open purchase.....and had to see it anyway....Thursday, Harvey said it was open purchase, Friday, got to see it...decided I wanted it, but didn't insult Harvey by trying to get it out of him early, just let him know that I would be leaving the show with it...and did. There were AT LEAST 4 other people in that room quite disappointed that I wanted it, as badly as I did....pretty good score.
Deringer, Christoph-Like others, I found the turned integral with ivory to be fine, but don't care for ivory, and was out of money, anyway...he is a very cool guy.
Diskin, Matt-had 3 knives on the table, ivory handle with mosaic Safari Club Int'l pattern damascus blade, silver habaki and fine silver/mokume gane sheath, San Francisco style damascus dagger with ivory handle, and fine silver/nickle mokume gane sheath, and an integral bowie forged out of what had to be 3/4" or better stock, with nickle/Silver mokume and sterling silver sheath. Matt has mad skills, and can make the whole package with flair....but he is not afraid to experiment, sometimes with, ahem, interesting results....
Dunn, Steve-had two bowies on the table, a simpler one, with tasteful engraving, and a full blown "dresser"....couldn't tell you which one was nicer, they were reasonable, and expensive, price wise, depending upon your position, and were both gone....fairly quickly, afaik.
Eaton, Rick-had a wonderful folder, with his usual outstanding damascus, and I believe it was sold fairly quickly.
Farr, Dan-had four knives on the table, I think.....the usual clip point, recurve with the awesome plunge grind, 2 in stag, and a bigger one with his stippled walnut...can't remember what the fourth was...what can you say about Dan, except "Please make more knives!"?
Ferry, Tom-has matured by leaps as a knife designer....I liked just about everything on his table. A all-damascus tanto folder(more like an aikuchi), called the "yin yang" had beautiful koi fish engraved in high relief. He had a slip joint folding fighter pattern which was amazing, but to me, really needed a back lock. His bowie was really skillfully done....two things, that Tom already knows....I thought the handle on his bowie was a slight bit long, and the plate guard vastly too wide, and he has high prices....I don't know how he can make the next jump up....his pricing is literally in the Dean/Fuegen/Hancock realm, and those are all AKI guys.....the mosaic damascus that Tom makes is completely unique, time consuming and attractive.....but I am not convinced that justifies the price...it bothers the crap out of me. Tom was giving out these bronze coins as a thank you, to those purchasing his knives, that I believe are one of the few genious marketing tools knifemakers could use.
Fisk, Jerry-had three knives that I saw, a "wedge" integral, an NLT with scalloped butt plate, and a damascus SW bowie. I don't know what sold, but can guarantee that they are gone right now....Jerry is a consummate professional, businessman and artist...he deserves all the kudos he gets.
Foster, Burt-had 5 or 6 knives for the table, and two deliveries. He is doing work with integral build styles combined with carbon steel cores and stainless laminated sides....of all the creativity in that room, with these new knives, Burt is pushing the bar to new heights, singularly, and without the need for ego stroking or fanfare...it is truly awe inspiring to witness.
Fritz, Erik-I think Erik was lucky enough to get a table because of some no-shows(ahem, Nick Wheeler). About 4 knives....good stuff! Erik is taking good recommendations from his fellow makers, and is showing in that the work is much more defined, and lines on both handle and blade are cleaner and crisper than a year ago....almost too crisp, as knifemaker hands don't frequently notice those sharp 90 degree corners, right, Erik?
Fuegen, Larry-is one of the best bladesmiths in the world. He sold out when the boxes were opened, like in 5 minutes...he did that at the AKI as well...here is what he brought:
in his own words:
"The little stiletto dagger has a carved ironwood burl handle with blued steel fittings and a new type of Damascus blade that I call chip Damascus,because of the way it is made. The sheath has a frogskin overlay.
The push dagger is carved mammoth ivory handles and a carved Damascus blade with a fine ladder pattern. It also features file work and 14 k gold overlay on the tang and 14 k gold pins. The sheath has an ostrich leg overlay. The Bowie is forged carbon steel blade with rust browned guard and engraved sterling silver band. The handle is walrus ivory. The sheath is carved leather with sterling silver fittings. The engraving
pattern is influenced by the style of engraving on old Western spurs."(for those asking WTF? about why Larry gets pix, and no one else does...he sent them before the show)
(continued in post 56)
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
It was cold and snowy this year.....met up with Matt Diskin at the airport, we shared a taxi to the hotel, got an ample assortment of snacking material from Walgreen's, our faithful driver, Apu, keeping the cab safe and warm for our onward voyage.
Got to watch Matt haggle unsuccessfully with the check-in clerk over $10.00 per night for my rollaway bed: www.circuscircusreno.com...personally, I don't care, it is better than sleeping on the floor, we hung out in the room for a bit, getting unpacked and settled, and then went down to the hotel bar (Silver Baron, I think) where the meets and greets take place. Hung out with Matt, David Mirabile(my other roommate this trip), Barry Gallagher and Wade Colter for a while....then saw Kevin, Harvey Dean, Steve Dunn and Dicky Robinson, so we sat for a bit, and I drank Maker's Mark.....stayed awake until 4:30 am.
Friday, slept in for a bit, decided in my hung-over mindset to coif my hair like the guy from Flock of Seagulls(way to use that bald spot!) and rolled out for breakfast with Matt and David...whilst waiting for my waffles, sausage links, scrambled egg whites and Bloody Mary, I thought I spied Gerald McRaney, of Simon & Simon, and Major Dad fame, so went over to ask, introduced myself, and shook his hand....he was done eating, and I chatted with him for about a minute...minimal disruption is the key to encounters with famous people, I have discovered over the years....he was quite cordial & pleasant.
At 1:00, Kevin Jones gave a talk on collecting, and he had asked me to attend, and be available for questions outside his expertise range...it was a good talk, and with some minor refinement, could very well be included in any of the major shows requesting a knowledgeable and enthusiastic collector's perspective. Afterwards, I got to hang out, and talk shop with Chuck and Brenda Bybee, of Alpha Knifemaking Supplies: www.alphaknifesupply.com, and some of the other seminar attendees, which was quite fun.
The "preview viewing" was from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and I thought it was a big tease....there has to be something better to do with the time than just LOOK at knives, we are collectors, dangit, we BUY knives...so that is what I did...because...AH HA....had my annual piece on order from Burt Foster....fundage transfer he had gotten approval on from the board....so I got a knife on Friday..yeah! And honestly, although it IS a big tease to not be able to buy, being able to chat without mouth breathers down my neck with Burt Foster, Bailey Bradshaw, Bill Burke, Larry Fuegen, and many others, is pretty nice, and took full advantage of that time.
My business partner, P.A. flew down from Seattle, with his friend Larry, so we walked around the preview for a while, and then decided to go for out for dinner, eschewing the ABS banquet, which numerous sources informed me, had quite good food. Raj, our intrepid driver for the evening, suggested Washoe Steak House,www.washoesteakhouse.com, about 3 miles from downtown Reno, and it was a WINNER....we sat in the bar, where 3 HOT , lithe and young, ladies took care of our every food and drink need. I had the lamb chops, boys had the steak....really good meal, and reasonably priced.
After dinner, we returned to the hotel, it was a bit late for P.A. and Larry, so they vamoosed up to their room, and I played blackjack for a while, winning a small sum.
The deal is supposed to open to the public at 10:00 am for preview. Harvey Dean would NOT pre-sell the amber stag handled, West Texas Wind damascus bladed El Diablo that I coveted, so I had to get devious. A helpful maker gave me an exhibitor's badge, and I was in at 9:10 am, only to be asked to leave at 9:40 am by Rick Dunkerly, Show coordinator....let NO ONE say that the ABS Show Committee does not enforce the rules...so I had to wait until 10:00 am to get in the room, and got into an argument with Daniel O'Malley about the padding in Bill's Custom Cases, of all things. If Joss had been 7 minutes quicker, the knife would have been his. At 10:40, Chuck and Brenda Bybee came to keep me company at Harvey's table, and Chuck graciously held the knife in his meaty paw, aloft, so I could count out $100, $50.00 and $20.00 dollar bills for Harvey, without having to rough anyone up....
Business with Harvey completed, I walked over to Dan Farr's table to see if any of the stag handled, mystery steel(Crucible Metals Top Secret) knives that Dan had were still available...1 was left, and I scored it AND a photograph print of the knife by Point Seven. Dan's work in the beginning was fairly crude, and NOW it is elegant, sleek and fantastically well executed. Dan thinks he needs to package it with a plastic box that costs him a bunch of money, and won't listen when I tell him it is not necessary, but what are you going to do?
The point is that maybe the box makes a nice storage area for business cards, Pokemon cards..., but to repeat, costs Dan a BUNCH of money, and is not really knife related, or small and easy to store, but I'll get to that in a minute.Overwhelmingly, people have said that the format of show review by maker is unique, and desired....that is the part could not get to last night...it takes too much time, and is too draining....many makers and collectors have commented that fairness is crucial to them, and they appreciate direct statments, without me name calling or being crude.....I'm trying:
Barnes, Aubrey-The workmanship is "like" Moran's, but fits were much better, assembly cleaner...but many of the designs were somewhat blase'...and still on the table after 2 hours into the opening of the show...the best piece on the table was a D-guard ST type, and it was not for sale. Mr. Barnes could have filled the table with ST variants and he would have sold out in 2 minutes....this is a show to bring your "A" game, and your hottest designs...this will be repeated.
Bradshaw, Bailey-The D-guard bowie that Bailey brought was extremely well executed, but not my cup of tea. The engraving on the "Dragon Folder" was inspired, and Bailey is "getting it" with that form. I picked up a Bushi folder from him, fit and finish are really, really good, lock manipulation smooth and strong....but I think the handle is too bulky, for the slim blade it holds...
Bump, Bruce-The bowie that Bruce had was stunning....but I thought the blade pattern was a little boring for the handle, which was one of the top 3 in the room, IMO. At any other "normal" show, this would have been THE Best Bowie....but it is the ABS Expo, and when you have the best steel makers in the world in the same room as you, pattern development is sort of crucial. The push dagger was one of the best that I have ever seen anywhere, but it is not a pattern that I have any interest in.
Burke, Bill-I already mentioned much of Bill's work, but I have to say, that in addition to being a fine knifemaker, Bill is a heck of a designer, and can work in many different styles, quite capeably....shoehorning him into the style he originally worked in(Fowler style knives) would be a mistake.
Caffrey, Ed-Ed's work was very, very nice, much of it has been posted in another thread, but his handles are a bit on the long side for me. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=519767
Carter, Murray-had so many knives on his table, he is like a one man factory.
I liked this knife- http://cartercutleryproducts.com/product.sc?categoryId=7&productId=78...but I think that $440.00 is a lot of money for this style, regardless of how good the steel is. Murray is on super business-promotion mode and is sucking up suggestions like a vacuum cleaner. I will say that his kitchen knives remain one of the best deals out there, from anyone, and most of the smiths in the room probably have one or more of these, because they cost too much for them to make their own...it is that good! Part of the Carter schpiel, is something along these lines " I have personally made over 15,000 knives and hand sharpened more than 40,000 blades of all shapes and sizes, in over 20 years of knifemaking. I am confident that you will experience the meaning of sharp like never before!"(this was actually boosted from his website, but the schpiel is pretty much the same)
Pretty impressive numbers, regardless.Christensen, Jon-is a very, very cool guy. He had a number of fine knives on the table, maybe six, in particular a leaf pattern drop point hunter. Jon, if you make a small fighter out of this pattern, I would sure like a PM or something. He is one to watch, IMO.
Dean, Harvey-had two knives on the table, a damascus, vaguely spear point hunter that he engraved himself...and a damascus El Diablo. Not just any El Diablo....but the El Diablo that I would have ordered for myself given the opportunity...amber stag, damascus guard, lightly engraved stainless steel bolts, and the sublime beauty of a clean, non-upset choil with a West Texas Wind pattern OVER "W" pattern, I believe, sharpened top clip, 9 1/2" blade, exactly 14" overall.
It was like Harvey took almost every quirk and request I have made in print to other makers, and distilled it into this knife...and I pretty much knew this a few weeks ago, but did not know if it would be lottery box or open purchase.....and had to see it anyway....Thursday, Harvey said it was open purchase, Friday, got to see it...decided I wanted it, but didn't insult Harvey by trying to get it out of him early, just let him know that I would be leaving the show with it...and did. There were AT LEAST 4 other people in that room quite disappointed that I wanted it, as badly as I did....pretty good score.
Deringer, Christoph-Like others, I found the turned integral with ivory to be fine, but don't care for ivory, and was out of money, anyway...he is a very cool guy.
Diskin, Matt-had 3 knives on the table, ivory handle with mosaic Safari Club Int'l pattern damascus blade, silver habaki and fine silver/mokume gane sheath, San Francisco style damascus dagger with ivory handle, and fine silver/nickle mokume gane sheath, and an integral bowie forged out of what had to be 3/4" or better stock, with nickle/Silver mokume and sterling silver sheath. Matt has mad skills, and can make the whole package with flair....but he is not afraid to experiment, sometimes with, ahem, interesting results....
Dunn, Steve-had two bowies on the table, a simpler one, with tasteful engraving, and a full blown "dresser"....couldn't tell you which one was nicer, they were reasonable, and expensive, price wise, depending upon your position, and were both gone....fairly quickly, afaik.
Eaton, Rick-had a wonderful folder, with his usual outstanding damascus, and I believe it was sold fairly quickly.
Farr, Dan-had four knives on the table, I think.....the usual clip point, recurve with the awesome plunge grind, 2 in stag, and a bigger one with his stippled walnut...can't remember what the fourth was...what can you say about Dan, except "Please make more knives!"?
Ferry, Tom-has matured by leaps as a knife designer....I liked just about everything on his table. A all-damascus tanto folder(more like an aikuchi), called the "yin yang" had beautiful koi fish engraved in high relief. He had a slip joint folding fighter pattern which was amazing, but to me, really needed a back lock. His bowie was really skillfully done....two things, that Tom already knows....I thought the handle on his bowie was a slight bit long, and the plate guard vastly too wide, and he has high prices....I don't know how he can make the next jump up....his pricing is literally in the Dean/Fuegen/Hancock realm, and those are all AKI guys.....the mosaic damascus that Tom makes is completely unique, time consuming and attractive.....but I am not convinced that justifies the price...it bothers the crap out of me. Tom was giving out these bronze coins as a thank you, to those purchasing his knives, that I believe are one of the few genious marketing tools knifemakers could use.
Fisk, Jerry-had three knives that I saw, a "wedge" integral, an NLT with scalloped butt plate, and a damascus SW bowie. I don't know what sold, but can guarantee that they are gone right now....Jerry is a consummate professional, businessman and artist...he deserves all the kudos he gets.
Foster, Burt-had 5 or 6 knives for the table, and two deliveries. He is doing work with integral build styles combined with carbon steel cores and stainless laminated sides....of all the creativity in that room, with these new knives, Burt is pushing the bar to new heights, singularly, and without the need for ego stroking or fanfare...it is truly awe inspiring to witness.
Fritz, Erik-I think Erik was lucky enough to get a table because of some no-shows(ahem, Nick Wheeler). About 4 knives....good stuff! Erik is taking good recommendations from his fellow makers, and is showing in that the work is much more defined, and lines on both handle and blade are cleaner and crisper than a year ago....almost too crisp, as knifemaker hands don't frequently notice those sharp 90 degree corners, right, Erik?
Fuegen, Larry-is one of the best bladesmiths in the world. He sold out when the boxes were opened, like in 5 minutes...he did that at the AKI as well...here is what he brought:
in his own words:
"The little stiletto dagger has a carved ironwood burl handle with blued steel fittings and a new type of Damascus blade that I call chip Damascus,because of the way it is made. The sheath has a frogskin overlay.
The push dagger is carved mammoth ivory handles and a carved Damascus blade with a fine ladder pattern. It also features file work and 14 k gold overlay on the tang and 14 k gold pins. The sheath has an ostrich leg overlay. The Bowie is forged carbon steel blade with rust browned guard and engraved sterling silver band. The handle is walrus ivory. The sheath is carved leather with sterling silver fittings. The engraving
pattern is influenced by the style of engraving on old Western spurs."(for those asking WTF? about why Larry gets pix, and no one else does...he sent them before the show)
(continued in post 56)
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
