I won the auction in that photo, Buddy, it was a Caffrey damascus pen...it was for my wife...she uses it. I have three of these shirt styles, they were all custom made....was wearing one on Friday.
Gallagher, Barry-is a certified lunatic.....he is making slip joint folders now....they are awesome, great price, fit and finish....he brought a tortoiseshell folder that was truly exceptional, but again, I was out of whoopie tickets.....that said...he put robin's egg blue G-10 on a slip joint....that goes into the "what where they thinking?" file...if you want people to take what you do seriously, then you have to take it seriously.
Gann, Tommy-had some very nice knives there, at the show....from what I understand, he was also a lucky guy, not being at the top of the list.....but damn, did he bring some serious game! Dogbone bowie with all the side dishes, and a cowboy bowie that I loved....not inexpensive as Joss pointed out....but the death knell for me....bark ivory...PASS!! Got a few chances to chat with Tommy, and he is a real go-getter....workmanship is at the top of the heap...like to see what he can do with some fresh designs...and looking forward to his work in the future.
Hancock, Tim-What do you say?.....he sold out in 5 minutes as well, and had some nearing $5,000 pieces that went, too....in my estimation, with all that has been going on, it is worth the price...at any price.....BUT...not my cup of tea in many ways....that said....I hope someday that something like his AZ Toothpick will reside in my collection.....best wishes in your upcoming events, Tim
Hendrickson, Jay-workmanship was top notch, a reflection of Moran styles, but better execution, and nothing grabbed me.....more ST's please...
Everybody that gets left out, of these reviews...it is not that they didn't have nice stuff, or even that I didn't look at it....I just don't remember enought to say anything...take that as you will.
Mirabile, David-had four of his "native" styled pieces, in ancient ivory, damascus, cord wrapped to surround an ivory "artifact", and rustic finish. I liked one enough to consider buying it. David also had a long, stunning damascus bowie, with some of the most attractive fossil ivory that I have ever seen....he is an extremely talented maker.
Newton, Ron-saw a bowie that Ron did with ivory, and blued fittings, and a Sheffield clip, and I don't think it was sold, and couldn't believe it...because for someone that likes the style.....it was priced right, and PERFECT!! I called Peter Gill to bird-dog for him, but he had too pass, due to mucho incoming steel.
Noren, Doug-everyone says how he does a great Scagel repo....and I like some of the Scagel repos...but not any of these.....unfocused is the impression that I left with, and was sad, too, because I could have found the money for one of these in the collection...not too sure what to write....but I did pay attention.
Parker, Cliff-met Cliff, looked at the knives. He had a smallish liner lock with some of the most exquisite black pearl that I have ever seen...and of all the knives that I left on the table...this is the one that I wanted...think I'll call him tomorrow and see if he still has it..nice guy, great steel.
Pendray, Al-The Wizard of Wootz, in the house for two years now....Al brought his "A" game in spades, nice SW bowie with ebony scales, Ivory handled Kard, and a few others, as well as an all Wootz steak/utility/skinning/whatever knife that I picked up for $300.00, warned many that this was the deal of the day, wrapped in burgundy cord when I got home, and am going to use the heck out of it....Al is around 70 years old, still going strong, but it is such a pleasure and gift to be able to talk with him...his knowledge of what he does with his steel, and ability to communicate it, makes him a smith's smith. I met Larrin Thomas(Devin's son) at the show, had a nice chat with him, and made sure that he went over to see Al. Willing to bet that was a conversation both will remember for some time.
Perry, John-did not see what he had on his table, but Dan Farr showed me a folder that John made on Saturday morning, and it is up there with THE cream of the crop in folder making, as far as aesthetics, proportions, and function, and I want one really bad....Buddy Thomason's wife Laura purchased a really small one that would make a great EDC for a lady.
Smith, Josh-his folders were just fine, we talked about them for quite some time on Friday, and am looking forward to seeing more. The bowie that he had was breathtaking....and I got to see it taken apart, and it is TOTALLY as clean on the inside as it is externally....fine, fine work.
Szilaski, Joe-has been knocking them out for years, and he had a fine tomahawk on his table, but for me, too small...more like a belt hatchet....very nice work, though.
Taylor, Shane-had ONE piece left on his table when I got by there....large liner lock, blued damascus, carved ivory, lots of gold inlay....and a price tag close to $8,000. It wasn't the piece, and it wasn't the maker, it was the PRICE...and the knife was worth it, but it takes a special buyer to drop that large of a pile on one knife....it seemed that VIP was not in the room at that time.
Winkler, Daniel-had a lot of pieces at the show, and they were all fine....but it seemed that many of the knives were still there when the show closed. Not really sure why that is, but can say that many of them had a look of BTDT...not sure...Daniel and Karen are awfully nice people, though.
Overall impression was that there were FAR too many makers not bringing their "A" game to the show, and my feeling is that a judging committee should decide if the maker gets to come back next year or not...just not selling knives seems like a total waste.
Will wrap up all loose ends next week, but this should do for now.
Thanks for all the encouraging comments, the show WAS a lot of fun.
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
