Badger show report

S

Summerland

Joined
Oct 13, 1999
Messages
567
Just got back from day 1 of the Badger show in WI. It was bigger and better than ever, and there were lots of excellent deals to be had.

Makers that caught my eye included David Broadwell, Kevin Cashen, Dale Reif, Jeff Hall, Mark Nevling, John & Sherry Greco, Tinus Beukes, Matthew Lerch, Phil Hartfield, Bill Fiorini, George Werth.

I picked up my first custom folder by Jeff Hall, a very friendly guy who does great work. The one I bought up was similar to these:
http://www.nemesis-knives.com/model4.html


 
Just got in to town and looking forward to hitting the show in the AM and picking up some great pieces
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Then dinner with the fellow BF knife nuts over at Damons!



------------------
Kevin Pensinger
The EDGE Equipment
sales@theedgeequipment.com

Contact The EDGE for your custom cutlery needs!
 
A favor.
If either of you guys see Sava Damlovac or Bub Worrel please tell them I said hello.

Thanks,
Gus
 
My son and I were at the show on Friday. I picked up a Cisco D2 Hunter with jig bone handles. It is a really nice looking practical knife and the handle is very comfortable. Chuck Syslo is a very nice guy and he took the time to answer all my questions. He is out of Omaha, NE. The show had a lot of custom makers with very nice work and generally friendly folks. We had a good time. ...Ed.
 
Gus,
I met Bub Worrell tonight at the restaurant and passed on your greetings. He had won the Best Art/Fantasy knife award, but I'll let the purchaser (whom we all know) tell you about it so I don't spoil the story!

Had dinner with Jeff, Danbo, Tom Carey and their families. Great folks to spend time with, and we did some show-and-tell with pieces by Osborne, Chew, Hall, Lange, and Wegner. Also met Brian Turner, who showed me his exquisite folder by Mike Lamprey.

Had a great time, and hope to see everyone at the next show!
 
Thanks Summerland. Great that you had the chance to meet a bunch of good folks there.
 
I agree, good show.
I bought a pretty little Jeff Hall folder and after meeting Dave Broadwell had to order one of his folders. Nice folks were there in abundance. Pleasure meeting all!
I came home to a phone message that an antique Colt of mine was sold on consignment today. If only I had known I had it in the budget. There was a superb Matt Lerch auto that was calling to me.....
 
Fellow Hoosier and all-around good guy Bub was front and center right as we came in the door and the first maker we saw at the show!

You guys should have heard the shout of congrats go up in the room when they announced Bub's award - been at a lot of shows when the awards are announced and this was a first for an overall yell of appreciation by all the makers present (Bub is well liked amongst his peers
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)

On the awards note ABS Mastersmith and knife maker extraordinaire Kevin Cashen won best fixed blade & best of show with a stunning dagger. His work was sold out early at this show...

Had a good time talking with David Broadwell and John Greco among others. Got a chance to see Phil Hartsfield for the first time but was too busy to talk the times I went by.

Summerland and Brian Turner came by and we got to look at some knives together..thanks guys.

THanks to Danbo for keeping me entertained through the day and also giving me some place to set up a few knives and park my gear.

Great show and time was had by all I believe - back for a few minutes this morning to wrap up some business and then off to the wilds of Northern IN
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------------------
Kevin Pensinger
The EDGE Equipment
sales@theedgeequipment.com

Contact The EDGE for your custom cutlery needs!
 
Jeff Hall went there from sunny socal? Watch out for that guy......theres something funny about him!!!!!
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Arrived 0800 Sat. Talked with Rhett Stidham and handled the new #4 Randall knife and is it a beauty. Rhett had both the stag and leather handled versions. I handled the stag which is what I have on order. Great knife. Met some old friends and had a general good time before hitting the road to St Charles Il and the CADA Gun Show, on to Devon Av in Chicago for Indian food and then picking up Sushi to take back to Wis for a late dinner.
On critical note: The level of workmanship among the new makers at the show was the worst I have seen in many years. I am not talking knives available from resellers but makers actually exhibiting thier work. For the last 30 years the level of workmanship was improving as makers strived to rise to the standards of Sigman, Loveless, Moran et al. The current group of new makers appears to either not be able to rise to thier standards or have had the opportunity to handle top level workmanship. I realise that some might not agree with me but you have to be objective and not let your desire to come home with something override your brain. the fit and finish was simply not there in the majority of new makers! I wonder if the rising prices of the good makers and backlogs are tempting people to enter the business to fill the void. I saw many knives from makers I was not familiar with that had poor workmanship. My son was with me and I asked him to independantly view the custom makers only and let me know which he considered to make good knives worthy of purchase. He did not find any work he felt was acceptable for purchase.
I did not buy or order a single custom. The only maker that I may consider was Bill Fiorini who had some nice Damascus and makes a great looking chef knife. I realise that this opinion may differ with others but I felt I had to say what I thought. Dick
 
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