Blade Show 2015 Expectations

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LaLongueCarabine87

Joined
May 28, 2015
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Good Afternoon y'all. My name is Justin. I'm going to be making the trek to Blade this year. It will be my first time, and I'm both nervous and excited. My biggest question for y'all is what to expect from the show itself.
-I'm going with the intent to purchase some knives, am I off base with this?
-Is Blade more like SHOT Show (I work in the firearms industry) in that its more of an exhibition show rather than a selling show?
-Will the harder to get makers i.e. Hinderer, Busse, etc have knives available to purchase, or are they going to be simply taking orders to fill in the future?
I'm looking to score some Winkler II product, as I have been a fan of Dan's for quite some time. Also looking to maybe pick up a competition finish TGLB. What are all y'all looking to snag?
Thanks in advance for the help, mods sorry if this belongs in Community, I couldn't decide what to do with it, Apologies!
 
Welcome to the Board! I can give you some information, as I'm in the same boat as you, but have done some reading here.

- You'll be able to buy knives at the show.
- See first response. I imagine there'll be plenty of new things on display, if not for sale.
- Check out the vendor list on the Bladeshow page: http://www.bladeshow.com/index.php/exhibitors

It's going to be a HUGE show. You will see more knives than you can possibly imagine, if pictures from past shows are to be believed. Bring cash, a backpack (with some water and snacks in it!), comfortable shoes, and be ready to see things you didn't even know existed, but that you'll simply have to have. See you there!
 
I'm going with the hope of picking up a custom or limited production knife. I don't think I will buy a knife I can order online any day. I've got a few blades in mind right now.
 
Welcome Justin. You'll enjoy the show. I'm looking forward to attending again this year, and learned a lot last year in my first time.

To answer your questions:

- Purchasing Knives is a great plan. Many dealers and manufacturers will have product available. Also several stores will be represented. Custom items will be limited based on the maker. Mid techs may be a little more accessible. Many makers will have some sort of process. Hinderer may do drawings, Busse has their system which is certainly an event. These allow the product to last and not all get snatched up in the first hour. It does mean you may or may not be able to just select higher demand items, but there will be lots of opportunity.
- Having also done SHOT, Blade is quite a bit different. It has similarities in that many brands will be showcasing and introducing new items. However the sales element is much more prevalent at Blade. Not just makers and manufacturers. Re-sellers, accessory sellers, material and services will be represented. Also a lot of good classes and information are available as well.
- Some makers may take orders for later delivery, but many will have some product as well. Again, the process to purchase may be different than first come, first served, though there will be some of that as well.

Some hints:
- Have a general idea of some things you might be looking for, but be flexible. You may have to make quick decisions on some purchases. You mentioned the Comp Finish TGLB. It may very well be that none are available. Busse brings a wide variety, but they may not have that particular combination. If I recall correctly, they did not have those specifically last year, but did have plenty of other interesting items, including some that were unique offerings to Blade. If you have one "must-have" item, go there first. Then move on from there.
-Take a comfortable bag, wear comfortable shoes, dress for comfort. On Saturday with a lot of people it can get warm in there.
-I'm not telling you what I'm going after :).
-Be open-minded. You will see things you have never seen on the forums, or in person. You will have opportunities to touch items and meet makers that you wouldn't have had otherwise. You may change your entire plan while wandering that room. Multiple times.
-Meet people. There will be a lot of people there, representing all walks of life. Talk, meet and make new friends.
-Be respectful. A lot of people there have come a long way, done a lot of hard work, just to share this interest. They are proud of what they do. It may not be your cup of tea, but it means everything to them. Be nice.

Overall, just have a good time.
 
Thank y'all so much, those are the exact kinds of responses I was looking for. The comp finish TGLB was more an example, but I wouldn't be mad at it if you know what I mean. I'm glad to hear about the backpack, I wouldn't have done that otherwise. I've got a list of makers over a page long that I'd like to shake hands with. I'd love to buy a piece from each of them, but that's just not feasible. I'm fully prepared to be leaking grey matter out of my ears by the end of Saturday. Thanks again, keep 'em coming guys!
 
So I just joined Blade Forums today to get pretty much this exact info, so thanks LaLongue for doing the dirty work for me!!! However, I do have a question, mention of cash was mentioned...do most of the sellers not accept credit/debit/paypal? I feel very weary walking around with many thousands of doll hairs in my pocket around that many people so I'm hoping there is another option, :).
 
Plan to have a blast!! I will!! I am working for a knife/grinder maker, so I'll be watching ya'll walk by my booth. See you next week! :D
 
im also going to blade show this year for my 1st time, just bought my ticket. I live 20 mins from the Cobb Galleria so ill be there hella early.
 
Good advice so far. I would suggest that you get a map of the show before you go showing the various booth locations and who they are. You mentioned Winkler. I would go there immediately upon entering the show and see what is available. Friday is a better day to buy from the custom makers as the show just opened and they have everything they brought with them available to sell. Some stuff sells very very quickly.

They will take orders and most are more than happy to chat about their stuff and knives in general.

I have not decided if I am going, but I am leaning toward going on Friday. It is not a huge deal in terms of the drive for me. It is more a matter of money availability because I KNOW that I will buy at least one knife if I go and typically I walk out with at least one custom or handmade knife and a number of factory knives.

Some of the custom or handmade knives that do not sell are often discounted on Sunday to move them. I would not be afraid to negotiate or try to negotiate price, but I would be respectful. Normally the posted price IS the price.
 
Since we are not discussing a knife rather the show, it's off to Community we go.
 
Is there any benefit to going on Friday? ESP getting the early bird pass... Does this offer any real benefit? Is it worth it? I would like to go Saturday but I am unable to attend that day. My thought was that more vendors would be open on Saturday as opposed to those on Friday which are just getting set up. Any thoughts on this?
 
The vendors will be there until Sunday. Some will start to close shop a little early depending on their business level, but generally all the vendors will be there Friday. I believe they set up on Thursday or early Friday morning. Never seen anyone getting set up on Friday, but I don't go every year on that day.

Whether it is worth it to pay for the early bird pass, that's up to you. It is not worth it to me. I used to always have a VIP pass for friday, but not this year.

Take along a bag (perhaps daypack?) for storing stuff. That is something I tend to forget and end up making multiple trips to the car during the day. I also tend to want to take a break at times.
 
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