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- Apr 23, 2007
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Blade Show's in my back yard so I have made it a point to go each year, even though this year only marks my second year attending. This post has been a few days coming, but I felt it necessary to gather my thoughts.
Initially, I set out to go only on Friday, but was met with Darrel Ralph's generosity, so I decided to help out on Sunday at his booth. I guess help is a poor word since I hung out at his booth with Dirk Pinkerton for the most part. I did answer what questions I could about the products I was familiar with, both Dirk's and Darrel's. Let me tell ya, Darrel has such renown that it literally felt like every 5 minutes some fellow knife maker or dealer stopped by Darrel's booth to either buy something, or place a bulk order. Darrel would often leave and take short walks for what it looked like 'talking business.' That left Dirk and me to fend for ourselves. I even met with a few Japanese gentlemen that showed up at Darrel's booth to talk business. Funny how one of the Japanese people thought I owned DDR Knives. I guess I look like the quintessential, successful Japanese businessman.
It was great getting to know both makers over that weekend. I have one of Dirk's Variable Broadheads that I bought about a year ago. Darrel has a little side project that I commissioned which will be worth the wait. It was just great hearing some of the stories Darrel had to tell, stuff that you wouldn't hear unless you asked about it.
Did you know, Angelina Jolie is a big fan of Darrel's balisongs? She buys quite a few of them. Also, regarding the knives in the Expendables, Sylvester Stallone has a room full of knives and asked his fellow crew members to pick out any knife from his room to use in that film. As I understand it, that is how Jason Statham happened on the DDR AXD. According to Dirk, Statham is also a genuine badass, not just on the movie screen. A lot of the stuff he does on screen is an extension of 'arts' he's dabbled in in his personal life. Axel Rose also ordered a knife from Darrel a week prior to Blade Show.
After the Blade Show wrap up on Sunday, Darrel invited us out to dinner for seafood. I overheard Darrel talking about this seafood joint he's had before, years back during one of his trips to Blade. I recommended another place instead which is known as the best seafood in Atlanta. Lemme tell ya, if you guys are in town for Blade Show next year and want some awesome seafood, give the Marietta Fish Market a try. Darrel even made me try octopus, which made me want to :barf: when I saw it. When I had it, it actually tasted like bacon.
Dirk and Darrel are not the only people I got to chat with. I took the opportunity to visit with some of the knife makers that have been under my radar as of late, particularly the lesser known artists that strike my fancy. I set out to visit Keith Ouye's table as well as Pohan Leu's.
Mr. Ouye is a knife maker out of Hawaii. He's a great man and his wife is just so charming. Sorry, Mr. Ouye, but your wife just reminds me of a sweet grandma, you know, the kind that you just want to reach out to and embrace and give a hug to. I had emailed Mr. Ouye a few weeks prior to Blade to inquire about a custom knife for me. He told me to swing by his booth. I got to talking with him quite about about his design philosophy. It's amazing what Ouye creates in his shop. Most of his work is by hand. I think all he has is a belt grinder and a milling machine. The strict tolerances of his pieces is mind blowing. Even more extraordinary is the fact that Keith has only been making knives since 2005. As far as his customs are concerned, when dealing with custom knives I am always prepared to have a 1 - 2 year wait time. I was caught off guard when Ouye said he could have my knife ready by the end of August. I actually had to postpone his making my knife because I couldn't allocate those funds in that short amount of time. (I'm 26 and have other more important monetary matters to take care of). I spoke with him a bit about Darrel Ralph and the late Bob Lum. It's amazing how close knit the knife making community can be. Keith and Darrel have some history together. Both speak quite highly of the other. Keith never met Bob Lum directly, but did have dinner with the guy through one of his associates.
Last but not least, I'll mention Pohan Leu. I like to call Pohan one of the up and coming knife makers. He works out of his shop in New Mexico. He hasn't been making knives for very long (started part time in 2003) but what he does make exudes quality. Leu makes mostly fixed blade knives with Japanese influence, although he did sell out of his framelocks at Blade, which I was not aware of him bringing. Just like Ouye, I contacted Pohan a few weeks prior to Blade to inquire about a custom piece. Now, let me make this quite clear. When I say custom, I mean a knife that has my own design input. Darrel Ralph's custom piece has quite a few design features I asked for specifically. Mr. Ouye's custom that I will commission within the year will just as well. Now, Pohan's custom which I have already commissioned is my own design. I drew up a concept on a scrap piece which I handed him at Blade Show. He was so impressed that he asked if he could put it in his regular line up. I've since made a few changes and mocked up the design on CAD. Without spoiling much of it, I designed a fixed blade tanto that was roughly neck knife sized. It will be 7 inches overall out of 3/16 inch a2 steel bar stock. The blade will be 3.75 inches, and the handle will be 3.25 inches including a glass breaker. My design has a yokote that separates the fukura from the ha. I designed my grind to reinforce the tip. The way the ko shinogi angles towards the kissaki is such that it goes from more acute to slightly more obtuse, but not enough to impede cutting ability. I just wanted something a little stronger and something that has my personal touch. The glass breaker is there just in case I need to break out of a burning car or help someone. I am trained as a first responder.
So in a nut shell, I didn't spend money at Blade except for Nutty Bavarian cinnamon glazed almonds, something I often had growing up as a kid in Germany. BUT, I have commissioned a custom knife from Pohan, with another one in the coming months from Keith Ouye, which is in addition to the custom DDR I commissioned many months ago.
How'd you guys do?
Initially, I set out to go only on Friday, but was met with Darrel Ralph's generosity, so I decided to help out on Sunday at his booth. I guess help is a poor word since I hung out at his booth with Dirk Pinkerton for the most part. I did answer what questions I could about the products I was familiar with, both Dirk's and Darrel's. Let me tell ya, Darrel has such renown that it literally felt like every 5 minutes some fellow knife maker or dealer stopped by Darrel's booth to either buy something, or place a bulk order. Darrel would often leave and take short walks for what it looked like 'talking business.' That left Dirk and me to fend for ourselves. I even met with a few Japanese gentlemen that showed up at Darrel's booth to talk business. Funny how one of the Japanese people thought I owned DDR Knives. I guess I look like the quintessential, successful Japanese businessman.
It was great getting to know both makers over that weekend. I have one of Dirk's Variable Broadheads that I bought about a year ago. Darrel has a little side project that I commissioned which will be worth the wait. It was just great hearing some of the stories Darrel had to tell, stuff that you wouldn't hear unless you asked about it.
Did you know, Angelina Jolie is a big fan of Darrel's balisongs? She buys quite a few of them. Also, regarding the knives in the Expendables, Sylvester Stallone has a room full of knives and asked his fellow crew members to pick out any knife from his room to use in that film. As I understand it, that is how Jason Statham happened on the DDR AXD. According to Dirk, Statham is also a genuine badass, not just on the movie screen. A lot of the stuff he does on screen is an extension of 'arts' he's dabbled in in his personal life. Axel Rose also ordered a knife from Darrel a week prior to Blade Show.
After the Blade Show wrap up on Sunday, Darrel invited us out to dinner for seafood. I overheard Darrel talking about this seafood joint he's had before, years back during one of his trips to Blade. I recommended another place instead which is known as the best seafood in Atlanta. Lemme tell ya, if you guys are in town for Blade Show next year and want some awesome seafood, give the Marietta Fish Market a try. Darrel even made me try octopus, which made me want to :barf: when I saw it. When I had it, it actually tasted like bacon.
Dirk and Darrel are not the only people I got to chat with. I took the opportunity to visit with some of the knife makers that have been under my radar as of late, particularly the lesser known artists that strike my fancy. I set out to visit Keith Ouye's table as well as Pohan Leu's.
Mr. Ouye is a knife maker out of Hawaii. He's a great man and his wife is just so charming. Sorry, Mr. Ouye, but your wife just reminds me of a sweet grandma, you know, the kind that you just want to reach out to and embrace and give a hug to. I had emailed Mr. Ouye a few weeks prior to Blade to inquire about a custom knife for me. He told me to swing by his booth. I got to talking with him quite about about his design philosophy. It's amazing what Ouye creates in his shop. Most of his work is by hand. I think all he has is a belt grinder and a milling machine. The strict tolerances of his pieces is mind blowing. Even more extraordinary is the fact that Keith has only been making knives since 2005. As far as his customs are concerned, when dealing with custom knives I am always prepared to have a 1 - 2 year wait time. I was caught off guard when Ouye said he could have my knife ready by the end of August. I actually had to postpone his making my knife because I couldn't allocate those funds in that short amount of time. (I'm 26 and have other more important monetary matters to take care of). I spoke with him a bit about Darrel Ralph and the late Bob Lum. It's amazing how close knit the knife making community can be. Keith and Darrel have some history together. Both speak quite highly of the other. Keith never met Bob Lum directly, but did have dinner with the guy through one of his associates.
Last but not least, I'll mention Pohan Leu. I like to call Pohan one of the up and coming knife makers. He works out of his shop in New Mexico. He hasn't been making knives for very long (started part time in 2003) but what he does make exudes quality. Leu makes mostly fixed blade knives with Japanese influence, although he did sell out of his framelocks at Blade, which I was not aware of him bringing. Just like Ouye, I contacted Pohan a few weeks prior to Blade to inquire about a custom piece. Now, let me make this quite clear. When I say custom, I mean a knife that has my own design input. Darrel Ralph's custom piece has quite a few design features I asked for specifically. Mr. Ouye's custom that I will commission within the year will just as well. Now, Pohan's custom which I have already commissioned is my own design. I drew up a concept on a scrap piece which I handed him at Blade Show. He was so impressed that he asked if he could put it in his regular line up. I've since made a few changes and mocked up the design on CAD. Without spoiling much of it, I designed a fixed blade tanto that was roughly neck knife sized. It will be 7 inches overall out of 3/16 inch a2 steel bar stock. The blade will be 3.75 inches, and the handle will be 3.25 inches including a glass breaker. My design has a yokote that separates the fukura from the ha. I designed my grind to reinforce the tip. The way the ko shinogi angles towards the kissaki is such that it goes from more acute to slightly more obtuse, but not enough to impede cutting ability. I just wanted something a little stronger and something that has my personal touch. The glass breaker is there just in case I need to break out of a burning car or help someone. I am trained as a first responder.
So in a nut shell, I didn't spend money at Blade except for Nutty Bavarian cinnamon glazed almonds, something I often had growing up as a kid in Germany. BUT, I have commissioned a custom knife from Pohan, with another one in the coming months from Keith Ouye, which is in addition to the custom DDR I commissioned many months ago.
How'd you guys do?