Blade show today...impressions

Fiddleback said:
It was a much better show than last year. Lots of folks smiling, and picking up knives. Bags in hand, and cash changing hands. Lots of knives getting passed around at the pit later too. Lots of pretty ladies around the place. Almost an alarming #. Up every year. Guys getting distracted and cutting themselves.

That autograph was a one off for a collector. I was really embarassed when it happened right in front of Nathan. LOL. Very cought off guard by that. My autograph of all things with Corrie Shoeman right behind me.

Still, lots of fun. The pit was rocking, and the show was a profitable one. Can't complain about that.
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good grief Andy

anyone with a grandmother gene in them can hardly resist pinching your cheek, much less asking for a signature. . .

the traffic in the aisles was more, um, attention grabbing than last year. (hubba-hubba)

more obvious brown bagging than I have seen at any knife show before. . . almost gun show like

nothing against it, just sayin.

my sales were down 10 per cent from last year with a better mix of inventory

???
 
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When guy 1 pays $500 for his table but guy 2 walks around selling stuff out of his back-pack.... (something guy 2 can only do because there are hundreds of people paying their $500 for a table which is why there's a show there in the first place).... I totally get why guy #1 is teed off. :)
 
I agree there was alot of brown bagging this I know this used to be a big no no but the blade staff seemed not to mind this year when I spoke to them about it.Need less to say I was not happy.
 
Pretty disrespectful to those of us who pay to sell our knives at the shows. I suppose that you can sell them pretty cheap with no show expenses.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
It's a knife show. Do you think that only people who pay for tables should be able to bring anything into the show?
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Well... there's a difference between a guy selling a few knives from a friend's table, and a guy looking to trade a few items, and a scumsucking pig looking to profit without supporting the show. I really don't know where the line is. I do know pullling that stuff at some shows will get a person thrown out on their ear.
 
So, to sell 3 or 4 knives I should get a $500 table-when my friend(s) allow me use of their tables?
I also do a lot of trading-pocketknives, you know. How can one trade if people are not allowed to bring knives in? How can people bring their old knives in to sell, if it's not allowed. It's all part of the commerce of the show. Understand, I don't make a lot of knives. 80% of my business is in the repair and restoration, and design field. I've been in the cutlery business longer than many of you have been alive. I also have about 15,000 production knives out there with my name on them.
The show promoters suggested people bring backpacks or rolling carts a couple of years ago. I have been going to the Blade Show for 12 years and this has always been allowed. This show is not just about custom makers selling their wares-that's just a small part of the show.
If you feel you need to purchase a table to have a presence at the show, good for you. It's not necessary for me. I have paid my dues and have all the recognition I need. I'm not hawking my wares out of a brown bag.
Scum sucking pig? I doubt it. I spent more money with vendors than most people.
Disrespectful? Not at all. Cheap? About a grand each, if that's cheap. They would be the same price if I had a table.
Here's an idea! All you guys that bitch about having to get a table should share a table. Would that be disrespectful? Or, you could put your knives on consignment, and walk around like I did!
 
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Just to be clear I wasn't calling anyone in particular a pig of any kind, certainly not you Bill. I apologize if it seemed I was insulting you, that's not my intent at all.
 
I don't consider putting knives on consignment the same as brown bagging, and the pit IMO is different from the show floor too. I saw lots of blatant brown bagging this time though. Especially the folks braiding parachord to use as lanyards. Backpacks covered in them like a street vendor. I try my best to ignore the negative and just run my business as best I can at the show.

I also met with makers who were very respectful, and blatantly nervous to even show me their work for fear of being labeled a brown bagger.
 
Andy I thought your table, as well as Dylan's was cleverly designed with the "stepped" display. It was a nice touch and seemed to allow folks to look at lots of your blades without having to be right on top of them, like when there laying flat on the table. Thats a plus when there is a bunch of people standing there, and they're waiting to pick up a certain blade, but someone else is in front of them. I'm sure that if you built that display it was a lot of work, but well worth it IMO. Nice talking with you as well. Larry
 
Bill DeShivs said:
It's a knife show. Do you think that only people who pay for tables should be able to bring anything into the show?
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There wouldn't be a show if there weren't people paying for tables.

I agree with Andy that selling in the pit and selling with purveyors on consignment is NOT the same as "brown bagging."

So my thoughts on all this are not directed at Bill DeShivs, but rather the idea of brown bagging in general.

I guess anybody can justify it however they want, but walking around selling knives in a show where you're not a table holder is riding on the coattails of all of those who do rent a table or booth. If anyone disagrees with this, they should try walking around the Waverly two weeks from now when there's no show---since there won't be any buyers there to see what's on the tables... and see how many knives they sell.
 
Shaughnessy said:
Andy I thought your table, as well as Dylan's was cleverly designed with the "stepped" display. It was a nice touch and seemed to allow folks to look at lots of your blades without having to be right on top of them, like when there laying flat on the table. Thats a plus when there is a bunch of people standing there, and they're waiting to pick up a certain blade, but someone else is in front of them. I'm sure that if you built that display it was a lot of work, but well worth it IMO. Nice talking with you as well. Larry
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Thanks Larry. You are one of the folks I wish I had had more time to talk to. The show was fun, but I was slammed the whole time. Thats a good thing, but it meant I didn't get to talk much with you. Robert Dark either. He was there one second, then gone the next.
 
NickWheeler said:
There wouldn't be a show if there weren't people paying for tables.

I agree with Andy that selling in the pit and selling with purveyors on consignment is NOT the same as "brown bagging."

So my thoughts on all this are not directed at Bill DeShivs, but rather the idea of brown bagging in general.

I guess anybody can justify it however they want, but walking around selling knives in a show where you're not a table holder is riding on the coattails of all of those who do rent a table or booth. If anyone disagrees with this, they should try walking around the Waverly two weeks from now when there's no show---since there won't be any buyers there to see what's on the tables... and see how many knives they sell.
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BAM! Quoted for truth.... A few deliveries, trade knives or some "pit" show-off's are okay but dragging around supplies and blades to make a few grand while honest folks pay $500+ for tables and booths is pretty crappy in my opinion. I have brought blades to shows before but all the business was dealt with weeks before. Using that sort of venue in any way to sell is getting a free ride and it ain't right.

Why didn't I see you Nick? I couldn't find you in the listings and you didn't visit me...... sonuva....
 
Sorry Rick, I was pretty busy selling stuff at the show out of the basket of my hoveround
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:foot: :eek: ;) :D

I didn't make it this year... fingers crossed for next year! :)
 
I wouldnt think there would be many takers for brown bag knives of mediocre makers (i include myself in this group)when there are tables filled with customs from the best makers in the world.If they sell them so cheap as to be an attractive alternative,that wouldnt be in the wheelhouse of table holders anyway,would it?I know a couple of makers that went from my area.One was sharing a table and only sold one custom knife,but did sell some production stuff and barely covered his expenses.The other did take a bunch (bag)of knives.He sold only one knife and that was to a vendor he had recently made a expensive purchase from.I would like to go one year and perhaps go in on a table,but mainly just to meet the vendors and friends ive dealt with the past 10 yrs or so.Shows i go to locally all encourage people to come loaded down and to BUY SELL and TRADE!But i realize that is a different type of deal.Mainly Gun and Knife shows.
 
Good thing I have no intention of selling anything I ever make. Hard for me to offend anyone by buying their supplies and selling nothing. :)
 
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