Triton
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2000
- Messages
- 35,904
As per the usual the Bladeshow this year was a fantasy fest for anyone that likes sharp pointy things and as per the usual I enjoyed it immensely. If you have never been you should seriously consider it. Also as normal there were too many impressive and even amazing pieces of work to count, to the point that it all starts to blend together. There was Paul Jarvis with his amazingly detailed (and amazingly priced) hand ax. There was the maker whose name I don't remember with an incredible lobster pattern folder. There was the incredible Vince Evans with a Schiavona that will haunt my dreams. There was the guy that made a knife handle out of a velociraptor claw. There was a mountain of mammoth ivory. There was the guys from Alabama Damascus that I'll undoubtedly go down to Jackson and visit again. I met a newly minted JS from New Zealand. I met a gentleman from South Africa. There were more production wares than you could shake a stick at. As I said an amazing show.
That said I can't let the year go by without my annual gripe. This year it isn't the goofballs that always think it's a comic-con and show up in trench coats and masks. It wasn't the weirdos that show up in dresses with fuzzy tails and fuzzy ears. It wasn't even the bali-boys (Blade has done a great job of confining them to the second room in their own particular section where they only people they are likely to cut is themselves).
This year my gripe, is an innovation that I saw which makes me sorely disappointed in myself and / or American manufacturing. Maybe both. There was a company in the second room that was selling multi-tools, no big deal you say, it has been done before. That's absolutely true. This time though it isn't just another plier based multi-tool. Instead it's a multitool that you can customize yourself! They sell you the base tool which has the pliers as per expected and they seemed to be decent pliers. All the extra tools can be accessed while the tool is closed and they all locked... except that there are no tools included in the base. Instead they had a rack of tools that you could purchase for six dollars up and put in the tool yourself without tools required for assembly. Darn it! It's a great idea. I should have thought of that. Leatherman should have thought of that. SOG should have thought of that. Heck Victorinox should have thought of that (also why haven't they done that YET with a Swiss Army knife?) Instead it was made in China and therefore persona non grata as far as I'm concerned. Too bad, I really, really like the concept and from a marketing perspective it's full genuis. Sell the base for 40 bucks and then have dozens of tools that you are selling from 6 to 12 dollars each? Genuis.
That said I can't let the year go by without my annual gripe. This year it isn't the goofballs that always think it's a comic-con and show up in trench coats and masks. It wasn't the weirdos that show up in dresses with fuzzy tails and fuzzy ears. It wasn't even the bali-boys (Blade has done a great job of confining them to the second room in their own particular section where they only people they are likely to cut is themselves).
This year my gripe, is an innovation that I saw which makes me sorely disappointed in myself and / or American manufacturing. Maybe both. There was a company in the second room that was selling multi-tools, no big deal you say, it has been done before. That's absolutely true. This time though it isn't just another plier based multi-tool. Instead it's a multitool that you can customize yourself! They sell you the base tool which has the pliers as per expected and they seemed to be decent pliers. All the extra tools can be accessed while the tool is closed and they all locked... except that there are no tools included in the base. Instead they had a rack of tools that you could purchase for six dollars up and put in the tool yourself without tools required for assembly. Darn it! It's a great idea. I should have thought of that. Leatherman should have thought of that. SOG should have thought of that. Heck Victorinox should have thought of that (also why haven't they done that YET with a Swiss Army knife?) Instead it was made in China and therefore persona non grata as far as I'm concerned. Too bad, I really, really like the concept and from a marketing perspective it's full genuis. Sell the base for 40 bucks and then have dozens of tools that you are selling from 6 to 12 dollars each? Genuis.
