Brand New Private Knife Show!

joshsmith

joshsmith

Joined
Mar 31, 2005
Messages
646
I am excited to announce that on the evening of June 27th I will be hosting the 1st Big Sky Country Private Knife Show and Barbecue.

Tim Hancock, Larry Fuegen, Harvey Dean, Rick Dunkerley, and myself will be the makers in attendance. There will be a very limited number of collectors in attendance.

I have rented the brand new Terrace Suite in the exclusive L.A. Design art gallery in Missoula, Montana. The evening will an informal relaxed atmosphere where we will enjoy food, drinks, and the passion for knives. I have asked each maker to bring between 3 and 7 special pieces.

Friday morning the collectors will also be invited to spend the day at my shop along with Tim, Larry, Harvey, Rick and I as well as numerous other great makers. On this day we will just have fun. We will shoot numerous guns, bows if you like, forge possibly, and we even have a maker that may perform the performance part of his Journeyman Smith test. I want this entire weekend to serve as a chance for makers and collectors to bond and gain a great understanding of each other. I hope that deep friendships are formed.

On the weekend following the show I am hosting the 3rd Big Sky Country Hammer In where Tim, Larry, and Harvey will be demonstrators. This is an A.B.S hammer in and is open to anyone. I encourage collectors to attend hammer-ins to gain a better understanding of knives and the process in which they are built.

Saturday evening at the banquet dinner at the local golf course we will have a Master Smith round table that will field any questions and Keith Montgomery will give a talk about collecting.

The private show is not affiliated with the A.B.S and if you have any questions or would like to possibly attend please contact me. I will soon have a page built for my site devoted to the show. There is a page up now that explains the hammer in, lodging, etc.

There is limited room and collector registrations have been coming in. Due to the limited number of collectors allowed this event is restricted to serious collectors only. However the hammer-in is open to anyone and there will be many more great knives there as well. Last year our hammer-in had 12 mastersmith's in attendance! I hope some of you can make it. Thanks.

Josh Smith

www.joshsmithknives.com
 
Wish I could be there, Josh, as it seems to me like history in the making.
PLEASE get some quality shots of the event, using a quality digital camera.

1, USE A TRIPOD.

2. SHOOT ONLY AVAILABLE LIGHT PICTURES!!!

3 Shoot some VERTICAL PICTURES WITH A WIDE ANGLE LENS!
These can be used some day for FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS...

When done, send me the disk with the pictures and let me try to make
them work........

Okay?

Actually, since this will be AFTER the BLADE Show, I'll guide you about
doing the picture taking properly....


All the best,
David Darom (ddd)
 
This is going to be a great time. I am excited about being one of the collectors that will be attending the show. That, and the hammer-in, are going to make for a great weekend.
 
David,

Coop is coming to take photographs and possibly one other collector known for his photography. It sounds like photographs shouldn't be a problem.

I forgot to mention that the collectors will be asked to let me know which makers they'd like to see the following year. At the request of some collectors I have already invited Owen Wood to attend the show and demonstrate in 2009 and he has accepted.

I must mention this is going to be quite similar to what Jerry Fisk is doing and he should be given credit. I want to be sure it was clear I'm not trying to take credit for the idea.

Thanks,

Josh

www.joshsmithknives.com
 
What is a rough estimate on the number of collectors attending (the hammer in as well)? What system will be in place for purchasing knives?
 
Sounds like I am going to buy a good quality wide angle lens before June. I like having a sense of purpose.

Really, really, looking forward to this. Josh, is Buddy Thomason coming? He's a fantastic photographer for this type of candid stuff.

Coop
 
Jon,

The sales portion will be a drawing system yet to be finalized. I want each collector to have a chance at the knives their interested in. The number of collectors is limited to about 20. This is new to me and this year will be a bit of an experiment. I don't want there to be so many collectors that it's really difficult for someone to get a knife. On the other hand I do not want there to be so many knives that the collectors leave with a sense that they were pressured or run dry. I want this to be an event the collectors leave saying they had a ton of fun and ended up with some neat knives.

The other aspect of this for collectors to think of is that on the weekend there will be numerous other great makers in attendance that will possibly have knives for sale. If a collector doesn't get drawn for all the knives they want on Friday, there will be a chance to see some more great knives at the hammer in. I can think of 9 Master Smiths off hand that will be in attendance at the hammer in not including the 5 in the private show. Not to mention some great journeyman makers. Last year at the hammer in there were about 55 attendees, makers and collectors total.

Coop, I hope Buddy can make it. I didn't bring his name up earlier because I didn't want to pressure him, but since you did now I can. I think your exactly right, he would be great to have from numerous standpoints. His writing skills, photography, he's a collector, and his great personality would all enhance the weekend. Buddy round trip Denver to Missoula is $266. No pressure Buddy!:)

Good night,

Josh
 
Ha! You guys are a hoot! This is better than getting a letter from an old girlfriend. How can I say no?

I might fly, but I could get there faster and bring home more knives if I rode my super-bad "all-the-way-to-Houston" stealth Harley. There's only one problem - it's called Wyoming. I swore I'd never ride through Wyoming again. It's like my mother told me, "Buddy, I think you and I spent a little too much time together when you were growing up." I guess she felt about me like I feel about Wyoming. But never mind that - I will be there!

(And Josh, thank you very much for the kind invitation. Coop, It'll be great to see you again. Between the two of us we should be able to photograph some of these knife-maker dudes appearing seriously compromised in one way or another. Then we could demand "deep discounts" on some great knives!)
 
HTMD said:
Coop, It'll be great to see you again. Between the two of us we should be able to photograph some of these knife-maker dudes appearing seriously compromised in one way or another. Then we could demand "deep discounts" on some great knives!)
Click to expand...

Buddy and Coop,

Try and shoot also some general high quality pictures of the event,
capturing Josh and other people and documenting the atmosphere of
the event. VERTICAL- NO FLASH - STEADY CAMERA - WIDE ANGLE shots..... :)

Try for some such pictures with Tim Hancock as the main subject. I may
use one or two for his book!!!

This note is just in case we don't get tospeak at the BLADE Show....

Thanks and all the best,
David Darom (ddd)
 
HTMD said:
Between the two of us we should be able to photograph some of these knife-maker dudes appearing seriously compromised in one way or another. Then we could demand "deep discounts" on some great knives!
Click to expand...
Yeah! It'll be the late evening, post partying shots (Men wearing pink dresses?? :eek: ) that we'll capture. Or the sleepy morning hangover and swearing at the mistakes shots that are bound to happen. Human nature, right? ;)

Whatta weekend! :thumbup: David, stop being so technical. This is supposed to be FUN! ;)

In all seriousness, I DO look forward to this, and feel you have started up a format that will set the benchmark for all! Thanks, Josh.

Coop
 
Sounds like a great event. These are the moments (and only these;)) that make me want to live in the US. :D

Marcel
 
Buddy,

Glad to hear you can make it. We're going to have a blast. I understand about the ride through WY. The other way that you could go which would be a beautiful ride would be over to Salt Lake and up. Salt Lake is about a 9 hour drive from here. Then you wouldn't have to deal with the 98 mile per hour cross wind.

Josh
 
Josh-
On a totally unrelated note I wanted to comment on your avatar. Every time I see the hot bar between those dies, it looks like the jaws of a dragon chomping down on the bar or something. Complete with teeth. :) You aught to paint it up to look like a dragon or maybe that shark's mouth nose art from WWII fighters or somethin'. Would be cool to go with the other pictures.

As you were then.
 
SharpByCoop said:
David, stop being so technical. This is supposed to be FUN! ;)
Coop
Click to expand...

Hey, Coop, I'm talking about only 6-7 times one minute of technical business,
out of several days of fun... I KNOW that all the rest WILL BE GREAT FUN!!!!!l

If these 6-7 "technical" minutes will be productive, the event will be
documented for future generations to enjoy......... That is what
I am thinking about - as I have done in all my books.... :)

All the best,
David Darom (ddd)
 
cockroachfarm said:
I am therefore assuming that this will be "by invitation only"? :confused:
Click to expand...

Cockroachfarm,

Yes and no. I have sent invitations out to a list of collectors that was built from names Tim, Larry, Harvey, Rick, and myself provided. However this by no means suggests that we have every interested collector on our list. In fact I would hope that anyone interested in attending would give me a call. I just have to limit it to serious collectors because I can't barbeque for 150 people and I want this to be an inimate atmosphere. If you or anyone else has questions please contact me or any of the 5 makers you might feel comfortable talking to.

Possum,

Your right about my avatar. I've always thought was a cool picture and it could be made into a neat face.

Thanks,

Josh
 
Excellent.

David, we're on the same page. I ALWAYS have fun when I contribute to something worthy.

Josh: I'm from Connecticut. I like a good Montana BBQ... ;)

Coop
 
i can't wait to see pics from this event.....hopefully they will be posted for all to enjoy....ryan
 
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