Chesapeake Knife Show: how was your experience?

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AlphalphaPB

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Apr 29, 2002
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This was my first knife show, and I scored a Strider MFS, a Strider t-shirt, and a Greco dangler.

At first I set out to get a Strider SA/DB, but Matt D didn't have any on hand at the time. He has some at home in VA, but I just couldn't wait for a knife to come in the mail, so I bought an MFS. Very cool knife, I can't wait to start using it (on whatever needs hardcore hacking/prying/chopping). I finally got to experience the "Strider smell", and it really grows on you. Can't stop sniffing my MFS.

Duane had several interestingly coated knives there, and they seem to have some promise. There was one that looked like it was mirror-polished, but really had a chromium plus some-other-chemical-I-can't-remember coating. There was a matte OD-green coated knife, but Duane said the coating is a piece of shxt, so I'll take his word for it. There was also a new black coating that I mistook for BC from Bodycote.

I got a free Strider t-shirt from Duane, and when I asked if they have smaller sizes (for my scrawny asian self), Mick Strider told me that I need to "beef that m**********r up". Charming, the Strider bunch. :) Thanks, Duane, for the shirt. I'm gonna wear it every day until it stinks. Then I'm gonna scratch the crust off with my MFS and wear it some more. Thanks also to Matt D for putting up with my numerous questions and my unstoppable knife fondling.

I checked out Alan Elishewitz's folders, they were very, very cool. Now to procure $600...

I talked for a while with John Greco, and I got to see the famed folders that everyone seems to be talking about. They're nice, really nice, much better looking than the pictures at CQCKnives would let on. I would have gotten one, but I found something I liked even better: the Dangler. It was only $50, compared to $55 on the website and the non-sale price of $100. I got an older version, with the great looking + feeling lacquer over beadblast finish. The quality of this one seemed higher to me than the newer fixed blades though. I never thought I'd like a 3" fixed blade so much. :) Mine is also somewhat different looking in that it has a sharper drop on the non-edge side of the tip, resulting in a knife that looks slightly like the Benchmade 940 "reverse tantos". Looks like a strong user, I'm going to be carrying mine around everywhere. edited to add: I did some looking around, this is actually the semi-skinning version of the Dangler.

Unfortunately, by this time, I had run out of money. So when I saw Al Polkowski's knives (very, very reasonably priced btw), I was out of luck. A Polkowski is definitely the next >$100 knife I'm going to try to get.

Too bad I arrived too late to see other BFC members. I also missed G2, since he hasn't posted a new picture (without the beard).

Overall, I am a very very happy knife nut.
 
I also got to see some cool designs by Koji Hara, though I didn't know how famous he was until I did a google search. He's a very unassuming and polite knifemaker.

He had some very interesting stuff at the show, with some less traditional styles. There was, for example, a very-flat hawkbill type blade (or maybe like a Wharncliffe with a slight curve), similar to the Microtech Kestrel. He also had something like a Microtech Vector, but the grind lines were more flowing, and less angular and alien looking.

One of the knives had a complete "contour-map" plateau type finish (you can see an example of what I'm talking about here, though the knife I saw had a handle made completely of that design. VERY cool and felt great in the hand.).

Apparently he uses Cowry-Y, the powdered steel analogue of the 420 series of steels. There's some more information on his webpage.
 
Sorry to have missed you too! I was carrying around a Criswell Wakizashi to help identify myself more, some found me by that the crowd and hotel people just stared! ;)

Striders were gathered in a corner of the room this time round had a crowd at the corner and made moving around the crowded corridors tight, they needed a wider aisle or narrower people I think!

Met Matt D and saw some of the other Strider guys but they were deep in conversation ALL the time, answering question after question...

Also met alchemy knife there as well, she took the day off to come down and was snapping photos all over the place, maybe she'll post some, all in all it was a great show, met a lot of the Bali Crowd and taught one fellow some basic moves with a BM31 in the hall way as well...

Next year!
G2

Ah yes Mr. Koji Hara, very pleasant person and excellent knife maker! He had taken an interest in the balisongs I had at the get together dinner on Saturday and accidentally nicked himself...easy thing to do! I told him to start with a taped up blade to get the moves down, I didn't think he'd start flipping it around as he did, though he was getting the Latch drop opening down well by the end of the night!


Next time !
 
Yup, the show was great. I too took a closer look at Greco's wares. If I have a need for a true hard use folder, I'm going to him. Dunno why he isn't giving the Strider folks a run for their money. His folders not only feel better in the hand, but look every bit as strong too (much less expensive as well). Anyway...

Koji Hara's work is beautiful and he is a gentleman to boot (as are most of the makers at the show). Unfortunately, I don't have the budget for his knives.

I walked out with a Beverly folder (giraffe bone scales, jeweled liners, and 440C blade) and a burgundy rayskin wallet. I'll try to get pics in the near future.

Chris
 
Crap, I have a hard time telling all these white people apart. :D You'd figure growing up in Missouri would've given me some sort of training, but nope. I'll have to catch you in CA sometime, Mick.

I talked with Mr. Greco for a while about Strider knives. Although both are aiming for no-nonsense knives for hard use, I think their definition of "tactical" knife differs. They're both cool makers in different ways.
 
Originally posted by AlphalphaPB
Crap, I have a hard time telling all these white people apart. :D You'd figure growing up in Missouri would've given me some sort of training, but nope.
Click to expand...

LMAO!!!! :D


Chris
 
Well, it was MY first knife show too and overall the experience was good. It was knife overload, though, to have to look at all of those beautiful knives and decide which ones I wanted to get. I ended up with a nice Sigman working hunter, a Shaver knife, and a beautiful Rich McDonald damascus dagger with ivory handle!

I DO wish the isles had been about 2-3 times wider though, although I understand that that is par for the course... And I got some nice comments on my cavebear tooth neck knife I previewed on this forum last week!

Are there any more strictly knife shows in the Maryland area besides this one?

Kevin Haney, Coordinator
Mid-Atlantic Primitive Skills Group
"Where 'primitive' is not a pejorative!"
www.mapsgroup.org
 
I had a good time too. Picked up a Dan Farr hunter that he had waiting for me. You can see it in this thread in the Gallery subforum:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=233136

Got a chance to talk to Les Robertson for awhile. He sure knows how to pick good makers to sell. I also went over to the Finnish knives table. I'm starting to look more and more at the Finnish knives. I picked up a small one from them that I thought was a good deal at $40. The blade was ground very uneven but it's a user type. The handle was quite nice--antler and leather--worn a bit but it adds to the sense of the knife being well used and loved.
 
I picked up my finest knife yet. It is a Slee fixed blade w/ stag handle. Can't find much about Fred Slee on the internet. Any comments?
 
pst pjc,
Fred Slee makes a decent knife. I picked up a nice stag handled folder from him two years ago at the show. I really like it, it has held up well.

Rich
 
Crud, and I was just across the water from the show this weekend. Ah well, it's probably for the best as I barely have gas money these days, and I'd hate to go into credit card debt in just one outing..until next year.

Chris
 
I saw a couple of very nice daggers at his table at the show! But he is under the radar, I guess, when it comes to being widely known.

Kevin Haney
 
Hi Kevin,

Fred's not under the radar. It's just that a lot of collectors seem to limit themselves to what seems to be popular at the time.

I bought my first Fred Slee knife in 1986. I ordered a couple more from him this past September.

Fred does excellent work. Talent wise he was one of the best makers at the show.
 
This was my first knife show also (I'm 33, you'd think I'd be on the ball by now). Anyhow, I bought my first custom made blade (guess I really got the bug now), an E.V. Chavar Fang neck knife. I liked the size and wharncliffe blade, and ATS-34. My only negative comments about the show was the crowded conditions.
 
Hey manowar669. Were those the neck knives in the first row to the right, about $140 bucks worth? If so, I lingered there awhile too and contemplated buying one. Any pics?

Kevin Haney
 
I actually sort of like crowded conditions at a knife show. I've been to 4 shows this year, and when there's a lull in a show where there's not many people, it just looks kind of sad. I end up feeling bad for the exhibitors. Of course if a crowd actually prevents knife purchases then that's bad, but generally I think crowds at shows increase the likelihood that the makers will sell something.
 
There's a difference between crowds (number of people there) and crowded conditions (how many times you get jammed with an elbow while trying to get down the isle). If the isles were about twice as wide, everyone would be happier, I think.

Kevin Haney
 
Missed this one-
I was in "Balmer" for a trade show all week, but had to leave early Sun. morning. Bummer. :grumpy:
 
Haneyk,
Yep, those were the ones, but price varied a bit for different scale materials. I got the plain one with the G10 scales for $100. I need to mess around with the sheath and how to carry it, since I don't plan on carrying it as a neck knife too often. I think I'll reprofile the edge too, since it has a decent utility edge, but the edge is too wide for my taste. The reprofile may wait a bit, though, until I carry it a while and see how it cuts.
 
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