Chicago Show report

S

Summerland

Joined
Oct 13, 1999
Messages
567
Hey all,
just drove down to Chicago on the 9th for the show. Lots of fun! There were more tables for production knives than handmade, but still quite a few notable makers who are forumites--

Visited Kevin Pensinger's table (The Edge); he had several knives by Rob Simonich and that beautiful "American Ninja" by Neil Blackwood. (I had to put it down because my wife was watching.)

Dale Reif was there with some very nice folders, including his "Atrox" model. That was getting a lot of attention whenever I went by.

And what did I get?
I stopped by the BladeArt table and bought a small gent's fixed blade with ivory scales by Arno Bernard.

I also met a fellow Wisconsin maker named Jeff Waltenberry. This guy is incredibly creative with cast and textured bolster designs. He is also a very talented sheathmaker. I got a small utility knife from him, O-1 with stabilized Hackberry scales.

Sorry Brian Turner, couldn't find you again. Will you be at the Edgerton show?


 
Hey, Thanks for a report. Glad you got to meet Kevin. He lives in the next town south of me and has Blackwood small tactical/utility on order for me. Suppose to be here next week.

Any more reports out there on the C-town show.
 
I attended Sat. stayed for 3.5 hrs which is a long time for me as I am a quick study and have perfected my technique in 30 years of going to gun and knife shows. Do the customs first and then the overall show. There were some good customs and a lot of damascus but nothing that caught my eye except for 3 Tony Bose(nor Case) folders. As I have orders into Tony and they were not the patterns I wanted, I passed. The amount of production collector and tactical knives was almost too much to puruse. Next year, I will take two days. This show is developing into a very good show! I had a better time at this show and found the people mor enjoayable than all the gun shows I attended this year! These gun shows all consist of junk.
 
Sorry guys - I beg to differ.

This year's show was incredibly weak in display, and even worse in traffic. By Saturday afternoon, many dealers had already closed up shop and split town. There were possibly a dozen custom makers, none of whom were doing much business, and none of whom felt that doing the show was going to turn a profit. I doubt you'll see more than a handful next year - if the show survives to next year.

At least last year the production tacticals were selling - this year the dealers weren't doing squat. And this was with autos being openly displayed and sold this year. Last year, they were moving as "under the table specials".

This show is going to have to change locations and dates to have a prayer at survival. Oak Lawn is not a particular "shopping mecca" that will draw non-enthusiast crowds. The club does nothing to promote the show, and there were two other major shows this weekend that competed for makers, dealers, and customers.

Dinner was, however, a ball. Bub Worrel and George Werth were a hoot making life difficult for the staff and surrounding tables. Too bad NO ONE from BFC showed up!

I won't be making Edgarton, so see y'all in Janesville next spring!

------------------
AKTI Member #A000832

"Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes, the bear eats you."
 
I forgot to mention that Kevin's table also had several knives by Darrel Ralph. First time I ever saw one in person. Truly awesome! Also held one of his ArcLites--I now know where the "Lite" part comes from. It weighs next to nothing, but still feels substantial in the hand.

Brian,
I shared your perception of the show. All I have to compare it to was the Badger & Edgerton shows (only ones I've been to), which seemed to have far more makers represented than the Chicago show did. Unfortunately, most of the people I spoke to had no plans for coming to Edgerton in October.

And you are right about the location--I got lost somewhere, then had to get around endless construction, and got there about three hours later than I had planned.
mad.gif
But at least I got some fun stuff!

 
Hi guys,

It was a real pleasure meeting both Summerland and Brian at the show. In addition our own Danbo spent the show helping me with the table in between buying and selling forays
smile.gif


I have some pics of a few makers I talked to at the show and will post them on a page at my site in the next couple days along with a quick run down.

Kevin

------------------
Kevin Pensinger
The EDGE Equipment
sales@theedgeequipment.com

Contact The EDGE for your custom cutlery needs!
 
I have to agree with the show seemed smaller this year than last. This year had a few open tables. High end custom stuff wasn't in great supply but was there. Auto's this year and last were readily available and out in the open. I think by having it on the same weekend as 2 of the other big shows didn't help. The location seems fine and the show was advertised well in magazines and I received flyers for it at my home on more than one occasion. Picked up a Microtech LCC production folder, for the money I couldn't pass it up. Also picked up materials for making knives. Met alot of old friends and had a good time.
 
I loved the show - my first ever - since I am a humble public servant all I could afford was a really nice micarta Calypso Jr. - for $51, a nice price!! There were some beautiful customs there, I thought - the Broadwell dagger was a wowzer, and there were several Minnick pieces that left me awed! And Reif's Atrox is sweet indeed. But I agree that it was slow business, I didn't see many sales & heard a lot of dealers complaining about it - a shame. Oh, if only I had the cash to alleviate that situation!!

One thing I really liked was the chance to handle many of he knives I have seen for sale here on the forums, and to really get a sense of what they feel like, and of how nice some customs are. As a result there are several knives that have been crossed off my wish list, and a few new ones have been added. Like the American Ninja Kevin had on display - yum!!

------------------
The beatings will continue until morale improves.
 
While I've been to a few gun shows-this was my first knife show and I had a great time. My personal highlights: Paul Myers incredible trick opening pocket knife-Daniel Caldwell's handle meterial-Pat Clinton of Sharp Stuff Inc (really nice Randall dealer) and Lile from Arkansas who sold my buddy his first good knife-a small stag drop point for $160, and a bargain at the price. Oh and I should mention Korval-who sent me a post card telling me about the show and sold me a pair of burl slabs for $13.
smile.gif
 
Hi everyone. Thanks for the comments on the Atrox! As for the show...it was a slow show. However, I did well and will return next year for the show to see what will happen. It will be my 4th year at that show and have well at all. As Brian said, the dinner was good as well as the entertainment...you just had to be there! Anyway, it was nice seeing old faces and meeting new.

Dale
www.angelfire.com/ks/reif
 
Personally, I was kind of disappointed at this show. Since I am mainly into customs, I was hoping for a lot more custom makers. I went to the Badger show last March, and there were a lot more custom there. But, I still found enough stuff to keep me interested. Friday, we did not sell a thing as they stuck us in some dark corner of the room. That didnt keep me from going out and buying a gorgeous Puma Duke folder though. The stag on this Puma is as nice as I have seen and actually matches both in thickness and color on both sides! Saturday, I stopped by the Walmart on the way to the show, and bought a couple of lights to put on the table. This helped quite a bit, and we sold a few knives. Of course, I went out and spent any money I made. I picked up a sweet Randall model 8, with 4" carbon old style blade, nickel silver guard, silver and black spacers, and really nice stag handle. I also picked up one of Corbet Sigman's working hunters with the high carbon tool steel blades, brass single guard, cocobolo slabs pinned on a full tang. This is as nice of a knife that a person can expect from a custom maker for around $100. I paid a little more because I wanted it right then, but you can get it from Corbet for about $100. This man is one of the best makers out there, and is a grinding machine! This knife is perfectly ground. Everything straight, even and fit and finish is superb. No frills, but better fit than a lot of more expensive customs. Sunday was a decent day also, and I also spent more money on toys. I picked up one of those Spyderco Moran fixed blades with the VG10 blades. WOW! What an edge! Dont know if I am keeping that one yet. One knife I picked up that I plan on keeping is a Benchmade Kodiac folder. This is the big one that they dont make anymore with the 4" bowie blade. No box, but brand new, and the price was right. I have it in my pocket right now. For a folde this big, I cant believe it carries this well in my pocket. I have owned a lot of folder much smaller that dug into my hip and leg, but not this one. I sold one more knife, and went straight over to Kovals Knife supply and bought one of those Personalizer Plus electrochemical etching machines, so I can mark these little projects of mine. All in all, I had a great time. I just hope next time more custom makers show up.



------------------
Danbo, soul brother of Rambo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top