Eccks

I'd like to be there Friday but that is only if I can get off work. If so I will see some of you,.
 
Here are a few fellows who will be flying in from Hawaii for the show:

C.J. Cai blows me away with his crisp visuals and great themes on a Joe Kious pocket locket.
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Keith Ouye takes to the highway...
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...And goes back in time to the Art Deco period.
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Look for them there.

Coop
 
I have a table also, please come by and say Hi, would like to meet some forum members. It's always a great show. Hope you guys that live up there make the weather nice for us.
Joel
 
Headed down from MA now , very excited! have not been to a show in a good while.
 
Best. Show. Ever.

Best ECCKS anyway! I heard from the vast majority of makers AND dealers it was a hit.

Not surprised. The maker players: local, international, and long-established (read: desirable) veterans.

The collectors: Old deep pockets and new fresh tastes.

Coop
 
It was good to see you, Coop. Thanks for taking some time from your busy day to speak with me



I really can't speak from the perspective of a maker or dealer. I guess there were probably a bunch of deliveries, private side deals, etc. involving the "old deep pockets" who Coop mentioned which might have been really great for a couple of dozen or so makers, dealers and collectors. Not sure why they even had to have a show for that - they could have all just met in a large hotel room. AFAICT, it really had nothing to do with any knife show.

However, from this lowly knife aficionado and collector's viewpoint, looking at what was on the tables rather than what happened behind the curtain. . . I was disappointed. I saw very few knives on exhibit that I thought were good values - at least among the types of knives that collect. I mean, like I could count them on one hand. And some of those were drawing knives. Too many makers selling knives at, near, or even higher than the prices in the secondary markets. For a collector, what is the point of traipsing hundreds of miles to a show featuring the same or similar knives that you can see every day at dealer websites for about the same prices +/-? I guess the best part as a knife aficionado was that you could handle and closely examine many of these knives in a way you can't do from a website, so that was nice. But at the end of the day . . . I was prepared to spend money, but I came home with all of my money and no knives. And it is not that I am upset by that - I'm not. It is just that this is evidence that to me, the show did not present anything that represented a buying opportunity. Just to be clear, I thought that there were some nice knives on exhibit (and, BTW, some not so nice knives, too). But compared to what I perceive to be market prices that I have generally been paying for similar knives, the values were not good. IMO.

Some makers seemingly came with a few knives to be delivered from previous orders, and maybe only one knife to actually exhibit or sell. And when these makers did not exhibit the delivery knives, well then after that one knife was sold . . . zilch. Forget about knives available for sale, how about putting all those delivery knives on your table under a glass case if necessary so folks could at least see them? I realize that this is probably a quaint idea, but I guess I just think it would just be nice for exhibitors at a knife show to actually EXHIBIT their knives to aficionados and collectors - and most especially new and future collectors other than just the "old deep pockets" who - by definition - are old and will be dead some day. But many of those makers who exhibited nothing or next to nothing did bring picture books of their knives, so at least we could all gawk at those.

:jerkit:

Personally . . . I kind of doubt that I will return anytime in the near future. I would rather spend my limited knife show time at shows like the Arkansas Show, AKI, etc., where one can actually get to see a lot of knives by the top exhibitors. YMMV, of course. I took several pictures, and I will try to upload them in the coming days.
 
I understand your frustration. Good points.

With the Boston Show in six weeks, I heard from a number of dual attendees they were hard pressed to have many offerings for both.

At my end, folders outnumbered fixed blades 5:1. It's clearly a high-end folder and stock removal market, along with some tactical flavors. Forged ABS-inclined pieces are as common as a cowboy hat in NJ. Right? LOL!

Loerchner, Loerchner, Emmanuel, Walker, Lake, Steinau, Fogarizzu, Johnson, Young, Chamblin, Hitchmough, JW Smith, Weinstock, et al....

Many of these makers had single offerings over $5000. Some over $10,000. A Walker flipped for three times it's selling price. Wolfe's lottery Loerchner was paid $12,500 in cash, I'm told.

Old deep pockets for sure. ;)

Empty tables are always a disappointment. That said, hard to keep a tableful of $5000 knives around. LOL!

Coop
 
Loerchner, Loerchner, Emmanuel, Walker, Lake, Steinau, Fogarizzu, Johnson, Young, Chamblin, Hitchmough, JW Smith, Weinstock, et al....

Many of these makers had single offerings over $5000. Some over $10,000. A Walker flipped for three times it's selling price. Wolfe's lottery Loerchner was paid $12,500 in cash, I'm told.

Old deep pockets for sure. ;)

Coop

An absolutely stellar lineup for Eccks. Some of the most sought-after makers on the planet. Would loved to have seen the offerings.

Bob
 
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Virginian: I don't think the purpose of a show is to find bargain knives. Rather, it's to meet the makers and handle their knives, something you can't do over the internet. I thought it was a really good show with lots of great makers and lots of beautiful knives in all price ranges. Yes, it can be disappointing when some makers have few knives on the tables or leave the show early. But, overall, there's was lots to see and do.
 
I had a very different take on it. I arrived at 1:30 and there were no knives. There were too many empty tables or even makers tables that weren't attended. I own some knives that I had questions about and could only find one of the makers. I keep hearing that it was a great show but for some reason, I thought it was one of the worst I've been to. I also miss three knife dealers that would have attended this show. They always had something for me to look at. Its been a while since i've attended Blade, but I hope to this time. That always hits the spot. =)
Coop- it sounds like you have great makers. Can't wait to see galley.

I admit it could be my taste in knives effecting my outlook of the show, but the show seems to be changing a bit (they always do, right?). Also many dealers/purveyors brought a low amount of knives. I just felt like I saw it all the second I walked in. Larry Fuegens River Boat fighter stood out and made me think bad things. Beautiful knife. The picture didn't do it for me before the show, but seeing the knife in hand was well worth the wait. Crazy DH3 style ivory and the kind of ladder damascus i'm drawn to.
 
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I had a very different take on it. I arrived at 1:30 and there were no knives. There were too many empty tables or even makers tables that weren't attended. I own some knives that I had questions about and could only find one of the makers. I keep hearing that it was a great show but for some reason, I thought it was one of the worst I've been to.

Friday afternoon with about an hour left . . .

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I cut my teeth at the NYCKS in 1985 or 1986, honestly cannot remember.

What I can remember is what the show was like. First time I attended, it was a Saturday, the next year, I attended on a Sunday.

Was a newbie knife collector, had maybe a small shoebox full of decent, contemporary production stuff(Gerber, Benchmark, Al Mar).

Larry Page made the first handmade knife that I purchased, it was a well rendered version of a Loveless style chute, with a slightly longer and fighterish blade. Some of the most highly figured cocobolo scales I have ever seen, slightly warped blade....a steal at a sub $200.00 price....what Ed Fowler would call an honest knife, nothing to hide behind. Larry is a real good maker, he was then, he is now. Still makes a fairly priced knife without any pretense or artifice.

Ken, the show back then was different but the same. On Friday, a prolific and wealthy collector named Erik(sp?) Meyer had a representative attending the NYCKS...and he would hoover up the best stuff....numerous collectors and dealers looking to get a glimpse inside this alternate world would follow closely and scoop up all that remained from the exalted maker's table and there would be massive holes and many photo albums on tables after Friday....different, but the same.

The next year was a piece purchased from Ron Gaston.....glorious workmanship, cost me $210.00. You could count on Ron to have knives on his table on Sunday. You could also count on Pat Crawford, and you still can. Some things do not change.

Someone is always at the top, and many are at the bottom. You, me, Jon...we have all been at both sides....it depends upon the size and the species of the shark tank....NY has always been a big one, with many large species competing for domination.

My buddy Phil Lobred told me that the hordes of tactical knife collectors swept past Michael Walker without even glancing at his wares, knowing who he was...times, generally, they do change.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Those photos show exactly what I mean. And I cant emphasize enough how horrible prices seemed this time around. I think we will lose collectors if people keep asking unreasonable numbers for knives. It seemed like more dealers and makers were in the isles then collectors.
 
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