First Blade Show!

65steve65

65steve65

Joined
Dec 9, 2012
Messages
654
Hey guys! this year will be the first time i am attending blade! I am excited to see all the kershaw and ZT knives and hold them in person. my question is are dealers present at Blade? Should i buy anything or just get a feel for it and come home and order it? i know i will probably buy something to make the drive worth my while! Just curious
 
65steve65 said:
Hey guys! this year will be the first time i am attending blade! I am excited to see all the kershaw and ZT knives and hold them in person. my question is are dealers present at Blade? Should i buy anything or just get a feel for it and come home and order it? i know i will probably buy something to make the drive worth my while! Just curious
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Yeah!!!! My first year to! If you haven't already I'd pick up a VIP pass...here's two links

)http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/749-For-Sale-Production-Knives-(Dealer)

)http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1063684-Blade-Passes

I'll mostly be going there to handle knives that I otherwise couldn't afford lol...I'll still be buying some stuff though:D
 
First trip to blade here too. My wife and I will only be attending on Saturday. Then the aquarium on sunday.
 
TotalDbag said:
Like a friends TiLT? :D

What do VIP passes do?
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Maybe:p...without the pass it costs $15 for one day starting at 2:00 pm, with a VIP pass you get in for $10 at 12:00 PM and you can go for all three days, normally to get in at 12:00 PM you would have to pay a extra $25...also in case you didn't know V.I.P stands for "Very immature person" lol
 
NCCNC said:
First trip to blade here too. My wife and I will only be attending on Saturday. Then the aquarium on sunday.
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You will enjoy the aquarium, but be prepared to do some walking. Bring your walking shoes and be prepared to stay all day. Don't know if the Coke museum is open on Sundays or not, but it is just across the street, and worth a trip to see it also. Have a great time while in Atlanta.

Blessings,

Omar
 
65steve65 said:
Hey guys! this year will be the first time i am attending blade! I am excited to see all the kershaw and ZT knives and hold them in person. my question is are dealers present at Blade? Should i buy anything or just get a feel for it and come home and order it? i know i will probably buy something to make the drive worth my while! Just curious
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Lots of dealers will be there. I've been going for close to ten years now and haven't really seen a lot of super deals, although I don't really get to see much of the show anymore. Some dealers and manufacturers will offer freebies or nice incentives for buying at the show, so you have to take that into consideration. You probably won't see a ton of production stuff that you won't be able to find elsewhere, but the prices should be comparable to buying from an authorized dealer online.

You will see lot of hard to get stuff from the custom and midtech guys. Some of the custom guys only do a couple of shows a year, so Blade is one of the rare opportunities to see their work in person and decide if the custom market is something you want to jump into. You can get some amazing work from lesser known makers at very reasonable prices, especially if they have anything left on Sunday. They don't want to take anything home.

Kershaw and especially ZT tend to debut some sweet new stuff at the show, so their booth is always worth a visit. I think ZT debuted three knives at the show last year. I'm sure we'll see some new stuff again this year.
 
Been to every BLADE since it came to Atlanta - even took leave for it while in the Army. :)

Suggestions:

1) Plan ahead - it's a good idea to have a rough idea of things you want to see/do. It's a bit overwhelming when you step into the show & see row upon row of knife makers, production companies, and gear vendors. Easy to lose track and forget stuff from sensory overload. As you are waiting in line to get in there will be tables with free maps & the current BLADE magazine.

2) Comfortable shoes & clothes - be prepared for a lot of walking & standing around.

3) A small pack or messenger bag - comes in handy to carry stuff like catalogs, new purchases, knives you might be trying to sell or trade.

4) Water. - it can get warm in there with all the people. Standing in line for a drink takes away time & money that can be spent on knives. :)

5) Cash - while there are ATM machines outside the show floor, they tend to run out of cash fast. Most of the people selling stuff are not set up for credit cards/ATM cards.

6) Socialize - while I do enjoy seeing the knives, I love getting together with people I know through the various knife forums more. Lots of good times have been had after the show over food & drinks while comparing new knife purchases, and swapping stories.
 
im definitely going to try to go this year...its only about 20 mins from my house! :-D
 
i really can't wait! i am going to sell a couple of my kershaws to fund new purchases while i am there, and i get paid so i see myself waiting for the following payday pretty quickly lol. i will only be able to attend saturday as it is about 2 hrs from my house, but i am still really excited!
 
FYI Parking @ the Cobb Galleria is a pain...i went there for AWA last Sept...I had to park in the parking deck but was lucky to find a spot.
 
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