Getting impatient...

Joined
Mar 5, 2002
Messages
1,470
Dang it, when are the custom knife dealer sites gonna update with what they got from Blade? Not that I have money left to buy. But I'm curious since they probably got most of the goodies on Thursday night so their haul would be stuff I didn't get to see. Also would be interesting to see what choices they made.

Hurry up you dealers.
 
I've been checking in for updates as well, for the exact same reasons.

BTW, pleasure meeting you David, now get your butt up and see Dan for a weekend!
 
Don't look now, but a certain dealer with the initials L.R. has posted his Blade-ware. ;)

Roger
 
I'm very excited about this. There must have been dozens and dozens of really great knives that I was interested in at the Blade Show that the dealers got to just moments before I did when the doors opened on Friday.

That's what's so great about knife shows these days. You get to walk in there and preview all the knives that will later show up on some dealer's website. The really exciting part is waiting around wondering which dealer got which knife, and how much he'll try to charge for it.
 
Funny that I have been doing the same thing (checking for updates) over the last few days.
 
Wulf, I know what you mean. I wish more makers would pre-sell to dealers so that we'd have even more knives to look forward to seeing on the Net.
 
Of course, the ultimate scenario would be a room full of buyers and no sellers, all of whom had pre-sold their entire inventories to dealers. Ahhh, one can only hope!
 
Hi Sharp,

It's pretty amazing to witness the site...you know where the dealers are holding guns to the heads of the makers. Forcing them to sell their knives early. Rumor has it even a few collectors get knives before the show opens by applying this method as well.
 
WWG, my problem's not with the dealers. They can't pre-buy the knives if the makers don't pre-sell 'em. I can understand pre-selling to some collectors/steady customers who have given you a lot of business over the years. But if that depletes all of your inventory, why bother getting a table?
 
A thread was started by me awhile ago on this very topic of pre-selling at a show before the doors open.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271703

The debate over this issue by everyone was interesting to say the least.

Personally, I still disapprove of dealers and makers getting together at a show before the doors open.

Firstly, and most importantly, it's not fair to the showgoer. That's the main reason I won't travel very far to go to a show, like Atlanta, because eventhough I know the greatest knifemakers in the world will be there, I feel my chance of just seeing their knives is slim.

I've never been to a show of this size and caliber so maybe I'm wrong here. I know this stuff occurs at the large, but smaller, shows I've gone to.

Secondly, I think it gives the wrong impression to the collector about the true demand for a particular maker's knives.
What I mean is, I think it's quite different for a knifemaker to stand there in front of his empty table on Friday and proudly boast about "being sold out 30 minutes after the doors opened" when all he has done is sell most of his stuff to dealers at a discount the night before or as soon as the doors opened versus the knifemaker who actually puts all his knives on his table and sells them to the collectors, instead of dealers at a discount, who come to the show.

Dealers are very important to both collector and maker.

Let me say that again. Dealers are very important to both collector and maker.

But, this knife show activity is not good for shows.

Just my opinion.
 
Hi Sharp,

I think both you and RWS bring up valid points. Even if the makers do not sell to dealers before the doors open, the very popular ones will still sell out within the first 30 minutes of the show.

Another tac is to hold a drawing for your knives like the Bose's and Emerson. On the plus side they have all of their knives available when the doors open. On the negative side, you might not get drawn for a knife or if you do, it may not be the knife you really wanted.

I think it is important for makers to get tables even if the know they will sell out in an hour. It gives collectors the chance to talk with them and possibly order the knife. So next year at the show they can be one of collectors who meets with the maker on Thursday night and get your knife. Forget the fact that you waited a year for the knife.

RWS's point about perception about makers is right on. There are many who's status is purely Internet fed. It is up to the collector to do their own research to find out what is the truth.
 
Hi WWG. I have no problem with a maker who sells out in the first hour. At least I know that if I get to his/her table during that time, I stand as good a chance as the next person of getting a knife (though it might not be the one I really want but, hey, that's life). I agree with you that such a maker should still get a table for the reasons you mentioned. But if I go to a show to see Maker X, get to his table when the show opens, and find he has no knives because they were pre-sold, I'm not going to be happy. I go to the show with the hopes of getting a knife without a year (or longer) wait. If I'm positively gonna have to place an order and wait a year, I could have stayed home. Of course, people coming later will just assume the maker sold out early so, as you said, he would still benefit from having the table. I like the idea of a lottery but that has it's own problems - you have to be there at a certain time and you have to be picked! As long as a maker has knives available when the show opens, I really can't complain. You pay your money and you take your chances. I just don't like paying my money and not getting a chance.
 
On the original topic - I too have been scanning the websites for new postings - seems like it took longer than usual to get the images up.

Finally got a Kansei folder off Knifeart that is identical to one I passed on about 3 years ago and have regretted ever since.
 
I was surprised to hear about/see how many knives were sold on Wednesday and Thursday and never even made it to the show floor for the dealers, etc. Doesn't affect me personally, but I feel bad for the folks who are paying admission on Saturday, when so much of the great stuff is long gone.
 
Hey fellas, just how serious an issue is this? Are any shows better than others in terms of preserving the available knives until the normal collectors get there?

The reason I ask is that I am planning on making a trip to the States next year to coincide with one of the big shows - but it will be a long journey just to find alot of the rarer items have gone - of course I will still get to meet makers and people from the forums which I look forward to.

Cheers,

Stephen
 
Stephen F said:
Are any shows better than others in terms of preserving the available knives until the normal collectors get there?

Stephen,

With a grand total of one US show under my belt I am hardly the sage voice of experience. It is definitely my impression, however, that this occurs to a greater or lesser degree at pretty much all shows. If you are travelling a long way to get to a show, make sure you are able to get there for the opening bell, then come out swinging.

It would definitely make me happier to more shows open on a Saturday for two days. Apart from Blade, and maybe one or two others, are three days really necessary? For me to get to a US show that opens on a Friday will invariably mean that I have to take not one, but TWO days off in order to be in a position to see as much as I can.

One more observation - as with most things in life, there are two (or more) sides to the pre-selling issue. A knife show invariably involves a major financial outlay for the maker. A lot of these guys are full time - sales are not just a nice bonus - they put food on the table. In this context, a sure sale to a dealer (or a collector for that matter) before the doors open can be very tempting compared to the possibility of a sale later.

Anyway, I'm done rambling. Let me know what show you're planning on and maybe I can aim for that one as well.

Roger
 
On the preselling topic, for the past 2 years I've been to the NYC shows, the Stamford CT shows, and the Cheasapeake shows. The Stamford and Chesapeake shows feel smaller and there doesn't seem to be as much dealer presence or preselling there. The NYC shows have that combo of being medium sized in terms of number of makers, but big in terms of well known ones. It seems like there's alot of preselling there. I would definitely say that you have to get there early on opening bell for those, and even so expect that the cream has already been scooped up the night before.

Blade Show was so big that I don't see how the dealers could snatch it all. I'm sure some great stuff got sold to dealers and long standing collectors before the doors were open to the VIPs even, but there's so much left. I was toward the back of the VIP line, and I still had plenty of choices. By the end of Saturday there were still things that I wanted to buy but had nothing left in the budget. It may be that my concentrating on hunters affected the availability, while fancy folders or bowies might have been gone by then.

I would say that Blade is still worth going to despite any preselling, even if you're travelling from afar. Unless your focus is very very narrow to a handfull of makers and styles within those makers. I can see if you collect bowies from the top Mastersmiths that your chances of landing a Fisk, Newton, Bradshaw or the like would still be near nil if you weren't among the ones buying Wed. and Thurs. night. But if your collecting is toward the more moderate end, Blade is a candy store and you are a kid.
 
Instead of complaining about pre-selling, why not join the game? If that's the way it is being played, standing on the sidelines and complaining about it is not gonna get you the knife you want.

I received 4 knives at Blade. All 4 were secured before I left Oklahoma.

Here are my tips for successfully getting the knives you want at the show.

#1: Contact the maker pre-show. Ask the maker what he/she will have for sale at the show. Explain that you really want to get knife X and ask the maker to hold knife X for you.

#2: Set up personal relationships with makers. That is the best part of custom knives. Don't be a long-term customer, be a friend with the maker. I have been collecting knives from Kit Carson and Mike Obenauf for 3 years now. I have met them at the shows and talked with them many times and established a friendship. Even if some people don't think it's fair, makers will often go out of the way to help a friend who happens to be a customer get the knife they want.

#3: Buy the knife from the dealer. If a dealer gets the wares early, buy from the dealer. Many dealers will sell at retail price on the knives they get from the maker.

#4: Place an order. If what you want isn't on the table, place an order. Being at the show gives you an oppertunity to meet the maker and get to know them better. The best part of custom knives is the people. Sometimes, you even see a maker is really a jerk and it saves you money by not buying his wares.

If you are going to pay good money to travel a long distance to attend a show, why would you want to risk not getting any of the stuff you want? Even if no one pre-sells, there is still a risk of people beating you to the tables or the maker not having exactly what you want. Know before hand if what you want will be there. If you had 4 makers on your list, and you wanted a certain knife from each maker. If 2 of those makers did not have the model you wanted, you just wasted your time waiting at those tables to get that item that was never there. Then, you try to hit the tables of the other 2 makers to find out they already sold out of the model you were looking for.

Les was always saying "do your homework." In this case, know what is going to be available at the show. If you know that is exactly what you want, ask for it to be held. Going to a show without knowing what is going to be there is a risk, even without folks pre-selling.

Also, someone made a comment regaurding selling to long-term collectors and not dealers pre-show. Do you realize how much money many of those dealers have spent with these makers? Many of those dealers have bought more knives from certain makers then any 5 customers combined! Buying from a dealer is just another oppertunity to get the knife you want.

JR
 
Sometimes you don't know what you want until you see it. That's part of the fun of going to a knife show. You get to see all sorts of new and interesting things you may have never thought of on your own. It's not always as simple as buying a "model 4" or something where there may be 100 others just like it in circulation.

Also, it seems pretty shallow and artificial to try to befriend a maker just so you can get first dibs on a knife.

Meanwhile, lots of makers, once they're sold out, leave their tables to buy raw materials from suppliers or hang out with their friends. Some seem not to want to be bothered by collectors asking them about the knives they've already sold a day or two ago. Especially when ten other guys have already interrupted their conversation to ask the same question.

If the knife you want is sold, even if it's still on the maker's table, you don't necessarily know if a dealer bought it, or which dealer bought it, or whether that dealer will show it to ten of his favored customers before you even get a crack at it. Then I suppose you need to artificially befriend a few dealers as well...
 
Back
Top