Gun Digest Buys Blade Mag and Shows

Yes, I heard that Friday at the show, but I didn't repeat it. I thought if I just ignored it, it might go away. No such luck.

I'll see if I can remember where I put my crystal ball.....if it still works.

Paul
 
Well, seems there was significant discontent with how F+W was running the show, especially this year, a lot of folks figure it can't be worse. OTOH, I'm old enough to know it can always be worse. ;) Having said that, generally speaking, the Gun Digest folks have a good rep.
 
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Interesting. I wonder if a venue change might be afoot?
 
If ever the event was to be sold off, i was really hoping it would get eaten up by a company that was modernized in how to market, advertise, and promote things. Unfortunately this does not look to be the case. If anything, Caribou Media Group makes blades former owners look tech savvy. Don't think this bodes well for keeping the event up to date with the times. All the other companies Caribou Media Group owns are pretty much dying a slow death.

Hopin im wrong, but the last half hour of researching the entity makes me think Blade show is going to be selling a lot of beef jerky in the coming years.
 
I sold my last Blade Show knife Friday morning to one of the co-owners. He let me know who he was and to be a little quiet about it as long as I could. He wanted to remain incognito. Seeing my empty table, he asked what I was going to then do. I told him - relax for once.
Then he asked me who in the ABS section was "noteworthy" and might be someone he should meet. And, if I would take him around and introduce him to these people.
I'm not going to say whom I took him to, but I had a blast.
Later that day I watched sit-down meetings between him and other ABS section dignitaries that lasted for hours and even the next day, and Sunday, talked to him again and found he was up till the wee hours of each night talking to people finding out what the Blade Show needed.
I have high hopes.
I really, really believe the Blade Show is in very, very good hands.
Don't forget - things always evolve. And sometimes, to people who are stuck in the mud, that evolution can be uncomfortable.
Nothing is like it was.
 
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Good news Karl!!! Thanks for the insight (and sneaky visit!)
 
It would be awesome if they decided to move it to Texas......
Although i have family in Georgia, so either way
 
Let's just have Blade show on a gigantic cruise ship and be done with it. :D
 
I don't see the venue changing, but rather grow more in the one they are at.

We did stay up until 3 a.m. either Friday or Saturday. We have been bouncing ideas and information off each other throughout the week. Looking at things that are larger than just Blade. They do have the makers in mind. That doesn't mean that you can make them all happy. I do like that he is much younger than the old powers that be. (He's still like 15 years older than me, Karl!) ;)

Only time will tell what works and what doesn't. It's always a gamble. I know they want it to work and grow, because it helps us all.

Worst case scenario is I will buy it out and you guys will have to deal with me even more. :D
 
The show doesn't need a new venue! Blade show is the only major show that has stayed in one location (since 1992), or has not moved in many years. It continues to grow every year. All other shows that changed locations, or move around have suffered greatly.

I do feel it's time to cap the growth & concentrate on efficiency.

Logan Pearce for President! :cool:
 
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Given the distance the show is from me, if I go I want it to truly be the largest knife show in the world. The bigger the better and everything under the sun that cuts. Start trying to shrink it down to some elite show for a special segment of the industry and that will be the end of my cross country trips/
 
The good news about the current venue may be that because of the new stadium, they will likely continue to build more stuff around it. The bad news is that Cobb and Gwinnett Counties both dragged their feet for too long and MARTA can no longer afford to extend their heavy rail system into those counties so transportation/parking will continue to be an issue.
 
Sidehill Gouger said:
Given the distance the show is from me, if I go I want it to truly be the largest knife show in the world. The bigger the better and everything under the sun that cuts. Start trying to shrink it down to some elite show for a special segment of the industry and that will be the end of my cross country trips/
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There's truth in that...I think the Arkansas show already has a good thing going with a specialty custom knife show. Why not make both shows bigger and better?
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
You're just so mature.
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I got some gray facial hair dye though. I'm going to start putting some gray in, to give me a more distinguished. It'll go great with my jersey. ;)

Personally, I agree with Don. Moving a show is hard. The attendance will drop off that next year no matter what. As a show owner, you are looking at potentially two years of a drop off. Most people don't like change. I would like to move the Arkansas show, but that means 3 different locations in 5 years? That makes it seem bad. Regardless of the change being good or not. It will take a bit to recover from that. Then you have to hope that your exhibitors and attendees see the value in the long run. Blade is in a better position, since it would be the first move in a long time, but I don't think the potential drop in attendance and exhibitors is ideal, especially being that it just changed owners.

Just my thoughts on it. I could be completely off.
 
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