How did makers do at Blade?

For me the show isn't about selling knives. How often do I get a chanse to reconnect with friends like Carl (President of GA Knifemakers guild), John Costa, Mike Williams , Don (Carls apprentance) and after years of them all ribbing me about how I heat treat... wind up now I am going to be doing a demo at the Aug 29th Guild meeting. Got to see fellow makers I call friends and shake hands with people whom I need to make knifemaking happen for me. The end user!!!

Thanks for a great show guys and ill be kicking out the knives again so I can be there again next year next to my buds Jerry Hendrix and Luc Burnley.
 
xaman said:
Jerry Hossom brought more blades this year than ever --- but they were predominantly small knives, many were simple utility knives with a much lower price point. He obviously was thinking about economic changes, offering a more affordable custom knife.

He sold out, but it took a little longer than in years past.
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Jerry Hossom is totally awesome!
 
Okay, now the good things about Blade. Seeing all of the other knife knuts!!!:thumbup::D I am convinced that you can get more pointers in 3-4 days in Atlanta than you can over the course of the rest of the year. Aside from all of the wonderful cutlery, I got to chat with Mark Sentz (table in the very back row alongside David Broadwell......what's up with those two being back in the cheap seats?) about muzzleloaders and saw the progress Bailey Bradshaw has made on his uber-cool little Germanic style stalking rifle. One of the highlights for me was getting to talk to Al Pendray for a bit. I had met him at the Guild show in the early 90's in Orlando and he was one of the guys that infected me with the forged blade bug. It's amazing that he has been working with his wootz for 20 years and is still figuring out new things about it.
The one thing that I regret that I was too run down to make it to the Pit even once. Not sure if it was a bug, stress/anxiety about my first Blade show, lack of sleep, exhaustion from the drive and late night arrival that i never got over or all of he above. I was dead on my feet at the end of each day, which is weird because in previous years, I was ready to rock even after walking around all day...lol.

By the way.......did everyone notice that Microtech was selling or at least displaying guns at their booth? So we had Steyr AUG clones, purses and at least one Freddie Kruger glove make appearances at the show. What's next? Beef jerky and black velvet Elvis paintings?? lol
 
I thought the show was a lot slower than it had been. This was my 11th one and I did think the attendance was down. The show seemed to have some scheduling problems and things weren't as smooth as they usually were. Don't know why for sure but they could probably use some suggestions, if they use them or not is something else.
For me, the show was a good one. I had been making an inexpensive line of integrals that are a lot less costly than the knives that have a smooth finish. All the knives I sold were the NDN Integrals except one. What I have left I will post on my web site with a few others.
Over all, I would have to say that any experience that includes getting together with a bunch of friends and talking about my favorite past time, Has To Be Good. It does help to sell enough to pay expensives but I feel that this is "My Favorite Event" and treat it as a learning experience every year. It does change and and the change is what I look for when i go.
Looking forward to next year and seeing my friends again.
Ray Kirk
 
It has certainly been interesting getting all these perspectives on how the show went. It looks like the new show management need to make a lot of improvements in how things are run. Next year will be very telling as far as to their abilities at getting things running smoother and more efficiently are concerned. This was their first year, so mistakes were bound to happen.
 
To the makers, let me say this: a lot of the attendees weren't in much of a buying mood this year due to the economy. But, those who spent the money to even attend the show this year are the serious folks and so the contacts and impressions you made will pay off long-term.
 
I will say this, the organizational layout of the show was absurd. I used to know where most of the regular table holders were as I've had my table for some time now.... I couldn't find anyone this year.

They had row numbers, but no letters, and when a row is as may tables lined up as there were, it's indistinguishable where certain letters are.

Also, the brown bagging, oh, the brown bagging. More than once (like 7-10 times) I had to run someone off for putting their knives on full display (out from their backpack) in front of my table or very nearby. One guy lined his wares up on the floor in front of several of our tables. I made mention of this to show officials numerous times, but they never did squat, and it was rampant...

I hope it improves because there was little to no communication once I sent my payment in, and I did have to really press the issue to find out if I still had my table or a table at all for that matter... It all worked out, but 3 weeks before Blade I was really wondering if I'd had my check(s) cashed, reserved a room, made knives etc.. and I was going to show up in Atlanta and not have a table.

There were 3 empty tables around me, and they were NOT no shows, they just didn't sell out the tables.... I find this really odd b/c I know several makers that called to get a table well in advance and were told no. I also know of a number of guys who got their tables a week, or less, before the show and were not on the wait list.

I hope it all improves, b/c I know there was a lot of very unhappy makers there when they found out they'd been surrounded by flea market guys in the handmade area as I was etc....



MT
 
Sales were down some for me as well . JDM61 made some good points, I had two knives on the table that must have been picked up a 1000 times each. Maybe it was price , as comments on fit and finish were favourable, or maybe money was already spent , who knows. Mind you I did take an order for one of them to have mammoth scales on it. Also got lots of talk with other makers in on the weekend , and thanks to Todd Begg for some valuable critique and technical tips on flippers. All in all I had a great time and will be back next year. Paul
 
I drove up Friday, got there one hr after they let the general public in. Had to park on the roof. My first blade show visit. I thought it was great. I hated to leave at 7pm. I got back to Florida at 4am. Had to be at work at 7:30. I was late! Just when you think you are getting somewhere making your knives, you visit the blade show, and see just how bad you really are. The thing that surprised me was all the commotion at the combat knife booths. I did not realize they are as popular as they are. I found a knife that Kevin Cashen ( Hope I spelled his name right) made that was great. I never made it back to his table. Next year I will be there for all 3 days! One day is just not enough. Especially the short day Friday. Had a great time talking to some knife-makers that made great looking knives. It was great just to get some new ideas and see what was popular. Fred
 
I finally got home late last night.. The show for me had a totally different feel than any of the years in the past. Everyone seemed very subdued.. Almost depressed. I had an average to good show for sales. I took 17 knives and sold 9.
I really enjoy getting to visit with everyone at the show. I get to see people that I only see there, once a year. I have made many good customers and friends because I attend. I give and get some really cool and thoughtful gifts from theses friends every year. And that is the best part for me! Selling is only one small part of why I attend. Unfortunately, so many have to depend upon sales to justify the expense of going, that sometimes the social aspect is overlooked.
I want to thank everyone who stopped by and visited me.
 
Don Hanson III said:
Hey Stephan, thanks much for lightening the load in my wife's little car!

And your knives looked great! Very good visiting with ya!
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Did not see you once, Don....... (I dont think!!!)

I missed saying hi to you, will make it a point next time, TM
 
Gollnick said:
To the makers, let me say this: a lot of the attendees weren't in much of a buying mood this year due to the economy. But, those who spent the money to even attend the show this year are the serious folks and so the contacts and impressions you made will pay off long-term.
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Very good point above.
I know goodwill and future contacts don't pay today's bills, however every collector I have spoken to at the show and since thoroughly enjoyed it.

Perhaps this year was a "collector's" Blade Show, in that there was as good a selection and quality of knives as ever however prices seemed to be down a little. Makers weren't as busy so they could spend quality time with existing and new and potential customers. We literally had hundreds of collectors by the CKCA booth and they were upbeat and enjoying themselves.

What's good for collectors will ultimately be good for all in the collectible knife community.
 
Kevin Jones said:
Very good point above.
I know goodwill and future contacts don't pay today's bills, however every collector I have spoken to at the show and since thoroughly enjoyed it.

Perhaps this year was a "collector's" Blade Show, in that there was as good a selection and quality of knives as ever however prices seemed to be down a little. Makers weren't as busy so they could spend quality time with existing and new and potential customers. We literally had hundreds of collectors by the CKCA booth and they were upbeat and enjoying themselves.

What's good for collectors will ultimately be good for all in the collectible knife community.
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I had a good time talking to the folks and hopefully made a good impression.:D One thing that a couple of people mentioned was that the slow economy apparently made it a real good time for serious collectors/buyer who were still there to spend some money. A number of top flight makers actually had some pieces for sale on their tables this year whereas in the past, they might only have pieces that were being delivered to customers at Blade that they retain for the weekend for "show and tell" Buyers were being very selective this year, but when you can get stuff from the "up in front" guys, I suspect that the money gets spent fairly quickly:D
 
jdm61 said:
I didn't sell a thang and a couple of other guys back there in the Bob Uecker seats with me who had letters behind their names didn't seem to fair much better. I met with a couple of customers and finalized the details orders, which was nice and I did essentially run off one lowballer on Saturday. I was kinda run down all weekend for some reason. My best friend that i went to dinner with on Thursday night came down with some kind of bad cold/flu, so I wander if I was fighting that off a bit. My biggest shock at the show was how revealing those ugly mercury vapor lights were:eek: Unfortunately, I tried to "clean up" on of the my blades and that didn't help...lol.
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Hi Joe.
I'm very surprised you and some others didn't sell knives. Spent some time on the way home thinking about it.

I visited your table early Sunday morning (you must have stepped away for a moment) and examined your knives and your set-up. All looked good. You had a pretty nice selection, good price-points for your offering and some even had Paul Long sheaths. You are another who impressed me with your progression since last Blade Show. Let's talk after I dig out a bit.
 
I had a good show. I enjoyed meeting and making some new friends. I had a lot of fun catching up with the friends I only see once a year.
 
How about the dealers? Did they purchase much this year?
Not just the ones with tables, but guys like Dave Harvey, Dan O'malley and the Connelleys? Actually, I didn't see the Connelley's, though I'm sure they were there.

These guys are usually very active.
 
I had my best Blade Show yet. Could have something to do with passing my JS but i also had better sales than years past. It was nice meeting everyone and visiting with old acquantences...................even Joe Mandt the man is building one heckuva bowie at a great price.
 
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