How many knives for a show?

[TMHunt]

A lot of excellent advice. I have a table reserved at Blade this year and it will be the first show I have ever done. I have been fortunate enough in the past that my blades have always sold before I could produce a large enough inventory to attend a show. I tell you this not as a conceeded over confident knifemaker, I honestly do feel blessed that my stuff is appreciated that much. Truth is I tell you this because you can imagine my anxiety this being my first show with no show experience. A lot of good info here, and I appreciate you guys sharing your advice.

 

[Joe Watson]

Tire kickers bring up a good point.

Especially if you're selling carbon blades, each one is gonna need to be wiped down after handling.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of awesome people and I love getting out and networking.

However, when some dude decides to come over and paw at 12 different knives with Cheetos crumbs all over his hands, before moving on to the next table... It gets overwhelming and very not-fun quick.

 

[james terrio]

I get excited when I see knifemakers approaching things from a profit/loss standpoint as opposed to this Romantic Concept of us Spending thousands of dollars to travel to a show so we can stand behind a table for three days and talk to "Tire Kickers" who are just there to look.

Everything in life is a business decision. Every moment and every penny spent is an investment in something... it's up to each of us to determine what returns we want on our investments.

Some guys invest thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to make 3 or 4 knives a year, and don't really care if they sell 'em or not... their return is their own enjoyment. That's cool. But it's not me.

 

[J. Doyle]

I am most definitely in the "don't put knives under the table" crowd. For the same reasons as pointed out by Kevin and Murray. You can't always assume that just by talking to people that you can figure out whether or not they'd be interested in a knife you have under the table.

I've been to a few shows and I talk and listen to everyone at my table. Sometimes people have multiple and very diverse interests. Some guy might want a modern, simple paring knife and a replica of an ancient Persian Empire era sword. You can't figure that out just by talking to them for a few minutes.

Maybe a collector comes for one type of knife but sees something totally different on your table that totally changes his direction. He'd never know if it was under your table and you might lose that sale.

Put anything you have that's worth selling out on your table and let the collectors decide what interests them or not.

For me, I don't want my table to be a mystery or a game of chance.

 

[Don Hanson III]

Yes you can but remember that some neophyte will be handling a paid customers knife and if he drops it on the floor and chips the handle it will not be good.
People spit all over the table knives when they talk and it cause corrosion.. Some Veteran Makers call it Table Rash..

Just be cautious about leaving paid knives out on the table..
Your work is incredible and I am sure you will sell out quickly.

That's right, man!

I want my knives gone from my table as quick as possible.

I have nice photos for the rest of the show.

 

[Snody]

That's right, man!

I want my knives gone from my table as quick as possible.

I have nice photos for the rest of the show.

That is why you are My Hero.
I greatly admire you.
Respect.

 

[bld522]

I'll share a story with you. I attended the Southern California Blade Expo a couple of weeks ago and picked up a folder I had purchased from a knifemaker who exhibited there. I use the word "exhibited" loosely because he only brought about 8 or 9 knives with him and all but one of them had been purchased before he arrived at the show. The last one sold within a matter of a few hours after he set up his table. I asked him why he decided to exhibit at the show when he only brought a few knives with him and he told me it was primarily a matter of making contact with his customers. He makes his living full-time as a knifemaker and his knives normally sell within minutes of being posted here on BF. So he certainly doesn't need to attend knife shows to help him make a living. But he does so anyway. Does that make good business sense? Only he can answer that question. But from my perspective, it sure was nice to meet him and chat with him for awhile.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not always about the money.

 

[wdtorque]

Jason,
Lots of good input here. I'm not a maker so this is just the opinion of a buyer.
Too many knives doesn't attract me, too much to see and why are there so many out?
Too few and I wonder what else can he do?
I would say 6 -12 makes a nice table to start, and perhaps a few NFS or sold knives to show off if
you sell out the first hour, which you may very well do depending on your price point?
Buyers go to see knives, so I suggest you have some. Pictures are nice, especially if they are Don Hanson quality, but most aren't.
Even if you don't sell out, give out lots of cards. I picked up many cards at the AKA show and have 2-3 guys I'm going to buy from in the future
because I've seen their work and know what they can do. I didn't even buy a knife at the show.
But I did order one from a guy who does decent work that I liked, Mr. Lin Rhea. He was a pleasure to talk with and
his work is top shelf. Had he had nothing to show me, I might not have. Who knows?
Have fun,
Dozier

 

[james terrio]

I have nice photos for the rest of the show.

I've seen successful makers utilize "digital picture frames" and even laptops with slideshows of their work, also :thumbup:

 

[Don Hanson III]

That is why you are My Hero.
I greatly admire you.
Respect.

Thanks Mike, I've much respect for you!

 

[Snody]

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not always about the money.

How do you tell your baby that when he is hungry
How do you tell the bank that when your behind on your mortgage.

I am blessed to have thousands of clients around the world, they are all successful which allows them to purchase luxury items.
My clients work very hard and when they go to work they expect to get paid.. Work is always about the money..

Quite frankly if you are at the bottom of Maslow's Pyramid travelling to shows to talk to Tire Kickers (who are at the top of Maslow's Pyramid) hoping they might buy a knife then you are going to stay at the bottom of the Pyramid and probably end up doing something else for a living..

 

[The Amazing Virginian]

I've seen successful makers utilize "digital picture frames" and even laptops with slideshows of their work, also :thumbup:

To what end?

I think that most folks go to a knife show of custom and handmade knives to examine, handle and perhaps purchase knives. I can see pretty knife pictures on the Internet, but none of them can tell me a ton of things that I can only tell by turning a knife in my hand and inspecting it personally.

I can certainly understand how a custom/handmade knifemaker might want to sell everything ASAP and then immediately pack up and head back home.

I think that is short term thinking. In the long term, over a period of years, I think you will wind up turning away and turning off many more potential future customers than the few knives you sold at that show. And the really bad thing is that you will not even have any way of ever knowing how many future sales you killed this way. Even if you have nothing for sale, if you at least have 2 or 3 or more examples of your work available that I can examine up close and personal, then maybe I will place an order with you for the future. Personally, that is how I place the majority of my knife orders - at shows with makers who don't have anything available for sale, or don't have what I want, but who do have knives available for my inspection. I sometimes become repeat customers of those makers. It is rare that I would buy a knife from a maker whose knives I had not previously examined personally (and not by a digital picture frame).

No one needs 100, or 200, or a thousand knives for regular USE. I collect custom/handmade knives that I appreciate from knifemakers whose work I appreciate.

Knifemakers want knife show attendees to treat them, their time, and their knives with respect. And so they should. But it's a two way street. If I travel 1000 miles to a knife show which advertised you as one of the exhibitors, then exhibit something. Of all the knives you make, you mean to tell me that you can't hold back even one knive to exhibit to attendees of a show who have travelled a long way to see your knives and may be interested in placing an order with you? Really?

Hey, it's a free country and if that works best for you, go for it. But you just might be losing sales that you never even knew were possible.

Of course if you're already selling 'em as fast as you can make 'em for more than you imagined . . . well, the good thing is that there is one born every minute. But then I have to wonder why you are even wasting your time with knife shows instead of spending your time making more of those instant sellers.

 

[brownshoe]

I buy at shows. I like them better than the internet.

In my opinion, a "portfolio" is BS because a knife is an object. If I want to see pictures of your knives, I can usually go on line and drink beer at the same time why waste my time at a show. I've passed by more than a few famous makers who only had pictures, because I've bought enough knives to know that a maker's reputation is other people's opinion, the best way for me to judge a knifemaker is to have their product in hand.

What none of you discuss is different price points. Some makers have knives that are simple for ~200, and then higher grade knives, going up to 2K. This brings them in to the table with the lower price and but can send them home with the higher priced knife. They may come back next year with more money if they liked the cheaper blade.

 

[james terrio]

To what end?

For the same reason they build websites and post pictures of SOLD knives here... to show what they've already done and garner more interest in potential clients. I can't bring everything I ever made to a show or gathering, and I don't make doubles of every single knife just in case someone else wants the same custom order.

No one is saying a picture takes the place of an actual knife that can be handled and examined closely, that's ridiculous! An album is just one more tool among many, like a loupe or business cards or free stickers. In the event of a sellout, I'd sure like to have something to show people besides an empty table.

Of all the knives you make, you mean to tell me that you can't hold back even one knive to exhibit to attendees of a show who have travelled a long way to see your knives and may be interested in placing an order with you? Really?

If a buyer is willing to let me put a SOLD tag on it and pick it up at the end of the show, that's great! However... This is not a hobby to me, it's my career.

If I'm walking down the street or at a show and someone with cash in hand wants to buy my personal piece right off my belt, they're going walk away with that knife everytime. I'm sure as heck not going to tell them to go away because someone else "might" be interested tomorrow.

 

[The Amazing Virginian]

If a buyer is willing to let me put a SOLD tag on it and pick it up at the end of the show, that's great! However... This is not a hobby to me, it's my career.

Right.

In my career, I use a variety of specialized tools every day to make my living. Those tools are not for sale - well, at least not for sale unless I received a ridculous amount of money that would compensate me for all of the lost business I would not be able to do until and unless I replaced them. And if for some reason I sold them, I would try to replace them ASAP (which might be very difficult in some cases). Why? Because those tools are what allow me to make money.

I am just suggesting that if you are going to a knife show with many hundred or even thousands of potential customers, you might want to view one or two of your knives as tools to help you make future sales. Sure, it's your career, and sure, you want to eat today. But you want to eat tomorrow, too. If you don't have any knives that potential new customers can examine, I believe that you are probably to at least some extent (which you may never even know) cannibalizing your future revenue (again, unless you have a huge backlog and can immediately sell all you make for the foreseeable future).

But, again, it's a free country. So, good luck!

 

[Kohai999]

Ken,

Sometimes makers just can't make enough knives for a show, but they already made the commitment to attend the show, or dealers/customers cleaned them out within the first hour of the show. It happens, it is part of the knife community business, and it isn't going to change. You are really going to have to deal with that, and I TOTALLY understand how that would piss you off.

The makers who show up to a big show with two knives usually have a reason for that, in that they often make less than 20 knives a year. Ron Gaston who has been mentioned in this thread was dependable for having knives on the last day of the show. The reason for that is Ron could make two knives a day, and worked 6 days a week. Ron had knives under the table at every show I attended because he used up all the available space on the table and had excess inventory. You had to know to ask...and you HAVE TO KNOW TO ASK!!!! If a collector does not know what questions to ask, boo frikkin hoo, they will either learn, or they will be very frustrated.

You have to use all the tools you have at your disposal.

Makers that are very prolific are an excellent resource for both advice and product. They don't get that prolific overnight unless the product is defective in some way, the learning curve is steep.

Collectors can take advantage of shows with drawings or lotteries if they MUST "coon finger" knives in order to feel comfortable ordering.

I like to handle knives at shows, but it isn't necessary for me in order to place an order....that said, I acquire knives at a much slower rate now than I did 5 years ago. I think makers should bring as many knives as they can to a show, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to hold one back. Often, I'll talk to a maker who didn't sell a particular knife at a show, and they usually have a variety of collectors that they can call that will take that knife, rather quickly. This could be seen as a win/win, as long as the maker doesn't go to a show with only one knife.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[bld522]

How do you tell your baby that when he is hungry
How do you tell the bank that when your behind on your mortgage.

I am blessed to have thousands of clients around the world, they are all successful which allows them to purchase luxury items.
My clients work very hard and when they go to work they expect to get paid.. Work is always about the money..

Quite frankly if you are at the bottom of Maslow's Pyramid travelling to shows to talk to Tire Kickers (who are at the top of Maslow's Pyramid) hoping they might buy a knife then you are going to stay at the bottom of the Pyramid and probably end up doing something else for a living..

I suppose it's possible that the knifemaker I was referring to may end up doing something else for a living. But based on the quality of what I'm carrying in my pocket right now and the fact that he doesn't seem to have a problem selling everything he can make, I imagine it will be more a matter of choice on his part rather than a matter of necessity.

 

[Snody]

I suppose it's possible that the knifemaker I was referring to may end up doing something else for a living. But based on the quality of what I'm carrying in my pocket right now and the fact that he doesn't seem to have a problem selling everything he can make, I imagine it will be more a matter of choice on his part rather than a matter of necessity.

Great Post.
I remember those days when I still worked as a Consultant and attended shows as a part-time maker.
Those were the good old days when I went to shows just to talk to people and it did not matter if I made any money.
It used to be so much fun when I did not have to make a profit.
Huge Respect from Texas.

 

[Kevin Jones]

I'll share a story with you. I attended the Southern California Blade Expo a couple of weeks ago and picked up a folder I had purchased from a knifemaker who exhibited there. I use the word "exhibited" loosely because he only brought about 8 or 9 knives with him and all but one of them had been purchased before he arrived at the show. The last one sold within a matter of a few hours after he set up his table. I asked him why he decided to exhibit at the show when he only brought a few knives with him and he told me it was primarily a matter of making contact with his customers. He makes his living full-time as a knifemaker and his knives normally sell within minutes of being posted here on BF. So he certainly doesn't need to attend knife shows to help him make a living. But he does so anyway. Does that make good business sense? Only he can answer that question. But from my perspective, it sure was nice to meet him and chat with him for awhile.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not always about the money.

The most successful businesspeople think “BIG PICTURE”.
What other opportunity does a custom knifemaker have for hundreds if not thousands of collectors/potential customers to actually handle and examine their knives?

Knife shows offer an excellent opportunity for knifemakers to market both themselves and their knives. I believe a knifemaker should always have a decent sampling of their work for sale; however there’s much more to knife shows for knifemakers than just selling knives off their table.

 

[james terrio]

In my career, I use a variety of specialized tools every day to make my living. Those tools are not for sale - well, at least not for sale unless I received a ridculous amount of money that would compensate me for all of the lost business I would not be able to do until and unless I replaced them.

Me too! So what? That argument is "apples and oak trees". We're not talking about auctioning off the ranch, we're talking about moving finished product.

Selling every knife they have available is not going to stop any maker from continuing business for any longer than it takes to get back to their shop. Quite the contrary! Sellouts and good reviews go a long, long way towards building "buzz", increasing interest and even raising prices. We can always make more, and continue to take orders in the meantime... especially given a healthy influx of cash to buy materials, improve tooling, and promote more.

The most successful businesspeople think “BIG PICTURE”.

You have to use all the tools you have at your disposal.

Absolutely true, for either makers or buyers in ANY industry. :thumbup: