I was there on Friday and Sunday. I bought two knives. They will be my only two custom knife purchases this year. I learned to buy custom knives in person, not on the internet. As one knifemaker told me, it's not just the knife you're buying it's also the story
Traffic in downtown KC is never bad at all; the real rush hour ends at 6 which was the end of the show. This is much earlier than in most cities. KC rush hour is like a normal day in most US cities and in no way compares to traffic at any place such as Atlanta, Dallas I had no problem getting out of town on Friday, but I stayed to 6.
Parking in the underground municipal lot across the street was $7/day. I parked on the street for free on Sunday. I saw Edmund Davidson's monster truck, "The Liberty" IIRC in the surface lot next to where I was parked on the street. Two day laborers were infatuated with it and taking cell phone pictures
I don't think a venue that is children and family friendly is what any custom knife show needs. I've taken my family to knife shows from PA to MO. If they don't join me, they drop me off at the show and then they pick me up when its over
To me, if the purpose of the show is custom cutlery, then the venue was perfect; no other place in KC would be better. As far as KC over some other city, being centrally located, it is a day's flight from just about anywhere in the US, which cannot be said about any coastal city. KC has no international flights, but it's a 1hr flight from cities that do have international connections.
For me the only complaint about the venue was the high cost for a diet Dr. Pepper
and my only complaint about the show was Tony Bose didn't come, I like to coonfinger his knives and listen to his stories.
I didn't ask specific questions, but my impression from the few people I heard discussing sales, plus the knives that were there on Friday but gone on Sunday was that some makers have got what was wanted and some did not, but overall it was not a "deadzone" for sales. On Sunday, many makers said they had a good show, were talked out, their feet hurt and "excuse me if I sit while we talk." I think a good time was had by all...well make that "most"
Blade is the 800lb gorilla in the knife show world. I think it's a great thing the ABS and KG have started this initiative to build a new show.
