Bah, I had a great show.
I don't like the changes, and the totalitarian attitude of the show organizers, *but*, I had a blast this year, after missing last year for the first time since I started making knives. Just as much as any year previously. Personally, I think the issue with the tactical/gear booths, is better now than it was when they first started having them a few years back, and some of the crazy bullshit showmanship of certain mid-tech/production outfits has at least been toned down, to the point of not being invasive for those of us, that simply don't give a shit about the next "ganza" whatever the hell they call it.
As far as materials goes, I came away with a literal pile of fossil ivory, tons of great pearl, stag, misc cool new modern materials, supplies, etc. I sold knives I didn't even intend to sell, made a bunch of new friends, and overall, had one of my best shows. Yeah, good stag is hard to find, for a few years, there was a lot of REALLY high end stuff dumped on the market, at all sorts of tables, because Tim Balda, sold the last of a huge stash he'd been stockpiling for decades, as he moved out of the market. Good tapers and rolls are mostly non-existant, but Culpepper still had tons of good scales if you know how to select them. All of this has zero to do with the knife industry or blade show, and everything to do with what it always has been, India's ban on exporting Sambar.
There was stuff tucked away all over the place, if you took the time to seek it out. Vintage/Westinghouse micartas, odd-ball composites, bargain basement prices on some really cool CF, great great ivory at premium and budget prices, etc, and of course, *TONS* of great knives.
I did miss people because of the general confusing nature of the place, but that's nothing new.
Blade Show is, and always will be a free for all. The crowds are bigger than ever, and for us makers, that's a good thing. For collectors, that don't like this, I *HIGHLY* recommend you support a show that caters to just custom makers, like the ICCE Show in KC, and stop complaining that Blade isn't your personal exclusive playground filled with just the people you think deserve it. ICCE is exactly the opposite of blade, small, exclusive to custom makers, organized, and intimate, which I also prefer, but in the case of blade, for the makers, we need as much fresh blood as we can get, and there's room for both types of shows. Do I think the show organizers are being cut-throat corporatists that don't really give a shit about the makers or collectors at Blade? Absolutely, but that's a whole other issue.