Just Back From The Show

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Just finished unpacking from the Harrisonburg show.
Had a good show.
Sold some knives, and some wood. Saw a lot of old friends and customers....even a few BF members.
Bought a fair bit of supplies,....and a real nice ivory tusk @ 200/lb. Even after all the show expenses, new purchases, etc., I made enough to pay for half of the slab on my new shop.
I won the award for the "Best Custom Display". I'll try and post some photos later after I unpack the camera.

My friend, Don, went with me. At the show, he was looking for some buckeye burl for a set of knives he is making. I did not bring any, and he didn't want to wait until the 200# of wood we shipped Friday comes back from WSSI. No one at the show had any Buckeye at all. I told Don that I might have a few pieces at the house, and when we got back I went to see if I could find him a block or two. I found a box of about 50 blocks of primo stuff that I had set aside for my personal use ( and forgotten about it). I could have sold every block for $30 each at the show......Oh, Well. At least Don has all he needs, and doesn't have to wait. This is just another reason I need the new shop.

 

[Fletch Helical]

Nice get that camera unpacked and make with the pictures.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

A photo of the tables, and one of a dagger I forged from a metorite .

 

[John L]

Was that 200$ per lb or a 200# tusk?

 

[12345678910]

I see 4 matching tablecloths, are they all yours ?

What sort of variety of items do you consider makes a good display?

High end vs low end
jap vs western
sporting vs kitchen
knife vs sword vs hawk vs wood & supplies

do you find that a good portion of your sales are madeup of supplies?

 

[silver_pilate]

Stacy, I should would admire to see some closer-up pictures of what's on that table. What I see looks great!

--nathan

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

$200 per pound. In days past I bought whole tusks for as low as $75 ( for the whole tusk), but today it is getting harder to get what makes good knives for anything reasonable. many years ago, in the PE days ( pre-ebay), people had no real way to get rid of old tusks, and in those days a $100 bill was a rare sight. People put tusks out on their yard sale tables, or took them to a local jeweler to get rid of them.Then ebay opened up, and folks put them online. The price jumped as there were many more buyers than sellers. Wealthy businessmen wanted tusks to display in their homes and offices. Those folks didn't care what they spent, ,so the standard price went higher. Since ebay has stopped all ivory and mammoth sales recently, the price has skyrocketed.
I will get two perfect large knife handles from this tusk, and a nice stack of folder and small knife scales.

The display that won was the end table ( facing the camera,with the award plaque on the table), where I displayed my hand made items that are more unique. The swords, naginata,tanto, hawks, burl wood LeMatt revolver (cigar cutter),and other items are all high end pieces.Prices range from $400 to $5000. One case is my Bill Moran display ( items not for sale).
This is the fourth year in a row I have won either "Best Custom Display" or "Best Custom Collection" at this show.
The other tables have my wood and then my other knives. I sell folders, hunters, collectible customs, fillet,and some unique knives,..... and a lot of first grade wood. Some years wood sales are more than knives, but it varies a lot depending on the economy, and the type of crowd that comes. This is the only show I am doing right now.
The thing that I use most as my trademark is top grade burl wood handles. My fillet knives are nice, but a $10 Walmart knife will cut up a fish. What makes mine sell for $70-$125 is the handles.

Page, I'll try and see if I took any other photos that are closer. One sword on that table will not have close photos until Ashokan.
Mostly I took a lot of close up photos of Ron Wilson's knife grinder. He sure makes a nice rig. As he says, "It's a knife making grinder...made by a knife maker...for making knives". It truly is a beast for hollow grinding and flat grinding.

 

[Karl B. Andersen]

Mostly I took a lot of close up photos of Ron Wilson's knife grinder. He sure makes a nice rig. As he says, "It's a knife making grinder...made by a knife maker...for making knives". It truly is a beast for hollow grinding and flat grinding.

What is a Ron Wilson knife grinder?

 

[bobbywett]

looks like a very well thought out display Stacy....glad you had a successful trip. I second Karl's question,

What is a Ron Wilson knife grinder?

You can never have too many knife grinders to choose from in this world.

 

[12345678910]

we do love grinder porn

 

[hellgap]

Ok stacey lets see the grinder.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

RW Wilson, he is also called the "Mad Hatter", due to his top hat and 1880's mountain man dress. Here is his site, but his grinder isn't pictured. A call to him will get you more info than you can ask for, and an offer to come see him and build one from scratch with him. I think they used to call him, "The King of the Flat grind/Hollow grind". At demos, he could grind a blade in two passes, one each side.
http://www.rwwilsonknives.com/

I will post a few shots of his features.
First, his setup is rock solid.
Second, his roller guides on the work rest assure that you will be able to repeat every pass identically.
Third, The tracking adjustment is unique to and grinder I have ever seen.
Last, he has an attachment ( all of which change in seconds) for just about any configuration you want.

For more details on how it all works, prices, etc., call RW Wilson.

 

[Fletch Helical]

Nice grinder but hopefully you have more pics of your display, it looks like a great spread you have set up there. The only pic of anything I've seen you do other than the pics in this thread was the hawk you did for the KITH. I'd LOVE to see some swords you've done. :thumbup: