Knife show etiquette?

H

Hmathews

Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
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What is it that people, on either side of the table (maker or customer), do at a knife show that you really don't like? A few of the things that bother me are:

1. Someone walks up to our table, takes a picture of a knife, then turns and walks off, with out saying one word to us.
2. Someone that wipes off one of our knives, after they look at it, on their pants or with a cloth out of their pocket.
3. Another maker visits your table so many times during the show you start counting the trips. He never says anything, just looks, brings friends and talks about your knives, but won't enter into any conversation no matter how hard you try.
4. Bleeding on our table covering.
5. Makers that sit, and act like they would be insulted if you ask a question.
 
Interesting question.

If you had asked about GUN shows, I could write you a book!:D

Unfortunately, I've only been to the Denver PKA knife show and to tables at Denver gun shows. I won't count the gun shows because I don't think that's what you're asking.


I hate it when I'm walking around a knife show and stop at a table because I see some nice stuff and the maker is there and he/she is SO nice to me and answers all my questions so that I feel guilty walking off and not buying something.

I hate it when a knife maker is selling stuff that is SO high-end and expensive that I'm afraid to touch anything and he/she still invites me to handle all of his/her knives and they don't even care that I can't afford them; they're just happy to see me enjoying handling them, so that I feel privileged to even have met these people and handled their knives.

I hate it when I walk up to a table of a new knifemaker and he/she's just happy I'm interested in his/her stuff and is super-cool and humble and I don't have enough money to buy everything on his/her table.

:D :D :D

.
 
I fully agree with fulloflead, when you run into a table with nice people happy that you like what they do and you can't afford to help support their business it kills me a little inside. (Probably because even though I can't afford it it's groat stuff at a great price, no one ever said nice stuff wasn't cheap.)
 
Hmathews said:
2. Someone that wipes off one of our knives, after they look at it, on their pants or with a cloth out of their pocket.
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What is wrong with this? I ask whether I can handle the knife and if I leave a fingerprint I try to remove it using the same cloth I use for cleaning my glases (very fine fabric). I never noticed any disagreement from the other side of the table.

David

PS: I would not buy knife I could not handle, yet many knifemakers have "do not touch" signs on their tables. I do not even slow down there.
 
David1967 said:
What is wrong with this? I ask whether I can handle the knife and if I leave a fingerprint I try to remove it using the same cloth I use for cleaning my glases (very fine fabric). I never noticed any disagreement from the other side of the table.

David

PS: I would not buy knife I could not handle, yet many knifemakers have "do not touch" signs on their tables. I do not even slow down there.
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I agree about handling knives. I am much more comfortable talking to makers who want me to pick the knives up. After all, there's a lot your hand can tell you that your eyes alone cannot.

The only problem I see with someone wiping off the knives themselves is the unknown cloth they use. You deal in knives, so you know how to clean them. Others may not, and could even mar the blade.
 
We love for people to pick up our knives. That is why we put them out there. I understand that it is accepted that you should ask for permission, so when someone pauses at our table, we encourage them to pick the knife up if they see something that interest them. It doesn't matter to us if it is a high end knife or not. We want people to be able to see it up close and get the feel of the knife. That is what often sells it. It is also hard sometimes to tell what people are looking at, or what they are interested in if, they are just standing there with their hands in their pockets. That makes it harder for us to help them with their selection. We want to know what people are interested in. We will sometimes move a knife around on our table to see if it is the knife or table position that makes people select that particular knife. If a person picks it up , we know.
My point about the cloth is that people will not buy a knife if it has a scratch on it. While the intentions are good, when someone wipes down a knife after handling it, we don't know where that cloth has been or what is on it. The cloth might have picked up something from your pocket or another knife you just wiped off. It takes very little to scratch polished steel, whether it is hard or not. One speck of grit can ruin a finish on the knife. We don't mind if you put finger prints all over the knife, we want you to feel comfortable handling the knives. We don't want anyone to worry about fingerprints. We have what we need to remove them and that way if there is a scratch; it will have been us that put it there.
 
Glad to hear that about the wiping of the knife I would have thought I was being polite and respectful but you make a great point and I will know in the future that it is more respectful NOT to wipe the knife off
 
What the heck is there to wipe off? When I am examining someone else's knife - whether it be a maker at a show or a fellow collector showing me his knives - I don't grope and paw the blade. I hand it back it the same condition it was handed to me.

Roger
 
I agree with what Roger said!

I really haven't had any negative show experiences in a long, long time :)
 
Wiping...
We all expell droplets of saliva as we speak. Those droplets can
leave specks on a carbon steel blade if not tended to quickly.

A coat of car wax will help, but it's still wise to keep a close eye on your blades, and a cloth or shammy handy.
 
I agree with cockroachfarm. I would like to see prices on all the knives. Even if I can not afford most of them, I try to learn as much as I can at the shows and this includes the price ranges of different makers.
 
I don't mind the "do not handle" signs if they are on high price, highly ornate knives. I understand where the maker is coming from with this, and obviously there's been a few instances where a lot of work was ruined by a careless visitor.

Like others, I would like to see prices, ideally without having to pick up the knife and turn it around.

A maker should have at least 1, and preferably many, knives available for sale at the opening of the doors. I realize that some makers feel compelled to sell knives before the opening of the show, but make sure you have something to offer to the people who came to the show on the basis of you being there. On the other hand, don't hide your knives to have something the next day.

Attitude behind the table is somewhat important, but I've never had a dreadful experience. On several occasions, I have been put ill at ease by the salesmanship not of the makers but of their wives or girlfriends. The ladies are obviously very proud and defensive of their partners' work, but sometimes it's a tad over the top.
 
Joss said:
I don't mind the "do not handle" signs if they are on high price, highly ornate knives. I understand where the maker is coming from with this, and obviously there's been a few instances where a lot of work was ruined by a careless visitor.
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I understand this also, but if you go to Virgil England's table you can handle some high price, highly ornate knives (and other artifacts) :)
 
Yes, this is a maker's decision. I expect that if the maker is confident you're a serious potential customer, he will let you handle anything (on his table :)).
 
I have seen some rude customers at some makers tables pawing everything just to be pawing them. I was taking with a high end maker about one his fixed blade knives when one of the what he referred to as "mall-ninjas" (I like that name and description) came up and picked up a handmade folder (price tag $5000). The look on the maker's face when he heard THAWAAK--THAAAWAK as this pinhead started flipping the blade open with a gravity wrist flip!!! The pin head ninja then set the knife down smiled at us and walked away into the crowd. The maker examined the knife, but I don't know if there was any damage. I say have some respect for someone's work.
 
I have been told by a few people that running your thumb along the edge of a knife to test the sharpness is in poor taste and damages the edge. One example of many different makers informing me of many different things. I appreciate that little bit of knowledge, and try to be as courteous at shows as I can. All I ask is that I get that same courtesy back.

And I have. No joke, but probably tenfold. Some makers at last years Timonium knife show seemed unapproachable from across the room, but a quick, polite, Hi, how are you doing today? is a great ice breaker. For the most part, most of the knife makers I've met are sociable people who want to get off their butt and do something. Whether that is looking at what the other makers have, stretching their legs, or just getting in on the conversations. If I am talking to a maker, I might say up front that my money is tied up in other makers commissions, but that I want to get a knife from them some time down the road, and I pick up a business card. Usually, they don't even try to press a sale on me, but relay the particulars on their knives to me. Other makers, I will tell them that I would like to commission a piece, I tell them my handle on the online forums, and set up any particulars. Only at gunshows have I had people treat me like crap, when I was about to buy something, cash literally in hand, and ultimately didn't because of their rude business practices.


What FOL said, I feel really bad when I have been able to paw every single custom that is on a makers table, and don't buy one. Thats because I'm poor, though. "Sir, I will gladly trade one of my kidneys for that damascus bowie". :D

I told one maker, who was in Blade a couple of years ago, that my dream knife was a folder with bright damascus blade, and mastodon ivory scales, and damascus bolsters. The knife was around ten grand, but he let me check it out. When I absentmindledly opened it too rough, he didn't chastise me, although I profusely apologized to him. He showed me how to open it, and how to take care of it. One of the small but vast reasons that knife makers are generally such good guys.
 
I am not one that purchases knives but I am very familiar with them as I am a professional sheath maker. When I go to a show, it pleases me when a maker smiles at me and invites me to pick up and examine a knife. Having had so much contact with knives over the years, I can generally tell how it would feel in hand without touching or holding. If the work is obviously good on the showing side, I would assume that the hidden side is of the same caliber worksmanship. I thank the maker for the offer but decline stating my reasons. If I were interested in folders I would expect the maker to allow me to check the smoothness of the action. As I make mostly sheath knife sheaths, I do not have to do this.. I do not care to converse with makers that think they are kin to God, and grudgingly give answers to questions from one who is obviously not a buyer. I believe that I have had personal contact with more knife makers than the average buyer will ever have and find most of them to be very personable people that take pride in their skills. Over the years I have found few to be disagreeable, other than a few self proclaimed geniuses. On the other hand I have seen many collectors, would be collectors, and just casual customers (that could not trim their fingernails) that relish displaying their knowledge of knifemaking, steels, and materials to all who would listen. That some actually possess this knowlege I know to be a fact, and them I have admiratiion for, justifiably. The others I have little tolerance for as they profess to be able to rate the artisans work without ever having "hands on" experience. I doubt that they are qualified to do so!

The skill level of the knifemaker I make sheaths for runs from raw novice to the master smith and I find all of them to be most delightful people whom it pleases me to consider friend. I seek them out whenever I go to a show and the respect I have been given always pleases me, craftsman to craftsman.----------- From the isle side of the counter, I sometimes see a maker talking to a potential customer and fail to acknowledge others looking at his knives. I feel that eye contact and a nod at this point would not be asking too much and the viewer would feel that he was not being ignored. The potential customer could and will accept this small detraction as public relations on the sellers part.-----Sandy----
 
Russ Andrews said:
Wiping...
We all expell droplets of saliva as we speak. Those droplets can
leave specks on a carbon steel blade if not tended to quickly.

A coat of car wax will help, but it's still wise to keep a close eye on your blades, and a cloth or shammy handy.
Click to expand...

Good point Russ. A light coat of Ren-wax before the doors open goes a long way toward protecting the blade from this, as does periodic wiping - which I leave to the maker. If I handed somebody the fabulous stag bowie of yours with the amazingly perfect finish, only to see them gum up the blade with their greasy fingers then whip out a cloth made of who-knows-what that has been who-knows where and start to give it a vigorous rub-down, well....:mad: :grumpy: :mad:

Roger
 
Swivelknife hit on a point. That when a maker is showing his knives to a customer to at least acknowledge the other customers. I have gone to tables in the past and it seems that some makers are overly focused on that sale, and look right past the fact that two others could be made with a smile and a nod.
 
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