Knife show etiquette?

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.
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Roger,

This is what I meant to say.
 
Keith Montgomery said:
When I used to go to shows the thing that bothered me the most was the makers that acted like they didn't want to be there. Sitting behind their tables with a bored, surly look on their faces. Something else that bugged the heck out of me was people that would pick up a makers knife without asking if it was okay.
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Whats funny is the first time I took my father to a knife show he would just pick knives up, I remember tapping his hand the first time I saw it going "No you gotta ask first" the maker looked dumbfounded.
 
The handle / not handle thing is all a question of context. At the AKI, visitors have to pay $100 or $200 to get in, so that pretty much eliminate anyone not seriously commited. At your local gun show on the other hand, you'll see a broad mix of perfectly respectable people along with people who lack maturity and respect for others (and themselves sometimes). The Bladeshow and other knife-dedicated shows are somewhere in between. I suspect that every maker or dealer who has a long enough experience makes a quick assessment of the people comming to their table. Tattooes or no tattooes are not the issue, it's the whole package that matters.
 
As a maker who does a fair number of shows, I do have a short list of things that have troubled me in the past.

1)- a customer placing a beverage container on the table. Coffee, water bottle, whatever- they all leave rings on the cloth, and are easily spilled.

2)- a show attendee laying out his wares on my table to see if I am interested in buying something from him.

3)- a visitor at an adjacent table piling his stuff on *my* table while he completes a transaction with another maker.

4)- any thoughtless behavior. I had a guy come up to my table to chat at the Arkansas show. Because I was not rude to him, he took it as an invitation to take a chair from another table, pull it up to mine (on the customer's side), sit down, and proceed to tell me his life story.

Generally, shows are great experiences with countless opportunities to make new friends, share information, and renew old acquaintences- and maybe even sell a few knives.
 
Perhaps it just all boils down to having manners and good old fashion common sense.

Those who behave properly at the grocery store or the ballpark will behave the same way at knife shows. Others will not. It has nothing to do with dress and/or tattoos.

I only have one tatto by the way. ;):D:D
 
Kevin Jones said:
Perhaps it just all boils down to having manners and good old fashion common sense.

Those who behave properly at the grocery store or the ballpark will behave the same way at knife shows. Others will not. It has nothing to do with dress and/or tattoos.
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Gentlemen,
I couldn't agree more!
Scott
 
Regarding young people and others whom you might not think have the money to buy your knives:

I always try to treat potential customers with courtesy and respect even if I am pretty sure they are not going to buy anything from me now. A lesson I learned in business a long time ago is that the little guy you don't have time for now may be the big guy who doesn't have time for you later. I have practiced this as a customer by remembering those who were rude to me when I didn't have the money and not even considering doing business with them later when I did have the money.

Taking the time to talk to young people and new collectors and explain about handmade knives could pay off with a loyal lifelong customer.

Do you think this kid might buy a Blackie Collins knife or two in the future?
Blade07%20229b.jpg
 
I have been attending knife shows since 1986, and been a table holder since 1993....

1. Wiping with a t-shirt is bad.

2. Cough or sneeze away from the knives please, I have been sneezed on and coughed on, and so have my knives...it sucks.

3. IF little 'un's have questions...am pleasant and responsive.....IF they mess up every knife on the table in a disrespectful manner to the knives...I tell 'em to scram...not my job to teach them manners, it is the parents.

4. If the occasional butthead throws a knife down on the table, I enjoy it, as an invitation to be obnoxious....very cleansing for the psyche....GOOD stuff goes in the cases.

5. What bugs me the MOST at a show is the guy who proudly flaunts his ignorance with something like "stainless steel is garbage....if you want a good knife....it has to be a Case knife....blah, blah". When that happens, I go all Cliff Stamp-jutsu on them, and bust out the Spyderco steel chart. I'll talk for about 5 minutes until their eyes glaze over, and they walk away mumbling. Great sport!!

6. As I have tattoos, and piercings......I tend not to judge personal appearance too much....have any of you ever seen some the better heeled collectors? Big money, not so much in personal style.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
MisterSat said:
Regarding young people and others whom you might not think have the money to buy your knives:

I always try to treat potential customers with courtesy and respect even if I am pretty sure they are not going to buy anything from me now. A lesson I learned in business a long time ago is that the little guy you don't have time for now may be the big guy who doesn't have time for you later. I have practiced this as a customer by remembering those who were rude to me when I didn't have the money and not even considering doing business with them later when I did have the money.

Taking the time to talk to young people and new collectors and explain about handmade knives could pay off with a loyal lifelong customer.
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This is a great point that is sometimes easy to forget.
 
Kohai999 said:
I have been attending knife shows since 1986, and been a table holder since 1993....

1. Wiping with a t-shirt is bad.

2. Cough or sneeze away from the knives please, I have been sneezed on and coughed on, and so have my knives...it sucks.

3. IF little 'un's have questions...am pleasant and responsive.....IF they mess up every knife on the table in a disrespectful manner to the knives...I tell 'em to scram...not my job to teach them manners, it is the parents.

4. If the occasional butthead throws a knife down on the table, I enjoy it, as an invitation to be obnoxious....very cleansing for the psyche....GOOD stuff goes in the cases.

5. What bugs me the MOST at a show is the guy who proudly flaunts his ignorance with something like "stainless steel is garbage....if you want a good knife....it has to be a Case knife....blah, blah". When that happens, I go all Cliff Stamp-jutsu on them, and bust out the Spyderco steel chart. I'll talk for about 5 minutes until their eyes glaze over, and they walk away mumbling. Great sport!!

6. As I have tattoos, and piercings......I tend not to judge personal appearance too much....have any of you ever seen some the better heeled collectors? Big money, not so much in personal style.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Didn't you have a guy throw a knife down, blade first into the concrete, at a show?
 
OilMan said:
Didn't you have a guy throw a knife down, blade first into the concrete, at a show?
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No, that was someone else, but I remember being part of that thread.

Worst that ever happened to me was at a GUN show, someone dropped a knife on the handle of a Randall 14, and the handle got gouged, same show, an idiot was drumming the tip of a one-off Pat Crawford Assassin liner lock on top of the glass display case, and I had to be physically restrained from drumming HER off of the concrete in Puyallup.

Last gun show I ever set up at, in 1995.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
ive only been to one knife show. 2006 plaza cutlery show in huntington beach.

i talked to:

ernie emerson, 45 minutes
stan fujisaka, 15 minutes
greg lightfoot, 15 minutes
guys at strider table, 10 minutes
guys at crk table, 10 minutes

everyone, especially ernie, was very nice and seemed to enjoy answering my questions, which were many.

i cant imagine anyone not wanting to talk to the makers. strange. maybe intimidated?
 
jonathan brand said:
I think the gun and knife shows draw the dirty 'switchblade' crowd. Those are the shows where I have also had worse experiences with vendors. Those attract more of the weapons crowd then the art admiring crowd...
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Hey, I'M the "dirty switchblade crowd"! Don't forget, we have an auto-knife forum on Bladeforums too.;):D

I know people, including myself, who collect fighters, working knives, autos... more artful knives... It just depends on what we're in the mood for when we have the money.

.
 
A less descriptive version of some of our knife fanciers would be a little less aggressive or combative. You've heard the old saying, "Different strokes for different folks"?
 
By switch blade crowd, I meant people who act immature. Those who would think its cool to have a switch blade for no good reason other then to feel tough. Those who dont appreciate knives as art or tools. I like switchblades too (and have owned a few) but they are not my focus when at a knife show and I certainly wouldnt carry one in my pocket for some kind of status. Perhaps I didnt use the right words to describe those Im thinking of. Infact, I didnt. But you have have to admit the crowd at gun and knife shows is quite different, and more obnoxious at times.
 
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