Little Rock - Let's see what you're bringing!

Yes, defineatly more pictures please. Thanks for the shots so far. Very interesting for us non-attendees.
 
I would like to thank David, Chuck, Lin and all involved for outdoing yourselves this year. Do to their hard work, this show continues to improve each year. The knife competitions on Friday evening were I believe the strongest yet and the show crowd Saturday was certainly there in force. Saturday morning the building had cooled down as the loading dock doors were open for the suppliers to bring in their wares but nearly as soon as the doors opened to the public the temperature quickly rose from all of the warm bodies arriving. Soon it was shoulder-to-shoulder people and it stayed that way most of the day. I have no access to actual numbers but it seemed to me to be the largest attendance yet for the show. Sales were brisk and the atmosphere as friendly & congenial as ever. I don't know how many times I overhear talk of how much the friendly, relaxed atmosphere added to the show.

I had the added pleasure to be located between Roger Massy & Lin Rhea which was quite an honor. I can't begin to explain all of the technical know how that I gleaned from the two of them and others like Kyle Royer & Mike Williams who were also nearby. Quite a treat for this old Branson hillbilly.

I was especially thrilled by the display at the Arkansas Historical Museum. I spent many hours there both days being engrossed by the knives on display there which I had heard about all of my life and finally had the pleasure of seeing up close. The shear number of famous knives there was a bit overwhelming and to any lover of knives was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. :)This picture of Steve & Kyle's expression kind of says it all:

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After this kind of motivation, the competition for Best Historically Inspired Knife at next year's show should really be something to see. ;)There was one there that simply called to me and if I can achieve some of the advanced silversmithing required, will be represented on my table next year.



To sum it up, it was quite an entertaining weekend and definitely one to remember. It you didn't have the chance to attend then you missed a dandy.

Gary



Gary
 
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This was my first Arkansas show. I had promised myself after missing last year's that 2014 would be my year. The quality of the knives and the density of top makers, especially ones that frequent this forum, were my prime motivators. I still haven't been to Blade, but this was my best show to date.

I started off on the right foot in the lobby, touching base with Ben Seward, with whom I had to finalize a deal on a rib-ticklingly cute and aggressive looking camp knife in ebony that he posted here. This thing is ready to cut. Perfectly forward balanced and terrific in hand, with great plunges and active hamon, and the sickest guard I've seen from him. I would end up spending a lot of quality time with Ben throughout the show and valued it immensely. In addition to being a very cool dude, all of his knives showed tremendous skill and attention to detail, and coupled with his father's leather work, were a heck of a bargain.

At the Doubletree bar, I recognized Mike Quesenberry and introduced myself, and spotted my buddy Don Hanson across the room. Don and I have done a bit of business together, and have developed an online friendship despite having never met. He was joined by his son Kyle, Joe R (canineforge), the estimable Cliff Parker, and the jovial devourer of custom knives, Preston G. The latter would be the focus of my envy throughout the show, with me always finding that some of the knives that moved me most were already his.

We had a few drinks and got acquainted before heading down to the gala. Don, Cliff, and Kyle showed off some of their wares, whetting my appetite for the night to come. Cliff had a sweet little mosaic Damascus liner lock with gold lip pearl that would end up making its way home with me. Kyle had a great little Damascus utility dressed in ivory that felt perfect in my hand. And Don had that platoon of folders, each more drool-inducing than the last, topped by a gorgeous blue mammoth fighter in tight, clean, W damascus. With the liquor setting in, good people, good conversation , and great knives, I was thinking I was off to a pretty good start.

Seth
 
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I was introduced to and chatted with Chris Montgomery outside the gala. He had a tight, small, 4 bladed Wostenholm with some gorgeous old stag. Just exquisite old world craftsmanship. Chris is a stand up guy who I'd run into again at the Bowie exhibit with his son.

By the time I got through the doors, knives were already on the table for submission to the various "Best Of" contests. Those late to the party probably missed out on some votes, but the talent on display was incredible. I don't want to leave anyone out, but from what I could see, Ron's cowboy hunter and Lin's D-guard Bowie were handled by everyone in the house, often more than once. I really liked Christensen's award-winning bird and trout, Don's fighter, Kyle's pearl and blackout bowies, Lisch's best fighter and Damascus submissions, Quesenberry's ebony fighter, and Horrigan's sword. More than anything, it was a real treat to see the best of the best all lined up together.

I really lucked out at my table seating at the gala. Hanson, Royer, Lisch my kindred spirit, Quesenberry, Seward, Joe R, Bill F, and Jeff (black mamba). The boys will have to tell me if I ever wiped the smile off my face, because I don't remember. They are about the nicest bunch of guys I'd ever wanna meet, and would form the core of my cadre during my time at the show.

We closed out the gala that night and retired for an early run at handle materials the next morning.

Seth
 
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I woke early and Ben snuck me in before those ABS vultures got to the stag and ivory. If you've never seen a grown man in a cowboy hat rifling through Rubbermaid plastic bins on his hands and knees, you don't know what you're missing. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but learned a lot just watching everyone appraise the handle materials that morning. I ended up deciding to stick to knives this trip, and bought nothing, without remorse.

The actual show the first morning was something of a blur. I know that I finalized a deal with Cliff on the gold lip liner lock, and picked up Lisch's super cool walrus tusk push dagger. I met John White, Karl Anderson, Lin Rhea, Jerry Fisk, Tad Lynch, JR Cook, Joel Chamblin and Gary Mulkey (and a bunch of folks I'm forgetting) and got to see their incredible work. John's big walrus chopper was one of the more dramatic pieces of the show.

While arranging for a sheath for the push dagger, I was mocked, harangued, chided, and belittled by Paul Long. I think he likes me :) I had to construct a cardboard sheath for the push dagger because its odd shape couldn't be accommodated by any of Uncle Al's cases and Paul didn't want to wrap it in his spare undies to get it home, the way Dave had brought it. Needless to say, in a room full of craftsman, my handy work was a cause of no small amount of mirth. Sorry folks, no pictures.

I did a burger run for the boys as everyone was starting to look a little peckish, got some burger grease on their Damascus, and headed to my room for what would end up being a long nap.

Seth
 
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I touched base with the guys as the show was closing and Joe R introduced me to AG Russell, which was a real treat. Mike Q and Dave L invited me over to the Flying Saucer for dinner, but I wanted to stop by the museum to check out the Bowie exhibit first. There I met Chris Montgomery again, and whilst escaping the heat of the indoors, met Doug and Tammy Stice outside and hit it off with them immediately. They are fun and charming and made my museum experience what it was. The Bell and California dagger exhibits were the big draw for me. It was a treat to see all of the makers take these in from every angle. They took handmade knives to a new level.

I showed up a little late to dinner, and had to play catch up with a few Jameson's. Dave's cousin and her husband were there, Mike Q, in addition to Jeff and Bill F. Dave and I got to get emotional with each other, and we all had a great time, but as the mix of beer and whisky started to take its toll, I thought it best to make an early night of it. The rest of them put in some serious time that night, and as a result, looked a bit worse for wear the next day.

Ben and I had decided to meet in the lobby to take a look at some sketches he was putting together for a special collaboration project, and got to meet Ryan Hayes whose knowledge and passion were on full display. I ran into Joe R, who owed me a drink from the night before and we had a terrific time over drinks, thwarting my early bed plans, and getting to know the Ozarks through his great story telling. Joe and I made a real and immediate connection this weekend, which was really rewarding for me. His warmth, humor, and willingness to share his experience were unflagging.

Joe - you're the man.

Seth
 
The next morning I ran into Don, Cliff, and Kyle H. for breakfast before heading down to the show. I went to see Bing Bingenheimer about a project we'd been kicking around. He had brought our sketches and the piece of walrus we had both chosen :). It should be a cool piece when it's all finished.

I wandered around, sat with Mike and Dave as Les Robertson held court, which was of course a treat. Joe and I decided a fried chicken lunch was the way to finish out the weekend, and were charmed by the waitress and satisfied by the food. We walked back as the Hansons were packed and ready to go. I said my goodbyes to all my new friends and took the shuttle to the airport.

I've always thought people's show reflections were a bit saccharine. Heavy on people and light on knives. But I can say with ease that despite all of the great knives on display, it was the people that made my weekend so especially memorable.

Thanks to Chuck, Lin, David, and all the great staff who made this show so special for me.

Seth
 
Great report Seth. That was a fun read, really sorry I missed this show and all the great people. Hoping to make up for some of that in Seattle. :)
 
Hell of a write up Seth! Very good to meet you in person my friend and look forward to future meetings.

We had a great time! Enjoyed visiting with a bunch of friends.

Too many names to mention, but a huge 'Thank You' to all!
 
Seth, our visit was most enjoyable. So looking forward to our project. Thanks for the review. I was so busy did not have a chance to thank all that I meet. My daughter and her husband enjoyed their first knife show. Talked about it on our 7 hr return to their home.

Thanks again
 
Wow, great in depth reports above. I too thought it was an incredible show. The size was perfect from my perspective. I was able to make rounds numerous times and have meaningful conversations with all the makers. The atmosphere was cordial and lighthearted, all centered around some of the most amazing knives. Thanks to Steve Culver and Mike Williams I attended the Friday night dinner and marveled at the knives presented for peer review and judging. Congrats to those who won as the competition was strong; so many amazing knives in each category.

I set my sights on a few must haves and tried my best to find them early on Saturday. Unfortunately, I was not alone and many deals were done within the first few minutes of the show (some probably even the night before). There was one knife in particular that I wanted really bad. I made the mistake of stopping to chat with other makers while making my way to this knife and missed it by just minutes. It was purchased by a dealer and immediately marked up. As an example of how cordial this show was, the dealer was kind enough to sell it to me at about the same price he paid (verified by the maker). He told me and I knew he could have taken that knife and sold it for much more to his clients but recognized how much I wanted it and agreed to let it go. Although I don't recall his name, he set up with Mark Straus of Knifeology and I want to thank him again for his kindness.

As much as buying knives, I also had some great conversations with makers about details, techniques, marketing and business. Ron Newton spent time telling me about his methods on keyhole hunters, a new fascination of mine. Also spoke to Dave Lisch about his new keyhole hunters, which were beautiful and one of my regrets for not buying. I talked at length with JR Cook about carving. BTW, he had an amazing "dragon skin" carved ivory Bowie and another relief carved ironwood hunter. That ivory took him two weeks to carve. I also got to show Cook my new mammoth boot knife that he made and I found and rescued from a gun show. I spent plenty of time with Don Hanson’s folders, which also had to remain on my regrets list. There was one in particular that I was happy to see sell as it was torturing me not to buy it.

I quickly blew through most of my funds on Saturday and left with a couple of amazing knives and regrets for not bringing more money. Sometimes you have to balance passion for knives with wanting to remain married. There were several knives that I wanted to buy but had to put off for another day.

Changed my mind and went back to show Sunday morning looking for one knife. I was down to about $500 in my pocket and wanted to buy Ben Seward’s Damascus bird and trout. It was his first Damascus knife and I would have loved to own it. It also just fit within my remaining funds. I should know better than wait until day two to try to buy one of Ben's knives because his knives were all gone and so was he. I emailed him and he responded with apologies but the fault was mine. So, I went and made a deal to buy another folder but had to agree to pay for it later as it was over what I had left in my pocket; so much for budgets.

The only negative experience I had was with another collector, who was came off as competitive and condescending towards me because I don't have half dozen of each of the biggest named makers and don’t limit my collection to ONLY the biggest names as he does. Chalked that up to: "whatever dude" knife collecting is a hobby not an Olympic sport. I buy what I like and from whom I like.

All and all it was a great show.
 
Seth

great recap! Glad we had a chance to meet and talk - it's the younger guys like you who have to keep this all moving forward :D

I enjoyed the show too, especially the chance to talk with makers and collectors alike.....and was fortunate enough to pick up a few knives i really liked as well :thumbup:

Show is moving to a larger and better lit venue next year - should be amazing. The Bowie exhibit at the Historic Arkansas Museum was so interesting - brought you back in time!

Bill Flynn
 
I had a great show. It's always fun having David Lisch and Mike Quesenberry for show neighbors. Dave's winning fighter was about my favourite of his to date. The integral of Mike Q's?...gonna have to break his thumbs!;):thumbup: Enjoyed hanging with Seth...that was a great burger he brought. Regretfully I didn't get to treat him to a round of banjo pickin'...perhaps a phone call is in order. The stag was great! Picked up a couple of nice pieces and left more.
I enjoyed good sales, took some cool orders(more camp knives), and great people. What I took away from the show is to push yourself, execution, quality, and design...don't be afraid to step out of the realm of 'safe'. Use your imagination and try new things. It paid off for me. I'm truly blessed and greatful for the support of guys like Seth who
make it possable to pursue the dream. Y'all come next year, ya hear?
 
Seth that sounds like knife world heaven. Wish I could have been there. I NEED to see Cliffs knife. Are you sure its not brown lip? I supplied him with some brown lip recently so I thought it would be neat if thats the one you got.
 
Just got off the road this minute from the great show in Little Rock, and wanted to add my thanks to Logan for the show photos and to Seth for the commentary.

Logan's table was just across from me, and it was a treat to see his silver filigree work.

Meeting Seth, (Bladeplay74) in person at the show along with all the other collectors and makers is really what knife shows are about.

After each show I return to the shop full of energy enough to last until the next gathering.

There were fantastic knives in Little Rock this year, and I mean fantastic. Those who came know this was a special opportunity to see really special pieces.

John Perry delivered a folder he'd promised me, and I ordered a Don Hanson damascus slip-joint. See, even we makers are crazy collectors.

I spent all the cash I got from the Best Camp Knife ( thanks for the award, guys) (and more) on ancient Walrus! Just you wait til you see what can be done with two matched sections of blue Walrus tusks.

Well, you can tell that the excitement of a show lingers on past the trip home. You who were there understand. You who weren't there should have been!

I'll see you guys in Atlanta in June.

Now back in the shop tomorrow.

John
 
It was a great show and a lot of fun a Big thanks to all of the collectors and makers that helped make this a great show . Seth It was great to meet you and now have a face and a friend to put with the name Bladeplay74. Really it all went by so fast it's good to be back home it was along day getting home late last night. Now it is time to start working on knives for the seattle show and Blade. looking forward to the new digs next year.
 
Dave, This is Barry Connell. Glad that you had a nice time at this show. Hope to see you down the road. Keep hammering them out. I need to try and get to know more people at the shows. I tend to like small groups. This is my bad.
 
Great recap on the show gents. Seth I enjoyed meeting you and thanks for making my son, Prestin, feel involved. Prestin has been to the Little Rock show with my before but enjoyed it much more because guys like you and Joe R. Invovled him making the show much bettter for him. Seeing friends and making new ones is what it was about for me. I did pick up some very nice fossil Mammoth for a slip joint project.

Also great to see more of the Knife Guild makers. I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Gene Basket, much enjoyed. Bobby Toole was there with a table of amazing slipjoints, just as nice as his knives Bobby is such a joy to visit with. I also found myself drooling over a carved ivory folder by Gail Lunn.

Already looking forward to next year.

Chris
 
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