Lone Star Knife Expo- What are you bringing?

I had a chance to go to the show early Saturday morning and had a great time. Got to meet some really great guys and see some awesome knives. This was my first time attending any kind of custom knife show and so it was a great experience seeing what other guys are making down here in this region. Didn't buy any knives but did get a bag full of handle supplies. I've got enough handle material for 30 knives now and steel and other material for about 3.

I had the opportunity to spend about 30-45 minutes speaking with Doug Casteel. He saw my bag of materials and was gracious enough to spend a long time sharing advice and tips with me since I'm just getting started in knifemaking. Honestly I had no idea who he was when I was speaking to him but I could tell by the quality of knives on his table that he was someone I should listen to. What an incredibly nice guy he is and he makes some amazing knives too.
 
It was nice meeting those of you who were able to attend. There were fewer customers than expected, and sales were slow. Many of us didn't sell anything, and a few sold one or two. I don't know of anybody that did great. I spent some time chatting with Harvey Dean, Bob Merz, W.D. Pease, Ronnie Packard, Darrel Ralph, and Jerry Moen. My "square" included Tony Baker, Ram Maramba, Tom Overeynder, and Warren Osborne. (I was out of my league :).). Pop's and Charles Turnage got a bunch of my money, and there was a guy there who had boxes full of excellent stag scales who also got some of my money. It was a nice time, but I suspect you all will see some fresh products in the Exchange, as sales were overall slow.
 
Sorry to hear that. Were there any improvements over last year? Did they have a camera ban still in place?
 
I don't know about a camera ban. I took a few dozen phone pictures. The show layout was different this year squares instead of rows. All of the structure changes in the world couldn't make more customers appear.
 
I didn't like the squares. It made it look bigger I think but I somehow missed Jason's table. I was kind of wandering through but when I got through it was hard to keep track of what tables I had stopped by and which I hadn't. I spoke with Tony baker so I was right there but not sure how I missed it.
 
Jason Fry said:
I don't know about a camera ban. I took a few dozen phone pictures. The show layout was different this year squares instead of rows. All of the structure changes in the world couldn't make more customers appear.
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The envelope that had our badges included a list of "do's and don'ts," which mentioned a ban on all cameras. That said, I don't think anyone abided by it.
 
Wow i can't believe i missed this event. Im in east Texas so i would have went. When is the next time this event will come around?
 
carbonsteel928 said:
The envelope that had our badges included a list of "do's and don'ts," which mentioned a ban on all cameras. That said, I don't think anyone abided by it.
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Thank you for the answer.

The ban was enforced last year. Security/show staff even told my assistant he couldn't take pics of our own table.

I'm sure I don't need to elaborate on how much of a problem that is for us.

carbonsteel928, how did you make out? Attending again next year?
 
I made out ok. Sold a couple of knives and picked up a few orders. More likely than not, I'll be there next year too. Having an opportunity to pick the brains of some amazing makers like Pease, Brewer, Champion, Stout, Packard, Winn, etc. is more than worth the price of a table. The networking aspect more than makes up for having all the knifemakers placed in very low traffic area.

BTW, it was great having Pops Knife Supplies there was great; Mr. Poplin is a GREAT guy. I picked up a bunch of cool stuff and essentials for some very reasonable prices.
 
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