Kohai999
Second Degree Cutter
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2003
- Messages
- 12,554
Went to Las Vegas this weekend to work for my good friend Matt Diskin of Volcan Knives. Worked my regular job, rec'd the bad, sad news about R.W. Loveless
and entered the plane in a reflective mood at 3:00 pm, was in Vegas a short time later, and my luggage showed up...briefly chatted with my friend, knifemaker to the stars Tim Galyean...got with Matt and my business partner Pete who arrived together, and we cabbed over to Planet Hollywood where The Gathering was being held. Called brother Joseph who had gotten there at 2:00 pm and he was antsy to start drinking like a Viking....this was not "in the cards"
...
Becaaaaause Matt and I decided to do dinner on Thursday night at the Pampas Churrascaria(which in Portuguese is "barbecue", but in English translates to Impacted Colon)....rodizio service is what they specialize in. Passadores (meat waiters) come to your table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of meat, be it beef cuts, lamb, bacon-wrapped turkey...it is all you can eat....it also means that because your guts are FILLED with meat, there is no room for booze. Joseph started off the night wanting to party like a rock star, but the time we finished eating at 11:00 pm, he wanted to curl up on his bed and watch a movie....rookie!
After stuffing our faces, I played blackjack for about 1/2 hour and lost my ass....which was the story for the rest of the weekend.....if you are a blackjack player, avoid the casino in Planet Hollywood....I got served worse here than any other place I ever played.
Up real early the next day to pick up a package from the business center, had agreed to present some sterling silver skull beads from DeadRinger http://skullrings.net/range.htm at the show, and they were shipped directly to the hotel from New Zealand...pretty cool! David Mirabile went with me, he had shipped his knives to the hotel....then we went to the show floor.
Now, I gotta say, Larry Brahms did a pretty kickbutt job with this show. The badges were the card type, not the paper type slipping into a holder, with a lanyard provided by that master of showmanship, Neil Ostroff of True North Knives(and true to form Neil was sporting his "naughty scoutmaster" shirt he wore at Blade, whatta clothes horse!)...There was ice water and coffee provided at no-cost, a no-host bar was running IN the showroom from about 10:00 am until 5:00 pm...it was a two day show, Friday and Saturday, easy in/easy out, there was food service IN the showroom from about 11:00 am to 2:00 pm...bathrooms were located right outside the show room....in other words, very user friendly, and right off the bat, attendees were made to feel comfortable. Show was well attended both days, and collectors were leaving good money in the room.
Got to meet Mike Snody again, and we had a couple hours to chat.....lotta makers have dislike for Mike because he has a LOCK on his style of marketing...instead of hating, they should be taking notes. Jade from Starlingear sold me his only skull carrier bead on hand, and then tied a Chinese button knot in the skull lanyard project that I have been working on....he has never done me anything but solid....much appreciation there. Picked up a mid-tech Razel from Jon Graham(it isn't Graham Brothers anymore, Josh has moved on) with the most hellish color combo of light yellow and black G10 ever made....I thought/hoped it was Spanish Micarta so it could be dyed, but the utility of the piece is undeniable, affordable and therefore, a must have.
Entered into lotteries for Phil Boguszewski, Sal Manaro, and Ken Onion Knives didn't get drawn for anything, but all of the knives were really nice....although if it hadn't been The Gathering, pretty sure that Phil B would not have used jade green G-11 for some of his pieces. My friends, the two Tony's from Microtech were there....haven't seen Senior in about 6 years, and we got to hang out for DAYS....I mean, we go back, back to like 1994....Tony jr. was 12 years old when I first met him, now he could crush me like a grape, and could probably palm my head in his meaty fist. Microtech did a show special Troodon on Friday, and a discounted LUDT on Saturday that had other manufacturers crying, and show attendees jumping for joy....way smart move.:thumbup: Picked up some amazing stabilized curly koa wood from Alpha Knife Supply, the best place in the world to get your knifemaking supplies.
We went to dinner at Mon Ami Gabi on Friday night, at Paris.....very decent meal, prices not out of line, and I got to drink more....Matt graciously picked up the tab, even for Gavin Hawk who looks like he hasn't eaten in a week, but is probably sitting on a fat stack of Benjamins and is just too tight to get off his paper. I went up to Tim Galyean's sweet suite when we got back to the hotel and kicked his butt in air hockey..three times..which was located IN the suite....went down and forked over another chunk of change to the blackjack dealers and faded....my friends got themselves into trouble.....big, funny trouble.
Had been refluxing all night, and woke up at 6:30 am feeling terrible....but ice water and a hot shower helped immensely. Went to Matt/Joe/David Mirabile's room at 7:15 and woke them up singing "Rise and Shine"....good stuff....we went down to the showroom, and Joe did some decent sales. I did not....I sucked....was the worst knife salesman I have ever been...my heart just wasn't in it.....we all know that I can and will do much better last time, but this was an embarassment. We broke down from the show, Tim Galyean came by and GAVE me a hand etched signature Kershaw Rake, Jon Graham gave me a t-shirt, as did my old friend Tim Wegner, along with some Glenfeddich whisky. We took a Ford F-5000 Limousine to Lawry's and I drowned my sorrows in prime rib, lobster tail and two magnums of fine cabernet.....we went back to the hotel and again, was brutalized by smiliing female asian blackjack dealers...oh the humanity.
Won $80.00 at the airport slot machines on the way home.
.....Great times, much love for my friends.
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
and entered the plane in a reflective mood at 3:00 pm, was in Vegas a short time later, and my luggage showed up...briefly chatted with my friend, knifemaker to the stars Tim Galyean...got with Matt and my business partner Pete who arrived together, and we cabbed over to Planet Hollywood where The Gathering was being held. Called brother Joseph who had gotten there at 2:00 pm and he was antsy to start drinking like a Viking....this was not "in the cards"...Becaaaaause Matt and I decided to do dinner on Thursday night at the Pampas Churrascaria(which in Portuguese is "barbecue", but in English translates to Impacted Colon)....rodizio service is what they specialize in. Passadores (meat waiters) come to your table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of meat, be it beef cuts, lamb, bacon-wrapped turkey...it is all you can eat....it also means that because your guts are FILLED with meat, there is no room for booze. Joseph started off the night wanting to party like a rock star, but the time we finished eating at 11:00 pm, he wanted to curl up on his bed and watch a movie....rookie!
After stuffing our faces, I played blackjack for about 1/2 hour and lost my ass....which was the story for the rest of the weekend.....if you are a blackjack player, avoid the casino in Planet Hollywood....I got served worse here than any other place I ever played.
Up real early the next day to pick up a package from the business center, had agreed to present some sterling silver skull beads from DeadRinger http://skullrings.net/range.htm at the show, and they were shipped directly to the hotel from New Zealand...pretty cool! David Mirabile went with me, he had shipped his knives to the hotel....then we went to the show floor.
Now, I gotta say, Larry Brahms did a pretty kickbutt job with this show. The badges were the card type, not the paper type slipping into a holder, with a lanyard provided by that master of showmanship, Neil Ostroff of True North Knives(and true to form Neil was sporting his "naughty scoutmaster" shirt he wore at Blade, whatta clothes horse!)...There was ice water and coffee provided at no-cost, a no-host bar was running IN the showroom from about 10:00 am until 5:00 pm...it was a two day show, Friday and Saturday, easy in/easy out, there was food service IN the showroom from about 11:00 am to 2:00 pm...bathrooms were located right outside the show room....in other words, very user friendly, and right off the bat, attendees were made to feel comfortable. Show was well attended both days, and collectors were leaving good money in the room.
Got to meet Mike Snody again, and we had a couple hours to chat.....lotta makers have dislike for Mike because he has a LOCK on his style of marketing...instead of hating, they should be taking notes. Jade from Starlingear sold me his only skull carrier bead on hand, and then tied a Chinese button knot in the skull lanyard project that I have been working on....he has never done me anything but solid....much appreciation there. Picked up a mid-tech Razel from Jon Graham(it isn't Graham Brothers anymore, Josh has moved on) with the most hellish color combo of light yellow and black G10 ever made....I thought/hoped it was Spanish Micarta so it could be dyed, but the utility of the piece is undeniable, affordable and therefore, a must have.
Entered into lotteries for Phil Boguszewski, Sal Manaro, and Ken Onion Knives didn't get drawn for anything, but all of the knives were really nice....although if it hadn't been The Gathering, pretty sure that Phil B would not have used jade green G-11 for some of his pieces. My friends, the two Tony's from Microtech were there....haven't seen Senior in about 6 years, and we got to hang out for DAYS....I mean, we go back, back to like 1994....Tony jr. was 12 years old when I first met him, now he could crush me like a grape, and could probably palm my head in his meaty fist. Microtech did a show special Troodon on Friday, and a discounted LUDT on Saturday that had other manufacturers crying, and show attendees jumping for joy....way smart move.:thumbup: Picked up some amazing stabilized curly koa wood from Alpha Knife Supply, the best place in the world to get your knifemaking supplies.
We went to dinner at Mon Ami Gabi on Friday night, at Paris.....very decent meal, prices not out of line, and I got to drink more....Matt graciously picked up the tab, even for Gavin Hawk who looks like he hasn't eaten in a week, but is probably sitting on a fat stack of Benjamins and is just too tight to get off his paper. I went up to Tim Galyean's sweet suite when we got back to the hotel and kicked his butt in air hockey..three times..which was located IN the suite....went down and forked over another chunk of change to the blackjack dealers and faded....my friends got themselves into trouble.....big, funny trouble.
Had been refluxing all night, and woke up at 6:30 am feeling terrible....but ice water and a hot shower helped immensely. Went to Matt/Joe/David Mirabile's room at 7:15 and woke them up singing "Rise and Shine"....good stuff....we went down to the showroom, and Joe did some decent sales. I did not....I sucked....was the worst knife salesman I have ever been...my heart just wasn't in it.....we all know that I can and will do much better last time, but this was an embarassment. We broke down from the show, Tim Galyean came by and GAVE me a hand etched signature Kershaw Rake, Jon Graham gave me a t-shirt, as did my old friend Tim Wegner, along with some Glenfeddich whisky. We took a Ford F-5000 Limousine to Lawry's and I drowned my sorrows in prime rib, lobster tail and two magnums of fine cabernet.....we went back to the hotel and again, was brutalized by smiliing female asian blackjack dealers...oh the humanity.
Won $80.00 at the airport slot machines on the way home.
.....Great times, much love for my friends.
Best Regards,
STeven Garsson
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