Nice day at the Show

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Yesterday I had a private showing at the Virginia Beach Fishing Club's annual Oyster Roast. The band was good, the food was superb, and the weather was unbelievable.

I had a lot of interested people, and sold a good bit. I have a box full of items that the people will pick up at the store because they didn't have the cash or check with them, but can pay by credit card on Monday at the Jewelry Store.

The photos are of the table, the knives, and the critters. That's my friend Don Agee behind the table....and he is happy. Yes, that is his smile, you should see his face when he is frowning

I put in some shots of me at the togi bench, sawing out some fish for the wind chimes ( which don't show well in the photos, and I didn't take a close-up). I clamped a sacrificial board to the blade sanding arm and used it as a sawing board.

The "aquarium" is one I am proud of. The fish is hand raised from two sheets of silver, and the two halves are soldered together.After that I gave it an 18 karat gold plating. The sea floor has a cluster of sterling oysters, a sterling clam, Copper starfish and scallop. Above the fish is a platinum jellyfish with its upper half above the domed glass top, and the tentacles and body below the glass.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

More photos of the Higer end cutlery.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

And more critter photos.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Last shots of me cutting out a fish.

 

[Frank Niro]

Always gives a guy a blast to make a few sales. Sure encourages you to make more as well ! Frank

 

[12345678910]

You really put on a good show all by yourself, something for everyone.

I would have been nice to see it all in person .


Nice tablecloth too.

 

[thegeek574]

were sales better than expected?

 

[Pete84]

The kitchen pieces are definitely my favorites... beautiful! Of all the blades you had on display, what were your best sellers at the show? Any shots of the oyster knives or the bowie-types I thought I spied?

 

[Phil Dwyer]

Glad to hear you did well!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Sales were a about what I expected, maybe a little lower, but the exposure was great.
The knives that sold were three fillet knives and four oyster knives. I also sold one "Complaint Dept.", some wind chimes, and several critters. I took a few custom orders, and there are several people coming to the store to pick up items they want to pay for with a credit card. It cost me nothing to be there , and I was appreciative of the sales I had.

A lot of the interested folks may come to my next private show at the store on Dec 11th. That will be a better venue for sales, as there is no other reason for them to come ,except to buy knives and art pieces for Christmas presents. Many of the people at the roast were either familiar with the store, or already customers, but did not know me or that I made knives. I am the mystery man in the back, known only as "Stacy" to many customers. Seeing me in the flesh (and not wearing a blue smock and jewelers hood) was putting a face to the name.

One thing that was really neat was that three people came up and pulled their own personal oyster knife out of their back pocket to show me. All were one of my knives that they had received as a present in the last year or two. They all gave great testimonials about how well they work. It says a lot when they would rather shuck their own oysters than have the professionals doing it at the roast. FWIW, they were right, the shuckers for the roast got way too much grit and shell in the oysters . My bent tip knives enter cleaner ( 15-20 degree kick to the last 3/4").

The high end kitchen and Japanese knives are great table attractions, but I sell very few at shows. The bulk of people still don't understand that a $30 knife from K-mart, or even a $100 Henckles or Global, is a very different animal from a custom san-mai sashimi knife that I sell for $300. The people who know the difference will buy one for a special occasion, but an oyster roast is not the place they will shop for such a large and sharp knife. To tell the truth, I hate to take these knives out of the case in a place where there are too many people and a cut is possible. I always explain that what is a Band-Aid nick with my fillet knives is a bone deep trip to the ER with my sashimi blades.

 

[WA Martin]

What about those folders?

 

[Seals]

Id like to see a closeup of the folders also.They look nice.I really like the aquarium also.The chef knives are fantastic.Ive yet to finish one im happy with.So the drawer is getting full of "users" but thats ok.

 

[Dixieblade57]

Stacy, so how long did take to build up that much inventory?

That is quite a bunch of knives and the variety offers a little something for all ends of the market!:thumbup:

 

[Robber58]

Stacy,
I little off topic but I have a customer that wants grantons in a knichen knife and I have been holding him off because I am not sure how I can accurately put them in. Could you tell me how you did the ones in the blade shown in the case?
Thanks,
Randy

 

[Bailey Knives]

Stacy, I dont know if you have a smartphone or not, but if you do, you should look into something called square or square up. I used it at my last knife show, and it allows you to take credit cards right at the show using your phone. There is no monthly fee and they only take like 2.75% ...less than paypal. I had a few people tell me that they did not have enough cash for one of my knives, and I would point to my credit card sign, and they ended up purchasing knives that they may not have bought otherwise. You can even take a picture of the knife and email them a receipt with the picture. Didnt mean to put in a shameless plug, I have no affiliation with square, but it was very much worth it to be able to take credit cards on site.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I am not smart enough to use a smart phone. I had to have a dial added to my cell phone.
I am not really interested in taking credit cards at shows. I will hold things for a check, or they can come by the store.

I have made the scallops in blades with an electric chain saw sharpener that I modified ( HF). It worked OK.
Most of the blades in the kitchen knives shown are pre-made. I'll be honest, I can't make those blades for what I can buy them for. There are several suppliers. The blades are all made in Japan and of good steel.They are the same blades that the name brand knife companies use.
I can make a nice santoku for $250-$300, and a sashimi for $300-$400 ( depending on the handle). Small knives can be sold for $100.

I do make custom sashimi knives out of ZDP-189 and Cowry-X, but they sell for about $1000 . The steel alone on a Cowry-X sashimi can run $300.
I also make santoku and Deba from W2 and do hamons. They sell for $600-$800.
For those wanting to get a really good Japanese knife in stainless, CPM-S35VN and CPM-154 both make great knives. Nagiri and santoku are the easiest styles to start with.

I made 40 knives over the last two weeks......and finished most of the handles Friday.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Shot of the three small knives in the cutlery case by request.
4" blade Petty or Small Chef - ebony and spalted maple
3.5" Uility - Curly Koa
3" Parer - Buckeye Burl

All are stabilized.

 

[Gevonovich]

I admire all your work Stacy. Just love the innovative bench you have fabricated for your "fish" artwork. Your cephalospoons, echinospoons, and arthrospoons are amazing. What a great compliment to your knife art.

 

[Tai Goo]

Nice display Stacy.

 

[tryppyr]

Too bad I hate oysters. It'd be nice to have a custom made Apelt oyster knife.