Question from a knife show virgin

KC Slim

KC Slim

Fat Bastid
Joined
Apr 22, 2001
Messages
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I would like to make the Palo Alto show this year, since this would be my first knife show I have a question or five. I have a few different customs I would like to bring to the show too try and entice some knife makers to trade with me, is this taboo?
Can I walk around with a back back full o blades with no hassel?
Who here is going? Thanks for any help you can provide. I have been here for a couple of years, and would realy enjoy putting faces on the names. I would really get a kick out of having 2 or 15 beers with some fellow knife nuts at the hotel bar. :D
 
I will be going to the Palo Alto show and I went last year. It was my first knife show.

I don't think that you will be given any problems but I also doubt (I could be wrong) that you will have much success. Most of the exhibitors are knife makers who want to sell the knives which they made. I would guess that they wouldn't be interested in trading. But it doesn't hurt to try.
 
Slim, I usually have knives with me for Show & Tell, not for trading. Is trading being done at shows? You bet. I would think you'd get better results trading with BF people or purveyors rather than makers. I think they're there to sell their wares rather than trade, but hey, you never know.

First Show, you're gonna be like a kid in a candy store, have fun.
 
I always take a few, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I also like just looking at knives at a show. Whether they be there for sale or if somebody's just packing them around, I appreciate them all. Go 'head and take some.

Just make sure it isn't that 146 piece set you just picked up on the Home Shopping Network. :D
 
Thanks guys, I will bring a few just for show and tell, if Someone ends up wanting one no prob. Vel I thought we were gonna keep the HSN connect on the under;) :D . I sure hope I can exhibit self control once I walk through the door, if not just look for the fat bastid wearing a blade forums shirt drooling heavily:D
 
As a general rule, it's considered very bad form to carry a sign or anything like that. Some shows don't permit it. Why? Because you're supposed to pay for the privilege of exhibiting at the show.

But, there's no problem with bringing a few along and "show-and-telling" them to interested people individually. If someone offers you money or a trade for one and you strike a private deal, well so be it. Keep in mind that unless the knife maker himself is involved, you shouldn't conduct your private deals in front of a maker's table. Move off to some side area.

Most knife makers are to some extent or another, also collectors. If you've got the right item, a trade just might be possible. Keep in mind, though, that knife makers tend to have pretty high taste in knives and tend to be pretty well-connected, so you're gonna have to have some good stuff to win a trade deal.

There may also be dealers there interested in buying your knives, especially if they're collectible.
 
This is going to be my fist show, I cant't wait.:D It will be awsome to finally see all these knives I have been only able to read about like Tom Mayo's knives! I will have to destroy my credit card before I go in.
 
metaxasm
No need to destroy your credit card. The nice mens that make the knives will help you wear the numbers right off of that puppy. Enjoy the show.
jf
 
KC,
My advice is bring a lot to "show and tell" and a few to trade.Sometimes at shows,you may need to move a few things around,in order to get what you want.
Look forward to meeting you.
Randy
 
I used to trade alot at gun shows, but peoples interest in trading pretty much has ended along time a go, IMO.

I wouldn't mess with it, sell your customs here, and take the cash to buy what you want.
 
I wore my custom Primos Bowie to the SE Custom Knife Show. This was my experience:

Only three people asked to see it, and one of them worked in the concessions stand downstairs. Now this is a big sheath hanging down my belt over a foot long, so people's eyes tracked down and registered it was there. But very few were curious. The other two who asked to see it were knife makers, one of which I knew prior to the show and had been curious about the knife before I received it.

So my advice is leave your knives at home unless you just want to show them off to a select few.
 
Here in Kansas City, they have a few shows a year, and there are mostly knife dealers, and not too many custom makers. I carried a canvas bag one day, and at least 4-5 people asked what was in the bag, with interest in either buying or trading. I guess it all depends on the specific personality of the crowd. Trading is just a given here, I guess. I've gotten quite a few great deals, that I would never have been able to afford, otherwise. There's one guy, who's a regular, and we know each other on a first-name basis. He always says, "What you got this time?" I've gotten more blades from him, than any other single entity.

Now, I've never been to a true, custom knife show, but that is something I intend to do soon, so my info will probably not be of much help. You could just keep them all with you, and if people are interested, they will ask.

DD
 
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