SHOT Show Recap and Q&A

Well, I'm back to the daily grind. Figured I should recap my week, and give ya'll a chance to ask questions about ANY of the new knives KA-BAR has coming out. I apologize, but the pics you got are the ones you're gonna get. Seems that if you have a PRESS badge, pic and vids are fine, but without, they don't get real happy about pics.

Sorry, Flexxx, no Kifaru pics.

So, lemme recap the week real quick, maybe you'll get an idea why there wasn't much posting.

Monday, got up at 5am EST to make my flight. I arrived in LV at Noon PST. Took a cab to Harrah's, where we stayed. Got checked in, got settled in my room, got a shower, and headed down to meet with Uncle E. Had a couple of beers, then headed back to the room for a nap. At 4pm, I attended a Sales Meeting, to get caught up on all the new stuff that Kabar had coming out, prices, availablility, and the like. Very interesting meeting. I had 6 Heinekens. After the meeting, I went out to hangout with some folks I had only known through phone calls. We went to a kareoke bar, and I had about 8 more beers. 10:30pm PST, I headed back to the room, for some much needed sleep. Tuesday was coming fast.

Tuesday, up at 3am PST, which sucked. My body doesn't adapt well from East Coast to West Coast time. I managed to lay around for about an hour, but for the most part, it would seem my day was starting early. Met up with Ethan, and John Benner. It was my first time meeting Mr. Benner, and I must say, he is an awesome person. After a shitty breakfast (Cafe at Harrah's), we headed to the show. Impressive at the least. Overwhelming in size, and the air was charged with tons of excitement. We hit the booth early, got our knives setup, paper work stationed, and got ready for the opening gun. Show started at 8:30am PST. Closed at 5:30pm PST. Not much to tell about my time at the show. Just about every minute of the day was accounted for, standing behind the BKT booth, talking about BKT knives. I got piss breaks and smoke breaks, no lunch (we had snacks for those that wanted it), and water in our booth. Not much reason to leave. See, this wasn't a show that I got to attend, it was a show I got to work at. And work is what I did. Pretty much all day. The way the KA-BAR Booth #1 was laid out, is if you faced the floor, JAB was on the left, ZK was on the front left, KA-BAR Knives had the front, TDI was in the front right, and BKT was on the right. I worked at the BKT. There were reps for every designer, Steve Johnson (JAB), Toooj, Mr. Stitt, OKB, and folks from the Office(Kabar), John Modil and John Benner (TDI), and Me and Ethan for BKT. Also, there were about 5 Kabar sales reps there as well. That was Kabar Booth 1. Booth 2 was a place for meetings, and Mr. Stitt, Toooj, and Kim spent most of their time there. After the show, we hit out and got some dinner at a place called Rao's. Food was great, the company was even better. I didn't get back to the room until almost 9:30pm. Not a bad way to spend 15hrs. I racked out, as my ass was kicked. Wednesday was on the horizon.

Wednesday, I managed to sleep in until 5am (Wo0t!), this time, we skipped the shitty breakfast at the hotel, and hit a coffee shop closer to the show. We were in the booth at 8am. Left at 5:30pm. That night for dinner, we attended the Harris Publications dinner. I hung out with Trace Rinaldi, and some guys from the Special Warfare Training Center at Fort Bragg. Big guys, with some interesting stories. Rueben was there, as well as Mr. Joe Flowers. Had a great time. Made it back to the room at 11pm PST. Not a bad way to spend 17hrs.

Thurday, up at 3am again, eyes wide open. Couldn't go back to sleep, so, I went down to the strip and watched the tale end of the night life. Good stuff. Met with Ethan and Critter at a place called Bouchon. What a way to start the day. Show started at 8:30am, went to 5:30pm. Had dinner with Toooj, OKB, and Mr. Stitt. Damn fine meal at a place called "The First Bar and Grill". If you're in Vegas, go there and eat. Get the blackened Skirt Steak, it will blow your mind. Wore out from the show and lack of sleep, I hit the hay at around 10pm. Not much to report after that.

Friday, slept until 6am, thank god for that. Met with Ethan and Mr. Stitt at Bouchon again (well worth it), show started at 8:30am. I got a few hours to myself on Friday to see some of the show. Not nearly enough time, but I got to see what I wanted to see. Went to a couple of booths to take some pics, and was told no pictures unless you are press, so, piss on it. I went and checked out the ESEE booth and hung out with the Shotgunner, Jeff, Mike, Shon and the rest of the gang. Strolled around checking out more stuff than I thought could fit in one place. Man, there was alot of shit there. Placed a few orders for some hard to find stuff, made some good contacts, and some new friends. Met a guy named James Stanek, a verteran and co-founder of the Paws and Stripes organization. Look them up, they are doing some good work. Show closed at 4:30pm, we packed up, taped up and got outta there poste haste. Some folks had flights leaving that night, but I didn't leave until Saturday. Time to party a little.

Met up with the Shotgunners, Justin Gingrich, and James Stanek. We hit up the Carnavale Bar, and got our Vegas on. I got back to the room after 2am, and started drunk packing my gear. Which was difficult.

Got up Saturday with a touch of the creature upon me, repacked my gear, met up with Ethan, and headed to the airport. Got home at around 7pm Saturday, said good bye to E, and hello to the family. Spent the rest of my weekend hangin' with Ma Girlz and getting ready for work.

So, ask any questions you want to here, about any of the new stuff from Kabar, I have been officially conditioned to answer questions.

Just do me a favor, keep it to 2 questions per post, and I'll answer everything I can.

Moose

 

5/32". On all of them, but the BK15 has the full distal taper and full swedge, so its kinda hard to see.

Moose

 

Something that started at Blade Show, and is in the works. I can't tell you about it, or even show you the pictures I have of it. For now, it must remain a secret, much to my dismay.

But, I did secure the exclusive right to broadcast everything on the forums first, IF IT ACTUALLY COMES TO BE

That's why its so secret, it might not actually get made. No need teasing ya'll with something that might not exist.

Moose

 

SHOT Show is for dealers and distributors. No public access allowed. You have to submit creditials to gain access. Some folks "snuck" in under the guise of other people, but that happens. There are digital copies of the catalog and hi res photos available, but when they release, I am not sure. I will contact Kabar and see what we can get.

Blade is much more fun, its a public sales show, so, you are meeting and physically handing knives over to the masses. Plus, the Pit is a ton more fun, since we all get there a drink after the show, together, instead of splitting up.

Moose

 

You're welcome.

Moose

 

$107.49 MSRP, roughly $5 cheaper than the BK2

Moose

 

March release on the Machax and all new products. For a catalog, contact Kabar, the new ones should be out and available for ordering. If not, I will try to get a PDF of it. Also, keep checking the Kabar website, it has lots of new stuff on it now, or will soon.

Moose

 

You're welcome.

Moose

 

From what I could glam from those in the know, it was for product symetry, and era identification. Ethan and Kabar, are going to start making "era" of knife manufacturing, something of the norm, so, years from now, folks will be able to tell when their particular knife was made.

take for example, roll stamping and flat matte paint, from 2005 til 2012, all BKT's had roll stampings and flat matte paint. From 2012 +, they will have textured powder coating, and laser etching. There were a few of the machaxes made in 2011 that have roll stamping and flat paint. That makes them RARE. Same goes for the BKT Shorts, roll stamped and flat paint, RARE.

l know how you feel about it being extra weight, but the blade balance was made to incorporate that. Also, there might be an instance where you need the pommel extension, Doc, like the condom or the handgun, best to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

I haven't forgotten either Doc, as soon as I get my hands on a production model, I'll be contacting you for your address.

Moose