Sleepless...

Lorien said:
There's something beautiful and timeless about families who share a passion for working a trade. This father daughter team is quite the duo.
Click to expand...

I have high hopes that this will be me in a few years. My daughter is 5, but she already likes watching knife videos with me and making things in general. Aaron is a lucky man.
 
Ok, so there was this guy, Jeff Driscoll, who had some pretty interesting knives that were fairly clearly influenced by the Nordic or Scandinavian style. One of them looked kind of like a squid attacking a corn husk, but when taken out of the display stand it started to look more like a pineapple. Super weird, but a really interesting piece that I quite enjoyed;








He also had a knife/scabbard combo that interacted in an interesting way. When the knife is pushed into the scabbard, a spiderweb shaped screen filled a window in the scabbard. I had to look up his name on Bladegallery's website, and saw that this knife was available. Not a bad price, either.










I wouldn't exactly call his other knives 'standard fare', but they were all a lot less weird than the two art pieces already shown. Very clean work, and lovely knives.




Ole Pedersen's table was full of very cleanly made fulltang knives featuring a high level of fit and finish, displaying quite unique, flowing, and interesting designs. The knives have a chunky, geometric look to them which I find to be very eye catching. I didn't get a chance to meet Ole, but I'll definitely give him props for his work. I usually gravitate toward more organic looking knives, but a part of me loves the look of hard edges and macho lines.







interesting juxtaposition of tapers, on two largely identical knives;



I love me a nicely designed dagger!




I regret not having met with Emil Bucharsky, a fellow Canadian. He had a smile on his face pretty much the whole time, and I was super impressed with his cleanly made folders. He had one on his table that was partly disassembled, which had nested liners fastened to the backspacer, which fit into the scales that were accurately milled out to accept them. It is very difficult to design a folding knife that looks right, and I have to say I really dug his approach. His patterns were well thought out, and had serious flow to them. If I were to start looking around for a folding knife, I'd definitely consider Emil's product, which seemed to me to be about as good as any others I've seen.





 
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I think that most Canadian knife nuts would probably admit to you pretty quickly their admiration for Murray Carter. He has a very interesting story about how he came to become a knife maker, and my brother from another mother, Stuart Branson stated his admiration for the man numerous times. Murray's knife designs have a real nice flow to them, and an organic nature that makes them feel at home in your hand. And they are fucking sharp, man!

Here's Murray, I actually was able to get a smile out of him!




Here's his table of knives. He was accompanied by a young Aussie fella whose name I can't remember- super nice guy though- who I think might be his apprentice (?). Some of the knives here might have been made by him, not entirely sure.




I REALLY wanted one of these;




here's a racy little number. I like knives that are fun!



I'm really not entirely sure what was going on in these two photos, so I'll let them speak for themselves.



I think I might have found out here that Murray wasn't going to let me keep this knife.





Stuart Branson...what can I say? He sold some knives and his sword was a real hit. It's beautifully made, and very tough. He uses it for cutting and the dude's able to generate some major power, so if it can hold up for Stuart it can hold up to anyone! I'm real sad I didn't get pics of all his knives, especially the chopper he made.




I love this piece...



...but I wouldn't try to steal it :0

 
Yet another maker I didn't actually get to meet, but whose knives were pretty damn excellent. Tony Hughes' knives were glossy and gorgeous. Nothing too outside the box, but super high grade in every respect.




I really dug this knife. Great contrast, super solid execution and pleasing design. Can't ask for much more than that, eh?




I love seeing non knife art, in addition to knives, at a show. It shows a depth of artistic endeavour that knives alone can't entirely quantify. It brings the ability to stirrup the imagination of the viewer (;))




Doug Campbell I did get to meet, and he and his wife were friendly and gracious. I thought his knives kicked ass, to boot. The one he chose to pose with was immediately my favourite, but when I took the time to look through his other knives, I found myself taking double and third takes. I haven't heard of Doug before, but I really like his work.




see what I mean?





Pretty versatile dude.



 
Bladegallery had a really awesome selection of knives available for sale. The pictures here will talk.
















Shelton Pacific had some nice blocks of wood available;





 
So, I was having a lot of fun getting people who I took pictures of to provide me with either a winning smile, or a menacing look of warning.

Here's Steven smiling;



Here's Steven looking menacing;



I think the words I used after the first photo was "ok, now give me a look like you're about to attack". Still pretty smiley, not sure how to take that! lol

Here's the sweet Quesenberry fighter he brought to show off. It was scaled to fit his lady hands, he said, but it felt good to me. And it oozed Quesenberry quality.

 
Really fantastic review of this show Lorien. It was awesome to meet you in person. My wife and I both enjoyed visiting with you immensely. As others have mentioned, it gives us table holders a chance to see what we missed in person. Sadly, there just isn't enough time to take it all in.

Thanks for taking the time!
 
Well, we're getting near the end of the show now, and everyone's starting to pack up.
Bill Burke took me aside and offered to buy me a drink, and the bar was conveniently located in the Montana Mafia room. Watch out for this crew;




Gary House was the lucky raffle winner, and took home this excellent friction folder by Derringer. I had some major envy, as this was one of my favourite knives of the weekend.






One of the big surprises of the show came right at the end, when John Conway, (who I'd met 4 years ago at the Lisch/Knight fighter build course at Studio 4) unshouldered his bag and took out some stuff he'd made...

I thought this folder was terrific. Smooth as glass and light as a feather. Great lines.




This damascus billet will one day make for something of great beauty, I'm sure;




And the biggest surprise was the fighter he'd made. Also a favourite from the show. The contoured and faceted handle was so awesome





 
The tables are emptied, the good byes are occurring, flights are being gotten to and the Seattle International Knife Show is going into hibernation for a year.

It was a GREAT show.






And although I would generally prefer the company of friends, a solitary meal and a frosty beer seemed a good way to bid Seattle farewell.




My last night at one of the least comfortable places I've ever tried to sleep...




...but now I know that the Seattle show is going to be an annual event which I will bring my family to, I'll invest in more upscale accomodations;




Looking back on the weekend, and forward to next year, I can rest assured...



...that next year's visit will not be so sleepless.






The end.
 
Nice thread Lorien, that show looks well worth attending. Man, I love that Quesenberry fighter. I saw a video of it at some point and was drooling.
 
Just excellent Lorien. This was the first show that I had attended in probably 25 or 30 years. It was incredibly exciting for me and by far the best show I have ever attended. You captured it so well. What makes your post so great for me is that I had the opportunity to talk with and admire the creations of just about every table holder there and your photos and narratives allow me to relive many of those moments (if I'm allowed to be so mushy). I think we bumped elbows at one of the tables, you came by to take pictures and I was involved in conversation with the maker. Hopefully I'll get to say hi next time.

I was overwhelmed with the sheer creativity and talent displayed at every table. The knife makers could not have been more friendly, engaging, and generous with their time and sharing of knowledge. I'm sure they get asked many of the same questions over and over. I really enjoyed meeting and talking with them in person. Especially after seeing the work that many of them have shown here on BladeForums.

I walked in to the show at 11:00 am on Saturday and had to leave 1/2 hour before closing. Time went by so fast. Luckily, there was Sunday also. I was also able to visit the Blade Gallery's store a few blocks away. It would be very easy to spend hours in that wonderful place also. Such a great selection of blades and makers represented not to mention friendly service.

Though I don't really consider myself a collector, I came away with a few of the most beautiful, and useable, knives I have ever owned. What a thrill. I will use them with great pleasure. My only regret is not being able to support each and every one of the great and generous knife makers there by owning one of his/her knives. Happily, there is next year.

Thanks again Lorien. You really did capture the show nicely. Mike
 
Lorien, this was the most interesting thread I can remember. ThankYou just doesn't seem to say enough. See you next year.
 
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Keep an eye on Tony Hughes. You will be seeing more of his knives.
Doug Campbell knife maker, cowboy and ranch manager and great guy.
Thanks again Lorien.
Gary
 
Both your pictures and write up was excellent, thank you for sharing your experience!! Really enjoyed this thread :thumbup:
 
Thanks for the excellent review Lorien! I will definitely try and make the show next year!
 
thanks guys, I appreciate all your kind words, and I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
 
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