Solingen Knifeshow '08 : review in 30 pics

Marcel - what you say makes perfect sense. Germany has always been an expensive place even by EU standards.

How is the market for US makers in Europe?
 
From what I saw at SICAC and from the posted pics from Gembloux, there seems to be a goodly number of traditional smiths in Western Europe. I saw a lot of "blacksmithing" at the show and in ther pics....knives with forged scrolls, friction folders, "brute de forge" stuff, forged integrals, etc. and much evidence of differntial heat treating. And of course, a LOT of very cool and often pricey folders. You also see some forged knives that could be described as slightly "American" looking. What I didn't see was an overwhelming number of bushcraft knives like I have seen in the past on British Blades. If you like knives with fine embellishment like carving, engraving, etc, then SICAC and apprently Solingen are also the place for you:thumbup: I'm not sure what a table costs at Solingen, but SICAC is priced about like New York so you have to sell a couple of extra knives just to pay the rent.
 
jdm61 said:
I'm not sure what a table costs at Solingen, but SICAC is priced about like New York so you have to sell a couple of extra knives just to pay the rent.
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A table at Solingen is € 300. A table at SICAC is € 595...
 
Patrick,

Thank you for the great pics!!! I think I'll try to visit that show next year.

Joss said:
How is the market for US makers in Europe?
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In France I'd say it's better than ever, the collector base is bigger than a few years ago and the US$ is cheap. I really think US makers are VERY competitive in any European show.
 
jdm61 said:
Everything is overpriced if you are a buyer and underpriced if you are a maker/seller...lol:D So Patrick...how is SICAC looking this year with the change in days/times? I am going to try to make it by for at least one of the days again, but purely as a spectator.
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Everyone seems to be unhappy with this changes : both visitors and knifemakers... As far as I'm concerned, I don't enjoy that much the SICAC. I really prefer german shows. With that said, I went to almost every SICAC since 1992, I guess !
 
Joss said:
Marcel - what you say makes perfect sense. Germany has always been an expensive place even by EU standards.

How is the market for US makers in Europe?
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a few weeks ago an american maker (abs ms) asked me the same question. i had to admit that i don't have a clue... however, one thing a maker has to consider is the language (and culture) barrier. europeans usually stick to their fellow countrymen (well, who doesn't?). there are german and french and italian and british forums, fairs, whatever, and numerous small and rather closed markets. you have to be really well known (and speak at least one foreign language...) to be noticed and respected outside your country of origin.

to illustrate the problem, let's change the perspective: dietmar kressler is probably the only well known german maker in the US. the above mentioned richard hehn, a co-inventor (with fritz schneider) of stainless damascus, is a capacity and has been in the business for decades. a few months ago, nordic had one of his knives for sale, and they misspelled his first name... as you can imagine there are dozens of less known makers who will never be able to sell a single knife in the US. the same applies, i think, for american makers who try to get a foothold in europe.

or: count the european bf members who actively take part in the custom knife forum. how many are we? half a dozen, a dozen?

however, of course it would be very cool to travel to paris (4 hours) to see some american makers!

best regards,
hans
 
...and...

thank you very much for the pictures, patrick! i was in solingen three or four years ago. now i know i should have gone again... stupid me...

hans
 
Hans - where are you located?

The thing with US makers is that English is prevalent in Europe. Yes, I understand that some makers / collectors don't speak it, but if there's one lingua franca, it is it.
 
Patrick M. said:
Everyone seems to be unhappy with this changes : both visitors and knifemakers... As far as I'm concerned, I don't enjoy that much the SICAC. I really prefer german shows. With that said, I went to almost every SICAC since 1992, I guess !
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Where is it this year? What is the change you're talking about?
 
Joss said:
Where is it this year? What is the change you're talking about?
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No change for the place (Palais de la Mutualité). But the show is going to begin on friday afternoon and to end on saturday evening, instead of a whole week end.
 
Joss said:
Where is it this year? What is the change you're talking about?
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It's the last weekend of September, Friday afternoon and Saturday all day.
Usually it was Saturday and Sunday (all day).
The Friday afternoon thing makes it hard for most collectors (thos who work on Friday) to get the "hottest" items.
 
Joss said:
Hans - where are you located?

The thing with US makers is that English is prevalent in Europe. Yes, I understand that some makers / collectors don't speak it, but if there's one lingua franca, it is it.
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switzerland. i agree about the lingua franca, but i am sceptic though.

hans
 
Thanks Patrick for sharing these excellent examples with us.
I too love that Hehn Integral Hunter.
The Sigfried Rinkes Elephant theme integral hunter is also out of this world.
I like ALL the Richard Zirbes pieces. His engraving is outstanding.

As said though, they're definitely not giving them away.
 
I understand that Solingen's "Folding Knife of the Year" award was in fact won by a South African, DES HORN.
 
The Brits will buy American knives.....I am living proof that they will even buy ones by newbies if the price is right...lol. J. Neilson has sold a few on BB, I do believe. The Friday thing for SICAC did seem a bit odd. The thing I really liked about SICAC, other than the cool knives, was the neighborhood. Before the show and during lunchtime, you had all of these guys walking around and sitting in cool little Parisian cafe's looking like a band of invading Vikings with a bunch of steel on their hip...lol. With this years pricing and the weak dollar, I do believe that for American makers, SICAC is now officially around $150 more than either of the New York shows.
 
Patrick....did you go to Gembloux this past November?
 
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