The death of knife shows

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Doubletrouble

Joined
Apr 23, 2013
Messages
32
I recently heard from a supplier that the San Antonio ABS knife show is cancelled and the Texas Knife expo in Dallas ( mixed in with a gun show ) most likely will also not be for 2015. the Guild and ABS may come together in 2015 but nothing for sure We have got to support these guys! They work hard to put a great event together. I realize some shows sell out and could hold more if there was a larger venue but they can't stick it out there for just a few more. Even the Blade folks quit doing the Portland Oregon show several years back and AG Russell dropped out last year. I think we need to voice what we will need to keep spending money for tables so the promoters know why their shows are not being supported. Rumor has it a show is being planned for Central Texas / Ft Hood area. I say we all need to support this if it comes to be! Not only is it good to support the promoters but if this one does take place it will be a way to show the troops thank you. If anyone hears anything about new shows or the struggles of the current shows, post it! I know the advertising thing but this is about all of us this is not about a corporation making money. Shows is one of the best way to get new blood into knife making.
:thumbup:
 
I can't speak for those specific shows, but I can say that if they're anything like the gunshows here in Central Florida; all the knife guys are either:

1. selling nothing but flea market junk (S&W and Mtech abound)
2. selling name brand knives at or above msrp (What? No. That's why we have the internet)
3. selling nothing but really battered old military knives at vastly above any sane price (Not my lane)

There's a reason why I don't buy knives at shows, and if these issues are prevalent at your shows, it might be why they're folding.
 
I have to agree with your assessment Quiet. However, point #2 isn't always true. I've gotten a couple of Emersons at the Suncoast Gun Show that were about $15 cheaper than online prices at the time. Legit and in good shape. I didn't have to wait for shipping and I picked out my own specimen. Yes, for the most part prices do generally hover around MSRP but they can also be a good place to get knives you don't see everyday in hand. With technology as it is where most folks have a smart phone or tablet all it takes is a quick search to make sure you're not getting hosed.
 
I suspect sales don't justify the cost to the vendors when many have a vibrant internet/catalog based business such as AG Russell. The same could be said about the various other retail knife dealers such as those who support BF.

But I would hate to see knife shows go by the way side. But they really are a speciality item with even more limited appeal or attraction than fireams and firearm accessories. There used to be knife shows in my area, but they have largely stopped. I did go to a small one in Dalton GA earlier this year and it was fun. It was pretty much slipjoint heaven.

I don't know the answer to the show problem. Generally speaking sales at the show must offset the cost to have tables and hotel/food have to produce a profit to make it worth the vendor's time unless they are just doing it for fun. My thought is that the knife dealers should focus on gunshows.
 
I have never seen any decent buys, or really many decent knives period at gun shows in the last few years. I generally don't go to gun shows anymore, after 2009 the crazies started to come out of the woodwork and after Sandy Hook they really seemed to descend en masse to most shows around here. That combined with the insane gouging on ammo especially made me pretty much give up on gun/knife shows.
 
The problem with knife shows is the internet, Blade and cheap airfare. For many people, they just buy off the internet now, particularly the collectors of old knives. Blade has gotten so big makers don't need to go to other shows. It's so cheap to fly to Hotlanta there is no longer a need to have a knife show in a region to get people to attend.
 
We need some knife shows in Arizona. The knife laws are some of the best in the county and no shows at all are meaningfully advertised. Being so close to California and Nevada, you'd think someone would come to the obvious conclusion that a yearly knife show would be a good idea.
 
I went to my first strictly knife show (as opposed to gun show with knives) this Spring and had a great time. Of course, for may things you could find lower prices on the internet. I think the thing we have to keep in mind is that its not simply the economics of acquisition. You need to account for the social and enjoyable aspects of such events. It was great to see and talk to others and take a look at things that I could normally. So as much as I like purchasing on the internet, I'm trying to spread some money around at the knife show when it comes back around so that such things continue in the future.
 
If I go to a knife show it's to check out the custom makers and what they are doing and have available....

The production stuff can be had anywhere...
 
While the commercial , production folks are needed and it's good business for them to support the local show while showcasing their products at the knife show (can't touch a knife on the internet or in a catalog) I am talking about the custom Knife shows where the guy who makes one at a time knives. Yes their prices for their products are higher, the quality is too, there isn't thousands of the same model out there either. If we start adding catalog or more internet advertising to the cost of a custom knife it will soon be more costly to produce a knife. I go to buy but I also go to meet makers, get ideas and buy supplies without those pesky shipping costs. If your idea of a knife show is looking at what the production makers have you are really the one that needs to hit the custom knife shows. You are missing what knife making and knifemakers are all about. Got to a custom knife show, support the people that brings us the knife show and finally show your appreciation to the custom knifemaker for what they do. You just might be one of those table holders some day!
 
Never been to a knife only show, but would love to. But I'm hesitant if they are anything like the gun and gun/knife show's I been to
-beef jerky
-vastly overpriced cheap stuff
-signs not to handle the merchandise
-overpriced beef jerky
-Chinese copies being sold as the "real deal"
-really hot beef jerky

It would be interesting to look at what some of the local small-time smiths are up to.
 
One of the best knife shows in the country is right here in my front yard. The annual OKCA show in Eugene, Oregon in Mid April every year, we normally have around 470 tables of knives. It draws people from all over the world. Even as good as this show is, I have seen some decline and I believe that part of that is due to the number of us older guys that are either dying off and or quitting compared to the ratio of younger guys coming up.


this photo covers about 25-35 % of the room.
 
Thales of Miletus said:
I went to my first strictly knife show (as opposed to gun show with knives) this Spring and had a great time. Of course, for may things you could find lower prices on the internet. I think the thing we have to keep in mind is that its not simply the economics of acquisition. You need to account for the social and enjoyable aspects of such events. It was great to see and talk to others and take a look at things that I could normally. So as much as I like purchasing on the internet, I'm trying to spread some money around at the knife show when it comes back around so that such things continue in the future.
Click to expand...

That sounds great, until you attend one of the gunshows near me, where there are only several booths at the whole show devoted to knives, and the three of them who are actually selling quality knives all seem to have staged a contest with each other called "Who can charge the most for this Spyderco Endura!*" I'm all for supporting the little guy and spreading my knife-buying funds around, but within reason. That's why I don't buy knives at gunshows, personally. $40 or $50 above prices found online are outside of my comfort zone of support. I understand others might have a higher comfort threshold. I just think that a lot more folks have a comfort zone similar to mine, which is why you are starting to see knife shows going away.









* Or Manix XL, or ZT whatever, etc.
 
Particularly with the comfort and ease of the web, as more people become willing to risk buying a product without holding it or seeing it, knife shows and exhibitions of all kinds will continue to decline. The internet is just the Sears catalog of the 21st century on a grander scale.

With a knife, perhaps more than most things, certain aspects of "feel" are as or more important than what it looks like. It's easy to communicate the overall look of a knife through three or four pictures, however it's impossible to convey the feel in hand, the opening action and lock-up.

Even with the amount of money spent on return postage and time lost waiting for exchanges it's just too easy the web way. We'll take our chances...
 
I wish there was a good show in driving distance of Erie Pa. I was tempted to drive down to Atlanta this year for Blade. closest thing was the outdoor and travel show there was one guy who has some benchmades and spydercos, but a lot of cheap junk.
 
If Walmart charged $7.00 (or more) to get in, their business would go down too. I went to a couple of shows (gun and knife) here in NorCal before I figured that between the entry fee, the gas to get there, and the high prices, I was better off shopping on the web. The 'customer experience' was closer to that of a mark at a carnival than someone with good money to spend after an intelligent conversation.
 
Never been to a knife only show. If the show was like Shot I would go. Once a year, big venue, orders taken for new products and must be a dealer to attend. Would the industry do it?
 
I like a good knife show. Where else can you see so many different offerings, and actually get to handle knives that before, you have only seen online.
 
My understanding is that the smaller knife shows are mostly older makers with a lot of fixed blades and traditional knives. The market just isn't there anymore.

There are still a ton of shows spread throughout the country. ECCKS, NYCKS, BLADE, The Gathering, Plaza Cutlery, AKI, TKI, etc etc etc.
 
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