I carried and collected knives since my dad gave me my first one when I was 4. It is all his fault
. I was pretty much a normal Greek hilbilly kid who lost, broke or blew up just about everything he had, but I still have and carry that Imperial stockman. The hook sunk in early.
I am orginally from Chattanooga TN and there was/is a lot of knife goings on in that little city. Blade was started there by Bruce Voyles, Jim Parker had his own company and later owned Case, Frost Cutery was based there, Cas Iberia was just outside of town and the NKCA was headquarted there.
Later on I was known to buy and sell high quality factory knives at small shows mostly as a hobby. (Never really made any money, but sure had fun and a bunch of nice knives.)
After a while, I finally got a table at the Blade Show. It was the first time as a buyer or a seller. Back then the factory and the custom areas were in two different ballrooms with the larger booths in the middle. To be honest in ways it was pretty good having different rooms, but when they put 'em all together it seems that a lot of folks got to meet other folks and collaborations took off to all time highs. Could be a coincidence, but I do not think so.
Anyway (back to the thread topic), I happened to wander on into the "Custom" room and purchased a damascus bowie from Howard Clark (who I learned later had just passed his Journeyman's test) and a black pearl inlayed damascus auto by Mel Pardue.
I was totally ignorant of who either of these two makers were. Howard spent a lot of time educating me, even back then he was very serious about forging knives so that he could get the most out of the steel he was using. He was not trying to sell me; he was pointing out work of other makers and talking about knife making. That was all I had to spend, but I gave my table up to a friend for Saturday and Sunday and made some friends that I still keep in touch with and studied some knives in that room for the rest of the weekend. Since then I have collected customs.
Have not looked back since. The last time I set up to sell factory knives was at a show Les and Bob put on in Downtown Atlanta a few years ago.
I will always remember that show in the basement of the downtown Ramada. I met Darrel, was next to Ed Halligan who had just come out with the Custom Kiss and I had the best sales ever. I think I was just about the only factory purveyor there and my inventory got wiped out. I buy very few factory knives now days. (Only the Case/Bose and MT-LCC in 2000) I am known to sell odds and ends out of my factory collection once or twice a year in online auctions.
Added later:
What Tom posted has been my experience over the years. The friendships that have developed and knife making as a whole mean more to me than the knives I happen to have in my collection. It is a hobby to me filled with people I love to hang around with. I think it is a matter of time before funny noises start coming from my basement and I already know how to rig a shopping cart with a forge
.
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" The real art of living is to keep alive the longing in human beings to become greater versions of themselves." Laurens Van der Post in memory of
James Mattis
[This message has been edited by Gus Kalanzis (edited 04-12-2001).]
