Blade Show 08.....its a done deal

[EdCaffreyMS]

The 2008 Blade Show is history. For me the show was a bit better than average. Just about everything I took that was sub-$1,000 sold, but anything over that figure seemed to get a lot of looks......then when the individual(s) saw the price tag, they shied away.

One thing that I thought was kind of strange (at least for me) was that I received about a dozen emails the week prior to the show, asking if I would have any Progression Folders. I took two, and brought two back home. Never did see that first person who had emailed me asking about them. Thats OK though, they'll be up on the website later this week for sale.

The crowd on Friday afternoon was much larger than what I've seen for the past few years. And Saturday about noon, the place was just packed. It did seem that many folks had specific destinations in mind, went there, and then took some time to wonder around.

The JS and MS judging went like this:
New Journeyman Smiths

Fuad Accawi (Peck Award)

Karl Andersen

Ronald Boydston

Dan Cassidy

Carlton Hallenbeck

Steven Kelly

David Sylvester

Brian Thie

Daniel Warren


New Master Smiths

Russ Andrews

Bill Burke

Sean McIntyre (Hughes Award)

J. Neilson

James Saviano

Henry Torres

I was especially proud to see my friends Steve Kelly, Karl Anderson, Brian Thie, Bill Burke, J. Neilson, and Henry Torres achieve their ratings.

I didn't spend a lot of time in "The Pit" this year, but changed my tactics and spent my evenings having dinner and sharing friendship with The Bybees' (Alpha Knife Supply), Steve and Melissa Kelly, and my good friend Jon Christensen.

With only me to man the table, I didn't get around nearly as much as I would have liked to, and I know I missed a lot of folks I wanted to see. I did sneak away long enough to pick up a few supplies, and to be flabbergasted at the price of Fossil Ivory! I went to one suppliers table to check out some Fossil Ivory scales.....I found a decent pair that was 5" X 1 1/4" that had just some hints of green in them. When I looked at the price...it was $635!!! Some guy came over to me and said that they were having a 50% off sale on that price...... $317???!! I know I made him mad, but told him that he was smoking crack even at that price.

In my opinion, the bottom line is that the economy, and the price of everything going up is impacting knife shows considerably. Some supplies were nearly double the cost of what they were last year, and folks were less eager to let go of their money for a knife. Nearly every person that came to my table tried to talk me down on price. I don't mind that, but its something that hasn't occurred all that often with me. Just one more sign of the times.

In the end it was a good show for me, and I will certainly be there in 2009.

[Donnie]

Glad to hear about your trip to Atlanta. Congrats go out to all the new JS and MS recipients. As for folks trying to talk you down on prices, that really gets under my skin. If I wanted $90 for something, the price would be $90, not $100. To each his own, I just feel I should pay a man's price or move on and not waste his time. Or better yet, not insult him by saying his work is worth less. By the way; How do you like Ga. weather?

[steve sells]

Most shows I do have a stated price, but for the Ren Faires, I 'pad' the price a little, and they feel better after talking me down, (Yes they pay the same price as my web site, or the other shows in the end)

just part of the game.

[larry harley]

Originally Posted by EdCaffreyMS

I did sneak away long enough to pick up a few supplies, and to be flabbergasted at the price of Fossil Ivory! I went to one suppliers table to check out some Fossil Ivory scales.....I found a decent pair that was 5" X 1 1/4" that had just some hints of green in them. When I looked at the price...it was $635!!! Some guy came over to me and said that they were having a 50% off sale on that price...... $317???!! I know I made him mad, but told him that he was smoking crack even at that price.

ed i saw the same scales i passed on them too
i was going o buy 2 pair this past weekend but didnt
hope u had a good show
i garnered enough work to keep me happy
harley
steel possum