Toledo isn’t that far away.
I know several great restaurants and attractions so it wasn’t much of a
sacrifice to skip the weekend yard work and put the chore list away and head
out to the first annual Glass City Knife Show.
My only question at this time is “Will there be a second
one?”
The show was great.
The empty aisles made for easy walking and the dealers were happy to
talk with anyone who wasn’t a fellow vendor.
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| We arrived at the show at 9:30. It opened at 9:00. |
I stopped at Spartan Blades.
They make high-end fixed blades with the extreme needs of the military
in mind. I stopped to find out more
about their unique CQB tool. Here’s the
inside story.
You don’t just send people to war without providing mission
specific training. One of the frequent observations
in mock drills and actual urban combat is you’re going in through doors while other
people are trying to come out the same door.
Following these collisions you may end up on the ground wrestling with
someone who wants to kill you. Firearms
are not always useful as your buddies can’t shoot them off you and your weapon
is often trapped between you and the bad guy.
You need a knife.
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| I stole this from the internet, but the actual CQB Tool and sheath is way cooler! |
Special Forces were taking half a pair of scissors, grinding
sharp edges and carrying them high near the midline of their vest. The large
ring made for a useful no-slip grip with gloves.
Spartan Blades recognized the need and
developed their CQB Tool. The blade is 2.8
inches of sharpened 154cm steel attached to an almost skeltonized handle with a
ring. Spartan tempers the blade to 57-58
HRC. The Kydex sheath can be lashed to a
molle vest with para cord.
Experience
taught the military high center line is the best place. To stay in practice (you want stay sharp with
life-saving skills), a trainer is available and it fits the sheath, so once
you’ve gotten it in place you can just move the live blade out and the practice
knife in. Very convenient!
So now you know about the knife inspired by broken scissors.
I have been looking for a neck knife for some time. I wanted something sedate, but with a classy
sheath. I found what I was looking for
at Lee Beene’s table. Lee is from Mesa Arizona
and has a wide line of interesting knives, canes and gun holsters. But I only
had eyes for a polished bone handle knife in a manta ray sheath.
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| Polished horn handle (I believe) and manta ray sheath. |
The 2-inch blade is a fine steel file that
has been cut and sports a shallow hollow grind.
The handle is polished bone, but I think it’s actually horn. It has a translucent gradient of color I’ve
never seen in bone. I’m a little
disappointed there’s no maker mark on the knife, but you find your treasures
where you find them.
Mikey Yurco had a table set up and it’s always fun to stop
and talk with Mickey. He’s a very
innovative knife maker who brings his martial arts experience to his
designs. He’s not afraid to experiment
and produces a wide variety of blades and sharply pointed objects.
We had a nice discussion of knife carry modes
for self-defense and the need to be able to access a knife with either
hand. It’s a difficult task to develop a
high degree of dexterity in both hands.
As Mickey says “I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous.”
I especially like the knife Mickey designed for Boker. It’s saddled with the clumsy name of 'Boker
Plus Yurco.' A trainer is available for this
knife in either aluminum or red plastic.
If you get a trainer, get the red plastic. The red and blue colors are associated with
police and military practice gear. More
on this knife at a later date.
I found out Mickey is quite a fan of para cord and has
several interesting knots and applications for them. I especially enjoyed his Dragon knot.
Blind Horse was there.
They are making quite a splash for themselves. My wife owns their orange-handled Colt
knife she uses in the kitchen.
It’s very nice. I have been
noticing their combination leather and Kydex sheaths.
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| I really like the combo sheath to the far right. It's a leather/Kydex combination with a fire starting stick. |
The blade doesn’t jiggle in the sheath or
make noise when you draw the knife and the blade is protected from salty, corrosive
sweat. The sheath protects you from
accidental punctures from slips, falls and improper knife reholstering. You can
visit their website at www.blindhorseknives.com/index.htm
I don’t buy a lot of custom-made knives for myself. The prices are too steep and there always
seems to be a better use of the funds.
This show was different. Phil
Booth from Ithaca Michigan makes little folding knives he calls Twerps.
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| Phil had two Twerps and I later bought the top one. I liked the overall look of the top one better. If the lower one had a finishing bar in the groove I would have bought that one instead. |
The 2-inch blade is a flat grind with a high
grind line and a false edge made from 154 CM stainless steel. Phil uses thrust bearings to make the blade glide
open and the knife has the customary snap when opening or closing the
blade. The almost lime green handle is
G10 and he incorporated a moonglow spacer.
Moonglow? It’s a
plastic with long life phosphorescence. You’ve
got to love phosphorescence. It’s
associated with "forbidden" energy
state transitions. It just sounds so
science fiction!
Even without the moonglow, I had to have one.
Will there be a second Glass City show? I hope so, but that's one tough question. Stanahan Hall in Toledo is beautiful. Crystal chandeliers illuminate the area, the
restrooms are neat and clean and carpeting on the floor and the suspended
ceiling keeps the noise down. But…..
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| We left around noon, and this is what attendance looked like. The vendors still out numbered the customers. |
A table was a $135 for half day Friday, all day Saturday and
most of Sunday. Most people have to sell
a lot of knives to have a profit of $135 plus room and board for two nights and
three days. Advertising was bad,
actually criminal. There wasn’t a sign
out front where traffic could see it.
The hall had a message board-like sign but the knife show had to share
billing with several plays and other activities. Parking was plentiful, but in back of the
building, so no one knew anything was going on.
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| A Stream Punk knife. I think these are great. They remind me of the days of Super Science Fiction where engineers and scientists cobbled together machines and devices and won the day and the girl. And if she didn't work out, they'd build a new one!!! |
Fliers were passed out at several gun and knife shows as
advertisement. I got one at WRCA’s knifeshow in the spring. I’m not sure this is
the best bang for the advertising buck. The
dealers needed a lot of foot traffic.
I’ve read books on selling that indicate you’ll make one sale for every
ten cold calls. In knife land, despite the
fact show attendees are almost pre-certified buyers, I think the ratio is one
to twenty. And that doesn’t count the
attendees who are doing walk-about sales.
I was willing to travel the three hours it took to get
there, but I believe a show like this needs to be supported by local
traffic. So the question becomes how do
you attract local potential buyers? It’s
a question best answered by asking, “What other attractions are available
locally so people can make a day of it?”
From a customer point of view, low attendance had some
value. I've been at shows where all the
selling was between vendors. Nobody
makes any money, we just trade product. Glass
City dealers were skunked and sales were few and far between. That makes them more willing to negotiate.
I believe an aggressive buyer could have
gotten some great deals. Of course, I
also believe what goes around comes around, so I’m careful not to make an
a@@hole out of myself. I may want buy
from these guys again.
