Random Walks

Well, it’s been knife, knife and more knives recently.

My favorite knife club, WRCA, has obtained several really nice knives for their raffle at our yearly fund raiser.  It’s a knife show of course and it’s the weekend after Mother’s Day.  That’s May 18 and 19, 2019.

We want to gather as much attention as possible with the hope that this will translate into attendance.  You see, attendance is the lifeblood of any show, knife, gun or model train.  It’s obvious that vendors will only rent table space from you if they have a good chance of making sales.  The promotor can’t guarantee sales, but he can (and should) shoulder much of the blame for poor attendance.

Here's the initial flyer for the WRCA show.  If you make, sell, collect and would like a table, call Darlene.

The question is how to get people interested in attending?  The best way is to tell the general population and remind them constantly.  This is how blockbuster movies do it.  They create interest by constantly telling you through the media, internet, weekly magazines that the blockbuster of the season is coming.

Not having the budget they have, we’re going tackle the problem by guerrilla advertising.  One step is to get pictures and information out about our yearly knife raffle.

I had to set up my photo booth and take some photos.  It’s not a real high tech operation.  I use a thin white cloth as a diffuser and two of the brightest fluorescent lights I could find.  With the help of several reflectors and the all-important tripod I try to get studio quality images.  It’s been known for some time that great images make lasting impact.

 

My photo set up and chop saw..........

So these will be on our website, on my blog and Facebook page with the hope of attracting potential customers who want to take a chance on winning as well as attending our show May 18 and 19, 2019.

I believe this is first prize.  I think it is one hell of nice knife.  More on this topic in the future.

Speaking of shows, I just attended the Lehigh Valley Knife Show.  It’s within spitting distance of New Jersey and (almost) New York.  We get a lot of traffic from these states because of their draconian knife laws.  It’s tough to be a collector when you feel harassed about your hobby.  I had a number of potential customers after specific products, like Spyderco’s rust-proof H1 steel, but unable to purchase it because the blade is too long.

One customer uses the thinking that most, if not all criminals, use cheap kitchen knives and other POS knives.  His defense is to tell the police officer, “Look, it’s a $200 knife.  I have a car with another $800 dollars’ worth of tools I use on my job, so it isn’t likely I’m holding up or mugging people outside of bars to make $30.”

He claims it works so far…..

At the show I ran into a fellow who run knife classes for Girl Scouts.  It’s based on a Swedish program, sadly now extinct, that taught a quarter of the grade school population how to cut with a knife.  His students learn how to make cuts like a V-cut or stop cut.  When they are done I understand they have a little carved figure.  Very cool.

Imagine grade school children learning how to carve in a society where a drawing of knife gets you sent to the principal’s office.  Amazing.  I wish him good luck!

While I was at the show I passed out flyers for the WRCA show at the Massillon K of C Hall, May 18 and 19^th.  (I bet you were wondering if I would get around to that again.)

Look, it’s five hours away, for some of these vendors it’s an additional 2-3 hours on top.  It’s a long way to go to sell knives.  Part of my sales pitch was, “Look, come sell knives on the weekend, visit the FootballHall of Fame on Monday and by the way, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is just up the road in Cleveland.  You could have a great time.”

One guy told me he hates football, okay what about rock and roll?  He hates that, too.  Okay, I can give it back, too.  I said, “What you hate football?  Are you un-American?  What are you?  A Commie?”

Well, he started to laugh and said “Okay, give me a flyer.”

I’ve said this before.  Life is hard and everyone is working hard to get by.   If someone offers you a flyer to participate in an activity you are currently involved with, just say thanks and take the damn thing.

Here are a few images of the knife show.

My table 

Early Sunday Morning.  Sundays are always slow and thus a good day to bargain.

Grinding knives and axes at the show, or 4th of July fireworks early.

Small Cuts

The WRCA Knife Expo ends with a whimper yesterday.  Sundays are usually slow days as the foot traffic is very low.  It’s also an excellent day to bargain.  Sellers want to earn a little money, even if it’s just enough to buy gas, so they can be haggled with.

I got a deal on an old Benchmade Panther.  It’s old, from the 1990s and it’s ugly.  I’ve got to do a little research but I think there’s at least a blog in it, maybe more.

On Saturday I stopped by Mickey Yurco’s table.  Mickey is a remarkably creative edge maker and martial artist.  He also has a quirky sense of humor and stage presence that makes stopping at his table always interesting.

Ask him to demonstrate one of the few knots used in the fighting arts.  It’s called the dragon knot.  You’ll be surprised.

Yurco Hatchet, the sheath has a quick draw function

I’ve previously bought several of his knives and hatchets and have been very pleased.  I understand Boker has picked up two more of his designs.  Congratulations, Mickey!

Mickey's first Boker collaboration, the knife that is.  The meat was dinner. 

I just got one of his single edge razor blades.  It’s ground from titanium and is about 3cm long by 2.3cm wide and about 0.15cm thick. 

This is a closer shave than I ever want!

Mickey gave it a small lanyard and put a round patch of skateboard tape on one side.  The blade is a chisel grind.  Titanium isn’t the best metal for edge retention, but it is non-magnetic and its small size lets you carry it in your wallet as a true last resort weapon.  It’s designed for grappling where you’re going to make pressure cuts and not slices, stabs or chops.  Of course, all the targets are soft tissue.

Contact Mickey for your own interesting knife!

I bought it because it’s cool!  Also, it suggests to me the OSS lapel knives from WWII.  Somewhere I have an “original” Blackjack plastic OSS lapel dagger. 

There’s plenty of room for creative knife ideas!

Poking the bear

The last knife gun show was a little slow at times, but I try to have fun with the prospective customers.  But sometimes things get out of hand…..

After inspecting every knife and asking such penetrating questions like what does Rockwell scale mean and what’s the name of the miner who dug the chromium, he started to walk off.

“Enjoy the museum show, sir.”  I said

He paused mid-step.  “Museum show?  Don’t you mean gun show.”  He had an amused look on his face.  Why not?  After all he just caught someone with a little mistake that might be amusing to him.

“No sir.  We’re the Lippincott Valley Satrap, largest recreationist group in the United States.  Once a year we put on our great show.”

“This isn’t a gun show?” 

“Thank you for the compliment sir.  We strive for perfect fidelity.”

“I don’t understand.  This isn’t a gun show?”

“This year we are recreating a gun show.  Last year we did a road rally that was so good, it took honors.  We’d like to do it a second time in a row." 

“So you’re telling me this stuff isn’t for sale.  Is that what trying to say.”

“No sir, I’m not trying.  I’m telling you, everything you see is owned by our members and part of their personal collections.  Nothing is for sale, well, almost nothing.”  I paused for a second and gave him my fingers-in-the-candy-bowl guilt look.  “A few guys have a small museum store.  You can buy stickers, pins and membership, but that s about it.”

“What about the guy over there selling raffle tickets?  Are you going tell me those are phony too.”

“No sir, those guys are real.  We always let NRA and Friends of the NRA set up and sell.  It adds a dimension of reality, doesn’t it?” 

He hadn’t fallen completely yet but I could tell he was having doubts, so I stopped talking and waited for him to step into it.

“What about the hawkers in the aisles holding guns?  I saw two men transfer money…”

“Part of the set up.  “It’s funny money we buy from a movie prop house.  Look, did you try to buy a gun from someone walking about?”

“Well, I talked to one guy, but he wouldn’t come down…”  I could see understanding was beginning to break through.

“That’s because he didn’t recognize you.  These guys set it up in advance with other members and everyone gets their stuff back, including the faux greenbacks.”

“I don’t believe you,” he said.  But I knew it was time to set the hook..

“Look buddy, I don’t care what you believe.  It’s no skin off my ass.  Go ask the ticket seller what kind of show this is.  But I got to tell you, if this is some kind of scam to get your money back, that’s not going to fly with them.  The club president assured me the sign outside the door would be clearly marked.”

I’d like to use that old Groucho Marx line about him leaving in a huff and a half, but he didn’t.  He just turned around and walked calmly and directly to the front of the show and the ticket window.  I’m not sure how that went.  I heard sirens shortly after he left my table.  I don’t know what happened, and I’m not going ask, either. 

It’s fun to go to the zoo, but you mustn’t tease animals too much.  You never know who’s really in the cage, do you?

Knife Expo

I'm flogging WRCA's Warther Memorial Knife Expo pretty hard for a variety of reasons.

One: I liked Dale Warther.  I didn't know him as well as some club members did, but I was always happy to see him.

Two: It's a good knife show.  I'd like to see more custom builders, but we're working on that and have asked several new ones to attend.  This show will give collectors a chance to see some really great knives.

Three: A number of club members think the club will fall flat on it's collective face.  We've had trouble with the last couple of places and we are trying to find a permanent home.  Everything is expensive as compared to times when gasoline was a $1.25 a gallion.  This location is no exception.

The knife show will be May 16 and 17 at the Buckeye Expo center in Dalton, Ohio just off of route 30.  Admission is $5 per person but we'll wave the fee for scouts and military in uniform.

 I suspect you'll find just about any kind of knife you're interested in at the show.

We are also running a great raffle with prizes over $1000.  Second price is a ZT 350STTS AND a Benchmade 531 Pardue AXIS.  I sell Benchmade and I can't get this one!

Here's the raffle flyer and I hope to see you there!!!

If i win first prize, I'll offer to trade with the second prize winner!!

My Side of the Table

It was an interesting knife gun show this month.  I typically only do one show a month because weekends are so valuable.

Saturday at Medina was packed.  At one point all the parking spaces on pavement were filled and only the brave with 4-wheel drive parked in the soupy, muddy fields surrounding the area.

I’m always amazed by the people that pickup a knife, study it, then announce it’s exactly what they are looking for, only to put it down and walk away without another word.  If it is exactly what you want, why are you…?  I guess people simply don’t know how to say thanks and put the knife down.

I have found a way to deal with that species of shopper, the Common Flicker.  You’ve seen them, maybe you are one. 

They pick up a knife and flick it open and flick it open and flick it open endlessly.  I wonder if we let them, if they would still stand there forever caught in an endless cycle of flick-close, flick-close.  A distant cousin also tries to see if the blade wiggles in the frame after four or five clicks.  In either case this cycle will be repeated.

When I observe this behavior, I state that they really seem to like that knife.  I usually get an agreement to that statement, so I simply ask them if I can wrap it up for them.  That pretty much halts the behavior and causes them to vacate the area around my table.  Several left so quickly, a thunder clap occurred when air rushed in to fill the space they had previously occupied.

Look, I don’t care what kind of torture test you want to carry out on your knife, but until you buy it, they are my knives and you can’t treat my property with disrespect.

Sunday the really interesting buyers came out.  A father stopped by with his 10 (?)-year old daughter who likes to throw knives.  They have a target set up for her in the backyard and it’s reported she pretty good at it.  Should be interesting when she starts to date and the boy gets a little too handsy.  I wonder if she’ll give him a head start.  She also collects knives, but she’s a little shy and doesn’t like to handle them.  She saw several she liked, but turned down dad’s offer to buy her one when she found out they were liner locks.  She doesn’t like to close the knife around her fingers.

Later we were treated to couple of women who looked at several knives but wanted to shop around a bit.  When they came back we got treated to about a half hour of lesbian drama.  One woman could not decide which of the two knives she wanted.  I wasn’t about tell her which to buy; it’s much too much a personal decision.  Her partner tried to empower her to buy one or the other or both.  Sadly, I knew after the first 5 minutes this sale was going nowhere and it did.  At least it was entertaining.

Frankly, I liked the two women, they seemed very nice.  In earlier times they would have been described as “sharing the same pillow.”  Sounds romantic to me.

Later we had an elderly man walk up to the table.  He wordlessly picked up a Spyderco Tenacious and studied in great detail.  After several moments of complete silence, he took out a magnifying glass and studied it even more! 

Finally he put the glass away, put the knife down, pivoted on his heel and walked away, mission complete.  I still don’t know what was going on. 

The Tenacious is made by Spyderco in China.  I have always thought their byrd line was a practice run at making quality products in China.  If they had been unable to do it with byrd, they would have, in my opinion, dropped the line and went else in search of cheaper labor.

Later we had a fellow ask try to negotiate a $17 knife down to a $15 knife.  I said no, but he bought it anyway.  

Trust me, it's worth $17... period.

Many people see gun or knife shows as a flea market or mid-eastern bazaar and want to negotiate.  I can’t blame them, money is still tight.  But after listening to him tell the table next to me how much money he makes, I wasn’t too sympathetic to his attempt to negotiate less money in my pocket. 

Sunday was winding down, when the peace was broken with a loud “BANG!” and everyone’s thoughts turned to the accidental shooting we had little over a year ago.  I didn’t think it was a gunshot as the sound wasn’t sharp enough, but the place still got very quiet.  

I walked over when it appeared that nothing significant had happened.  I didn’t smell gun or flash powder, but it was announced that someone with a nasty sense of humor set off some kind of firework.  They also warned that if they found out whom it was the police would arrest him.

In any case it was an interesting week-end!

Collecting

The WRCA had their January 2015 monthly meeting recently.  We’re moving closer to the big Expo Knife Show May 16 and 17 at the Buckeye Event Center.  We still have tables available.  See my side pages for an application for table rental.  An 8 foot table for two days for $50 is a great deal.

It will be a great opportunity to buy as well.  We’ll have factory, custom and collectable vendors displaying their knives.

Each club meeting is also an opportunity to buy/sell/trade knives.  In the past, the club has bought estate collections and resold them and we currently have a retired club member in Arizona who wants us to sell his knives for him at a set commission.  That brought up an interesting topic.  Namely buying and selling collections, or at least the ethics of buying and selling collections.

Here’s the scenario:  A club member dies and leaves their spouse with an unwanted knife collection of unknown value.   You respond to information that they want to sell the entire collection and you make them a fair and honest offer for the entire collection.  They accept.

Later you sell the collection for a lot more money.  I mean 2 and 3 or more times what you paid for it.

So what do you think is the ethical thing to do.

During the discussion we found out some people felt we hypothetically cheated that seller, we should have paid them more.  Others thought that because we made so much money we should give some of it to the seller.  Things got a little excited for a while, but no chairs were thrown!

Part of this, I think, was because each member is internalizing their passing and the sale of their collection by their surviving spouse.  We all want to think our fellow club members wouldn’t take advantage of our widow (it’s a mostly male club).  Widows always remind me a of thin, gaunt women dressed in black unable to pay the bills.

Of course, our imaginary spouse might be sitting on a beach sipping mimosas because hubby left her well off and she wants nothing to do with her dead husband’s collection.  Before you showed up, she was 10 minutes from dumping the whole damn thing in the trash!

There is a second side to this story.  What if it turns out the collection isn’t worth the money you paid for it?  What do you do?  Do you go back to the widow and tell her she cheated you and you want some of your money back?  Is your name Simon Legree?

Here’s part of the dilemma, ethical behavior isn’t the same as moral behavior.  That seems odd, doesn’t it?  A professor of ethics once explained to me that ethical behavior wasn’t difficult.   

“Say what you mean, do what you say you’ll do and treat everyone the same.”  Of course the details are what makes ethics a challenging topic.

Since I will not be going back to the widow and asking for money back, I will not be sending her more money either.  There is nothing wrong with making money, especially in an honest, ethical manner.

Of course that all changes if I had agreed to sell the knives for her at some percentage to myself.  But that’s a different premise. 

I’d like to suggest that most of us think our collections are worth more than they are.  I know an elderly fellow who collected stamps.  He had maybe a million stamps counting canceled and first day of issue.  The collection was only worth the value of the relatively few uncanceled stamps he had.  First day of issue, not worth the paper they were printed on.  Canceled stamps, a drag on the market.  Foreign stamps, not much interest.  

If you want your collection to increase in value you need to buy things already valuable.  Even that depends on what people want to buy when you’re selling.  Ditch the beanie babies now.

If you think your collection is valuable, hire someone who makes a living at it and get an appraisal.  Document the knives and the purchase history.  Don’t attempt to appraise your collection yourself, as this activity is self deluding.  Don’t be too surprised if your WWII British Navy issue lifeboat knife collection isn’t as valuable as you thought.

One last thought experiment.  Imagine you are sorting though a tray of old foreign coins marked 25 cents each.  You find, because of your specialized knowledge and training, a rare Icelandic Krona worth significantly more to the right collector.  You:
A Buy it and resell it,
B Tell the owner and convince him to charge more for it,
C Walk away empty-handed and say nothing,
D “Look!  It’s Elvis!”  and steal the coin when he looks away. 

Why would buying a knife collection be different?

We also got to see the 2015 WRCA Expo knife.  It’s a Victorinox Sentinel.  And it’s a left-handed knife!  

2015 WRCA Expo Knife (hasn't been blade etched yet)

The serrations are on the front half of the stainless steel blade and located on the right side of the blade.  The knife can be easily opened with either hand, but one-handed closing works best with the left hand.

I want one.  I don’t care if the blade is etched or not.  It’s very cool, but I don’t see any real potential increase in value over the years.  So that’s one less worry my estate has!

knife club

Most of us belong to a knife club of some sort.  It may be local or a national organization like the Kershaw Collectors.  If you collect a specific type of knife or brand you will find a club that caters to your refined taste.

I’m a generalist and the best fit I could find was Western Reserve Cutlery Association.  We just had our November meeting and the topic was carving knives.   Before I go any further I’d like point out I’m this year’s vice-president, so I have a bit of a bias.

I will say the best part of the monthly topic is not the knives, but the personalized translation of the topic.  One member changed carving knives into carved knives and brought out a pile of knives carved out of wood.  Denny also a nice collection of pliers carved out of wood by Mooney Warther. 

You're right the knife at 12 o'clock is real, but the rest are wooden.

You can still find them on EBay.  They are rather simple, but Mooney used to sit and with nothing but a pre-cut length of bass wood (I think it was bass) and a carving knife make these pliers to the delight of visitors to his shop.

We’re also getting ready for our Knife Expo May 16 and 17 2015 at the Buckeye Event Center off of route 30 in Dalton, Ohio.  It’s a nice place.  I’ve been there for gun shows and have always been impressed with the clean facilities, wide aisles, large parking area and general professionalism of the staff.

Here’s a link to the form.  Just fill it out and mail it in.  We’ll do the rest.

If you’re a knife maker or dealer, you should attend this show.  An 8-foot table for two days with optional setup on Friday evening costs just $50.  I’ll be there with my knives.  If you’re a collector this is also the show for you.  It’s $5 to get in and the food service is worth the price of admittance.

WRCA Knife Show

The 2014 Warther Memorial Knife Show is over.  It was held at Breitenbach Winery in the lovely Breitenbach Tool Shed.

The Tool Shed

I couldn’t squeeze the show in as a vendor, but I did drop in on Sunday.  I had several interesting conversations and found a few things I couldn’t live without.

If you work with ivory, collect ivory and even own ivory you should be concerned about President Obama’s Executive Order banning ivory.

No, I’m not anti-elephant.  African elephant ivory has been prohibited from import since the early 80s.  Most of the illegal ivory trade is currently driven by the Far East and laws controlling this practice aren’t enforced by their governments.

This Executive Order bans ivory from animals killed before the ban.  Oh, you can sell pre-ban, if you have the paperwork proving it’s pre-ban.  You saved that bill of sale from the 80s, didn’t you?

There’s exceptions for fossil ivory, mastodon ivory, walrus and others, but the responsibility is on you to prove it as well as documentation of the port it entered the country.  You got that as well, right?  And forget about DNA.  No matter what you saw on CSI, ivory has no DNA.

The scariest part of this is the adoption of assumed guilt until proven innocent.  The enforcement agent can simply suspect you’re guilty and seize your property and arrest you.  You then have to prove your innocence.  That’s just plain wrong. 

I see this as just another step demonstrating the government’s drive to neuter our rights.  Today it's ivory, tomorrow it might be guns, then books and the realization you live at the pleasure of the government.

Enough politics, but I’ve got to say, I’m glad I’m old. 

Did I find any treasures at the show?

The Shed is also used to store wine.

I picked up a hatchet from Mickey Yurco.  It’s a small hatchet just over 7 inches long with an OD green and black striped micarta handle.  The blade is curved and sub-three inches in length and made from 440C steel. 

It's small, but it's aimed at the emergency bug-out bag.

440C is the best of the 440 steel series and represents a middle grade of steel in the knife community.  It’s a good steel, rust resistant, durable and can be resharpened without special equipment.  It’s a good choice for a bug-out bag which is what Mickey had in mind.  One thing to remember, 440C is magnetic and will affect compass readings.  Just a word to the wise.

The hatchet comes with a Kydex sheath.  I like Kydex for its durability, but this sheath is a little hard to remove. 

The cover fits tight, not a bad thing, but I have to jerk it out of the the sheath, so don't stand too close! 

Maybe a summer Kydex sheath making project will solve my problem. 

I also picked up an older doctor’s knife made for W. Bingham Co in Cleveland Ohio.  The knife was, my internet search tells me, made by Ulster Knife Company.  That may explain why both the main and secondary blade are stamped. 

I admit it took me a while to convince myself it was a doctor’s knife.  It’s doesn’t have the spatula and the handle has an offset more typical of a gun stock pattern.  Still the blade shape and the pill crusher end convinced me.

The handle is more of a black with dark green highlights.  Do you see the little curve in the handle?

The handle has a faded green and black motif to it, so it must have the effect of nice weather and grassy fields that had me thinking about green and black.

Both the hatchet and knife are sweet!

How was the show?

I’m told Saturday had 280 attendees.  I left around 1pm on Sunday.  It was pretty bleak then but several vendors reported that while the count was down, sales were strong.

Even though my wife and I had driven to the winery earlier in the year, we still had trouble finding it.  The signage was poor and as you drove up the empty, winding gravel road you got the feeling as one retired LEO suggested, you were being set up for a robbery and car-jacking. 

Tucked away in Dover, the knife show was a destination.  Most of the Amish community is shut down on Sunday and Dover was no exception.  The winery was closed and if you were looking for a restaurant, well you better head to Canton Ohio. 

If you didn’t know about the show you wouldn't see anything to suggest it existed.  Nothing could be seen on Interstate-77, so the show didn’t have any impulse attendees.

I will say, if WRCA doesn’t do something, I predict there will be no Dale Warther Memorial Knife show in less than ten years.

At the Show

It was a pretty good knife gun show.  I ran a sale on most of my fixed blades hoping to sell the Buck gut hook, the two knives from TOPS and Benchmade’s Bone Collector caping knife.  I even entertained ideas of selling the damascus blade from Mr Maan.  No luck.  Finland’s Marttiinis sold well and quite a few of the folders hitched rides to new homes, so it was a good weekend.

My goal is to help each customer find the right knife for them, even if I don’t have it or carry it.  Your knife should meet several personal criteria.  It should feel good in your hand and deploy from your pocket or sheath the way you want it to.  It should be able to provide the all the performance you are capable of demanding of it.  Your knife should be a quality product, but I know that quality is handmaiden to purpose.

 

If you’re heading for a two-week, self-guided Alaskan hunting trip, you might want something better than the knife you found in the '2 for $3' bucket.  But if you’re looking for gag gifts (heavy on the gag) those knives might be right for you.

At this show I thought I’d try to have a little fun with some customers.  Sellers attempt to qualify potential customers into: tire kickers, buyers and circus audience.  Tire kickers might become customers if treated right, but circus audience will always be interested only in entertainment.  I firmly believe their spouse gave them a fiver and told them “Don’t come back until suppertime.”

There are a few subgroups not represented by the above big three.

I exclude most children from the above categories.  I like talking to kids about knives.  They aren’t buying unless dad has more money than sense.  Who would buy a fifth-grader a $200 Benchmade?  But I do enjoy showing them how a knife works and asking about their fledgling knife collection.  

If I had started putting away nice pocket knives when I was in fifth grade, I could have a very nice, and perhaps impossible to duplicate, collection now.  But even then I carried, used and eventually lost everything I bought.

I also enjoy the quirky, but harmless fellows that frequent these shows.  One of my favorite is the guy (women have more sense) who opens every knife on the table.  I had some spectacular openers this weekend.  They would politely and quietly pick up every knife and with two hands open the blade on each knife to about 45°, stare at it for 10-15 seconds, close it, put it down and move to the next.  I like to ask if they're looking for anything particular and the answer is always the same, “Nope, just looking.”  

It makes me wonder if there is a knife watching society somewhere and members are making a life list of blades seen.

Someone from the circus audience asked about American made knives.  I showed him the Bucks, a few Gerbers, lots of Benchmades and a couple of Kershaws.  He almost beamed with pride and then he said, “These are pretty expensive knives.”

“Yes, sir,” I said.  “They’re American knives made by American workers paid an American living wage.”

He walked away strangely deflated.  I guess he thought companies had American workers accepting Chinese wages.

Another audience member worked his way down the line and stopped at the Benchmade knives.  He had indicated he was a knife collector but he looked at the blue Benchmade boxes and said, “I’ve never heard of Benchmade.”

Usually that statement is a tell that a purchase of any knife will not be made today.

“That’s because they are too much knife for you,”  I said.

That answer seemed to make a lot of sense to him and he left the table smiling.

I often regret I’m not a sociologist.  I think there is room for a ground-breaking study of the knife shopping segment of the gun show culture.  At the very least there’s a lifetime of potential grants here.

First Peek.
Every year the Western Reserve Cutlery Association (in Ohio) holds a big knife show/expo and they sell an Expo knife. Each year a different knife is selected.  Here's this years. 

Two-bladed pen knife 

  The Expo will be April 26 and 27 at Breitenbach Winery.

Knife Show March 3-4 2012

Just a reminder.   We’re coming up on one of the two big Northeast Ohio knife shows.  The Western Reserve Cutlery Association is sponsoring the Dale Warther Memorial Knife Expo on March 3^rd and 4^th at the Dover Armory.  The armory is at 2800 N. Wooster Ave. in Dover, Ohio.  The doors open at 9:00 both days.

Here's a link to a website with a little more information:

http://www.iknifecollector.com/events/the-dale-warther-memorial-knife-expo

Knife shows have a different feel than gun shows.  Everything seems a little more relaxed and everyone has a real interest in knives.  The truth is, I like gun shows, but knife shows have a special place in my heart.  It’s hard to explain, but the vendors and customers seem to have more in common and are friendlier.

You can find a link to the WRCA on my sidebar.

I hope you make it down there.  Parking is free and admission is $5.  I believe the Lions have the food concession.  Here’s a hint:  Come for the knives, but stay for the sausage sandwiches…..  

I’ll see you there…………….

Knife Talk

I just got several new knives in for an upcoming show at the Medina Fairgrounds.  I see each knife as a ship that passes by in the night.  I get to see them and handle them and then they’re gone (at least I hope) to a new home.  They may not be what I would choose to own, but each one has a charm of its own.

Bryan Baker makes a simple peasant knife from high carbon Swedish steel.  Modeled on a popular form from Bavaria in the 1600s, he gives it a modern twist with brass adjustable screws and a polypropylene handle.  The knife is made in New Zealand and based on how knife rights are circling the drain, it’s only a matter of time before some bureaucrat decides it’s too dangerous for the common peasant of 2012.

Simple knife doesn't mean only simple applications!

The 3-inch high carbon steel blade is hand ground with a water cooled stone giving it a convex blade.  Carbon steel always reminds me of flint and fire making.  The pattern is simple and reliable.  The knife is held open by your hand. 

It’s not really an attractive knife, but if I had a hunting lodge or was backpacking up north, it’s the kind of knife I’d want tucked away safe and sound, just in case.

I also got a Benchmade Bone Collector folder.  The photos don’t do it justice.  The blade is made from D2 steel and the green and black micarta handle is deeply grooved.

Benchmade Bone Collector

It’s a little thicker than some, but it’s well proportioned for the size of the blade.  It has Benchmade’s axis lock and I simply love them.  The lock is so easy to use and it helps make Benchmade one of the nicest opening knives on the market.

Most Benchmade's are set up for tip up carry.  This one can also be set up for left or right carry.

If you haven’t held one, do yourself a favor and find one.  I think you’ll like it.  My best friend took a look at it and said, “They sure know how to build a knife!”

So right!

PS: Don’t forget.  The Dale Warther Memorial Knife Expo is coming up March 3^rd and 4^th.  It will be held at the Dover Armory.  Parking is free and admission is $5.  No matter the type of knife, new, collectible, factory tactical, or custom made, you’ll find it there.  It’s one of the few pure knife shows in Northeast Ohio.  I hope you can make it.

Dale Warther Memorial Knife Expo - 2011

I found my Spyderco Salt.  We both looked at it but it was hidden under several flat bags of disposable ear plugs.  My wife claims I keep them around to block her out, but the truth is I take them out of my pocket at the end of the day and forget them the next day.  Somehow the Salt slipped under a few pairs and was overlooked.

You can imagine my chagrin when I moved the box of Kleenex next to the ear protectors and noticed a hole looking out at me.  So, Lassie has come home and I for one was glad to see my knife.

The Dale Warther Memorial Expo is in full swing.  Several club members have their Warther knife collections on display, but the family is showing knives which may have never been seen in public.

I find these closet knives very interesting.  Don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I think there are 5 maybe 6 basic patterns to the depth of the Warther knife universe.  This is clearly wrong.  On display is a one of only four sets ever made of three knives.  One of them is a Bowie with the traditional Warther jeweling.  I hope to find out more about them tomorrow.

Here are a few images to enjoy.  Frankly, if you’re a knife person and you’re within two hours, it would be worth your drive.  Sunday is our last day until next year.

One of the knife vendors specializing in factory new

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Flint handled knives by Joseph’s Designs

Ohio has some of the most colorful flint in the States, possibly the world.  The patterns are one of a kind and I love look into the handle by way of translucent patches of stone.

The entire knife is under an inch and a half!

Miniatures are hot!  The three or four Jack Hatton had were gone within hours of the opening bell.  You can see why too.

By the end of the day the customers had petered out and there were more vendors than buyers.  This makes for good deals if you know how to bargain.  Sunday promises to be a good day for buyers.

Behind every successful event there is a core group of worker bees to keep everything running smoothly and on course.  One of the many the show can’t do without.