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.

The Missing Knife

I find myself in the same predicament Little Bo Peep did.  Oh sure, I know where my sheep are, but I’m missing a knife.

There are many knives like this knife, but it's not my knife.

I’m not sure it’s lost.  Things aren’t really lost until you stop searching for them.  Just because you can’t find your car keys doesn’t mean it’s time to call the dealership and order a new set.  It just means you have to look a little more.

I’m missing my Spyderco Salt.  I got a fully serrated Salt several years ago when they first came out.  I remember packing it in a salt paste to see if I could get it to rust.  After 12 hours of keeping the paste moist I cleaned it off and found a clean blade.  But I wasn’t surprised.  It’s a Spyderco.

My nightly knife ritual varies.   During the week when I wear the same pair of pants to work, I leave the knives clipped in the pockets.  (Yeah, I carry two knives, different tools for different jobs.)  If I go out that evening or even if I don’t, two different knives are clipped into the after work pants.  On laundry day I have a different ritual.  Everything comes out of the pockets and goes on the counter.

My wife has a simpler ritual on laundry day.  She checks my pockets because she knows I’m forgetful.

Superbowl Sunday morning she discovered I was missing a knife.  I did a quick tally (Let’s see…one SOG, one CRKT, one Endura, two byrds….Where’s the Salt?) and found out I was missing one.  Call out the dogs!!

The seat belts in our cars tend to catch the clips when I get out, but the knives usually end up next to the seat.  Checked both cars, no dice. 

We were at a restaurant last night and it’s easy for a knife to work out of your pocket and onto the seat or floor.  We called, no dice.

Checked the couch.  I’ve lost and found knives there before.  No dice.

Checked the clothes basket.

Checked the counter, again.

Checked the workbench where I sharpen knives.

Checked the cars, again.

Patted the pockets of clean pants I just put on, just in case.

NO DICE!

I have one more chance.  I remember it at work on Friday.  I could have put it down by the microscope, or on my desk.  I don’t remember opening any packages, but that doesn’t mean too much.  I tend to forget the routine daily functions.  I hope I never get in real trouble -- (“Where were you the night of Dec 22 when Col. Mustard was killed with a candlestick in the kitchen?” The detective said.  “Ahhh, I don’t know,” I reply.)

Sure, I can order another one, but it won’t be the same.  I used that knife to publish an article.  I got it from Joyce who has greatly helped me in my fledgling attempts to publish knife articles.  For a lifeless lump of steel and plastic, it was a great comfort in my pocket.  It was a touchstone to so many people and events.  A new one wouldn’t be the same.

What to Celebrate in January

January is almost over and that means two things: The Dale Warther Expo Knife Show is coming up and January is almost over.  

To celebrate this winter milestone, my wife and I went to Russo’s (http://www.russoskitchen.com/) for dinner.  Let’s be honest.  It’s not cheap, but well worth it for a once-in-a-while treat.  I recommend the Navajo Taco, but you are forewarned: If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen and away from this dish.

What’s it like?  It’s a 90 mile an hour head-on collision between Creole and Southwest cooking!  The staff has very little control over the hotness of the peppers used in the recipe.  The wise diner asks, “How hot is the taco running recently?”  Enjoy!

We’re closing in on the Dale Warther Expo.  http://knifesearch.blogspot.com/2011/01/getting-ready-dale-warther-memorial.html  I’ve ordered knives for the table and now I just have to wait for their arrival.  Frankly, the show is a conundrum to me.  I want to sell quality knives and I’m willing to make a little less money to get a good knife in your hands.  But most of my customers seem to want three dollar knives.  There is by definition no such thing as a quality $3 knife!

I could sell more knives and make more money with junk knives, but I know they’re junk and you should, too.  If you depend on them, they will fail you. 

The Warther Expo has the potential to attract customers looking for quality knives, but if I overstock, those knives will not sell later at the gun shows.  It’s tough line to walk, so there isn’t any sense in complaining.

Personal note

I got the Spyderco Citadel I always wanted.  I approached the new owner (remember they bought the bag of knives?) and we settled in to negotiate the sale.  It was a tremendous bargaining session that degraded to arm wrestling and ended up with a spitting-for-distance contest, but I got my knife. 

Now can I carry it?  The police officer I spoke to just shook his head.  “Murky, very murky, the law is, young old Jedi.  Own you may, but neither sell or buy can you.”  (Yoda mode off!)  He suggested his department was more interested in activity and intent.  Of course, there is this if-you’re-not-noticed, you’re-not-noticed strategy.  If you use it in self-defense, you have more than enough problems, so carrying an automatic knife may not be of any significance to you at that point.

On the internet front:

My wife found a link on how pocket knives, specifically Gerber autos, are made.  I have always had a fascination about how things are made and I think this video is very interesting. 

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/science-channel/40579-factory-made-military-knives-video.htm

At the end of the video the narrator explains how this knife is just too deadly dangerous for us civilians to own.  Apparently how you open a knife is the defining feature that makes a knife deadly.

Last words…………………

Do you know who this person is?   

During toast to China's president (What?) Hu Jintao 19 Jan 2011

Sure you do.  It’s Hillary Clinton.  Up front I should say, I don’t like Ms. Clinton.  I think she’s a carpetbagger and that clinking sound you hear are skeletons rattling in her closet.  Real skeletons, not just bad acts.  But nobody without a trial deserves a photo like this.  It was taken by a professional news agency and frankly, they should have destroyed it.