MKA show recap and thoughts

[J. Doyle]

Hi all. Just wanted to give a little recap of the MKA show in Missoula, MT this past weekend.


I really meant to take my camera and shoot some pictures but I forgot. I will next time for sure.

We had a new venue for the show this year. It was held at the Harley Davidson dealership. They had a really nice conference/loft area upstairs in their showroom.

It was really nice and the folks at the harley shop were very accomodating. The attendance was not too bad, a little slow on Sunday but I think for a first year it was decent. The show ran fairly smoothly and I expect some minor tweaks to the show such as dates, special show events and advertising that will increase the attendance next year.

There are a lot of good knifemakers and a lot of talent at this relatively small show. Also a LOT of the nicest and most fun people you could meet.

As mentioned in another thread, I won a couple awards and sold one hunter. Julie McGuire from Arizona Custom Knives was there on Saturday and bought many knives from many different makers.

I had a table next to our good friend Bruce Bingenheimer, a.k.a. Bing. We had a great time and Bing is one of the best folks in the knife community and one of my best friends in the game.

A very talented maker who always impresses me and gives me things to aspire to. Bing won the award for "Best Damascus" with a long, lean and wicked looking fighter. He also brought a w-2 bowie with hamon, walrus ivory, and damascus s-guard that has to be seen in hand to fully appreciate.

Bing had a number of hunters also that had excellent balance, feel and material choices with some really nice embellishments in the guards and handles. Can't wait to see what he brings to Boise.

Got to chat with some old friends and some new. Mike Mann stopped in for a bit on Saturday and we gave him quite a hard time. Enjoyed talking with Jim and Sharon Thompson of Great Falls, Dan and Judy Stucky, Gordon St. Clair, Don Bell, Bob Crowder and many others.

Joe Olson stopped by and it's always nice to talk to Joe and he was kind enough to share some thoughts on folders and some embellishments with us for quite some time.

All in all, it was a great new venue and location, a great group of makers and a LOT of fun. Can't wait for next year.

[Ed Caffrey]

Nice report John! Many Thanks! Sounds like the show might have found a good home.

As mentioned in another thread, I won a couple awards and sold one hunter

Congrats on the awards! See....all that hard work and effort are paying off!

You sure you want to ride to Boise with a couple of "bottom end" makers like Steve and I?

[J. Doyle]

Originally Posted by Ed Caffrey

Congrats on the awards! See....all that hard work and effort are paying off!

You sure you want to ride to Boise with a couple of "bottom end" makers like Steve and I?

Don't forget about listening to my mentors.


"Bottom End" - that's a good one. If you two are "bottom end" then I can't wait until I'm good enough to be considered "bottom end".

[Jeremy]

Glad the show went well for you, John. I kind of figured I wouldn't be lucky enough for those 2 knives you posted to stick around until the Boise show... Guess I'll just hope you end up coming up with some better ones when you come down here . And congrats on that bowie award.

Jeremy