Back from Blade.....

[Ed Caffrey]

Hi All!
Well, we survived another Blade Show! What a blast! It's early tuesday morning as I write this, and I just finished the most welcome 12 hours of sleep I've had in a long time. The show was non-stop. Many makers had outstanding sales, and many quickly sold out. I had the pleasure of putting many names from the forums with faces......... which might just have been the best part for me!

Friday I was privledged to judge the Journeyman Smith applicant's knives. We added 26 new JS to the ranks! There is some outstanding work out there....the quality of knives at all levels just keeps pushing the envelope to new heights. Our own Jon Christensen achieved his JS rating, and to top it off, he also earned the George Peck Award! This award is given for the best knife submitted by a JS applicant. WAY TO GO JON!!

8 new MS stamps were also awarded, with impressive work being the norm.

Of course each evening after the show, the gathering of makers and customers in the "Pit" (the hotel lobby area) was just as much fun as the show. If anyone has pics, please feel free to post them.........I took my camera, but was so busy that it never came out of the case.
I'll be starting to tear down my old shop today, and with any luck we'll have the new shop up and running before I retire. I'm hoping to have everything in order so that we can hold a Hammer-in sometime in the Sept-Oct time frame. I'll let everyone know how that one plays out.

[whv]

welcome back, ed. and congrats to jon c! (never had a doubt, did we?) wow - 28 new js stamps. very impressive.

[MongoForge]

Is there a list somewhere of
who made JS and MS...?
thanks
Mongo-

[Wulf]

It was nice to meet you, Ed.

I still can't get that hunter out of my mind. That carved handle was just awesome. Looked real nice, and felt great in the hand too.

[Jamey Saunders]

Sorry I missed you at BLADE, Ed. I guess you may have been out at the cutting demo about the time I walked by your table. You had some great work, though. It was my first BLADE Show, and I had a blast.

[Ed Caffrey]

It was great to meet the folks, and finally put faces with names....for those I missed, I'm sorry. Since it was just me at this show, I had to get out and pick up supplies, which meant I was away from my table at times..........with any luck maybe I can talk my wife and/or daughter into coming next year to be at the table and man the walkie-talkies for me! (but don't tell them that! That way when someone comes by they can get me back there to meet all of those I missed.

[Tim Adlam]

Ed,

It was a real pleasure meeting and chattin' with you at Blade.
Missed seeing you at the "pit" on Sunday.
Sorry we didn't get the opportunity to sit down afterwards to trade tales.
Looking forward to next time though!

Tim

[Guy Thomas]

Ed, it was a pleasure meeting you and the other guys (Nick Wheeler, Tom Ferry, Jon C. etc.) at the show and talking later in the Pit also. This was the first time I stayed over in the hotel for the show. I also joined the ABS while I was there so maybe you'll be judging my knives in 3 years or so!

Good luck on the workshop!