I don't think that I knew they sold alcohol there....I'm not sure I'd want to be drinking, and buying....that tends to get me into trouble....some of my worst buys have come after cocktails, and eBay....bad things happen

:-)Rocky

Yes sir!
Come see us!

Wanna clarify my position on this.

The Blade show is still the largest knife show in the world. There remains much to be seen to include people. The intent of this thread is not to discourage people from attending, plenty of folks will have a great experience, I am simply relaying my experience and thoughts on what the show has become.

My take, after having attended for decades prior to the sale of the entity, is that the core of what "our group's" place within the framework of the show has been greatly diminished in numbers and quality. They threw the Randall displays out in the friggin lobby!! The show operators needed space for knife sharpening gadgets, 'tactical' helmets and knee pads, beef jerky, etc.

You have read the arcane rules in this thread that the current owners have initiated, which to me fly in the face of one of two main reasons to attend in the capacity as an exhibitor or a walk-in, the chance to acquire good vintage pieces. The second of course is seeing old friends.

If you are a dealer with 100 Randalls to peddle, it may make sense, but primarily as a vintage collector, attending has lost some smoke. The opportunities to find good stuff is not as fruitful as in past years, partly due to the cloud the current owners of the show have cast.

On that note, who knows who might show up for a day.

This topic is quite interesting. If the owners of the show set such rules, then for sure there will be those who bypass these rules quite legally. For example, if a visitor has something to show, he may well bring everything on his cell phone and show it to someone. If this someone is interested, then you can go beyond the boundaries of the show territory, watch everything live and come back, or arrange to meet after closing in the nearest suitable place (bar, hotel, dark alley) and continue communication. It could bring in a kind of element similar to what it was during Prohibition, only without the mass shootouts with Tommy

Looks like a solution in search of a problem.

First off, I don't care.   Blade Show is the greatest gathering of knife enthusiasts on the planet.

Second off, Randall knives are not the center of the knife universe.   No matter how devoted we are to our slice of the knife world, it's just a slice.   Respect the rest.... who knows what they will collect next????

Third off, at the risk of being called a capitalist, if I owned the show, I would attempt to extract value.   I do that every day for my employers.  

Fourth off, I love seeing a knife walk up.  I have bought many.  Looking back at my notes, I bought 7 knives last year.   None were game changers... but good knives.   Most of the dealers do not depend on walk up sales.  We just bought a 200 knife collection today.  It was an estate.  Could a treasure walk in?  Sure.  

So, David, Duke and I will be there "peddling" our knives.   Should a great vintage piece walk up, I will take a swipe.  If not, we will have a bunch of knives for sale..... come see us.

Two questions:

1) As a dealer, do you feel your business will be impacted by someone wandering around with a knife or five trying to pimp them without an exhibitor badge?

2) Will they sell "exhibitor without table" badges? (Tulsa Wanenmacher show does this)

This is a similar policy started by the largest gun show owner in Florida. In his case, he was wanting everything for FFL dealers (Himself, definitely included). It started off requiring "non" FFLs who were set up selling their personal firearms to display an FFL dealer's credentials on their table and all sales having to go through one the "approved" dealers.
That lasted for 4 shows and then private sales were forbidden and could not even "display their treasures..(Yes: I "was" a gun "show"). Now: It's a retailer's show and I have stopped attending "all" of this guy's shows.
So...nothing new here. Just the sign of the times. Capitalism at it's best. The show will still go on.
Reference to Mitchell's post, I too bought 2 nice knives from brown-baggers last year. I also, at first introduction, was opposed to our club tables in the lobby. Why? I cited security mostly.
What has happened? Instead of the wandering crowd having to (hopefully) pass by the club tables, which were "in the rear with the gear"..."EVERYBODY" sees them now! New memberships are more and stronger now and I believe it will continue this way.
Just thoughts from The 'Ol Captain.
Stay Sharp, Capt. Chris

1) As a dealer, I do not mind the casual brown bagger. A guy that has a roller case with signs hanging off? Yea, sometimes that bothers me. This show is expensive and a guy rolling 20 knives around is not cool.

2) They are not offered at Blade.

Just thinking...

I know table holders whose best transactions come from people bringing in things to trade or sell to them.

The people walking around with things to sell are more likely to find buyers at tables having similar items on them. It is very hit-and-miss for them to luck into buyers who are also walking around in the huge show. And even if they do and sell or trade with another floorwalker...that only helps to stimulate the interest of the people coming to the show.

And a bigger crowd is beneficial to the organization putting on the show and to all those who rent tables.

There are not enough tables for all the collectors/sellers to rent space at the show. And they sometimes bring in treasures that make the show for whoever acquires them...again, those buyers are more likely to be table holders.

Sometimes, the table holders are sought out by previous customers who want to trade around to upgrade or maybe dispose of their collections...and a show like this can be the only opportunity for them to meet face-to-face and do their transactions. Some of these people only come to a particular show because they know the table holder is going to be there.

Laissez-faire does have its advantages.

Larry