About Knife Shows

The best way to get your work noticed - and to meet your clientele - is the knife show. Here's how to do it right, from either side of the table.

From the archive - written during Dave's making years. These days you'll find him at shows as a dealer for Exquisite Knives.

Getting your work seen

An integral part of being a successful knifemaker is getting your work in front of the public. There are a number of ways to do this:

1. Professional knife photography - most knife photographers will send prints to the various knife magazines, and if you are lucky, they will print them.
2. A website - when I established mine, hundreds of "hits" arrived within days. I was amazed at this new market.
3. Ads in knife-related magazines with photos of your work.
4. Any combination of the above - and/or:
5. The one ingredient missing from all of those is the personal touch. The best way I know to get your work noticed and interact with your potential and existing clientele is attending knife shows.

The show kit

In preparation for a knife show I generally go down my list: table cover, business cards, receipt book, business license, brochures, photo album of work, knives, chamois, knife cleaning materials (Break-Free, Simichrome, Renaissance wax and the like), sharpening stone, awards and certifications, and assorted knife-related paraphernalia.

Since most of my knives sold before they were completed or shortly after, I tried to have at least a couple of pieces on the table for immediate sale. The knife show gives one the opportunity to "press the flesh" - you sell yourself as well as your knives. Appearance is important: I never felt a sport coat and tie were necessary to sell knives, but a nice pair of jeans or slacks and a clean, pressed sport shirt says a lot about you.

Show etiquette

A few lines about knife show etiquette are in order. First and foremost: ask before you handle the merchandise. Never just pick up a knife off a maker's table. Never touch the blade of a knife - always handle it by the handle; that's what handles are made for. As simple as this sounds, both of these things happened to me at every show I did. If the maker is busy with a customer, wait for a lull in the conversation to speak your piece. Common courtesy goes a long way at knife shows.