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On The Edgewww.akg.org.au

Spring 2010 Newsletter of the Australian Knifemaker’s Guild Inc.

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Presidents Report Winter 2010

Hi Ya-all Yes, as you can see from the above, I have just returned from the USA, most of the time south of the Mason-Dixon line.  Bit of a shock returning to a proper Melbourne winter after non-stop heat waves in the USA.  Hopefully by the time this reaches you, it will be a bit warmer and sunnier.  The shed has been just a bit uncomfortably cold for my taste.  For those of you from up north, feel free to ignore my whinging.

The new Guild website is well under way.  I have been in contact with Karim and the framework and database are built.  Karim needs content & photos; this is where your participation is critical.  This is the Guild’s website and it needs content from a broad cross section of the Guild.  So, we are looking for photos of, but not limited to, current knives, working shots, shed shots, equipment;  as always, things with sparks would be good.  If you have photos of you and other makers having a good time, send them in with a description of what is happening.  Basically anything that is involved in knife making and looks interesting is welcome.

Please send all relevant material direct to karim@tharwavalleyforge.com.  We are also looking for how too articles and tid-bits of information related to knife making.  Like I said last time, it does not have to be complicated.

Karim plans to be in Adelaide for the Knife Show and will offer his time to show members how the Guild site will work and how to update your own page.  For those makers attending, this is an excellent opportunity to understand how the site can work for you.

Speaking of Adelaide knife show, I just got off the phone with Peter Bald and we realized it was just eight short weeks to go before it was upon us.  I hope that all of you are out there building new and exciting things to take.  If you are planning to attend please contact Peter ASAP so he can book you a table.  I will be going, and at this point have exactly zero knives ready.  It is going to be a busy 8 weeks.

As indicated above, I recently returned from a trip back to the old country to attend Blade Show in Atlanta and visit my family.  I was fortunate to have a good show at Blade; however, I only went with a few knives.  Blade Show did not have the same feel as years past, both the public and the knife makers were down in numbers.  In fact there were a surprising number of empty tables and very little frenzy on the Friday afternoon.  Most makers agreed that if you did sell well, it took the whole weekend to do it.  Material and supply choice was also not what it has been in the past.

Presidential PointsShawn McIntyre: PRESIDENT AKG

www.akg.org.auPresident

Shawn McIntyre03 9813 2049

macpower@netspace.net.au

Vice PresidentAdam Parker

03 5330 2267

Secretarysecretary@akg.org.au

TreasurerBruce Barnett0419 243 855

bruce@barnettcustomknives.com.au

Western AustraliaDavid Brodziak 08 9841 3314

Northern Territory Gary Siemer

08 8988 3241

South Australia Alistair Bastian 08 8726 6256

New South Wales/ACTMal Hannon03 5884 1644

QueenslandMaurie McCarthy

07 4972 2649

VictoriaPeter Del Raso03 9806 0644

TasmaniaBrendan Ware 03 6263 7830

Newsletter EditorMichael Fechner08 8263 8416

fechnerblades@yahoo.comwww.fechnerblades.info

Front Cover Picture – Dean Johnson folders

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From talking to other knife makers it seems this is a consistent trend for shows, less customers and makers attending shows.  What does this mean for us here in Australia?  Well, to me, it means our local shows are actually doing ok.  Numbers through the doors at knife shows are down all over the world, as they were in Melbourne.  However, most makers who attended Melbourne were happy with their sales.  That is not happening in other places for the most part.  So, before we start despairing about numbers attending our shows, we need to have a realistic look at what is happening all over. 

Shows are critically important to knife making, but they now compete with other venues, namely dealers, forums, and personal websites for a share in the sales market.  One dealer who has been in the business a long time, told me attendance is down, but sales of knives between $500 and $1000 are up.  This is about what it costs for a customer to attend a show from out of state in the US, and perhaps not too different in Australia.  This dealer’s view is customers are staying home and buying another knife online, instead of coming to the shows.  Times change, we as makers are going to need to change with them or risk being left behind.  Let’s make the most of Karim’s assistance to build the Guild website to generate sales right from the Shed door. 

“In the Shed”

I lifted the title for this segment from the Editor of Model Engineer’s Workshop Magazine, except in the magazine it’s called On the Bench.  The author lets people know what he is doing in the shop in case they may find it of interest.  So if you are interested read on:

I am building a slow speed reversing 9” disc sander.  I have a few discs already, but this is different.  I spent time with a good mate, Tommy Gann in the US.  He rough grinds on a belt then goes to the disc.  It is only going about 300 rpm so gives good control.  After flattening at 120 grit he put a hard rubber disc on top and went up the grits to 600.  The 9” disc allows you to use SC wet and dry paper with spray adhesive.  The grind was dead flat and the edge thickness was very even.  He also satin finished it in half the time I would as it was impossible to miss the deeper scratches from the rough grind.  The rotating disc was travelling at a steep angle to the original marks.  Well, I was sold and am hoping it is finished soon as I need to get some knives built!

Tips and Tricks

In this segment I hope to pass on any ideas you & others pass on for publication.  After our last electronic newsletter Alistair Phillips provided a couple of tips to share, here they are:

• Add some detergent to your dip bucket and it will stop you from having floaty bits that stick to your blade every time you dip.

• I haven’t tried this one out but apparently adding some baking soda to the dip bucket as well will stop the flash rust you get appearing once you have finished grinding and leave the blade on the bench to the next day.

Thanks Alistair for those tips, I agree - floaty bits are irritating as all get out.

If you are interested in old footage of cutlers, go to You Tube and type in “A Sheffield Knife” it is a 5 minute archival video of pocket knife manufacture, it links to other videos of similar stuff.  Really good to watch the old boys going full tilt.

Well folks I will sign off now.  If you have some photos and information for Karim please forward it to him as soon as you can.  I look forward to seeing some of you in Adelaide.  Enjoy the Spring!

CheersShawn

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GUILD SHOW MAY 7 & 8, 2011

Gday folks,

I hope this finds you all in good health. Well, the hibernation period is over for another year and many of us are finding the temps on the rise so it doesn’t hurt some of us so much getting up early and heading out into the shed!

Membership wise, we have had another three new associate members join recently and so far this year, 7 new associate members have joined. Welcome aboard fella’s. At present we have 44 financial voting members, 5 probationary members and 24 financial associate members. Bank balance is sitting at a healthy $10,370.00 at the moment.

On a sad note, the knifemaking community worldwide lost arguably the most influential custom maker of our time in Bob Loveless who passed away on Sat Sept 4th aged 82. His designs would be the most imitated or copied of any other single maker. Bob had some indirect influence in the forming of our own guild, when, back in Feb 1984, Max Harvey got to spend a day in the Loveless shop with Bob and Jim Merritt. A recorded interview with Bob regarding guilds led to some suggestions being taken on board by our guild’s original founding members. As Max recalls one memorable and very “Loveless” quote, “Its better to have 10 men in a tent pissing out, than 10 men outside trying to piss in”. RIP R.W. Loveless.

Ok, those that are going, see ya’s in Adelaide. Its less than 8 weeks away!!!!!!!!!

Cheers Bruce

AKG Secretary/Treasurer's Report Spring 2010

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KNIFE BOOKSwww.bundukibooks.com

Blade’s Guide to Making Knives $38

How to make Knives (Barney & Loveless) $24 Knives 2010 $40 The Master Bladesmith (Hrisoulas) $60

The Pattern Welded Blade (Hrisoulas) $60

Step by Step Knifemaking $28

Wayne Goddard’s $50 Knife Shop $25

Wayne Goddard’s $50 Knife Shop (CD form) $25

See my web site for postage details and other knife books.

Bunduki BooksPeter Moncrieff

54 Zetland road, Mont Albert, VIC 3127 Phone: 03 9898 6684 - Fax: 03 9898 9661

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After having to cancel at the last minute on going to Blade show 2009 I was really hanging out to getting clearance to fly after my leg operation and 2 weeks before Blade 2010 I was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief and make final arrangements.

Bad weather managed to delay one of my connecting flights from Dallas so after a combined 28hrs from Perth I was able to get horizontal in Atlanta. Set up for the show starts Thur so was able to gain entry and start sniffing out the few pieces of handle material I was particularly chasing, stag and walrus. Thank god my nose was working well after all the flying.

Fri thru Sunday were of course show days and although crowd numbers appeared up there, people were obviously being very careful with their money and this year I only sold 3 knives, however at least I sold some. My leg was not happy being on concrete all day and was blowing up like a balloon so had to park up pretty early most nights, although I did manage to help Shaun McIntyre and his partner Amanda celebrate her birthday along with Tommy Gann and his partner.

As per previous years, I always arrange shop time with US makers and this time was lucky enough to score a week with both Bill Burke M.S. and Bruce Bump M.S. So after flying back across the US to Boise, Idaho with Bill I firstly wanted to learn a bit about forging 52100 and then testing it so I could establish for myself a baseline with this material. I got to forge out 3 blades, 2 being Pronghorn’s (when in Rome…..) and a large bowie. See Pic 1 opposite.

One of the Pronghorns was then given the full treatment, as much as one can cram into the time we had anyway, and then used to cut, slice, chop and subjected to all sorts of mistreatment till I broke it. At least now I can confidently attack the large box of bearing rollers I just happen to acquire from work.

The other thing I wanted to learn at Bill’s was some more of the process of pattern development in damascus so in between heat treatment cycles on the 52100 I stacked up a couple different billets and started welding. After formation of “W”s and a mistake on my behalf, (pay attention Bruce) I chose to “Ferry Flip” one billet which also gave me the opportunity to learn how to TIG weld, thanks Bill. The other billet got all sorts of treatment which ended up forming a loaf which yielded 12 folder blades as seen opposite in Pic 2.

2010 Trip to the USABy Secretary/Treasurer Bruce Barnett

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Unfortunately my week with Bill was up so this BB left that BB’s place for the 5hr drive up to the other BB’s place in Walla Walla Washington. I had discussed with Bruce the possibility of doing a “Feather” pattern Damascus billet and also making a slip joint folder. At the time Bruce had a couple of WIP’s (work in progress) threads running on a couple of knife forums and I was lucky enough to see and handle 1st hand these wonderful pieces being constructed.

So once again I welded up a billet and started building layers. Paying attention this time I ended up with 3 blades out of my “feather” billet which you will see shortly. Still procrastinating as to whether I do a set of 3 knives (fighter, hunter and folder) or single pieces.

As I already had some folder sized pieces from my billet id done with Bill, I selected one of them to use on my first slip joint. Bruce was constructing his “feather” pattern slip joint with the “feather” shield at the same time so basically it was “do as I say…and do” at the same time and 3 days later, after raiding Bruce’s mammoth ivory drawer, I had this little beauty all finished. A few nervous moments peining pins but all good so I was no doubt one happy camper. See pic 3 opposite.

In between slip joint class we slipped over into Oregon to visit Robin Seivers aka “wildcountry” on knifedogs.com forum that did the carved sheath for the “Winding Feather Bowie”. Now this guy knows his leather and is a hell of a nice fella as well. Makes some nice tooling as well, thanks mate.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, I had to come home. After being back at work for 1 day, stuck behind a computer, I sat there reflecting on just how much I had learnt, the fun I had and the friends I had met and realised how lucky I was to have spent the time with Bill and then Bruce & Kaye and their families. In fact it was that good im heading back in November for more fun and frivolity, and some serious bladesmithing at Bill’s and then to also catch up with Bruce and Kaye along with my other tutor/buddy Ed Caffrey M.S. at the Rocky Mountain Knife Show in Boise, Idaho.

Cheers Bruce

www.akg.org.au www.akg.org.au

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On Wednesday 8/9/10 I visited a rural property at Kilkivan in Southern QLD (about 50 km west of Gympie) to observe an Engraving School.

The difference with this school is that it is a Machine Engraving School (G.R.S Graver Max etc.) conducted by a G.R.S Instructor named Jeremiah Watt from the USA.

There were 9 students doing the course; 2 were Knife Makers and the rest were in the horse industry (custom saddles and bridles, rodeo belt buckles etc, all applied with silver and engraved).

The school was for 5 days at a cost of $800, this fee included all meals. Most students had caravans and camping gear and stayed on site.

The property is owned by Ty Granger, who is a custom saddle maker and leather worker (fantastic stuff ). He has indicated that he would be interested in conducting a course for knife makers, if there are enough takers, to do fancy sheaths etc. Currently he is going to do an advanced leather carving school immediately after the engraving school.

He has indicated that both these courses are running again in 2011, his phone number is (07) 5484 1593 and he is most helpful.

Maurie

Engraving School in QLDBy Queensland Representative Maurie McCarthy

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18th Annual Adelaide Knife Show

November 6th & 7th 2010 invitation

Adelaide Knife Promotions is proud to present the eighteenth Adelaide Knife Show at the Arkaba Hotel - Motel, 150 Glen Osmond Road, Fullarton, South Australia. The Arkaba is a well known and highly rated hotel / motel / function centre. It has a number of restaurants, bars and entertainment areas and caters for all of our needs during the weekend.

The knife show will be open between the hours of 9am and 5pm on Saturday 6th November and 10am and 4pm on Sunday 7th November.

If you require accommodation, the Arkaba offers a range of options starting at $130 (single) and $150 (double) If you contact the Arkaba (ph 08 8338 1100) let them know that you are attending the knife show so that you get the correct rate.

‘Set up time’ on Saturday morning begins at 7.30am!Judging of knife awards will occur between 8.00am and 9.00am.

Awards will be presented for the best knife in the following categories:Utility • Folder • Hand forged blade (including damascus) • Hunter • Art Knife

Tables may be reserved at a cost of $120 per table. If you did not receive a registration form in the mail or you have lost it, contact me and I will send it to you. Please note that there is an absolute maximum of 28 tables available for exhibitors, if you require more than one table then this can only be done by phoning me to confirm availability.

The Adelaide Knife Show was the first and is the longest standing Knife Show in Australia, it is a friendly and well regarded event and on behalf of the rest of the team I am delighted to offer you this invitation.

Peter Bald: Adelaide Knife Promotions, 6 Canberra Drive, Aberfoyle Park, SA 5159Phone: (08) 8270 3094 or 0417 848 511 Email: pbald@ozemail.com.au

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Hello across the Tasman to all of you in Australia. I thought I’d put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard) on the subject of Knife photography. It is something that I struggled with over a period of time and I get the impression that people get some fairly varied results – usually not good – when embarking on the process. I am not coming in from the direction of being an expert, that I am definitely not and if you are happy with the results you are getting then I may not be able to add to your information on the subject. If however you feel an improvement is on the cards then maybe this will help, so read on.

The greatest assistance I found to improve my photography was an article on the making of a light box by Jim Cooper on the knife network forum. Jim Cooper some of you will know is a very "up there" professional photographer who does a lot of knife photography and was good enough to post an article that he entitled a "No Frills" $75 home studio tent/lightbox. The article was done several years ago but is still there as a “sticky” meaning it is permanent.

If you wish to view that article go to this link - http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26222It will take you straight to the page. For those of you who are interested but don’t have a computer or whatever, I’ll show you my example of the light box and describe what you need.

I have made this box from more permanent materials than Jim Coopers simply because I had the MDF and wanted it to be permanently assembled. His is of posterboard and the advantage with that is it can be assembled or disassembled very quickly and easily.

The dimensions of mine are 400mm x 800mm floor area. The front is 400mm high and the back is 130mm high. I have built mine on a set of castors that came off an office chair to make moving easier and the tripod tray in the front is hinged so it folds up if you want to wheel it through a door way.

The original (Jims) sat on the bench and had a frame of PVC piping for the lights to clamp to. You will see here I have attached a steel frame to the box to mount the lights from, so it is all one piece. The frame can swivel above the box to change the angle of the lights. There is a row of holes in the box and a very close tolerance lock pin (3” nail) to allow this to happen. To be fair, because the clamp on lights have so much movement themselves I have hardly ever had to move the frame and it could probably have been fixed at the angle you see it there.

The plastic diffuser is a garbage bag, the type you might use in a small waste bin in your kitchen. Cut down the seam and opened up it is enough to cover the back of the box and is just cello taped to the box. The recommended bulbs are 75 watt daylight fluorescents. These are normal looking bulbs with the exception that they are blue in colour. I could not get 75 watt and had to settle for 100 watt bulbs which might explain why at times I only find a need to use 2 of the 3 lights.

Knife Photography at HomeBy Guild Member Matt James

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The background that the knife sits on is simply the light weight cardboard that any stationary store will stock and is available in a large range of colours. This is layed across the floor of the box and up the back to give a seamless background for your knife. A reasonably neutral background colour is usually better to show off the knife, don’t use Grandads old tiger skin! I would suggest staying away from placing other bits and pieces in with the background like leaves or drift wood. I know you may feel you are being more creative in putting other objects in the frame but it does tend to pull the viewers eyes away from the main reason you took the photo, the knife.

If you have David Daroms books such as the ones on fixed blade knives and the folding knife book – his first two I think, then look a the way he has done his backgrounds. The colours are very strong, but plain. I suspect he has chosen the background colours to show off the colours in the knife as much as possible. He has only put a little bit of graduation in the colour on some pages and there is nothing to detract from the subject.

One off the main dificulties we face in photographing our works of art is reflection. I can’t give a specific formula here to avoid that as each knife is different. What I do is place the knife where I want it in the box and look at how it is framed in the viewfinder. Once it is framed the way I want it and the lights are on if there is too much reflection then I try moving each light around or switching one or the other off. Each light has its own switch on the cord so this is not a chore. Sometimes a small change in the way the knife is placed can make big differences in the reflective quality of the Metal parts.

When I’m happy with the lighting department and focus I set the camera on time delay for the shutter and shoot that frame. The whole setup of the box on the castors is not rigid and I overcome this by using the time delay and simply standing still behind the camera until the shutter activates. My camera is set on auto... Now I know this will raise a shudder from the experts or purists, but I am mentioning this simply because you don’t have to be knowlegable on F stops and shutter speeds to take reasonable photos. Reasonable is what we are talking about here. There is no doubt the more you know about your camera and the better your ability to drive it then the better quality photo you will produce.

The camera I use is a Fuji Finepix 5500. It’s getting a bit out dated by today’s technology being only 4 mega pixel and it’s about 6 years old now. I find if I frame the shot so that what I see in the viewfinder is what I want and I don’t have to crop it afterwards and likewise don’t try to take a part of the photo and enlarge it, then the camera is adequate. If you wanted to take your photos and then leap into a program such as Photoshop and cut out and enlarge a bolster area to show some engraving then you would find the need to have a camera that would give you better resolution.

Some of you may ask the question, why a light box, why not just use natural lighting? Natural light can be fine if you have the right daylight conditions. If there is a high overcast and the sun is filtered by the cloud to the right extent then it is possible to get some good shots... and how often will that happen... yeah right!! So in short the light box gives you the ability to control the lighting conditions and take your photos when you want to. Night time is no problem and I find on bright days I actually pull the curtains in the room I use.

What I have described above should give you a reasonable result. Those of you who are more up with their cameras can use aperture priority and get a better depth of field. The great thing these days with the digital cameras that we have is the ability to instantly see the result of our efforts and if necessary have another go. We can experiment as much as we want with no cost but our time. I have included a photo here taken using the above method so you be the judge. Unfortunately for those of you still getting the Newsletter by standard mail this photo will probably not look much at all due to low resolution in the printing of the letter but in the email version it should come through clearly.

All the best to all of you in the Guild.Matt James

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Letter to the EditorRehafting "The Fury" by Alfred R. Frater

Good day there! I am Alf. I have been interested in knives for a time mainly via the offices of the Australian Knife Collectors Club here in WA. I have customised some and my first adventure was to rehaft a “Fox”-“Tactical” blade. I am a meticulous record keeper and have written up my experiences as a record and to ‘spread the word’ where it may fall. I believe in life generally so many artisan skills are being lost it is important to record and share with like minded souls our experiences duds and triumphs. Thus I commend to you the story of the Fury.

On a rare holiday, to Tasmania, I a West Aussie was determined to check out as many outdoors and gun shops as I could and no doubt about it our Taswegian friends are well catered for. In one of such places in Hobart that seem to sell everything I spotted a sturdy looking blade. The name on the blade said “Fury” and this was followed by the number “60080”. The style was “tactical” a much used term today. The knife had no handle but a carefully woven green cord that afforded a very good grip. The nylon sheath was adequate.

The blade was done in black powder coating. The blade is the Japanese “Tanto” design but the price suggested made in China and this proved to be so. The Tanto has an angled chisel point to the blade. The blade is of one piece and has been pressed out as one piece from apx 3mm steel. Having worked on drop presses as a youth and heard them “speak” as they punched out their various things I can imagine the huge bang that would occur when this piece of steel was punched out. The quality of “press finish” was very good and this drew me to buy as I took that as a lead to the overall quality.

I linished off the black coating to reveal steel that appears to this old welder to have a high chromium content and it spark tested to reveal a carbon content fitting the making of a good knife blade.

I decided to remove the string handle and replace it with two Tasmanian Huon Pine scales. The wood I picked up on a holiday there. I had some 1.6 mm Nickel Silver at hand so that went to the handle as well. The nickel silver is dream to work. This ages to a darker hue looking more like gold itself.

The guard would be two pieces as the knife is a full tang and in keeping with the Nickel Silver I used 6mm copper that was cut from an electrical “bus-bar” bought from a scrap dealer at a reasonable price.

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The butt also of two pieces, is of the same 6mm copper.

Fine red card spacers complement the differing metals and were bonded to the tang with two-pack epoxy. This space age material is the artisans’ friend as drilling such a hardened blade is effectively impossible even with “hardened drills”. Here the spacer is gently held flat and in place with the light weight of a steel rule and a set of punches.

Copper guards cemented onto the blade. To try for the best joint.

I linished the blade to provide a grain for the epoxy to bond with and I then wiped it over with Methylated spirit to give the metal maximum clean.

The nickel silver is in place with the spacers and a small lead weight is holding the first of the butt pieces into place while the epoxy sets.

I use small weights here on metals being bonded in preference to clamps as epoxy can slide under too much pressure and come the morning and there is a solidly bonded disaster staring at you!

Second butt piece epoxied into place. The epoxy is said to have a strength of two tons but I would avoid dropping or brutalising the knife to find out and, knives unless made for the very purpose should not be thrown nor used as axes anyway.

First Huon Pine being fixed into place. It may seem like a form of Lego kit but each piece is painstakingly cut, linished, filed and set into it place.

The red material on the wood is apiece of card to avoid lead marks on the raw wood and again a little gentle weight to secure.

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Scale number one in place. Substantial buffing has already been done to the blade assembly.

The finished item, the blade was a jewel hidden with that black coating.

The Huon pine was sealed with three coats of two pack epoxy floor sealer. This hard finish keeps handling marks and stains from discolouring the wood.

The finished upgraded Fury knife.

“Is that Ivory?” I was asked. “No its Huon Pine.” Huon Pine has a glow of its own.

The Sheath. Full thickness oiled pre dyed hide. Great to cut and work but can be hard to see your marks on it.

These simple hardware store clamps proved a boon gluing layers of leather together and keeping it flat and in place. Remember though use gentle pressure and note too the secret knife customizers elixir at the back. Don’t forget to stop and have a break in these projects.

The front of the sheath drawing strength from the coffee and the back showing the internal spacers glued into place. These give the space needed inside the sheath to accommodate the hefty guard dimensions.

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Semi finished sheath. I have used my steel brand stamp on the sheath.

Knife secure straps. These are of Kangaroo Leather because it is STRONG and flexible.

Almost there.

The many layers of leather reinforced at the top corners with 316 stainless steel bolts and capped off with dome nuts.

Detail of the belt loop and the rear finish.

The pale kangaroo leather is a finish to cover the stitching knots.

A tiny detail but it’s the little things etc...

Little squares of leather glued over the undersides of the snaps to prevent the metal marking the handle.

Thus a cheaper knife is customized to be something special.

Regards, Alfred (Alfie) R. Frater.

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Knife Show EtiquetteWith the Adelaide Knife Show fast approaching, new members/visitors and 'veterans' alike, should be aware of the etiquette required at such events.

Attending a knife show is educational and fun and can be profitable. You can enhance the experience by knowing how to properly interact with dealers and other collectors. Follow these rules to get the most out of your next knife show adventure.

• Contact the show manager about items you have to sell or trade before you offer them for sale. The manager can tell you about any rules and direct you to the dealer most informed about the items you have with you.

• Respect others and wait your turn when you see something of interest. Avoid interrupting or commenting on any pending transaction.

• Obtain permission prior to touching any knife displayed as a collector's item or offered for sale.

• Refrain from blocking access to a dealer's table if you are only looking and someone else wishes to make a purchase.

• Avoid opening more than one blade at a time on any folding knife. Doing so places tremendous pressure on the back spring and could cause it to break, destroying the value of the knife.

• Avoid touching the blade of any knife on display.

• Let the dealer remove your fingerprints from a knife you have just handled. Everyone has his or her own preferences when it comes to knife care.

• Offer to leave a deposit if you are seriously interested in a knife. Ask the dealer to hold it for you while you consider your options.

• Do not set food or drinks on any display table. Moisture is the enemy of old knives.

• Ask for assistance from other collectors and dealers before you purchase a knife if you are not sure of its value. Most dealers accept returns, but that can be a hassle.

• Be prepared to make an offer on that special knife - don't regret that you let the knife of your dreams become a part of someone else's collection.

• Be sure to handle knives over the display table. If a knife should slip from your hands, it is less likely to fall to the floor and be damaged.

• Wash your hands before entering the show area to avoid leaving residue on knives you handle.

• Use caution when handling any knife. These babies are generally as sharp as razors, and bleeding on the display table always leaves a bad impression.

Most of all enjoy the show!

(Article courtesy of eHow.com)

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