Khuks under-represented at Blade

MacHete

Hair Cropper & Chipmunk Wrangler
Joined
Apr 7, 2000
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I finally made it to the Blade Show this year. Had a good time. Chatted with some makers and suppliers. Saw lots of cool stuff. Brought some home. I was keeping an eye out for a few specific things, and Khukuri were one of them. I saw one Pakistani version, and the Kabar and CS KLOs. Are we really that niche? Should we proselytize more? And why doesn't HI set up a table? We could help Aunt Yangdu staff it with volunteers. :)
 
We are kind of niche....
Uncle and Auntie did bladeshow once...
It cost them to get there and to be there. They didnt end up selling enough to cover the expense let alone cover the lost revenue from having to basically shut down to attend. It doesnt make sense to spend money better used elsewhere. Auntie won't do it again.


Good ta see ya Mac!
 
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I asked Auntie once about attending Shot Show 2012 since it's in Vegas. Now i see why.

Niche?
Yes. As much as khukuri spawned many hybrid choppers out there, many has chosen their turfs with axes and machetes.
Acquired taste probably?

No.
I saw one Pakistani version, and the Kabar and CS KLOs

Imitation is the best form of flattery- Busse TTKZ, Ka-bar/Becker Reinhardt, CS Rajah.
 
Speaking of flattery...and I dont mean to hijack here...who is Dr. Myung Gi--and what the hell is the american bando association or Bando---no disrespect intended.

I think we should start calling the flattery stuff "UKSK's"---unidentified khukuri shaped knives.
 
Bando is a martial art that uses the khukuri. HI has some Bando practitioners as customers.
 
I finally made it to the Blade Show this year. Had a good time. Chatted with some makers and suppliers. Saw lots of cool stuff. Brought some home. I was keeping an eye out for a few specific things, and Khukuri were one of them. I saw one Pakistani version, and the Kabar and CS KLOs. Are we really that niche? Should we proselytize more? And why doesn't HI set up a table? We could help Aunt Yangdu staff it with volunteers. :)

Blade is now primarilly a show for the makers and manufacturers who regularly advertise in the magazine. I saw very few kukries and only a few antiques. A fun show to visit once a year, but far less diverse then it was years back when it seemed that everyone was there. So while Busse has a huge booth, Randall Made Knives didn't even bother to show up. The show seemed to focus on two sub-sets of collectors, a younger crowd that is into the latest "tactical" knives, and an older crowd that was attracted to higher end custom knives. Swords/ethnographics/more pedestrian custom makers (e.g. throwing knives, HI, part-time makers), retailers, and even collector displays were few and far between. This year they had set aside a significant section of the floor for tactical paraphernalia BOB bags, pre-packaged food, flashlights, flea market junk knives, etc. Cool, but not something that I would go to Blade to see.

n2s
 
It's all about the dollar. No profit in paying a show premium for a True Collector to display his life long collection. HI is neither tactical, cheap junk, nor high end so the market is relatively small for anything that doesn't fit those popular 3.
 
... Are we really that niche? Should we proselytize more? And why doesn't HI set up a table? We could help Aunt Yangdu staff it with volunteers. :)

The forumites here at the HI forum quietly tend and nurture their little flame. There's always someone watching and caring to keep it alive. If someone really wants to know, they find there way here, or to another similar place.
 
Blade is now primarilly a show for the makers and manufacturers who regularly advertise in the magazine. I saw very few kukries and only a few antiques. A fun show to visit once a year, but far less diverse then it was years back when it seemed that everyone was there. So while Busse has a huge booth, Randall Made Knives didn't even bother to show up. The show seemed to focus on two sub-sets of collectors, a younger crowd that is into the latest "tactical" knives, and an older crowd that was attracted to higher end custom knives. Swords/ethnographics/more pedestrian custom makers (e.g. throwing knives, HI, part-time makers), retailers, and even collector displays were few and far between. This year they had set aside a significant section of the floor for tactical paraphernalia BOB bags, pre-packaged food, flashlights, flea market junk knives, etc. Cool, but not something that I would go to Blade to see.

n2s

Wow - that was very well said, n2s.

I guess I'm glad I stopped attending a few years ago. I have nothing against the show and will probably attend again sometime in the future as it has always been very profitable. Just takes too much work to get stuff ready for the show - I completely understand Yangdu's reasoning.

I'm sad to hear that the custom knifemaker presence is diminishing. :(

Dan
 
Bando is a martial art that uses the khukuri. HI has some Bando practitioners as customers.

Have had a chance to see some Bando through Dan Inosanto (Bruce Lee's student) who incorporated it into his Jeet Kune Do Concepts. He also incorporated some Thai Krabi Krabong. Sorry, also not trying to hijack.
 
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