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Arkansas Knifemakers Association
David Etchieson, Secretary/Treasurer
60 Wendy Cove, Conway, AR 72032
501-554-2582 aka@alliancecable.net
www.arkansasknifemakers.com
February 18, 2011
This letter is going to AKA members and show table holders both for informational purposes.
February 12-13, 2011 Arkansas Custom Knife Show
The 16th Arkansas Custom Knife Show has come and gone again and it was the best one yet according to the number of knives sold. Customer traffic was also very good with the 14,000 sq. ft show room being crowded all day Saturday. Sunday also had lots of buyers. There were approximately 1100 attendees with many them coming both days. I did not see a money shortage here with lots of people paying the $5 admission with $20 and $100 dollar bills. Many makers did very well and some less so. There is no way to predict who or what will sell from show to show. This year we had four knives made and donated by Twin Blades, J.R. Reeves, Allen Newberry and Gary Crowder to give away at 3:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. These knives were photographed and included on color flyers that were distributed at several shows around the country beginning with the BLADE Show. They were also included in BLADE, Knives Illustrated and Knife World ads that ran several issues prior to the show. This gave good exposure to the makers and added a lot of appeal for the show. Each person that bought a knife was supposed to receive a slip to fill out for a chance to win one of these four knives. The drawing box contained 220 slips but I am aware of several knives that were sold that did not receive slips. The Twin Blades knife was won by Bud Branch of Rayville, LA with a purchase from Jerry McClure. The J.R. Reeves knife was won by Leann Groom of DeKalb, TX with a purchase from Pete Truncali. The Allen Newberry knife was won by Kerry Brooks of Little Rock, AR with a purchase from Brion Tomberlin. Bobby Gipson of Houston, AR won the Gary Crowder knife with a purchase from Jim Walker. Collectors and customers have learned this is a top quality show featuring many of the best makers in the nation. According to the give away slips, Jerry McDonald sold the most with 20. Next was Doug Hardy with 12, Lacy Key sold 11. Lee Ferguson sold 10. Bob Ham sold 9. Fifteen others sold between 4 and 8. At least 51 makers sold knives. To be fair to the whole show, it is very important for all makers to print your name and sign the slips in your packet and give only one to each person that buys a knife. It is possible that some buyers put in more than one slip for a single purchase and some may have put in slips with no purchase at all. Some slips had no makers name on them and may have been taken from a table or off the floor.
Auction Knives
We had seven nice silent auction knives this year. ABS Mastersmith John White made and donated the main auction knife. It was a damascus bowie with blackwood handle. Paul Long made the leather sheath for it. It was purchased by Buddy Thomason for $700. Lee Ferguson donated a utility/hunter with A2 blade and micarta handle. It was purchased by Charles Sullivan for $160. Lacy Key donated a hunter with ATS 34 blade and buffalo horn handle. It was purchased by Bob Atkins for $60. ABS Mastersmith Ronnie Foster donated a large carbon steel bowie with stag handle. It was purchased by Hugh Burnett for $450. Benoni Bullard donated a hunter with 5160 blade and blackwood handle. It was purchased by Bobby Gipson for $250. ABS Mastersmith J. Neilson donated a neck knife with kydex sheath. It was purchased by Adam Ridlon for $75. Wesley Davis donated a Nick Wheeler hunter with 5160 blade and ironwood handle. It was purchased by Roger Pinnock for $500. Several of these makers have donated knives for past auctions. We appreciate all of them.
Friday Night Reception
The Friday night reception was a great success. Approximately 200 table holders and guests enjoyed an evening of food, drink, good conversation and knife judging. Eight widely spaced tables were set up at the back of the ballroom with labels for each category. Makers were invited to display their best knives from 6:30-8:00 p.m... Each table holder was given a ballot on entering the room on which they were to mark their choice of the best knife entered in twelve categories. At 8:00 p.m. we showed a 29 minute video produced by the Historic Arkansas Museum entitled “Dirty Work, From Bowie to Rambo-Arkansas’s Knife Heritage”. It briefly covers the history of knives and knifemaking in Arkansas through interviews with museum Director Bill Worthen, A.G. & Goldie Russell, B.R. Hughes, Jim Batson, Marilyn Lile Miller, James Stewart, Jerry Fisk and Bob Dozier. It seemed to be popular with this captive audience for the second year in a row. It is available for sale. Contact me for a copy. Votes for all the “Best” categories were counted during the video.
The winners were:
“Best Bowie” sponsored by Historic Arkansas Museum – John Horrigan
“Best Hunter” sponsored by Arkansas Game & Fish Foundation – Jerry Fisk
“Best Fighter” sponsored by Rhea Knives – Don Hanson III
“Best Folder” sponsored by NeTex Printing, Texarkana, TX – Joel Chamblin
“Best Art Knife” sponsored by T.O.M.B. – Ron Newton
“Best Damascus” sponsored by Riverside Machine – J.R. Cook
“Best Giraffebone Handle” sponsored by Giraffebone, Inc. – J.R. Cook
“Best Pearl Knife” sponsored by Culpepper and Co. – Ron Newton
“Best Miniature” sponsored by Arkansas Knifemakers Association – Lee Ferguson
“Best Sheath” sponsored by Arkansas Knifemakers Association – Brian Thie
“Best Historically Inspired Knife” sponsored by Chuck Ward Photography – Brian Thie
“Best of Show” sponsored by Arkansas Knifemakers Association – J.R. Cook
Thanks
I want to thank many people for helping with this show. If I forget to mention someone by name please know you are appreciated. Bonnie Etchieson helped with table packets; room set up and took care of the hospitality room. Chuck Ward and Bonnie helped purchase and haul supplies for the hospitality room. Chuck took pictures of award winning and auction knives with help from Mary Ward. Chuck and Mary also took care of table reservations for 2011. Lin Rhea presented awards. Pat Proctor and Sherry Stevenson took care of the admissions tables both days. Pat and Donna Etchieson took care of the reception entry table Friday night. Paul Giller manned the AKA table all weekend as he has done for many years. Rick Wilson served as security for the show all weekend as he has done for all shows except one. Paul Piccola and Mary Ward arranged show tables Friday afternoon. Jerry Petty arranged cutting demonstrations during the show and would have had forging demonstrations outside if the ground had not been snow covered. He along with Steve “Wildman” Wilson of the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission arranged several spots of free advertisement on radio and TV in the days leading up to the show. Roger Pinnock wrote a very nice review of the 2010 Show that was put on the AKA website and some forums before the show. He also placed photos and kind words on the forums shortly after the 2011 show. I’ve already had makers calling to reserve tables because of the good review.
Donations
For door prizes Paul Piccola donated four pocket knives. AKA provided assorted pocket knives. Mark Zalesky and Knife World donated four subscriptions to KW. Texas Knifemakers Supply donated three $25 gift certificates. Culpepper & Co. donated two ray skin coin/key holders.
Vernon Hicks Award
The Vernon Hicks Award for 2010 was presented to Jerry Petty for his years of assistance and dedication to the Arkansas Knifemakers Association. He has arranged forging, grinding and cutting demonstrations at three Big Buck Classics and other venues. He has assisted in making shop visits successful and enjoyable and began hosting knife making meetings at his business in Maumelle the last Thursday of each month. They are very popular with good crowds attending each time.
2012 Show Reservations
Next years show will be February 18-19, 2012. Fifty seven table holders from 2011 have already reserved for 2012. If you have not reserved and want a table for the 2012 show please contact David Etchieson promptly at aka@alliancecable.net or 501-554-2582. Return the form from your 2011 packet with payment or deposit to save your space. Your name will appear in all advertising leading up to the 2012 show and on the nice rack card that is distributed beginning with the BLADE Show.
AKA Website www.arkansasknifemakers.com
Please check out the AKA website maintained by Chuck and Mary Ward. It is full of good information about the Arkansas Knifemakers Association in general and contains photos of previous shows. This site requires many, many hours of work to keep it current and for that I thank Chuck and Mary.
AKA Dues
The $25 annual dues were payable January 1 and delinquent after February 13. Please send to me promptly to remain current. If the envelope is stamped “AKA Dues Expired” it means I do not have a record of your payment. The membership list will be updated April 1st. Please don’t get left out.
Shop Visit
Our first shop visit for the year will be March 12 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. or after at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) in their blacksmith/metal casting shop. They have a nice facility with 3-4 propane forges, a coal forge, various anvils, an air hammer, heavy duty bandsaw, treadle hammer and assorted hand tools. Depending on weather we will likely have sessions both inside and out at the same time. Lin Rhea is arranging for several Master Bladesmiths to demonstrate. There may also be a blacksmithing demo. Lunch will be provided. See the attached map. Enter the campus on West 28th Street from University Avenue. Park in Open Lots 13 or 14 and walk to the Fine Arts Building. If you have things to unload, drive to the Fine Arts Building then move to Lots 13 or 14. If handicapped parking is needed, drive to the Fine Arts Building and we will ask the coordinator that morning. Anyone that is interested in hosting a visit or with a suggestion for future activities, please contact Lin Rhea at 870-942-6419 or lwrhea2@windstream.net as soon as possible so we can get them in the upcoming letters.
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