How do you display your knives?

Chris Railey

Chris Railey

Well-Known Member
An awesome local store wants me to put a small display case and some blacksmith items (including a few knives) in their store which is very kind of them. Its a great opportunity for some exposure but I want the display to look decent not "rednecked up" like I tend to do other things. Does anyone have suggestions to make a knife sit up where the lines can be seen decently instead of sitting flat on a shelf? Pictures are helpful too. Thanks.
 
Chris...what about sawing some small stands out of scrap (unless you're not like me...) handle material. Then sanding and finishing them well. keeping the small so the don't dominate the look...
 
Smallshop said:
Chris...what about sawing some small stands out of scrap (unless you're not like me...) handle material. Then sanding and finishing them well. keeping the small so the don't dominate the look...
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I was thinking on something like that. Made from wood and simple. My first thought was to forge some cool ones out of steel (Man I had a great design) but I really do not want the knives put in and out of a steel holder several times for fear of scratches and stuff. It will only be store workers (his family) handling the knives but accidents happen. I have some bifurcated antler sections too I was thinking of using in some of them.
 
Chris, I made these stands to display my knives they sit on a battered stand on leather or other soft materials that would not damage the knife, the stands are made from corian, takes some time to make them, I would give them to the buyer of the knife a little added touch. Deane
 

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The first thought in my mind when you said "display in a store".... is to put the knives in some type of case.... that can be/is locked. I've had a lot of experience with this type of situation, and have had a number of knives stolen over the years when displayed in any way, that anyone other then the proprietor(s) could get at the knives. This not only protects your knives from being stolen, but it also provides a level of protection against accidents by people who really shouldn't be handling a knife anyway. :)

At MINIMUM, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Jewelry-Stor...ords=knife+display+case&qid=1615041120&sr=8-5

Preferably something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Elegant-Alum...rds=knife+display+case&qid=1615041120&sr=8-20

The words I would use to describe displaying knives for sale would be .... Clean & Professionally displayed. Anything that draws attention away from the knife/knives (meaning any props/other items) is simply counterproductive to what you're trying to do..... which is sell the knives. :)
 
chrisstaniar said:
Manzanita is a pretty cool bush. The bark is a deep red and very smooth. It looks really cool unfortunately not too long after its cut the bark peels off.
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When I lived in Cali Manzanita was a protected shrub...illegal to own. Maybe not anymore? It is beautiful like a Bonsai tree in nature...perfect round little leaves...beautiful shape.
 
EdCaffreyMS said:
The first thought in my mind when you said "display in a store".... is to put the knives in some type of case.... that can be/is locked. I've had a lot of experience with this type of situation, and have had a number of knives stolen over the years when displayed in any way, that anyone other then the proprietor(s) could get at the knives. This not only protects your knives from being stolen, but it also provides a level of protection against accidents by people who really shouldn't be handling a knife anyway. :)

At MINIMUM, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Jewelry-Stor...ords=knife+display+case&qid=1615041120&sr=8-5

Preferably something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Elegant-Alum...rds=knife+display+case&qid=1615041120&sr=8-20

The words I would use to describe displaying knives for sale would be .... Clean & Professionally displayed. Anything that draws attention away from the knife/knives (meaning any props/other items) is simply counterproductive to what you're trying to do..... which is sell the knives. :)
Click to expand...
pretty reasonable cost for the protection given! The first knife you DON'T get stolen pays for 2-3 of these (for most of us). That's a clean looking case!
 
Since I mentioned getting knives stolen....there was a good side to ONCE.

I had knives in a locally owned sporting goods store, that was broken into one night, and ALL (total of 4 knives) of my knives were among the items stolen. The shop owner called and told me, and when I arrived at the store, he told me.... you can either wait for about 6 months for the insurance to settle up.... or you can take you pick of any gun on the racks. Hmmmm..... I looked around and found/chose a 6.5x55 Swede that had been sporterized by Kimber.... with a $3,500 price tag. :) The owner gritted his teeth and said .... "Whew..... OK." And it started a love affair with that cartridge. We all search for "that gun", and this one was/is mine! It's one of those guns that whatever I point at....it finishes. Since then I've purchased 3 more 6.5x55s...... and they are all great shooters, but none match the Kimber.

Right now my "Holy Grail" for a rifle is a Ruger #1 in 6.5x55. Ruger made them in a "limited edition", but I've never seen one for sale....maybe someday. :)

Moral of the story? Sometimes bad things happen, that lead to good things. :)
 
I used to have a Ruger #1 in .257 Robert’s. Loved that gun. Which I would never have sold it.
 
Looks good Chris!! Is this store fairly close...or a long drive away? I ask, because here's a tip for you..... when you take the case/knives.... take/display ONLY 1-2 knives per shelf. If you're close, then when one sells, you can just go there and replace it. ;) This a "technique" that I learned years ago for showing/selling knives.... LESS IS MORE. :) What I would recommend with that case is..... display only a single knife on each shelf, or at the very most, two of the smaller knives on a single shelf. If you have to overlap the knives on a single shelf...then there are too many.

I learned this during my second ever knife show....where I had the table literally covered in knives. People would walk up, glance down, and leave. I felt mortified! What was wrong with my stuff?! Thankfully, one of my knifemaking heroes, Roger Massy, MS (retired now), walked up to me and said "You have far too many knives on your table.... it's scaring people away." At first I thought he was crazy.... but, he only had 2 knives on his table, and looking around.... there wasn't a JS or MS in the show that had more then 5-6 knives on the table, but all of us nobodys' had our tables covered up with knives! Hmmmmm? After a few more people walked by without stopping, I started taking a few knives at a time off my table..... and once I got down to only 10 knives, spread across an 8' table, people started stopping, looking/picking them up, and actually sold 4 of those knives by the end of that day!! WOOT!!
 
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Thanks Ed. The store is 10 minutes up the road so I will remove some of the knives. The owner of the store is a friend. He has a fall festival every year at his store and a few years ago he asked me to come and do some Blacksmith demos to help draw people to the festival. In return he let me sell my stuff. Its always my biggest day of the year. Eventually we became friends and he just more than doubled the size of his store so he said I could bring some stuff. With the push to “buy local” right now I figured it was too good an opportunity to pass. Well that and the fact that I ain't sold squat (except charcuterie boards) in months so I have an inventory.
 
This is the case that I have that will be going to a shop soon (Hopefully, because of Covid)? Thanks Ed I was gonna pack my case but after reading your response I wont!!
 

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