If the title terms mean something to you, well, you are a Knife Show addict like me. More properly, it's the Cutlery Corner show, currently hosted by Sheila Travis, Todd Boone and most importantly - Tom O'Dell.
The show used to be on the Shop At Home channel, but I guess the Knife Show was too lowbrow for them - they {sniff} upgraded their content several years ago. So the show must go on - it's on DirecTv 227 and Dish 216 along with other classics such as Coin Country and Shop Erotic (with Miyoko Fujimori - rowrrrhhhh!!).
I literally was hooked for a while when The Poor Farm was on C-Band. The Knife Show had Tom and a guy named Rex - I've since forgotten his full name - who peddled the goods. Rex didn't have the southern accent, and he could skillfully twirl those 440 stainless swords, and both were hell on sheets of paper - to demonstrate the razor hand sharpened edges of the dangerous weapons (snork!). Some years ago, I tried googling him up, and IIRC (if I remember correctly) he passed away suddenly or something. I can't find anything about him now.
But, I digress. Tom is the star. The whole thing is a sales front for moving Frost Cutlery and other brands Jim Frost has accumulated over the years. The fantasy knives are cheaper and more crudely made than the equivalent United Cutlery styles - although they sell a lot of UC product on the show, too. For some time, the folders would be hawked as "Solingen steel," but I don't hear that much anymore. Most of the stuff is made from 420 or 440 stainless. Which is fine for display, but it makes for brittle and overly heavy practical swords. The folding knives are thicker and less tight than say, a Case knife. "You get what you pay for" applies here as well as anything else.
But, Tom is nothing if not entertaining. His descriptions are legendary - "biggens" for the larger swords and fixed blades, "furniture grade" for the sword stands, and the wildly optimistic "retail value" of the collection being offered. Knife dealers, get your orders in now, this one won't last and you'll miss out on a real money making opportunity.
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That video pretty well encapsulated the Knife Show Experience. But, sometimes, Tom gets carried away:
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Another example of Tom going above and beyond, if you can stand it (a kazoo, and he sings Happy Birthday to Jim Frost). Pure dee entertainment, if ya ask me.
Of course, no post about The Knife Show would be complete without mentioning Shawn Leflar. While he's no longer on the show, his contribution has been immortalized in perhaps one of the more famous YouTube clips out there:
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Like I said, those swords are brittle. "Full tang construction" or not.
Probably the main selling point of these gems would be the fact that they are so cheap. A collector/hoarder/packrat can pick up a wide variety of patterns and styles for next to nothing compared to what it would cost to buy quality pieces - like Case. Even so, you still end up with a collection of nothing but cheap knives.
But, there has been many a night when insomnia rules that I've tuned in to the drawling sales pitch and been sent to LaLaLand in short order - if I can keep from laughing or getting into it.
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2 comments:
I like knives. I've seen these ads and some of the knives they sell. As far as I can tell they are unusable, made just for looks. Model knives are like model cars or model airplanes; the best ones are made of plastic and pot metal.
Actually, usable knives can be made of plastic. I have plastic 'airport' knives that are better than these 'as seen on TV' fakes.
A bad baseball game puts me to sleep faster than any infomercial. I wish there was one I could watch now.
Buh bye, spammer. I do wish Blogger would let us edit their posts rather than just delete, but such is the price of free ice cream.
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