September 16, 2009
I just got back home in the Rio Grand
Valley and while it is fresh in my mind I want to share some of the NBTSG
with everybody.
St. Louis was great. The hotel
was as any convention hotel. Big and the food in the hotel restaurant
was not near worth the money they charged. That being said everything
else was better than expected. Rates were reasonable, service OK, and
the meeting rooms good. St. Louis was a good place to hold the first
show of the Guild. Central in location, rates affordable, and plenty
for the other half to spend money on.
I can not say enough about the
information we were exposed to. Stuff I have never heard, and I have
been to over 15 shows, at both coasts and even in Knox City. The
speakers reached into the depths of their knowledge to give us the best they
could. I learned more about clipper blades than I thought was
possible, things that makes a difference if it works excellent or if it just
works. Little items that affect the way a shear reacts to the hair.
Why it slices or does it cut. There was no Bull Shirt, no one trying
to up stage anyone else, no single style or item being pushed. Larry
and Dennis along with Craig to rate our work. Bob, Bobby and Bob S.,
to help on clipper blades, Jim O, Bonnie and Jason to name a few.
I don't want to forget Linda and the help everybody got from her.
The Vendors, and we had a room full,
presented us with a lot of items, some new that will give us a leg up on our
competitors. Special pricing on shears, parts and machines. The
money saved by buying here will make the trip affordable. The door
prizes were the best and of the finest quality. Everyone present
received a prize. Shears, supplies and even a knife machine. I
forget the other items given away.
The judging was by far the fairest and
the hardest ever. I wasted a pair of shears and washed out. If
it had been in real time I would have given a new pair of shears to the
Stylist and moved on. I could not do that. I will be back and
not make the same mistake, I will make a new one.
For you that waited to see if this was
going to be worth while. IT WAS!!!! I ask, WHERE WERE YOU??
Ron
taken from SharpNet
_________________________________________________________________________________________
September 16, 2009
The NBTSG Part 1
A few days ago I returned from the
2009 National Beauty Tool Sharpeners Guild in Saint Louis, MO. I had a
blast getting to see all my friends and fellow sharpeners in one place to
celebrate the art of sharpening.
The NBTSG was a success! There
was a good turn out, plenty of vendors, and a spirit of camaraderie as we
spent 3 days learning, networking, and for a brave few; testing.
This is the first in a series of
videos I will be putting together about this show. It will hopefully
provide a taste of what the NBTSG was like. Take a look:
follow this link to view Jim's video
Jims Blog
__________________________________________________________________________________________
September 16, 2009
Dear Larry, Linda, Dennis, Tonya and
Lisa,
Congratulations on organizing such a
wonderful event. I would like to share my sincere appreciation to all
that have provided input into this Guild.
The sharpening trade as a whole can be
isolating, and was a motivating factor for me in coming to the NBTSG
Conference. To be welcomed by other sharpeners who speak my language,
freely share knowledge and desire to search for higher standards was a
highlight.
You succeeded in assembling some of
the best technical minds in the sharpening world. To say my
expectations were met would be an understatement, never did I think I'd be
flying home to Australia a Grand Master Sharpener. I am bruised all
over from pinching myself.
The location was very well planned,
and the facilities of the hotel were top class. I thoroughly enjoyed
the cruise.
A special thank you to Larry for your
generosity of time and methodical teaching approach: which still got
through even with severe jet lag, and Dennis for the pearls of wisdom that
you freely dropped to broaden my knowledge.
I look forward to attending next year,
and I can only hope that this helps attract more international members in
the future.
Kind Regards,
Ian Parsons
Feather Edge Sharpening
__________________________________________________________________________________________
September 14, 2009
Dear Larry & Linda,
We hope you are rested now after the
show in St. Louis. They are a lot of work, and you guys did a
wonderful job. We appreciated being able to participated and enjoyed
meeting everyone.
Thank-you for a terrific experience.
Larry & Caralee
__________________________________________________________________________________________
September 8, 2009
Larry, Linda and Dennis and the
entire staff at Sharp Edges
I wanted to write
and let you all know what a great time I had at the newly formed N.B.T.S.G.
Your hard work and effort really was remarkable. The entire event was
very professionally organized. I was impressed with the Judging setup
and those in the industry who you selected to do the judging.
I felt your test
and judging methods were fair and objective. I could tell you and your
staff put a great deal of thought into this event.
I found the vendors
area wonderful. There was a great selection of machine vendors and
shear vendors. I found the vendors area to be fun, educational and
relaxing. I was pleased with the amount of different vendors that came
and participated. There certainly was a lot to look at in the vendor's
area. People had the chance to really compare and see all the machines
and shears out on the market today. You really brought folks together!
Your panel was made
up with the top folks in the industry and many gave great advice and we all
had the opportunity to listen to many views on several sharpening subjects.
Larry a special
"hats off" goes out to you, Linda and Dennis. A job well done!
I thought St. Louis
was the perfect location since it is just about center of the country.
Your hotel site was easy to find and the access was simple. The Dinner
Cruise was another fun event. It was a way to talk and get to know
each other. (Kind of like a meet and greet on a boat! LOL)
Once again, thanks
for the opportunity to let our company come and be a vendor and be a part of
such a well organized and professional sharpening convention/event!
I am looking
forward to next year's N.B.T.S.G.'s event. I now it will be as fun and
educational and successful as this year's was.
Mike Borsch/The Clipper
shack-Nipper Sharpening System
September 9, 2009
Larry Brooks NBTSG
The event was great. I had a
little trouble...I did not complete all the work in a timely manner nor did
I do work that I would take back into my stylist. I screwed up one
pair so bad that I would have given the stylist a new pair at no cost, but
Larry would not let me get away with this.
But I will be back next year, no
matter what coast it is held on. For the few that wanted to see if it
would be worth the trip I can assure you it was. More important to the
the bottom line, I will make money on everything I was able to purchase, the
show prices were great. I am sure that I will do better work from the
experience of just being there. I have been to many, at least 6, shows
at Huffs, to Wolffs show in Ga. and many others. I learned more this
trip than any of the others I have attended. I also learned a lot that
I have never heard at any of the other shows. Things like how and
where to apply pressure to bend shear blades, clipper blade pressure and how
to get it right. In over twenty years someone finally explained why
the guide was important to clipper operations. So start planning on
next year. Make it a vacation. And since you will be attending a
business function it will be a tax write off. Let the other taxpayers
help foot the bill and have fun at the same time. If I can make it,
why can't you?
Ron Persing
Taken from SharpNet
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Well I must say that the NBTSG was a
fantastic event and I had a great time. Judging the shears and clipper
blades was a real experience as we went well into the next morning doing the
judging. There was rumor that Larry and Jim O'Donnell went to
breakfast after judging was complete and Jim may have been caught sleeping
with his eyes open and maybe came close to tipping over. Maybe he will
tell us about it in "On The Edge."
There was a lot of good work and
Larry's new test machine worked very well to prevent any possibility of side
pressure on the shears. There were participants in age from 20's to 80
years.
The clipper blade certification was an
historic event as to the best of my knowledge no one has ever had a
certification test for clipper blades.
I have to thank Larry and his family
for inviting me to be a part of this historic event and I am looking forward
to next year where ever it is held. My vote would be to have it out
West like Vegas or Reno and I am sure Larry would like to hear from any of
you as to where you would like to see the event held next year. Give
him a call or email him with your preference.
Ron had offered me an adult beverage
here on SharpNet and I was sorry to hear he was not coming but when I
arrived Saturday evening he did come and we shared talk and an adult
beverage. Ron and his wife were both there and were great company.
I think everyone who came; left
with having learned something and a number of folks said they learned a lot.
Networking with other sharpeners is one of the best ways to learn and there
was plenty of that going on. All of the test participants I talked
with said they learned lots also. The vendors were tremendous and I
think all of them donated something to the door prize raffle on Tuesday.
Lots of equipment and tools to try and buy, new scissors were everywhere.
I would recommend this show to every sharpener who does clippers and/or
scissors and I hope to see many of you there next year.
Craig Cazier
Taken from SharpNet
__________________________________________________________________________________________
September 7, 2009
Hello Larry and Linda,
We had a wonderful time at the NBTSG
in St. Louis. We realize that your family worked hard to pull this
show off Give them a Big Thumbs Up from us. Kelly said that you chose
a Great location and hotel. We enjoyed the cruise. We can check that
off our list of things to do as Kelly wanted to do this years ago.
We plan to attend next year. I
could not believe I missed the Master Sharpener by so few points. As for the
sharpeners attending the test given, I felt that we did not have enough time
to visit the vendors. Some vendors left early to catch their flights.
Perhaps the vendor room can open a day before along with open registration
the night before. Take care and God Bless.
Robb and Kelly
